Protecting His Forever

by Ashers, LeAnn

  Her little eyes light up again and she points to the purple gown.

  “Good choice.” I give her a wink and head to the bathtub. Pulling back the curtains, I run her bath. I can feel her watching me.

  Turning around, I tell her, “Come here, sweetheart.”

  She slowly walks toward me, and I take her little hand. “I promise you that everything will be okay. Okay?” Smiling at her, she stares at me confused. Pulling her dirty clothes off her, dirt hits the floor as the shirt hits the ground.

  A brown and yellow bruise streaks across her belly up to her ribs. It happened a while ago. Anger sweeps through me. Composing myself, I lift her into the tub. Pulling some bath paint out of the cabinet, I help her paint the tub—she draws little swirls.

  After getting her bathed, she grabs her doll and we walk downstairs. She lets go of my hand and heads straight for Kane. She lifts her arms up, and he instantly picks her up. He sits on the couch with her, and I move to cuddle up to his other side.

  “Look at her belly,” I whisper into his ear.

  “Can I see your tummy, angel?” He smiles at her. She nods her little head and moves so he can pull up the gown.

  His eyes are instantly full of anger. The kind of anger that’s ready to detonate. I feel the same way. I want to hurt the person who did this ten times worse. What could a child have done to deserve something like this? Nothing. No child ever deserves this no matter what they do.

  Tucking my head against Kane’s shoulder, he wraps his arms around us both. It doesn’t take long before she falls asleep. Sitting up, Kane gets up and carries her to bed. Following behind him, I watch from the doorway as he lifts the child bar and tucks the blanket around her.

  Walking into our bedroom, I take off my clothes as I go. His hand goes to my hips, turning me around. He gently lays me down onto the bed. Our eyes show the same emotion: we need this. He covers his body with mine as he slowly makes love to me, our eyes never leaving each other.

  ~*~

  Screaming wakes me up from a deep sleep. Shooting up in bed, I look around frantically. Throwing the blanket back, I rush off the bed, but Kane is ahead of me. Following behind him, we run into Arabella's bedroom and find she isn’t there. Another piercing scream comes from the closet. With three long strides, he’s at the closet and all but rips the door from its hinges.

  Arabella is curled up into a little ball on the floor. Her eyes are closed tight and little droplets of tears trickle down her cheeks. Kane lifts her into his arms, startling her, but once she realizes he has her, she rests her head on his shoulder.

  Kane cradles her to his chest as she wraps her little arms around his neck. “Shhh, baby girl. I got you. No one is ever going to bother you again. I will make sure of that. You’re safe here.” He sways side to side.

  He walks into our bedroom with her curled into his chest. Gently, he lays down on the bed with her. Crawling up beside him, I wrap my arms around her too.

  “Fank you.”

  I look up at Kane shocked. This is the third time she has talked today. It’s a small feat, but it gives us something. Hope.

  “Nothing to thank, love bug.” I kiss the top of her head and lie down.

  Kane lies still with her on his chest.

  ~*~

  I wake up to something poking my nose. Cracking my tired eyes open, I see wild blonde hair and large blue eyes staring at me.

  “Hey, baby girl,” I whisper softly. Kane is still asleep.

  “Hi,” she says sheepishly.

  Smiling at her, I ask in a hushed voice, “You hungry?”

  Her little head nods up and down. Sitting up, I slide off the bed. Standing next to it, I raise my hands to see if she wants me to carry her. She lifts her arms. I pick her up and settle her on my hip as she lays her head on my shoulder sleepily.

  Kissing the top of her head, we head downstairs. I gather all the ingredients for pancakes while she sits at the breakfast bar. I give her a spoon so she can help me stir. I always loved to help my mother in the kitchen.

  “Want to stir, sweetheart?”

  She looks at me confused. Taking her little hand, I place the spoon in her fingers. Moving her hand, I show her how. Her nose scrunches as she concentrates on stirring.

  Thirty minutes later she is fed and Kane’s breakfast is in the oven keeping warm. He must have been really tired because he is always up before me. Scratch that, he’s coming down the stairs now—shirtless.

