The Path To Us: A Single Parent Romance

by Jennifer Van Wyk

  “Holy shit, dude, she just claimed you. How hard are you for her right now?” Tyson asks boldly.

  “Gross, Tyson. You never grow up, do you?” Lizzy says with a sneer.

  “Maybe not. But at least I know when I’m not wanted somewhere. And by the way, the only reason I’m sitting here with them right now is because I apologized and admitted that I was an asshole.”

  She stands with a huff and spins around, marching back to her date.

  “Well, that was fun.” Addy laughs. “What were we talking about?”

  “Tyson fucking up a remodel on a house he’s thinking of buying.”

  “Oh, right. Yeah. So I have lots of ideas about that kitchen. It’s ugly now but has so much potential.”

  Tyson’s eyes meet mine over the table, humor dancing there. Lizzy’s presence could have ruined a perfectly good evening but Addy’s confidence in our relationship wouldn’t let it. Tyson’s right. I’m so hard for her right now.

  We spend another hour at The Flying Goat before going our separate ways. Since Zoey’s at my parents’ place for the night, we get to have a sleepover ourselves.

  Which means she’s coming home with me.

  To the place where I hope she lives someday soon.

  After a quick stop at her place to pick up Macaroni, we arrive at my house. There are still a few rooms that I need to do something with, but I’m delaying, wanting Addy to be the one to make the decisions with me. One of the rooms will one day be Zoey’s and hopefully the others we’ll fill with more kids.

  I park my pickup in the garage and we make our way inside, Macaroni dancing at our feet, excited to be at his happy place. We’ve discussed him staying here permanently but Zoey couldn’t part with him. So until Addy and Zoey move in, Macaroni is on a visitor-only basis.

  I flip on a couple lights, toss my keys in the little bowl on the counter, grab a bottle of water from the fridge and lean against the counter.

  “I’ve got something to show you.”

  “Oh, do you, now?” Addy says, coming to stand in front of me with her arms wrapped around my waist. She kisses my throat and presses her body against me. Her legs are on either side of my right leg, heat pulsing from her center. It’s almost enough to make me forget that I wasn’t planning to show her my dick, like she thinks I’m suggesting. Though, that is in the plans for later. But right now, I need to show her what was delivered today.

  However…

  Her lips on my skin have me changing my mind.

  “You make me forget everything,” I say, lifting her up and spinning us around so her ass is on the counter and her legs are spread wide. Just perfect for me to fit in between her legs.

  “Same,” she moans when I attack her neck just like she did a second ago to me.

  Frantically we strip off our clothes, our hands moving at lightning speed to get the show on the road. She helps my jeans down over my ass with her feet while I lift her off the counter enough so she can shimmy out of her own.

  Once hers are on the floor by our feet and mine are around my ankles, I don’t hesitate. There is nothing better than being inside her. Nothing. I could die a happy man right here, dick stuck in her while she cries out my name.

  I use the counter for leverage and continue to thrust, in and out, in and out.

  Her nails scrape my back.

  She arches up, giving me better access to her breasts.

  When I first learned that I was right about her nipples being sensitive, I didn’t realize just how right I was. It’s one of my favorite places to play because of that very reason.

  I suck one nipple into my mouth and scrape it with my teeth.

  Her body clenches around me and I speed up, losing all control.

  “Yes. Yes! Hard, Beau. Just like that!”

  Sweat beads on my forehead as I continue to thrust into her, the back of her head hitting the cupboard every so often. But she doesn’t seem to mind. She’s too wrapped up in what I’m doing to her to care.

  “Fuck, Addy, you feel good. It’s always so good.”

  “Yes.”

  I slide my hand over her thigh and press on her clit, knowing her body well enough by now to know that if I’m close, and I want her to be closer, my thumb on her clit will get her there.

  “Ready?” I ask her and she thrashes her head side to side.

  “Never. I don’t want to stop.”

