Page 51 of Pumpkin
Pumpkin shook his head, making a face. “Darrin’s my official chauffeur for the next several months. I gave him your number, and I’ll need to add his to your phone. He’s at your beck and call now too.”
Dosia glanced between Pumpkin and Darrin. “He is? Why?”
“I told you, being my ol’ lady comes with more perks than just protection. Part of a prospect’s job is to obey the ol’ ladies, so if you need something and I’m not able to do it, call Darrin. He’ll get it done.”
She still looked like he was joking. “Like what? If I need my lawn mowed?”
Pumpkin nodded and said evenly, “Sure.” Turning away, he instructed Darrin, “High chair goes in the kitchen and everything else can go in the living room. You can go once you set up the pack-n-play.”
Darrin blinked at him. “Are there instructions?”
Pumpkin just stared at the man. “Can’t be any more difficult than assembling an M4A1. Figure it out.”
Weighed down by all of SJ’s things, Darrin struggled his way into the living room, looking quite dejected. “I’d rather the rifle,” Pumpkin heard him mutter as he went.
Dosia quickly left to put the pizza in the kitchen and then came back into the foyer. From what Pumpkin could see, the living room was immediately to his left, a staircase was directly in front of him with a hallway leading to the back of the house, and the kitchen was to the right. It seemed like a good-size house, maybe four bedrooms.
She greeted SJ with a big smile, tickling his belly to get him to laugh before taking him from Pumpkin’s hold. As much as he hated to admit it, he was grateful. His son was a chunkster, and while it chafed that his small amount of weight made a difference, balancing with him was awkward at best.
“Where’s JJ?” Pumpkin asked, looking around. He hadn’t seen another cage in the driveway, so he assumed her family was out as she’d promised. They hadn’t taken JJ with them, had they?
“Up in her room. She knows we have guests coming over but not, uh,whoyou are. We hadn’t exactly discussed what we were going to say and I didn’t want to overstep,” she added with a slight blush. No doubt she was remembering what had kept them from having such an in-depth discussion.
Pumpkin stared directly at her. “Overstep,” he instructed. “I’m here to stay. She’s mine, and I don’t want another minute to go by where she doesn’t know that.”
Dosia swallowed, the blush on her cheeks intensifying. SJ was playing with her purple-tipped hair like it was a fascinating discovery, but Dosia’s caramel eyes were fixated on Pumpkin. After a moment, she nodded. “I’ll call her down then. Or,” she glanced behind her, “are you okay on stairs?”
Pumpkin grimaced. “I can do them, but it takes a lot out of me. If it’s okay, maybe save that for later? After dinner and some playtime, we can tuck the kids in and then have some Mommy and Daddy time.”
Dosia’s eyes went wide. “But… I mean, you agreed. You said you were fine with us not having sex.”
Pumpkin ignored Darrin’s obvious cough from the living room. “I did. Imeanttime when we can discuss without the kids what we’re doing moving forward as co-parents.” It hadn’t been what he meant at all, but he liked seeing her flustered. That blush was fucking adorable. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Dosia,” he mock-scolded.
Dosia covered her face with a hand. SJ reached up and covered her other cheek with both his hands. She shook her head, clearly not sure what to say.
Pumpkin chuckled. “SJ’s going to get hangry soon. Are you okay with calling her down so we can eat?”
He tried not to let his impatience, and nervousness, to finally meet his daughter show.
“Yeah, yeah,” Dosia said quickly. “Go take a seat in the living room. I’ll bring her down. You okay if I bring SJ with me?”
“Of course,” Pumpkin said honestly. He wanted SJ and Dosia to spend time together too. Pretty soon, he wouldn’t just bePumpkin’sson anymore. He’d betheirs.
The day SJ was born,Pumpkin thought his heart would burst. He never knew he could love another human being so entirely as when he’d been handed his newborn son. The sight of him, all mushy and gross, had literally taken Pumpkin’s breath away. In that moment, he understood every sacrifice his mother had made for him during his childhood, and knew he would do no less for his son.
In the impossibly long minutes that Dosia was upstairs getting JJ, Pumpkin sat on the couch. His leg was bouncing, giving away his nerves, but he couldn’t seem to make it stop. Darrin, being the smart prospect that he was, clearly noticed but kept his mouth shut. After setting up the pack-n-play, sans instructions, he delivered the high chair into the kitchen and then left out the front door.
Leaving Pumpkin entirely alone.
Finally, he heard footsteps descend the stairs. While he’d technically met JJ the day before, it wasn’t the same. Shock had clouded his judgement and actions.Thiswould forever be the first time he’d met his daughter.
Dosia rounded the corner with SJ still on her hip and holding JJ’s hand, and fuck, Pumpkin didn’t think his heart could take the sight. The knowledge that this washis familywas heady. His woman and their children.
He’d never felt so powerful and so weak as he did in that moment.
JJ was the spitting image of his mother. Just a three and a half foot version. She had the same hair color and facial features, but it was her eyes that truly reminded him of her.
Pumpkin took a shaky breath as he got to his feet. He’d moved the walker around the side of the couch, refusing to meet his daughter while using it. Not caring that his legs protested the move, Pumpkin knelt down on one knee in front of her. He was a big guy, and would only seem bigger to a five year old. Plus, he didn’t know what she remembered of him from the day before and didn’t want to cause her any strife. If he couldn’t get back up, so be it. He’d crawl into the kitchen for dinner.
