He would Have Been Proud
+ Points
Isha
I looked at myself in the mirror. I gotta say I look f*cking fantastic. Breastfeeding has really gotten me in shape, not to mention my four-mile walks and the weights that I got the okay to incorporate into my workout routine two months ago.
These last five and a half months the guys have been wonderful. For the first three months, they followed the doctor’s instructions to the T and a little extra. They were back to carrying me everywhere in the beginning, even from the bed to the bathroom. At first, I was okay with it because I was utterly exhausted, but after a month it got tedious, and I begged to be let down so I could walk. Luckily, they complied, but they still kept an arm around me or a hand on my lower back. I wasn’t going to complain too much though, they made me feel cherished.
Mic and Ford were masters at getting up with the babies and bringing them to me for feedings, while Dawson and Davis burped them afterward and changed diapers. They came up with a schedule so they could switch days for diaper duty. Ford was glad to clean up Seth, but he had a hard time with Rya. He said he felt like she was so delicate he was afraid he
was going to hurt her. That is until she was three months old, and her little kicking legs racked him in the balls. He didn’t
think his little princess was so delicate then. He finally changed her diaper and found that it was just as easy as it was
with Seth.
I loved watching Davis with the babies. He was so gentle with them. His big muscular body carried them in their carriers while he did other things around the house. He was always talking to them and doing tongue twisters. They loved to
watch his mouth.
I once asked why he talks to them so much. He said it was so they could hear the words and how they are supposed to
sound. For when they get older they won’t have such a hard time talking. He feels if his family had talked to him more he wouldn’t have had his stutter. My heart melted for this man more and more every day.
Mic always got on the ground with them. The day Seth rolled over for the first time, Mic was so excited. He shouted for
everyone to come watch him do it again. Seth smiled up at his dad while Mic was trying to coax him over. While he was
doing that, Rya rolled over, and it scared her, so she started to whimper. Dawson hated it when either of the kids cried, so
he swooped her up and praised her. He told her how smart she was and that he was so proud of her.
Rya crawled before Seth. Just last week, at five and a half months old, both of them were on their hands and knees
rocking back and forth. Mic and Ford were on the ground rocking with them and lifting their legs to show them what to do. I got everything on video to watch in the future. I loved watching all of them with the babies.
Rya lifted her leg and hand. The squeal that came out of Mic was not manly at all, but no one said anything as we were all fascinated by watching our little girl crawl for the first time. Davis and Dawson were sitting next to me. Dawson had his arm around the back of me while his hand played with Davis’ hair on his neck. Davis had his head on my shoulder. We
were all cheering her on. When she crawled two feet, Mic scooped her up.
“You’re so smart!” he declared, holding her tight and swinging her around. She squealed and giggled. Seth grunted, Ford was trying his hardest to coax him to crawl to him with a bright red block in his hand.
When it didn’t happen, Ford chuckled and leaned over to kiss Seth on the head. “That’s okay buddy, you’ll get it.” I smiled as he picked Seth up and he and Mic danced with the babies to a tune that Mic was humming. Three days later, Seth crawled for me while the guys were busy making dinner. I was sitting on the floor, my back to the couch, my legs spread, stacking and knocking over blocks with Rya. Seth watched us and got to his hands and knees and just came on over to play. I squealed, making both kids giggle. The guys came running into the living room looking around for danger. I chuckled. I told them Seth crawled. Ford looked betrayed, he had been working with him for days. He picked Seth up and nuzzled his neck. Seth dissolved into belly laughs. Ford made Seth crawl to him over and over and exclaimed that
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<He would Have Been Proud
Seth was the smartest boy ever.
We moved into our house. It was my dream home. Up on a hill looking over Denver from afar, with a little creek running on our property. I could picture the kids playing in it when they get older.
Mom and Nana moved into their homes just a week ago. Shay stayed at the old house. It was nice to be able to walk around naked without worrying about bumping into her. I did that a couple of times and embarrassed both of us, but I hated clothes while healing and I barely wore anything.
Today was my wedding day. I was having a moment to myself. James, Ava and Savvy were lining up to get ready to walk down the aisle with Mic, Ford and Davis. Mom and Nana were already seated. I smoothed my dress over my curves that I was loving. I had lost all the baby weight and then some. My breasts were still big, my hips were still there, but my ass, instead of being wide, was now a bubble butt that seemed to have tightened with all the working out I had done. My arms were toned, my legs looked phenomenal. My face, which was always a little pudgy to me, was leaner and I had a jawline.
My hair was up in a side bun with a deep red rose adorning it. I had soft curled tendrils framing my face. My make-up was light with a hint of bronze and a bold red lip. My dress fit me like a glove, long, white and lacey with long lace sleeves. The bodice had a plunging neckline with a small red rose at the bottom of the neckline to make the dress more tasteful than daring. My heels were the same bold red of the roses. My bouquet was white and blush lilies with white and blush
ribbons.
A knock on the door had me calling out for whoever to enter. Uncle Mark walked in beaming.
“My darling girl, you are stunning. Dawson and the guys are lucky to have you. They are going to swallow their tongues.”
