Page 90 of Their Perfect Daddy

I smile, thinking of how our mother gave us all these unique names. We used to play a game where we would punch the person whose name naturally came up in conversation. To this day, I’ve been ‘love tapped’ — as Dewey calls it — far too many times.

“Love you, Daisy,” I say. She replies in kind, then lets the call drop.

Time to tell my boys about the Stantons. Here’s to hoping this visit goes as well as the one with Monty’s parents and my siblings did.

It only takes two days for Mom and Tyreek to show up on our doorstep. Of course, she doesn’t call before she comes to get directions. With Rayne dropping the news, I’m sure he was forced to tell her exactly where to find us.

“Good morning, Mom,” I say as she pulls me into a tight hug.

“My baby! I’ve missed you so much.”

I pull back to look down at her, careful not to spill any of the coffee in the mug I’m holding. “You saw me not that long ago.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t miss you.”

Tyreek takes a moment to lean around Mom. “She’s very eager to get inside and start the introductions. Might want to speed up the process, bud.”

I chuckle at his teasing tone. “Come on in, you two. I’ve got some people for you to meet.”

Mom’s steps falter. “People? Who all is here?”

“Why don’t we just find out naturally, love? No need to hold an inquisition at the entry.” Tyreek puts his hand on Mom’s lower back, carefully guiding her to follow me.

The minute we enter the living room, her eyes light up. “Oh! Who are these handsome young men?”

Extending my hand, I motion for them to come over. “Mom, these are my partners. This curly haired cutie is Danny. The smirking handsome fellow is Monty.”

“Monty? Monty Tempest, is that you?”

My boy turns to face my stepfather, and his eyes damn near burst from his head. “Coach T? What the hell!”

The two of them embrace as if they're long-lost friends. I’m starting to suspect they might be.

Danny tugs on my sleeve. “Did I miss something?”

Mom chuckles at his obvious confusion. “Since he called my husband coach, I suspect at some point or another, Monty played t-ball. It’s the only thing this man loves as much as he loves me.”

“Ain’t that the truth, love,” Tyreek says as he wraps his arm around my mother.

“T-ball?” Danny asks. “Like little kid baseball.”

Monty comes back to us, his arm moving across Danny’s shoulder. “You got it. This man right here helped me realize I wasn’t meant for baseball at all. It was a few weeks later when I first picked up a football. The rest, as they say, is all history.”

“It still amazes me to this day to find out the whiny boy who fought me tooth and nail about the color of his bat at practice isnow a professional athlete. And apparently, he’s also dating my son.” Ty’s voice holds a note of curiosity as he turns to Danny. “I’m sorry to have been rude. I’m Tyreek, but please, call me Ty. Nice to meet you.”

“You too, sir. Sorry, I never played sports. Could have been cool if we both knew you.”

Ty laughs at Danny’s rushed words. “No need to feel bad. Means I don’t have any preconceived thoughts about anything. Why don’t we sit down, and you can tell us about you? Then maybe we’ll let Monty brag for a bit.”

My brat crossed his arms. “I do not brag.”

“Sure you don’t sweetie,” Mom says as she pats his cheek gently.

He beams a smile my way, which means he completely misses the wink she gives me. Danny, however, does not. He giggles at the exchange, then skips over to the couch. Neither of my parents bat an eye at how Little he acts.

While we had a conversation to not be overt about our dynamic, I refuse to let my boys think they can’t be themselves in our —I mean, Monty’s— home. We’ve been living together long enough, I’m starting to see it as ours.

I push away those thoughts as I settle into the seat beside my two boys. They hold hands and wait for some signal to begin.

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