  “Addy,” I growl. “Get there,” I say, doubling down on my efforts. I shift my hips so I hit the spot deep inside her and she flies. Her screams are loud and make Macaroni bark. I roar through my release and hold her close.

  “Oh my gosh. That was so good, Beau.”

  “It was ten minutes of hard sex, of course it was good.”

  She laughs and the movement causes me to jerk inside her, making her go, “Ohh!” followed by a sigh of contentment.

  I grab a couple paper towels and we clean ourselves up.

  “I love that you wanted to show me that, Beau, but it’s not as if I haven’t seen it before,” she says like the little smart ass she is.

  I smack her butt. “No, you brat. That’s not what I wanted to show you. You just distracted me.”

  “Oh. Sorry?”

  “No, you’re not.”

  She grins and I can’t say as though I’m sorry, either.

  “So what is it you wanted to show me, then?”

  “We need to grab a flashlight and head out to the barn for the surprise.”

  Her eyes light up and she claps. “Beau! Are you serious right now?”

  “Guess you’ll have to find out.”

  She practically knocks me down as she shoves me aside to race me out the door, Macaroni at her heels. She’s already halfway to the barn, using the moonlight to guide her way. I rush to catch up with her and when I do, she’s already at the door, bouncing on her toes.

  “I’m so excited! Holy crap.”

  “Calm down. You don’t want to freak them out.”

  “Them. Oh my gosh, I can’t wait!”

  I roll my eyes but love her enthusiasm.

  The door to the barn creaks when I open it, the smell of fresh hay wafting up my nose the second I do.

  “Which stall?”

  I point to where the duo is making their home and she calms herself down enough to walk slowly toward them.

  “Hi, guys,” she coos. “I’m Addy.”

  “You’re mama,” I correct her.

  “Mama. I’m a donkey mama,” she damn near squeals. “Hi, Milly. Hi, Billy.”

  They each take a step back, still shy of their new surroundings. But unlike she was showing earlier, Addy has all the patience in the world for them to come to her. She clucks her tongue and holds out her hand with a carrot that I grabbed from the fridge before I left the house. She snaps it in half and offers a piece to each. They sniff then slowly take it from her outstretched hand.

  These two have no idea what they’re in for with Addy and Zoey. I hope they like company because they’ll never have privacy again.

  “Beau,” she whispers when Milly nudges at Addy’s hand. “They’re so precious.”

  She’s right. They are. Donkeys are often forgotten, especially when their horse cousins are around. But donkeys have their purpose and I can’t wait to give them a home.

  “You think they’ll get on okay with the goats?”

  I shrug. “I have no idea but I would think so. Richard seems to think so, anyway.”

  We have a ragtag group of animals here. Chickens, goats, donkeys, three cows, and more cats than I can count. I have absolutely no clue how to take care of them, but that’s what we have Richard for. He not only loves to teach me the ins and outs of farming, it helps him keep busy. Gives him something to do. And, of course, it gives him a reason to visit his old home.

  “They’re amazing. Zoey is going to fall in love. She’ll never want to come home again.”

  That wasn’t my plan, but it’s a good bonus.

  The sooner I get Zoey on my s
ide of moving here with me, the sooner I’ll get Addy to join.

  But I had patience for years to make Addy mine and it didn’t kill me. I might not want to wait, but I will. Besides, it’s been fun navigating this path to us.

  Epilogue

  Beau

  Five Years Later

  “Oooh. Pop is gonna be mad at you, Dad.”

  “No, he won’t.”

  Zoey looks skeptical and rightfully so. Richard will probably not be very happy with me, but I don’t care. He’ll only stay mad for a minute or two then he’ll get over it. After all, we did this for him. Because we love him. I just hope he sees it that way.

  Though, it might go over better if Addy tells him by herself. He definitely has a softer spot for her than he does for me. I’m a close… fifth. Maybe sixth some days.

  Shit.

  Zoey’s right.

  He’s gonna be mad.

  “Daddy, up,” our two-year-old daughter Drydon says from her place by my feet. I bend over and pick her up, placing her on my hip with one arm under her butt. She smacks a kiss to my cheek and I smile, turning to return the favor.

