“Dada, ooh!”
“Oh, look at you. Are you dancing?”
I peered into the kitchen just as Kyla pulled herself up with a tight grip on one of the drawer handles, all while bouncing and shaking her diapered butt. In the meantime, Archie hauled a tray of scones from the oven.
I needed an intervention before I threw myself into a pipe dream headfirst. Headfirst, heartfirst—whichever.
Archie kept his back to me as his next task brought him to the stove. He switched on the gas, then cracked a few eggs into a skillet. He was just within reach for Kyla, who plastered herself to his leg.
The closer I got, the more I noticed they’d made themselves right at home, and fuck if I didn’t love it. The traces of a one-year-old’s exciting breakfast platter sat next to the sink—it looked like she’d been served sliced banana, oatmeal, and peanut butter. Archie had a tablet and a half-empty cup of tea on the bar. Kyla’s security blanket was draped over one of the stools. A handful of toys littered the floor behind the kitchen bar, a plastic ladle, a couple stuffed animals…
How long had they been up for?
Archie had removed all evidence of baking already. The countertops had been wiped down; the ingredients had been stowed away.
I soundlessly sat down on a stool and just waited for him to turn around.
“You don’t want to stand there when the bacon starts sizzling, Kyla.” He picked her up again and positioned her on his hip. “Almost time to wake up Greer, don’t you think? I think so. I think it’s going to be a wonderful day.” He rubbed their noses together, making her babble some more.
I smiled and shook my head. My day was already wonderful. “I think Greer’s up—”
“Bloody hell!” Archie startled at my voice and spun around.
“Yaow!” Kyla squealed.
I grinned at the two. “Morning.”
He exhaled the rest of his shock and sat his girl down on the floor. She was moderately amused by that but had no problems crawling after him as he headed my way.
“Good morning, Sir. Did you sleep well?” He stepped in between my legs, and I was quick to pull him closer and kiss him.
“Better than I have in years.” I kept Buddy and Beast in my periphery. They were curious about Kyla. They were also grown-up dog versions of toddlers and had their own definitions of personal space. To this day, they wanted to crawl up on my lap when I sat down to watch a movie on the couch. I flicked a glance at Archie. “What about you?”
“I slept like the dead,” he replied with a faint grin. “Don’t be offended when I say your memory foam mattress played a small part in that.”
I let out a laugh. “I can’t blame you. It’s the bed that keeps on giving. My back doesn’t hurt anymore, and kids find it useless to jump on, so I never have to worry.”
Jamie, in particular, was a bed jumper.
Archie smiled and kissed my cheek. “Breakfast is almost done. I’ll hurry up.”
“There’s no rush.” I shifted my gaze to Kyla and the dogs as Archie returned to the stove, and it was a funny image. She was so small, and Buddy and Beast dwarfed her further merely by standing in front of her.
Beast sank to the floor, his light coat shining in the morning sun that filtered through the windows, and he butted his nose to Kyla’s hand when she reached out.
“Let me know if you want me to keep her away from them,” Archie requested. “I don’t want to assume they love kids just because you do.”
“Nah, they’re good,” I said. “Especially those two. They turned five last spring and still act like puppies.” Only better trained. It was why I loved breeds like mastiffs and Rottweilers. They might appear intimidating and were often trained to protect and guard, but they were cuddlers, the lot of them.
I sank down on the floor too, which prompted Monster to come closer. My little Chihuahua mutt who’d once been rescued from a bad home. He was the only one a bit wary of kids sometimes, and he was careful around sudden movements.
Buddy and Beast had no such reservations, and one went into sniffing mode as Kyla started climbing on the other.
“Greer, are you sure?” Archie asked hesitantly. “They’re not bouncy castles.”
And she wasn’t bouncing either. “She’s just exploring, sweetheart. Don’t worry. It’s a two-way street out here. We’ll teach Kyla to respect their boundaries just as I’ve trained them to tolerate children’s curiosity.”
Kyla didn’t linger long. She tilted her head at Monster and decided to crawl to us instead, so I held Monster to my chest.
“You make cute babies, Archie.” I smiled as Kyla climbed up in my lap, totally unreserved.
“I will happily take half the credit,” he answered. “Don’t the dogs need to go out?”