“Really?”
“Really.”
I shot her a grateful smile. “Isn’t that nice, Trin?”
“So nice!” she said and seemed satisfied. Then she looked at me and frowned. “Daddy, why are you crying?”
I laughed. “I’m not crying. It’s these damn onions. I don’t know how you do that without crying, Ken.” I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and continued to chop.
She laughed. “I cry too. Some days are worse than others. But maybe my eyes are used to it now or something because it definitely doesn’t affect me like it used to.”
“Are you saying that I don’t cook enough?” I said.
She giggled. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“You better not mess with the cook,” I said and waved my wooden spoon in the air. Then I looked around at my counter and realized I had no idea what to do next. I was sure that something was missing but I couldn’t out what it was.
“Uh, lovely Kennedy, would you care to assist me?”
She turned around. “I thought you had it all under control?”
I chuckled. “Clearly not. I suddenly don’t know what to do next.”
She got up and joined me in the kitchen, surveying the ingredients in front of me.
“All right, so you’re making meatballs aren’t you?” she said.
“Yes. And I’m sure I have everything. But I just can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. Hey, are you laughing at me?” I asked when I heard a giggle escape from her mouth.
She laughed again, and then doubled over as the laughter got louder. “I’m sorry,” she said between gasps. She stood up and tried to compose herself. “Uh, I think I know what the problem is,” she said.
“What?”
“Uh, where’s the ground beef?”
I burst out laughing too. “Oh, it’s in the fridge. Uh, yeah, that would probably be a very important part of today’s meal.”
“How about I stay here and help you cook tonight?” she suggested.
I thought about saying no but if I had forgotten to include the meat in the meatballs than I wasn’t sure I should be left alone to do the rest. I nodded. “I think that’s wise.”
In the end, the dinner was made primarily by Kennedy, and we all sat in the living room to enjoy it together.
“This is delicious. Wow, I can’t believe you made this, Daddy,” Trinity said as she took a bite. She’d been watching a movie the whole time and hadn’t noticed that Kennedy had come to help.
I was just about to tell her otherwise when Kennedy stopped me.
“I must be a good teacher then. You’re right, Trin. This stuff is amazing. Thanks, Reed.”
I grinned at her. “It’s my pleasure. And you know what part of the meal is particularly good?” I said.
“What’s that?”
“The meat,” I said and she burst out laughing.
Later on, we all went to bed, and Trinity was delighted that Kennedy was going to be spending another night. Kennedy had promised to take her to school the next morning. I was in bed with Kennedy when I got out the present that I had bought for her.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“A present.”
“For me? But it’s not my birthday.”
“So? I can still give you a gift even if it’s not your birthday. Go on, open it,” I said.
One of the things I loved most about Kennedy was how excited she always got about things, even the little things. Sometimes she was so childlike in her behavior that it almost broke my heart. I had a feeling that she didn’t get many gifts growing up. She stared at the present for a while, then she opened it slowly, making sure not to rip any of the paper. She gasped when she saw what was inside.
“You got the picture framed,” she whispered as she stared at the photo of myself and Trinity on the balcony from Florida. Her eyes began to well up, making them sparkle with a sentimental joy.
I smiled. “Do you like it?”
“Oh Reed, this is the best present that I’ve ever gotten in my whole life.”
“Really?”
“Really. Thank you so much.”
I bent down to kiss her and immediately felt myself stir. It was hard not to feel excited about Kennedy. My hands began to trail up her leg, and then—
“Daddy?”
I froze at the sound of Trinity’s voice and turned around to see her standing at the door. Thankfully we’d had the duvet over us, so she hadn’t seen a thing.
“Trin, what’s wrong?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I thought I heard Kennedy leaving.”
“Look, Kennedy is still here. Maybe you just had a bad dream. Everything is fine my girl.”
“Trin, I’m here. Everything is fine. Do you want to sleep here for a little while?” Kennedy asked.
Trinity nodded. “Yes please.”
Kennedy whispered “I’m sorry” to me, but I shook my head to let her know that it was okay. The fact that Kennedy had put Trinity before anything else spoke volumes to me.
“I love you, Trin. I love you, Ken.”
“I love you too, Daddy. I love you, Kennedy.”
“And I love you, Trin,” Kennedy said. Then she looked at me. “And I love you, Reed.”
“And we love you, Merlot,” Trinity shouted, and we all burst out laughing.
Epilogue
Kennedy
Two years later
Two years ago, I’d sat at a banquet with Reed and Trinity, only to have our whole lives shattered by the arrival of his ex-wife. It seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened since then. It hadn’t taken long for me to move in with them. I stopped being the nanny and the cook shortly after and became a loving girlfriend and part of the family. I continued working for Camille but worked only during the hours that Trinity was at school. On the days when I had to work longer, we got someone in to help. As it turned out, I didn’t want to leave my job with Camille. It was perfect for me.