  I look down at Zoey when she clears her throat. With a hand on her hip, one leg out in front of her, she looks like she’s about to read me the riot act. I try not to smile, knowing that only makes her mad. She has a thing about being taken seriously.

  “So what are you gonna do about it?”

  “What do you think I should do about it?”

  “I asked you. It was your idea in the first place.”

  “It was a good idea!”

  She shakes her head and throws her arms up in the air, clearly done with me. “Not without consulting me first!”

  I bark out a laugh. Consulting. How is she only ten?

  “Daddy! This is serious!” She stomps her foot and then adds her other fist to her waist.

  It might be, but she’s adorable when she’s in a huff. And when she calls me Daddy or Dad, it doesn’t matter how many times I hear it, I still get a little weak in the knees. It was on the one year anniversary of when I made Addy my wife that she gave me that gift. I didn’t adopt Zoey because while she’s my daughter, she’s also Chris’s daughter. I’ve just been given the gift of being the one to raise her. I’d never take that away from him and neither Addy nor I pushed for Zoey to start calling me anything other than Uncle Beau.

  When she said, “Happy Versary, Mommy and Daddy!” we stopped breathing for a few seconds. Even Zoey. And when she followed it up by apologizing before saying “Is that okay?” in a soft voice, there was no way I was going to deny her — or me — of calling me Daddy.

  We weren’t sure if it was because her baby brother Cruz was with us and we’d been saying mommy and daddy a lot or if it was already settled there in her heart. Neither of us questioned it. Zoey’s a smart kid and we figured she knew what she was doing.

  Cruz’s name comes from a combination of two of the most important people in our lives who we’ve lost. Chris and Suzie.

  By the time our first Thanksgiving came around, my ring was on Addy’s finger.

  By our first Christmas she and Zoey were living with me.

  By our first Valentine’s Day, my baby, Cruz, was growing in her stomach and in May, I gave her my last name.

  Things moved fast for us.

  Thank goodness.

  I hitch Drydon up on my hip. “I’ll talk to him like the rational men we are and he’ll understand.”

  Zoey shakes her head, so sure of herself. I pray that I get to prove her wrong. “Nuh uh. He’ll be mad you didn’t ask him first.”

  “Orrrrr maybe he’ll be so honored and blown away that he’ll give me a big hug.”

  “Yeah. Let’s go with that,” she says, rolling her eyes.

  She glances in the area she’s all in a tizzy about, shakes her head like I’m an idiot, then marches into the house calling for her mother.

  Cruz comes bounding down the steps, Macaroni trailing behind him along with our new adopted pup, Snickers. Yeah, Zoey named her, too. There is absolutely no doubt whose kid Cruz is. From the moment he was born, he looked exactly like me. It’s not just his looks, though. He’s got a short temper, quick fists, huge appetite, bulky build, and a love for his mother that knows no bounds. He’s a mama’s boy through and through but the second I announce I’m heading to the barn, he’s my shadow.

  I’ve learned a lot over the years on how to care for the animals we raise. Of course, we couldn’t have — or I couldn’t have — done it without Richard. But that’s the entire reason why I did what I did.

  “I wanna see inside, Dad!”

  “Do you think Pop is gonna be mad, too?”

  “No way. He’s gonna be happy!”

  “That’s my boy,” I say, giving him my fist to bump.

  He cheers and I hear the screen door slam shut behind me. I wait, knowing Addy and Zoey are coming after Zoey tattled to her mom. Not that Addy wasn’t fully aware of what I did. It wasn’t a surprise here. Hell, people have been here for the past several weeks doing the work for it. But now that it’s finished, apparently Zoey has feelings about it that she feels the need to express.

  “Let’s wait for Mommy,” I tell Drydon and Cruz.

  When Addy reaches me, she kisses my cheek and reaches for Drydon who shakes her head and cuddles into me.

