Page 14 of CurVy Baby

And that tree was scaringmy little girl.

So, I took the chainsaw to the thick, woody trunk and brought the entire fucker down while she watched through pink curtains with a strange expression on her face.

The following day, she asked if she could call me ‘Dad’ over the breakfast table as easy as you would say ‘pass the fruit loops.’ And I knew from that second on that I’d never be anything more than I am her dad.

The memory has my smile widening as I watch her—my princess—twirl in the sprinkler, her hair wet tendrils down her cheeks.

The backyard is unrecognisable from my youth—with the two-story cubby house I made for her, netted trampoline, gymnastics beams, poles, and mats—all new, all hers, except for the forest bordering the property.

That is still ours.

Ty’s, Vallie’s, and mine.

CHAPTER SEVEN

VALLIE

Stage Two: Resistance.

He fucked me all night—during—and in the morning, though, I wouldn’t call what Dexter does fucking. It’s not so violent or crass; it is… forming. Creating a dynamic between us that sets our bond apart from others.

I feel different with each brother.

I know this isn’t normal.

But so fucking what?

On the way home, the morning sun warming my right shoulder, I sit in the backseat with Dexter’s hand on my lap as the driver pulls up to the house. I love this house so much more than my little unit, which is now leased to another young woman.

This house is everything I want for my family. Huge, yet homey. Lots of land to run, build, change, destroy, grow, rebuild—live. And the forest… Where we run, fuck, and heal.

Nervous energy suddenly stirs inside my chest when I see Donnie sitting, waiting on the front steps, a cigarette pinched between his teeth, watching our arrival through a serious gaze.

My heart races, seeing him in his easy attire, hip hanging jeans and a black tee-shirt with one sleeve folded at his huge bicep, pocketing a lighter or packet of cigarettes. Like it’s the 1960s, and he’s Danny Zuko fromGrease… He never used to do that, but he doesn’t like leaving his lighter lying around because of Molly, so it ends up in his sleeve while he is smoking. It has only been a day, but we are never apart anymore, and my body literally hums to be held by him.

I do my TikTok’s at home. Donnie works in the spacious home office. Tyler parents Molly, drop-offs and pick-ups, dress-ups and arts and crafts. We are always together.

Donnie rises to his feet as the car stops.

Dexter squeezes my thigh. “Baby Girl?”

“I missed him,” I whisper honestly.

Dexter hums. “Go to him.”

Needing to show both brothers my feelings and send a soft message, I turn to Dexter, cup his smooth cheeks and kiss him.

His groan falls between my lips, working our mouths harder to the needy sound.

I taste him. Enjoy him. That smell, power, rich, calm. He starts to trail kisses across my jaw to my neck, confusing me momentarily with his attention.

I catch my breath as he showers me with kisses and affection. “Thank you for a wonderful night.”

He pulls from the skin on my neck. “And?”

“Thank you, Daddy, for finding me sexy.”

“It isn’t your decision.”

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