  Clamping my legs together, I try to stop the ache. I crave him like my next breath. Butterflies swarm my belly as he comes straight for me. Standing up on my tiptoes, I wrap my arms around his neck. He picks me up off the ground and gives me a deep kiss that has my toes curling.

  “Good morning, baby.” He gives me another kiss on the forehead and goes over to Arabella. He gives her a kiss of the top of the head. She smiles a little and it’s absolutely beautiful. “Good morning, baby girl.”

  “Kane, go sit down, and I’ll bring your breakfast.” He gives me that crooked grin and sits down beside Arabella.

  Taking his food to him, I go to Arabella. “You want to go play with your toys?” Her eyes light up, and I lead her upstairs to her bedroom.

  “l will be right downstairs. I will be back soon to check on you.” She goes straight for the dolls laying by her bed.

  Walking back downstairs, Kane is sitting at the table still eating. Sitting down beside him, I ask, “What do we do now, Kane?” I have no clue. Of course I have been around little kids, but I know nothing about her. She has seen so much in her short life.

  “I have no clue, sweetheart.” He sighs and leans back in his seat.

  So the rest of the day we just spend time together. Getting to know her and letting her get to know us. She is slowly coming out of her shell little by little. She’s still very skittish and watches our every move.

  “Arabella, want to see the horses?” She looks up at Kane with so much excitement and even lifts her arms up so he can pick her up. He grabs his shoes and then hands me hers. I slip hers on her feet before he opens the door and heads to the barn.

  “Sydney, let’s take her on a ride,” he yells over his shoulder, and I grab my shoes excitedly. I love horseback riding. I practically run to the barn. Kane is standing by a beautiful bay horse that Arabella is petting on its nose as she stares at it in amazement.

  “Take her, and I’ll go grab your horse.”

  Giving him a nod, I turn to Arabella who is now staring at me. “How do you like the horse, sweetheart?”

  “Wuv it!” she says, smiling. Kissing her head, I squeeze her to me. Horse hooves hit the concrete and this horse is a Palomino.

  Kane takes Arabella from me and sets her on his horse. I go to the Palomino and hop on. Kane gets on the horse behind Arabella who’s grinning from ear to ear.

  “You ready to go, baby girl?”

  ~*~

  We ride for hours before we let the horses take a break. Arabella and I walk off into the field. She looks sad and looks off in the distance.

  “What’s the matter, sweetheart?” I bend down beside her.

  “I miss momma.” She hangs her head down.

  “Oh I know, baby. Your momma is in heaven. She’s always with you in here.” I touch her heart before pushing her hair behind her ear.

  “She wants me to be sad. She huwt me.” Tears roll down her face.

  Taking her in my arms, I tell her, “I’m so sorry, baby. I promise to never ever hurt you.” Leaning up, I wipe away all her tears. Her bottom lip trembles.

  Taking her hand, I lead her back to Kane. This is the beginning for us. This curve ball changes our lives forever. I’m glad that Arabella came into our lives, and I know Kane feels the same way.

  Chapter Twelve

  Two months later

  Two months have passed since we got Arabella. We have had our ups and downs. I fall more in love with Kane every single day watching him be a father to that little girl.

  Arabella is the sweetest
little girl. She isn’t afraid of us anymore. The scars of what happened to her before she got here will always be there and that kills me. Every single day I try to replace those bad memories with good ones.

  “You ready to go, darlin’?”

  Turning around, I see Kane leaning against the door frame. Giving him a shy smile, I nod. I still get nervous around him like we just went on our first date. He comes and grabs the cooler which is full of food to take it outside to his truck. I go to the living room. Arabella is sitting on the floor combing her doll's hair.

  “You ready to go, sweetheart?”

  She looks up and gives me a smile before standing up. Walking over to me she takes my hand. Leading her to the door, I put her shoes on.

  “We meeting your momma?”

  Looking up at her she is staring at me nervously.

  “Yes, my momma.” I tweak her nose which causes her to giggle.

  “Will you be my momma?” Arabella places her little hand on my cheek.

