Lark nodded his head and said, “If only the other grandparents thought that way.”
I hit him in the stomach and said, “Stop it.”
We all headed back to the beach house, where we said our good-byes to Joyce and Peter and began loading up the new Toyota Sequoia we had bought.
“How many kids are we planning on having again? “ I said as Lark helped me into the passenger seat. He shrugged and said, “I would think no more than two.”
I nodded my head. “So tell me why we needed this tank?”
He looked at me like I was stupid as he answered, “It’s safe.” He shut the door and made his way to the driver’s side. For the next thirty minutes I had to hear all about the safety features of our new car…again. I finally put my head back and slowly drifted off to sleep.
One Month Later
My eyes snapped open when I heard Akayla start crying. I went to get up, but Lark reached for my arm and pulled me back. He leaned over and kissed me as he whispered, “Rest, mi amor. I’ve got this.”
I fell back and let out a sigh. “Thank you.” Lark had been so amazing with the baby. She was almost a week old and the apple of his eye. I giggled as I thought about Scott and Jessie coming over and Lark not wanting to give Akayla to Scott. I’d never seen Scott look so mad in my life.
I closed my eyes and attempted to go back to sleep, but I could hear Lark talking to the baby. I got out of bed and quietly made my way to the kitchen. I stopped around the corner and listened to him talking to her.
“There are so many things I’m going to teach you. One is how to shoot a gun.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled as I shook my head.
“Then I’m going to teach you how to hunt. Your mommy will have to teach you how to cook it all though, ‘cause daddy is no good at that kind of stuff.”
He got quiet and I peeked around the corner. He was walking while he fed her, and he had stopped to look at a picture. The picture was of he and I when we first started building this house.
“I have so many wishes for you my sweet little angel, but one of my biggest wishes is that you find a love like your mommy and daddy share. I love her so much and sometimes I’ll watch her, and she doesn’t know I’m watching her, and my heart just overflows with love. I mean it just pours over. She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. Every morning when she wakes up and smiles at me I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
I put my hand up to my mouth and tried to hold back my tears.
“I want that kind of love for you. Now I know that no man could ever possibly love you as much as I do. And we will have to make it known to all boys who even have an interest in you that I’m a trained killer. And a damn good shot.”
I giggled and shook my head.
“Akayla, my sweet little angel. I never thought I would be able to love someone like I love your mother. And when I let her into my heart I couldn’t imagine there would be room for another until your mommy showed me her pregnancy test and told me I was going to be a daddy. I didn’t even have to see or hear you to know that I loved you so much.”
When I heard his voice crack I walked into the living room and he turned to look at me. I could never sneak up on him. I wasn’t sure if it was his military or CIA training or if he just felt my presence when I walked into a room, but sneaking up on him was nearly impossible.
I walked up to him and looked down at our baby. I kissed her on the forehead and then kissed him.
“I love you, Lark. I love you so much.”
His eyes filled with tears and it was the second time since I’d known him that I saw a tear slip from his eyes. I reached up and wiped it away.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“For what?” I asked.
“For loving me. Believing in me and standing by me, and every crazy idea I’ve had and you’ve supported. Thank you for this beautiful and precious gift in my arms.”
I ran my finger along her cheek and said, “You had a hand in that last one.”
He chuckled and looked down at our daughter who stopped drinking and stared into his eyes. The way they were looking at each other caused a shiver to run through my body.
“I’m going to make the same promise to you that I made your mommy. I promise to always protect you and love you.”
He pulled his eyes away from Akayla and looked me in the eyes as another tear traveled down his cheek and he whispered, “Unconditionally.”