I giggled, “Thank you Uncle Mark.”
“I have something for you. I’ve had this for a long time. It was your fathers.”
He opened a small box and inside was a gold cuff link that had my father’s initials on it in diamonds.
“I had the other one attached to a necklace for your mother. I am giving it to her on our anniversary along with a bracelet. According to her, he would have made me a part of them, so I thought it is an appropriate gift. But this one is for you. I had it made into a pin. We can pin it to your bouquet for now, and later you can wear it on whatever you dress in for the day.”
“Oh, Uncle Mark, this is so wonderful, thank you so much.”
“He would be so proud of you, and I know he would have liked the guys. I like the guys too. You are all perfect for each other. I love you, Isha. You are the daughter of my heart and always have been. Thank you for letting me walk you down
the aisle in place of your father.”
“Uncle Mark, you are as much a father to me as daddy was. I love you too.”
He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.
“Okay, time to get married. The music has started and Mic and Savvy are just now starting down the long aisle.”
I chuckled, James did go overboard with the wedding aisle.
We walked out, he held his arm out for me. He wasn’t wrong. Savvy and Mic had started down the aisle. I watched from around the corner as Ford took Ava’s arm and wrapped it around his. She looked fantastic too. Her body bounced back with mine since we worked out together a lot. She and Gemma were over all the time.
Davis and James were last. I giggled as they fought over who was taking whose arm until Davis grabbed James’ hand and held it firm.
Uncle Mark chuckled. We were next. I took a deep breath and then stepped out from under the awning with Uncle Mark
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He would Have Been Proud
towards my future husband. I was so ready for this.
Married
Dawson
I smiled as Willow and Axel pushed Seth and Rya in cute white strollers that had red, pink and white balloons attached to them. Willow was taking her role as flower girl/big cousin seriously and Axel was mimicking his sister. For every few feet, they stopped pushing and threw petals into the air that fell all over them and the ground, making people chuckle and awe at them. Seth was asleep, Rya was looking around at everything with wide eyes, drool dripping from her chin. They were both teething, something fierce. They were perfect.
Mic came down the aisle with Savvy, then next came Ford with Ava, and I chuckled as Davis and James started to walk. You could tell they were fighting for dominance over who was supposed to hold whose arm until Davis snatched James’ hand, and they started walking.
I looked at Savage and Rage. They didn’t like the hand holding. Both of their jaws were clenched. Those two surprised me. The way they were with James, so possessive and the amount of love they showed him made Isha happy. She loved that both of her best friends had an all-consuming love like her.
Just as Davis took his spot next to me, I looked up at my girl. She was exquisite. She glowed with health and happiness. She’s come such a long way in the past year. Her confidence is through the roof. She carries herself with pride. She has three published authors at her firm. Ava, Erica and Louise. Savvy is working on her homestead book with Mac and Jack, and should be ready soon.
I was so d*mn proud of her. I knew the guys were too. Their intake of breath told me they were just as affected by her beauty as I was.
“We are so lucky,” Davis whispered.
“That we are,” I whispered back. “Everything ready for tonight?”
“Yeah, the suite is booked at the Emerald, we’ll get her nice and ready for when you arrive. I love you for letting us do that and for bringing her into our lives.
“I love you too. All of you. I’m glad you all gave her a chance to be ours.”
“Me too. By the way, I bought three boxes of condoms. That’s all you get.”
I chuckled. That was more than enough. It sucked that we had to use them, but I wasn’t taking any chances with her getting pregnant. We still had a little over eighteen months before we could try for more babies.
Mark and Isha stopped before me. Mark shook my hand after handing Isha’s hand to me. I stared out at the crowd towards my family and the many branches of them. There were three hundred people on my land right now, two hundred of them I was related to. I saw the acceptance on most of their faces, the others knew to keep their mouths and opinions to themselves. They knew who fed them.
I looked at Isha and smiled. She was beaming. We turned to the reverend, who was a friend of my father’s, and he started the ceremony. I couldn’t stop looking at her. She took my breath away. We only had eyes for each other as we recited the words the reverend told us to recite. We exchanged rings and then Isha said she had something to say. “Dawson, you changed my life when you saved me from further humiliation the night we met. You took a complete stranger home and stayed with me until I was calm. I didn’t know how much you were going to affect my future then, but I am glad you invited me to the barbecue at your house and introduced me to your friends who I love just as much as I love you. You all are my everything. But you, Dawson, brought us all together. I promise to be the best wife to you. I promise to stand by your side and help you with life’s decisions. I promise to be faithful and loyal. I promise to love you until the end
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< Marned
Points
of time, to be the shoulder you can rest your head on when you are weary from carrying all the family and work struggles. I’ll be the best wife to you and the best mother for our children. I’ll be your comfort, your home, your everything. I love you with all my heart.”
I took a deep breath to keep from bursting into tears. She was my everything, my heart, my home.
“Isha, I didn’t know we were going to exchange words, but I’ll do my best to wing it.” Everyone chuckled.