Only two weeks ago, Camille had asked me if I still wanted to own my own restaurant and I’d laughed at the idea.
“I forgot about that dream,” I said. “Wow, things have certainly changed. I actually don’t want to do that anymore.”
“Really?” she’d asked.
“Yeah. Really. I’m just happy working with you. I love my job.”
“Oh, that’s a relief,” she said.
“Cam, it’s been two years. Do you really think I would leave?”
“I wasn’t sure. I mean, there was a time when you really didn’t want to work with us. Remember that?”
I chuckled. “I remember. But I had no idea how much I would enjoy it. Anyway, starting my own business would be too much. I enjoy the freedom that this job gives me. I get to do what I love and still enjoy my time with Reed and Trinity. It’s a win-win.”
She smiled. “I’m glad. So, I hear we’re all going to a banquet for Reed’s work soon?” she asked.
“You’re coming too?”
“You didn’t know? Yeah. Reed invited myself and Mark.”
“That’s nice. He’s probably winning another award and wants to show off,” I said. “Although, he’ll never admit to it.”
She giggled. “That’s kind of sweet, isn’t it?” she said.
I smiled. “It is.”
Now, I was getting ready for the big day. I’d asked Reed if he was going to be winning anything, but he said he had no idea. I wasn’t so sure if I believed him because he had a huge grin on his face when he said it. Camille was right; it was sweet that he wanted everyone there.
Trinity had asked if she could do my hair for me, and she was now attempting to curl the bottom. Reed walked in and shook his head.
“What on earth is going on here?” he said.
“Oh, Trinity has turned into a hairdresser,” I said casually.
Trinity was eight years old now, with more confidence than ever before. She’d grown into such a happy little girl, and the two of us were closer now than we had ever been,
even at the beginning. We’d been through a lot together, and I often felt like we were kindred spirits. I may not have given birth to her, but she felt every bit like a daughter to me. She’d called me ‘mom’ once in her sleep, which I’d never forgotten.
Reed raised his eyebrows, and I could see that he thought she was not doing a very good job at it. I tried not to laugh at his expression. I could see that he didn’t want to hurt his daughter’s feelings. Instead, he just smiled and told me that I looked beautiful. When Trinity ran to her room to get ready, I quickly fixed up the messy parts. I had no idea how Trinity had managed to get my hair looking like I had just woken up. If that was what she was going for then she had done a sterling job.
“I didn’t want to embarrass you at the banquet,” I said as I curled the edges and tried to fix her mistakes.
“Are you kidding me? You could arrive in your pajamas and you still wouldn’t embarrass me.”
“Well, this dress is actually a bit on the uncomfortable side. And I have some beautiful new pajamas that I would love to wear today. You sure you don’t mind?” I asked.
“Uh . . . well . . . .”
I burst out laughing. I loved that he really believed I was going to do that to him. “I’m just kidding. I’m not going to change into pajamas. I love this dress.”
He looked relieved. “I think you look beautiful. But, I would’ve been okay with the pajamas, you know.”
Reed looked so nervous on the way to the banquet hall, and when I looked at him and asked him what was wrong, he just shrugged.
“I mean, they might call me up,” he said. “And I get nervous when I have to be up in front of people.”
“I knew it!” I said.
“You knew what?”
“I knew that you had won an award. No wonder you’re nervous. But don’t be. This is amazing news. Ah, my talented boyfriend,” I said and smiled at him. “I’m proud of you, Reed.”
“Thank you, Ken.”
But moments later, I noticed that we weren’t going the right way, and I frowned when we pulled up at my work.
“Huh? What are we doing here?” I asked.
“Oh, we’re picking up Camille,” he said. “She asked for a ride. Didn’t she tell you?”
“She didn’t. And you’re getting her from work instead of home,” I said and shook my head. “I swear, that girl works too hard. She’s always here, so I’m definitely not surprised. Are we waiting in the car?”
“I don’t see her. Let’s go inside and see what’s taking her so long. You’re right; she’s probably working. You’re going to have to drag her out of there. You and Trin can do that. She won’t listen to me.”
I laughed and climbed out the car. The building looked magical at night. Little lights dotted the outside, and the entire place was lit up. For a moment I just stood there staring up at it and taking it all in. It almost didn’t look real. It looked like something straight from a movie. Even Trinity sighed beside me.
“It’s so beautiful. I’ve never seen it at night,” she said in awe.
“Me neither. It’s wonderful. No wonder Camille likes to work here late at night. It’s gorgeous. Well, let me go and find Camille. She’s probably in her office.”
“I’ll wait here,” Reed said.
“Me too,” Trinity said, and I had a feeling that she just wanted to stand and look at the building some more.
I walked inside, peering into the darkness and calling out her name, but she was nowhere to be seen. I chuckled to myself. She was more than likely waiting at home to be picked up, and Reed had probably gotten the details wrong. The two of them were always getting their wires crossed. I did one last check, but she was definitely nowhere to be seen. I walked out to tell Reed, but he wasn’t where I had left him, and neither was Trinity. What was going on?
