“Fine,” she spat. “We can all clean up and then we’ll go for a hike,” she grumbled. Rainey grabbed a pile of dirty plates from the table and started for the sink. She made more noise than he’d ever heard in his kitchen and Slater was sure that she was going to break all of the plates if she didn’t stop banging them around.
He took the dishrag from her and smiled, “I’ll wash the dishes, so we’ll have them to eat off of tomorrow night. You go on and call the hospital for an update. I’m sure that they’ll give you one since your Beck’s sister,” he assured.
“All right,” she said, seeming to perk up a bit. He just hoped like hell that they’d have some news or else he worried that her mood wouldn’t improve much for their hike. “Be right back,” she promised, grabbing her cell phone from the countertop.
“Let’s get started on these dishes,” Slater ordered. The kids groaned and then he reminded them that they were all going to get a hike in the woods after their chores and they seemed to rebound. They were so resilient, he wondered if Derrick was that way too as a kid and he had just missed it.
“You have any kids?” Jack asked him as Slater handed him a wet plate to dry. They were on washing and drying duty while the girls put everything away and straightened up the kitchen.
“I do,” he said. “I have a son named Derrick, remember I told you that before? He’s a little bit younger than your mom.”
“Oh yeah—I meant; do you have any little kids? You know, like us?” Jack asked.
“Well, no,” Slater said. “Derrick used to be little like you guys, but then, he grew up. Why?”
“Um, I just thought that you might like to have some little kids again,” Jack said. They hadn’t really discussed his role in the kids' lives. He and Rainey were just playing it all by ear and the kids seemed to accept him hanging around. At first, they told the kids that he was there to protect them. But that all changed after his and Rainey’s first date. He became more of a permanent fixture in their lives and that was the part that scared the hell out of him. He had no plans on going anywhere, but if this thing between him and Rainey didn’t work out, the kids would be the ones who got hurt the most.
“What exactly are you asking me, Jack?” Slater wanted to make sure that he understood the boy before he went off half-cocked and gave him an answer that didn’t seem to fit his question.
“I guess I want to know if you’re going to be our dad now,” Jack said. The girls all stopped what they were doing around the kitchen, taking interest in the conversation between the two of them. He felt all eyes on him, including Rainey’s. She had come back down and was watching the whole scene, tears in her beautiful blue eyes. He looked to her for some sort of guidance, and she smiled and nodded at him through her tears.
“I’d be honored if you four wanted to consider me your dad. I know that I’m not your real dad, but I’d love to be a part of your lives any way that you’d like,” he insisted.
“Cool,” Jack said, smiling up at him. “Then, it’s okay if I call you Dad?” he asked. Slater swallowed past the lump in his throat and looked back over to Rainey for her final approval. She nodded back at him, and he tussled Jack’s overly long blond hair.
“You can call me whatever you’d like, Jack,” he said. The kid nodded and smiled up at him, tossing his damp towel to the counter.
“I’m going to get my shoes,” he said. Sarah helped Ella put away the basket of napkins and the three girls seemed to go back about their business as if nothing happened. Slater wondered what had just occurred, but he was too chicken to ask any of the kids for clarification. Instead, he crossed the room to stand next to Rainey.
“Was that okay?” he whispered.
“It was more than okay,” she insisted. “It was perfect. You’re really good with them, Slater,” she said.
“Thanks,” he breathed. “I have no idea if I’m doing anything right with them. Any update on your sister and the baby?” he asked.
“She’s still in labor, but she’s at eight centimeters and is fully effaced, so it won’t be long now,” she gushed. He had no idea what she was talking about but judging from her smile, it was all good news.
“Well, you look happy about the news, so I take it that what you just said is good. We’re just about finished in here if you want to head out for our hike soon,” he said.
“I’ll grab my shoes and pull up my hair,” she said. “Everyone needs to go to the bathroom before we leave this time. I’ll have no more peeing in the woods.” The kids all moaned and filed up the stairs to the bathroom to do as their mother said.
About an hour later, Knox called with the good news that Beck had a healthy baby boy, and that she was doing fine. They were going to call him Link, and he could see the sadness and excitement in Rainey’s eyes as she conveyed everything that Knox told her to the kids.
As soon as she got them all bathed and down for the night, she found him in the bedroom to show him the adorable pictures of the baby that Knox had texted her. “He’s a cute kid,” Slater said. “I’m so happy he looks like his mother.”
Rainey giggled. “He looks like Knox, Slater,” she corrected. “And my nephew is adorable no matter who he looks like.”
“Do you ever think about having more kids?” he asked. He wasn’t sure if he was fishing or not. Honestly, he’d never really given much thought to more kids—especially as he had gotten older.
“Not really,” she admitted. Hearing her say that broke his heart some and he wondered why that was. “When Jack died, I was still pregnant with Ella. I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle four kids on my own, but I found a way to manage. Beck helped me a lot and I guess that’s why I’m down about not being able to be there for her today. I feel like I’ve disappeared just when she needed me most.”
“She has Knox,” Slater offered. “And I know he’s been taking good care of her.”
“I just wish that I could meet my nephew and not have to look at pictures of him on my phone,” she said.
“I promise that as soon as it’s safe, I’ll find a way for you to meet your nephew, honey. You just have to give me a little time to figure a few things out. I will need to make sure that I can keep both families safe now.”
She smiled at him and nodded. “You called us a family,” she said. He had and he meant it too. What he and Rainey were building at his cabin felt so much like a family, but he also didn’t want to push her for more than what she was ready to give.
“I did,” he agreed. “Is that okay with you?”
“Yep,” she admitted. “It’s very okay with me. And thank you for agreeing to take me to meet Link as soon as it’s safe. I know that you’ll find a way to keep both of our families safe.”
He chuckled, “No pressure, right?” he teased.
She took his hand into her own. “None at all.”