  The oxygen is sucked out of me. Blinking rapidly, I try to keep the tears at bay.

  “I want nothing more, lady bug.”

  “Otay, Momma,” she whispers and lays her head on my shoulder.

  I love this girl as much as a mother can love her child. No, she is my child. My baby. She changed everything when she came into my life.

  She pulls back to look at me before asking, “What ‘bout Kaney?”

  “Go ask him about that, sweetheart.” Kissing her forehead, she starts squirming in my arms wanting down. As soon as her feet touch the ground she takes off outside to Kane.

  Kane

  Turning around I see my baby girl standing beside me. She takes my hand and pulls me down so I’m eye level with her. She shuffles her feet nervously.

  “What's the matter, baby girl?” I tip her chin so she is looking directly at me.

  “Will you be my daddy?”

  My heart stops. I want nothing more than to be her father. To be the person who will protect her from the world, to love her fiercely and unconditionally. To do anything for her. I want to be the man to walk her down the aisle when she gets married. If that ever happens—no one will be good enough for my baby girl. The person that she comes to when she’s sad, the person who holds her hand when she’s afraid to take that next step in life. The person she looks up to. This little girl came into my life and flipped it’s on its head just like Sydney.

  “There is nothing more in this world that I would rather be.” I pull her to me and give her a kiss on the forehead.

  “Wuv you, Daddy.”

  Emotions overcome me. Coughing to get the knot out of my throat, I say, “I love you too, baby girl.”

  Hearing sniffling from beside us, I look over to see Syd crying. Her tears break me every fucking time.

  “Come here, sweetheart.”

  She walks over and cuddles up to my other side. My girls. My world.

  Sydney

  I watch as Kane holds Arabella to him. His eyes close and his arms flexed around her protectively. She is so small compared to him. I start to cry at the overflowing emotion I feel. Kane looks up and motions for me to join them. Cuddling up to his other side, Kane hugs us both tightly to us.

  “Okay, we have to go.” I pull back.

  Standing up, I take Arabella’s hand to help her up. Kane leans down to give me a quick kiss. Even that little kiss leaves me breathless. He picks Arabella up and takes her to the truck to buckle her in her car seat.

  He gets in and takes my hand. Smiling, I look at the window as we drive past fields of horses. The whole gang is there at the park waiting to meet Arabella. She has had a really rough time starting out with us and we didn’t want to overwhelm her right away, so we kept her away from everyone. I think she’s ready. It’s been two months.

  Pulling up at the park, I look back at Arabella who’s staring out the window. I really hope she will be okay. My family is waiting at a picnic table. Letting out a deep breath, I unbuckle my seat belt.

  “She’ll be fine,” Kane says then gives me a quick kiss on the forehead. Opening his door, he walks over to mine, lifts me down, and then opens Arabella’s door. She smiles shyly at Kane as he unbuckles her and lifts her out of the truck. He puts her down and takes my hand and hers in his other hand.

  Turning around, I see my family is waiting anxiously for us. My mom has her hand over her mouth. Dave has his arm around her. Ethan, Brae, Chase, and Jessica don’t take their eyes off her. Arabella has Kane’s eyes and hair color. Looking at Arabella, I see that she has stiffened up with her thumb in her mouth. She’s scared. She sticks her thumb into her mouth as a nervous habit.

  “She’s scared,” I tell Kane. He nods and picks her up off the ground. She hides her head in his neck. He closes his eyes with a clenched jaw. We both hate that she’s so scared of everything. She’s not scared of Kane or me anymore, but things around her frighten her. Something loud on the TV has her hiding in her closet. She hides food under her bed. I noticed this when I smelled something rotting.

  Kane and I continue walking to our family. Nobody says a word. He kisses Arabella’s head before whispering something to her. I can see her nod slightly. Then she looks up at everyone.

  My mother sucks in a sharp breath. Arabella sticks her thumb back into her mouth, her eyes shooting to everyone sitting in front of her. Holding my breath, I wait to see what happens next. Once she looks at my mother she stops and then she looks at me.

  “Dat your momma?” She points at my mom.

  “Yes, baby, she is.” I smile at her.