“Reed?” I called out. I looked toward the car, but it was also empty.
“Over here,” he said, and when I looked toward the sound of his voice, I saw some light in the distance.
I walked toward the light and inhaled deeply when I found them. Trinity and Reed were sitting on a picnic blanket surrounded by little candles in the shape of a heart. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, but I was still completely confused as to what was going on. Moments ago I thought we were on our way to the banquet hall.
“What . . . I don’t understand? The banquet . . . .”
Reed laughed. “There’s no banquet.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come join us in the heart,” Reed said.
I stepped over the candles and sat inside the heart with them. Trinity was grinning so broadly I thought her mouth was going to crack.
“What’s going on?” I asked them both.
“Trinity and I have been planning this for weeks,” Reed said. “She’s actually the one that helped put this whole thing together. I tell you what; she definitely has a future in event planning. She was brilliant. We wanted to surprise you.”
“Did we surprise you?” Trinity asked. She looked as if she might burst at any moment.
“I’m suitably surprised,” I said. I couldn’t believe that they had done all of this without me even suspecting a thing. I was usually so good at detecting when something was going on but they had not seemed suspicious at all. “So, there’s no banquet? I thought you were winning a prize?”
“I am. Well, hopefully,” he said.
“I don’t understand.”
“Kennedy, will you be my prize tonight?”
“Your prize?”
He grinned. “Will you marry me?” he asked.
I stared at him in shock as the words slowly started to filter into my brain.
“Really?” I asked.
He laughed. “Really.”
“Come on,” Trinity said. “You’re supposed to say ‘yes’ now.”
I laughed too. “Sorry, I’m just in shock. Yes! Of course, I’ll marry you!”
“Dad! The ring!” Trinity hissed. I had a feeling that she had the whole thing planned out for Reed. He was probably supposed to be following a certain set of rules that she had put together. I could imagine the two of them practicing at home when I wasn’t around, and the very thought of that warmed my heart.
“Oh, I forgot,” he said, and Trinity shook her head in dismay. He got out a little box from his jeans and opened it up. He took out the most beautiful little diamond ring that I had ever seen. It was so elegant and perfect and exactly the type of thing that I would’ve picked for myself. I had never been one for flashy jewelry, and this was something I could easily imagine wearing for the rest of my life.
He started to put it on me, but Trinity stopped him.
“Dad, you’re forgetting . . . .” she hissed.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “Sorry. Take a look at the ring,” he told me. “Look on the inside of the band.”
I held the ring to one of the candles for some light, and I giggled with delight when I saw what he had gotten engraved. Petunia and Peter forever.
“That is the best!” I said. I loved the fact that we shared a joke that only we would understand. He took the ring back and put it on my finger and then he kissed me.
“Sorry,” I said to Trinity who always hated it when she saw us kissing.
She laughed. “This time I don’t mind.”
“I love you, Kennedy.”
“I love you, Reed.”
We kissed again and then turned to Trinity, “And we love you, Trin.”
“Does this mean you’ll become my mom?” Trinity asked.
I grinned. “You better believe it. I told you that I would never leave you.”
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DIRTY BIKER
By Alycia Taylor
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Alycia Taylor
Chapter One
Ian
I could never understand why people worked in a job they didn’t like. Sure, they needed money. But when did their passions leave them? When did they stop working toward a career they actually enjoyed? I’d been told that I like my job too much, if there was such a thing. But how could I not? I got to play around with motorcycles all day. They’d been a part of my life since I was just a little kid, and my love for them had only gotten stronger as I’d gotten older. There was just something about knowing how it all worked that made riding them even better. I could clearly remember the first bike I worked on. My father had let me help in in the shop, and he’d told me that I had an aptitude for it that he’d never seen before. And I knew he wasn’t just saying that to me because I was his son. He was a no-bull sort of man, and when he said something, you always knew that he meant it. From that very first day, I knew that it was what I wanted to do with my life. And I’d been doing it from such a young age that it now came naturally to me.
I had my head under one of the bikes that had been dropped off yesterday morning when my father walked in.
I didn’t see him at first. If I had, I would’ve seen him survey the shop and shake his head in despair. Instead, I heard him cough and I turned my head to see who it was. I probably should’ve known that it was going to be him. He had a very distinct cough, and he was always popping into the shop to see how things were going. But I’d been concentrating too hard on the bike to really notice what was around me.
“Oh, hey, Dad,” I said and crawled out from under the bike. I stood up to shake his hand.
I got along well with my father, but he’d always demanded respect from his sons. My other brothers often didn’t show it to him, but I probably had just the right amount of fear to give it. He shook my hand firmly and frowned.
Dirty Daddy (A Single Dad Romance) (The Maxwell Family) Page 24