Page 69 of Falling for Autumn
We had been watching movies all evening. She climbed off the couch and took my hand.
It was funny how, at five years old, she often got comments about how much she looked like me. I bounced one-month-old Roux in my arms as I climbed the steps of our four-bedroom home.
“Daddy, I wanna sleep with Roux,” Auburn whined, rubbing her eyes.
“You can’t sleep in the bed with Roux, but how about you sleep on the beanbag?” I suggested.
“Okay.”
We had an oversized beanbag chair that we kept in Roux’s nursery. We stopped in Auburn’s room first. I waited while she grabbed her favorite blanket and pillow. We headed to my son’s nursery, and I placed him in his bed and covered him.
He stirred just a little, and I patted him back to sleep. Turning around, I watched my pretty princess drag the stepstool to the beanbag chair and climb onto it. She was growing up so quickly, and she had such an independent spirit like her mother.
Once she was on the beanbag chair, I grabbed the pillow and repositioned it underneath her head. I then covered her.
“Daddy, can you read to me, please?”
“Sure, baby. What do you want to read?”
“Please, Baby, Please.”
I grabbed the book by Spike and Tonya Lewis Lee from the bookshelf before I grabbed the rocker and pulled it across the room closer to her. Before I started reading, I pulled out my phone and sent a text message.
ME:I’m ready. It’s unlocked.
SIL:Okay. Getting out of the car now.
I turnedmy attention back to the book and started reading. No sooner than I passed the first two pages, Auburn’s head had tilted to the side, and she was snoring softly.
I ran my hand across her beautiful, long auburn curls and kissed her forehead. I then moved to the other side of the room and leaned into the crib. I pressed a kiss to Roux’s chubby cheek and inhaled his powdery scent before I returned the book to the bookshelf.
“I was just coming to find you,” Autumn stated as she walked down the hall toward me.
“Auburn’s sleeping in the nursery tonight. She wanted me to read to her.”
“She’s such a good big sister. She loves watching over and protecting her baby brother,” Autumn professed as she leaned against the doorjamb to watch our children.
“She does. She has that same love for family that her mama has.”
“And her father,” she whispered.
“Yeah.”
“Baby, you have come a long way from when I first met you. The fact that you agreed to attend counseling with your dad and sister speaks volumes about the love that you have for your family. You love them so much, and anyone can see that.”
“I do,” I admitted.
There had not been nor would there be any reconciliation between Kevin and me. My family had started opening up and reaching out to me again. Apparently, Kevin had told them the truth about what happened. It was part of his twelve-step program. I was cool on all that though. They weren’t there for me when I was down, and I didn’t need them to be now that I was up again. I didn’t need fake people in my life. I had learned that family isn’t always the one you were born into. I had built a family with my woman, kids, and the workers at my shop. It conveniently included my father, sister, and cousin.
“But you’re being cautious, which is okay and expected.”
I wrapped her in my arms and kissed the top of her head. “Are you ready to go live?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said softly.
“All right. Go ahead and get ready. I’m going to go set up.”
“Okay,” she replied sleepily.
