Page 56 of My Orc Nanny

My younger brothers, Simbel and Memnon. They’d each found theirforeversearlier this spring, which seemed amazing to me. Easygoing Simbel had found Marissa and her teenaged son, Patrick, while Memnon’s Mate was Maya, more suited to his quiet nature.

And of course, Akhmim, who’d only just recently convinced his Mate that they were destined to be together. His Rosemary had been Ben’s teacher last year, but I didn’t make the connection until they arrived here at our ceremony.

Yes, it was certainly special to have so many people here sharing our day with us…but truthfully, I couldn’t wait for them to all go home.

Eventually, they did, and I was left with my family. Hannah and my kitlings.Divide and conquerwas the plan, so after I twirled Tova around and told her she was the most beautiful flower girl in the world—despite not knowing what aflower girlwas—Hannah took her off to brush her teeth and get ready for bed, leaving me with Joshua.

The little one was tired, I knew, but he babbled nonstop. My mind was already on what Hannah calledthe wedding night, so I’ll admit I merely hummed and “uh-huh’d” when it seemed appropriate. Then, as I laid Joshua in the bed and tucked Mr. BunBun beside him, he grabbed my finger.

“You give night-night tiss?”

“Of course, buddy.” I bent down and brushed my lips and nose through his soft, sweet-smelling hair. His scent was as much a part of me as his mother’s. “Good night, Joshy. I love you.”

The toddler thrust his lovey at me. “Give BunBun night-night tiss!” he demanded.

Hiding my smile, I smacked my lips over the stuffed animal. “Goodnight, Mr. BunBun. I love you.”

Satisfied, Joshua rolled to the side, taking his lovey with him. Eyes closing, he announced, “Night-night, Daddy. Wuv you.”

Daddy.

I don’t know how long I stood there, staring down at him, stunned. When I finally shook myself enough to turn away, it was to see my Mate standing in the door, a soft smile on her lips. I went to her, taking her hand.

“He called me Daddy,” I whispered.

“I heard.” Her smile grew. “He knows he’s safe with you.”

I glanced back at the toddler bed. “I wonder where he got the idea.”

Ben didn’t have to clear his throat for me to know he’d stepped out of his room; he was as much a part of me as the rest of the family, and I whipped my head around to check on him.

His bashful smile told me he wanted to speak to us.

At Hannah’s insistence, we’d found him a counselor on the mainland, someone with whom he could speak each week. Travis’s attempted kidnapping, and the fear we’d all felt, was slowly fading, and each day, I helped remind him how to be a kid again. Hannah’s ex-husband was back in jail in Nashville, and although she would have to travel there soon to testify against him, her lawyer was confident none of us would be seeing Travis again any time soon.

There would always be dangers to my family, but now they knew we were stronger together. I was strongforthem.

“Thanks for standing beside us today, Benny,” Hannah was saying, reaching her free hand to our son.

Still blushing, he joined us, taking her hand but staring up at me.

“Um…I was the one who told Joshy he could call you that. Tova wants to call you Dad too, since she thinks whatever orcish word her friend Emmy uses is too hard.”

Stunned, I could only nod. I wasn’t sure if I was agreeing with the complexity of orcish titles, or that she should call meDad.

Ben’s gaze dropped to his bare feet. “I, uh…I thought maybe, if it made things easier, maybe I should call you Dad too? I mean, so Tova and Joshy don’t get confused.”

Hannah had made a little noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from this remarkable kitling I’d been entrusted with.My son.

My hand went to his shoulder, and I rasped, “Benjamin.” I waited until his gaze had dragged, uncertain, to mine, before I swallowed and tried to find the words to continue. “I…I am beyond honored to be your stepfather. I am proud of the way you care about your siblings and their comfort, and the remarkable person you are becoming.” I had to swallow again, because his teary-eyed gaze was becoming blurry as my own eyes watered. “I will feel that way, even if you call me by my name for the rest of our lives.”

“You told me…” The boy dashed at his eyes, then mulishly set his chin and met my gaze. “You told me orcs choose new names when they, like, get to new parts of their lives, right? Well, this is a new part of your life.”

I understood what he was saying. “I am Mated now, and my Mate has the right to give me whatever name she deems appropriate.”

Hannah’s arm slid around my waist. “I think I’m going to call youlove. The rest of the world can call you Aswan. And the children…”

The boy’s jaw hardened in challenge. “We’re going to call youDad.”

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