  Cruz might love his mommy more, but I got Drydon. She’s a perfect mix of Addy and me but she rarely lets me out of her sight.

  Addy rolls her eyes good naturedly. “I won’t take you away from Daddy. Should we check it out?”

  “Yay!” Cruz shouts.

  I turn to Zoey. “See? At least Cruz is excited.”

  “She’s just afraid that Pop is gonna be upset.”

  “He won’t be.” I say it like I know it as fact but in reality, I don’t know how he’ll react.

  When I decided to build a tiny house on our property so he could be closer, I knew it would be a risk. But he hates living in the duplex and this would be the best of both worlds. We like having him here but we need our space. Having him live on the property but in his own place is the perfect compromise.

  He and his son Noah went on a three week trip to Europe with Noah’s sons for their high school and college graduations, so it was the perfect time to set it up. Most of the house was built off-site so all we needed to worry about was getting the land ready.

  The house has everything he’ll need and this way we get to keep him close. He may be in remarkable shape for seventy-five, but that won’t always be the case.

  I just hope he sees it the same way. He’s a proud man and could see it as us thinking he needs babysitting or that we don’t trust him to live on his own.

  Using the key to unlock the front door, I twist the knob and push it open, letting my family go in before me. Addy’s seen it to completion as she did all the decorating, but the kids haven’t.

  I know the second they see the loft because Cruz and Zoey squeal and run for the stairs. “Cool!”

  “Thought you said he would be mad!” I shout to Zoey.

  “That doesn’t mean he won’t think it’s cool, Dad.”

  Addy grins over at me and moves around the small space, trailing her fingers over the back of the couch.

  “When does he get in?”

  “Flight landed twenty minutes ago. Noah’s bringing him out after they drop their stuff at the duplex.”

  “Still don’t understand why they wouldn’t let us bring them to the airport.”

  She shrugs. “They’re stubborn.”

  “They’ll also have a hell of a parking bill.”

  “Yeah. Well, I wasn’t going to argue. Noah had his mind set on it and you know how that goes.”

  I do. For as much as I love Richard, Noah leaves a lot to be desired. He and I have never clicked but we’re cordial to one another because we both love his father. Noah and his family still live in Seattle and from what I understand, his boys stayed for one more week in Europe to do their
own thing. Not sure I would have been okay with my eighteen-year-old in a foreign continent without me, but that’s their decision.

  “Is he texting you when they’re on their way?”

  “He said he would.”

  I set Drydon down and she toddles off to wander around.

  “Do you think he’ll be upset?” I ask Addy, watching the kids closely. The kids are in the loft that Richard will likely never go up into but the kids will play in constantly.

  “No.”

  I look at her. “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  All right then. I believe her.

  Thirty minutes later we’re about to have our answer.

  When Noah and Richard pull up, we’re already back in our house. Addy made a big pitcher of his famous lemonade and has a brand new package of Oreos waiting for him. She also made a batch of snickerdoodles but those won’t last long with Cruz and me around.

  The kids rush outside as soon as he steps out of the car and fight with each other for his attention.

  “Be gentle, kids! He’s an old man!” I shout.

  “Says you!” Richard shouts back.

  Addy and I descend down the stairs and greet Richard and Noah.

  “Missed you,” Addy says quietly, not moving from her place next to him.

  “Missed you, too, girl.”

  “Did you have fun?”

  I don’t miss the quick glance he gives Noah and wonder if that means he didn’t enjoy his time away. I hope not. I’d hate for that to be the case. Noah and I might not be buddies or have a lot in common, but he’s Richard’s son and they should have a good relationship.

  “I did.”

  “Three weeks was a little long,” Noah says.

  “Oh, yeah?” I ask.

  “Let me clarify. Three weeks with my two boys who are more entitled than I suspected is a little long.”

  “Ahh.” Yeah. That makes sense. Not that I’d say that out loud in front of him. But there’s no way I could spend three days with those boys. Three weeks would put me over the edge.

  “Daddy!” Zoey gripes impatiently. “Are we ready?”