  She lifts her hand and barely waves her hand at everyone then ducks her head, embarrassed. She’s too stinking cute.

  “Let’s eat, everyone,” my mom announces and Kane gets up to get the cooler out of the truck. I try to help Mom put food out, but it’s not an easy task with Arabella hiding her head against my chest.

  Bending down, I whisper into her ear, “Baby, these people love you and have been waiting to meet you for a long time. Especially my mom. They’re not going to hurt you.” I kiss her temple and raise back up.

  Kane sets the food down beside us and begins lifting out the dishes I made. Noticing Kane is back, Arabella sits up so she is sitting up in my lap.

  Kane has a way of making her feel safe no matter what. When she is scared, she gravitates to him. Arabella is used to people not being nice to her and thinks it’s going to happen all the time. Her little body shakes. It breaks my heart. I want nothing more than to take away her pain. One day she will be unafraid.

  Kane grabs a plate and fills it up for Arabella who is now openly looking at everyone. Shifting her, I move so I can place her plate in her lap.

  Turning to Kane, I ask, “Can you grab her cup?” He nods and hands it to me.

  Arabella’s already eating her food. She used to shove everything she possibly could into her mouth too fast and she would get sick. It kills me knowing that this little girl went hungry. I can’t imagine what she has been through, what she’s seen, or had to endure. The image of the bruise across her belly has me gritting my teeth angrily.

  Looking up, I catch Ethan kissing the top of Braelyn’s head. My eyes widen, and I look between the both of them.

  “When did this happen?” I voice my thoughts.

  Braelyn blushes and turns to Ethan shyly before answering, “It just happened. I couldn’t fight it.” She shrugs her shoulders and smiles.

  “That’s a beautiful story, you guys.” Jessica fakes sniffles and drastically wipes under her eyes.

  Rolling my eyes, I look at Jessica who is now grinning evilly. Chase chuckles and winks at her. She immediately quits smiling. Uh oh.

  “Oh hush, Jessica. Don’t get me started on the fire down yonda!” Braelyn screeches at Jessica. Sucking in my lips, I try to control my laughter.

  “If you say one more word, Braelyn, I will tell all your secrets. Including the specific dream.” She grins wickedly and winks at Ethan.

  Ethan gives Braelyn a
saucy grin. “Do tell, Braelyn.”

  Her eyes widen and she looks like she is about to bolt.

  “That’s enough.” My mom gives them her motherly glare. “Let’s eat.” Everyone grabs a plate and chows down.

  After everyone eats, my mom turns to Arabella. “Would you like to go play?” She points at the playground.

  Arabella sticks her thumb into her mouth. She looks up at me. Smiling, I nod my head, encouraging her. She pushes off my lap and slowly walks to my mom.

  My mom takes her hand and leads her over to the playground. Nervously, I watch her reaction, ready to run to her at any second.

  Hearing sobbing, I see Jessica lying on her side on the blanket crying. Her pregnancy hormones are all over the place.

  Moving over to her, I place my hand on her shoulder.

  “What’s the matter, Jessica?” I rub her shoulder soothingly.

  “Seeing you with your child… it’s beautiful. I’m also sexually frustrated.” She covers her face with her hands. Brae rubs her head.

  Looking over my shoulder to see Chase running over.

  Nudging Brae, I nod toward Chase. She smiles and ducks her head to hide it.

  Chase gets on his knees in front of her and pulls her up to a sitting position. He takes her hand away from her face and holds it in his hand. “Are you okay, love?”

  She nods quickly.

  “Then why are you crying?” He wipes away her tears.

  “She’s horny,” Brae blurts out. My eyes go wide at Brae who is smirking at Jessica.

  “Thank you for that, Braelyn. I was about to tell him that myself. Yes, I’m sexually frustrated.” She blushes deeply. She can blush?

  I look back at Chase, and he’s grinning. Biting my lip, I try to contain my smile. “Honey, I’m sure your man is at home dying for you to come to take care of that.”

  Jessica’s face whitens and her hands are visibly shaking. Taking her hand in mine, I ask, “What's the matter?”