“I have been looking for you for a long time. I wanted someone to complete my unit with the ones I was most closest with. We shared a life and I wanted us to share love. You brought us all closer, and you helped me open myself up in ways I didn’t think I could. But it was all for the better and we as a whole are better. You loved us unconditionally, and you showed me that it was okay to be vulnerable. I love you for accepting me. Thank you for everything. I promise to be faithful and loyal, to love you with everything I have. To be the best father to our children.” Cleared throats sounded behind me. She smiled wider and I chuckled.
“One of the best fathers to our children. I promise to be a husband you would be proud to call yours. I love you.”
I heard sniffles. I looked over and saw my mom, Nora and Ellie, all wiping their eyes with handkerchiefs given to them by their husbands. My dad, Mark, and Robert had tears in their eyes. I also saw that Seth had woken up. Both he and Rya were sucking down bottles filled with Isha’s breast milk. I was a lucky man.
The reverend declared us husband and wife and when he said I could kiss the bride, I dipped Isha back and laid one on her that had the bikers in the crowd hollering and cheering while everyone else politely clapped.
I brought her back up, and then passed her to Davis, who kissed her with just as much passion as did Ford and Mic. The LOC continuously cheered while some of the family sneered and looked away. They would learn, or they would be cut off.
I took Seth from my mom and Davis took Rya. I turned to the crowd.
“Let the party begin. I only ask that clothes stay on please,” I said as the LOC jeered.
“You have interesting friends,” my mom said.
“Yes, we do. But they saved my woman’s life when I couldn’t be here, and I will be forever grateful to them.”
“As will we all,” Nora said.
We took the kids to get some real food. I was starving, so I knew my husbands and wife were starving too. After dinner, Isha and I had our dance, and then she danced with Mark while I danced with my mother.
“You did well, Dawson. I don’t if I’ve told you lately, but we adore her. She has done well with her finance classes, she’s done well with learning the books, and everything she needed to learn from me this last year. She will do well when the time comes. She will continue her learning through the years, but nothing as vigorous as this last year was. The women’s
committee loves her also. When she takes over there will be no problems there.”
“I didn’t choose her for the family, mom. I chose her for us. I love Mic, Davis and Ford, but something was always missing for me. They had each other to comfort, to love, to be themselves with. I felt I always had to be on point. I couldn’t let them down, I couldn’t let anyone hurt them, or disrespect them. With Isha, I will make sure nothing of that sort happens either, but I can relax fully with her. She helps me breathe.”
“That’s lovely. That’s exactly how it should be with your soulmate. That’s how it is with your father for me. I have loved him since the first moment I saw him, even if in the beginning it took a minute, my soul knew. She’s wonderful. When the time comes for you two to try again for children, don’t pressure yourself. You’re still young. Don’t listen to any grumblings from the family. You have plenty of time. Enjoy each other. Seth and Rya will not be staying with the guys tonight, by the way. Their Nana, Lola, and I will be getting a room at The Ralston and having a girls’ night with our grandbabies. Their Papa’s will be having a guy’s night in, at our place.”
< Mamed
+8 Points)
I chuckled. Dad, Mark and Robert all wanted to be called Papa. So there were Papa P, Papa M and Papa R. Nora didn’t want to give up her Nana status for great grandmother. Ellie used her native language for grandmother and my mom was Glammy. She heard Ava call her mom that and loved it, and declared she would be Glammy too.
“That sounds like a plan. All their stuff is packed. Isha has two weeks of milk in the freezer here. We won’t be back for ten days. If you need anything that’s not important, call Ava and James.”
“We will dear, no need to worry. We got those babies. You, Isha and the boys have fun in Jamaica.
Getting Me Ready
Isha
I had just finished using the restroom when the lights went out. I heard murmurs of voices outside an open window and heard someone say ‘not to worry, just blew a fuse’. The reception was still going strong after three hours of partying. The LOC bikers were making a nuisance of themselves to Dawson’s family members that had Ava, James, Savvy and me cracking up. The stuffy branches of the Becks family really needed to lighten up. My babies were gone with my mom, Nana and Aria. I thought it was sweet they were doing a girls’ night with them. I am so glad Nana and Aria were able to
bury the hatchet and get along.
As I gingerly stepped into the bedroom, I thought I heard some rustling and then suddenly a hand clamped over my mouth. I struggled and squealed until a wet tongue caressed my neck to my ear and I froze.
“Shh, Princess, don’t want to alert anyone that we’re leaving. I’m just going to put this blindfold over your pretty eyes and unbutton all the tiny buttons on the back of your dress. Don’t make a sound, we have to be very quiet.”
I nodded. My heart rate slowing. I felt him put some fabric over my eyes and tie it behind my head. Then his deft fingers unbuttoned the row of buttons down my back. His fingertips grazed my skin. They made me shiver and goosebumps erupted on my skin. When he unbuttoned the last button, my dress slipped to the floor, and he lifted me out of it. I had on white thigh-high stalkings, a white strapless bra and a white thong. My shoes had slipped off when he lifted me.
His hand on my bottom squeezed and had us both groaning.
“I can’t wait to take this ass tonight,” he whispered.
He carried me out of the room, I was nervous someone would see us. I was practically naked. I could feel myself start to
shake with excitement. Where was he taking me?
