“I think that goes with being a little. They all have had a tough time and have had to adapt to a world they didn’t understand,” Travis said. “Now that they have us to take care of them, they are all finally starting to open up. It takes some longer than others, and it depends on how bad of a time they’ve had.”
Duncan nodded and took a drink of his beer as his thoughts circled in his head. Would Kyla take a while to settle since she’d had a harsh childhood with little to no affection or love?
Only time would tell.
The discussion stopped when they heard the women walk down the steps.
“Daddy, we’re hungry. Can we order pizza?” Larkin asked Darian.
Darian looked at him, and he nodded. He didn’t mind at all having the group here. He saw how happy it made Kyla, and he thought the more she was with them, the better she’d feel. He’d do anything to keep her with him.
He would do his best to have her spend time with the other littles even though it was going to drive him crazy to be away from her.
The group called for pizza, and within the hour, they were sitting around the backyard eating and laughing.
A few of the women ran up to him. “Do you have jars that we can use to catch lightning bugs?”
He set his beer down. “Let’s go see.”
He scrounged around and found two big jars. He poked holes in the top so the bugs wouldn’t suffocate and handed them over.
“Thank you,” they yelled as they ran back outside, making him grin.
He went back and sat with the men as they watched the girls race around the backyard.
One of them screeched when she actually caught a bug.
“Ohhh, get it off,” she yelled.
“That would be Larkin,” Darian said and laughed.
Before long, the women were coming and sitting on their daddies’ laps. Some fell asleep they were so tired, and others just whispered.
His heart about burst when Kyla came to him and stood in front of him.
“Daddy, can I sit…”
He pulled her down before she finished. “You can always sit on my lap. Just come to me.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
The men talked for another hour while the rest of the littles dropped off to sleep.
Darian set his glass to the side and stood with Larkin in his arms. “I’m going to get her home.”
“You all are welcome to stay here,” Duncan said. “I don’t have seven more bedrooms, but we can figure something out.”
“Maybe another time.”
The daddies and their women left one by one, leaving him and Kyla alone on the back porch. He could have stayed out there the rest of the might, but it was starting to get chilly, and he didn’t want Kyla uncomfortable.
He had her stripped and tucked into bed within ten minutes. He spent some time cleaning up from the group and then securing the house. But he was anxious to get to Kyla because he didn’t feel whole if he didn’t have her in his arms.