“Are you going to close for me tonight? I pull my apron over my head.
Gabby, my amazing employee, stops sweeping to look up. “No problem, boss. I have it.”
I have three people working for me, all of them amazing in their own way. In addition to their love of baking, they are passionate about trying new recipes to see who can make the next best Dreamland dessert. Turns out my tres leches recipe was a hit and Rowan is already pushing me for more sweets.
He’s the reason I’ve been working later than usual this week. If it wasn’t for him asking me for a new Christmas recipe, I would have been the one picking Cami up from school. Instead, Cal has been the one taking care of her while I’ve been obsessing over what holiday gift she plans to present to Rowan this weekend when we go to visit family in Dreamland.
My phone rings in my hand. “Shit. Bye, Gaby!” “Where are you?” Cal asks when she answers.
“I’m on my way.” He flipped the switch on the neon sign before walking out the front door. The Sweets and Treats sign lights up above me.
It was the same name that my mom and I came up with one day while we were in the same place. I’m sure my mom would be proud to know that I finally achieved my dream of opening my own bakery.
“You’re still in the store, right?” Cal’s question brings me out of my thoughts.
“I’m leaving now, I swear!” I juggle my phone between my shoulder and my cheek as I search through my bag for my car keys.
Someone moans in the background. “What was that?” Asked.
“Television. See you soon. I love you. Bye.” He hangs up.
Hey. That was weird.
The stars are out by the time I pull into the driveway of our lake house. I expect to find Cami and Cal in the living room working on the new boat she bought, but the place is pitch black. I reach for the light switch near the sliding door, only to stop when something outside catches my eye.
The pier is lined with candle-lit glass lanterns that illuminate a path to the end.
“Oh Lord.” My hand shakes as I open the sliding door and step out onto the wraparound deck. I walk down the steps and across the huge lawn, straight into the shade at the end of the dock. The grass crunches under my feet, breaking the silence.
Cal looks over his shoulder. The moon shines above, illuminating her entire face. “Hey,” he shouts loud enough to be heard from a distance.
“What is this all about?” I say out loud. I think I have a good idea what’s going on, but only because Cal picked a terrible place to hide an engagement ring. I’ve been waiting weeks to see when he would ask the question. He even made fun of me twice, with him making a big deal about tying his shoe on two separate occasions.
I swear he knows that I know.
He turns to me. Something long and wide is cradled against his chest, but I can’t make it out from here. The spring creaks beneath my sneakers as I close the gap between us. My heart is beating so hard I fear it may break a rib as it tries to free itself from my chest. “What’s that?” I stop in front of him and point to the piece of wood in his hands.
He turns the piece of wood over.
My eyes open. No way.
“Is that…” I reach out with a trembling hand and trace the L carved into the wood next to the C.
“You didn’t think I’d actually let the construction crew throw it away,
TRUE?”
My tongue feels heavy. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I had big plans for him, and I didn’t want to risk you burning him or something.”
I look at him with teary eyes. “What kind of plans?”
“The forever type.” Cal holds the board in one palm as he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out… his Swiss army knife?!
“Cal…” I press my palm against my open mouth.
He kneels and rests the board on his thigh. The sharp blade shines as you press the tip under the L spine, just below my other strikes. “I dare you to spend the rest of your life with me.” She drags the tip of the knife down, making a continuous line. “I dare you to let me love and protect you, Cami and all the other children we have with all my heart.” He adds a second strike. “I dare you to take a chance on me, knowing that things won’t always be the easiest and that I will fight, even though I have every intention of being the man you will always deserve.” He adds a third bar. “I dare you to trust me to be your partner, your lover and your best friend. Let me be your biggest cheerleader and the shoulder you cry on when things get tough, trusting that I will be the one to dry your tears and fix what hurt you.” His fingers tighten around the knife as he draws the fourth cut.
“I dare you to marry me.”
Tears spill down my cheeks as he adds a diagonal line through the other four.
He places the board on the dock before taking a ring out of his pocket. She looks even better than I remember, the brilliant diamond shining brighter than the surface of the lake at noon. The jewelry is a tasteful size: large enough to spot from a great distance, but small enough not to risk being stolen.
It is absolutely perfect and everything I wanted for myself.
“What do you say, Lana?” He smiles. “Are you crazy enough to accept the challenge?”
My chin trembles. “As if she ever had the chance to say no to you.” I extend my hand.
Cal slides the ring onto my finger before standing and pulling me into his arms. I cradle his head in my hands and kiss him with every ounce of love and adoration I feel. His fingers dig into my hair, fusing our mouths and drawing a sigh from me.
Breaks up too soon. “I love you.”
“I love you too, always have and always will, as long as I live.” She steals another kiss from him before pulling away again. “She said she did!” she calls out to the darkness.
My mouth opens when people come out of their hiding places. The entire town, plus Cal’s family and my friends, step onto the grass and head towards us. Music comes out of the speakers and a party begins around our pool.
My eyes narrow at the man with a big smile on his face. “You were so sure I’d say yes, huh?”
He winks. “I caught you trying on the ring with the silliest smile on your face while you practiced your surprised face.”
Oh Lord. My cheeks get hot.
“Why didn’t you do anything before?” My eyes open.
“I had fun watching you get upset every time you thought I was about to propose.”
I hit his shoulder with a laugh.
He catches my hand in his and kisses my knuckle above the ring. “It was nice.”
“Cute? I probably looked crazy trying on that ring.” “No. You looked like mine.
My stomach sinks at the hungry look in his eyes.
“Mommy!” Cami runs down the dock, clutching her stuffed lamb to her chest. She lunges toward us, and Cal lifts her into her arms before wrapping the other around me.
I smile at them. Cal was right. There is no way I would say no to marriage because there is nothing I want more in life than to spend the rest of it with them.
Our family forever.
Very _July, Lana and I invited the family to join us at Lake Wisteria. Besides the holidays, it’s one of the few times we can get everyone together in the same place. Now that my siblings have their own families, life is busier.
Slowly, the Kane family has expanded. Rowan married Zahra shortly after Iris gave birth to baby Ilona and Declan became chief executive. It didn’t take long for Rowan and Zahra to have their first child, Ailey. The little girl is a riot, she resembles her mother in personality and her father in appearance.
Lana and I took a little longer to have a child. We both wanted a baby, but the process wasn’t the easiest. It tore me up inside watching my wife struggle with the loss of one and the continued disappointments each month after. There was nothing she could do to help, and she tested our relationship, along with my commitment to staying sober.
Without Wyatt, I’m not sure I would have been strong enough to resist the temptation to drink. He and Lana assured me he would have been, but who knows.
Sobriety really is a journey, but I wouldn’t want anyone else in the passenger seat other than Lana. With her by my side, I know I can overcome anything.
I’m glad I didn’t fall off the wagon, because then we had Esmeralda. Sweet baby Esme with her toothless smile, dark blue eyes
and full brown hair. Cami was beyond excited to have the little sister she always dreamed of, and Lana and I were happy to be a family of four forever, especially after the hardships we went through having Esme.
So imagine our surprise when just two months after Esme came into this world, Lana became pregnant again.
We traced the date of conception to our trip to Ireland when we visited the city where my grandfather was born. The odds of having Irish twins conceived in Ireland almost seemed too good to be true. Like a divine intervention of some kind. Or better yet, a Brady intervention.
Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past Brady Kane to make a deal with a higher power in the afterlife, making Lana’s dream of having a big family come true.
Lana places my birthday cake in front of me before leaning over my chair to whisper in my ear, “What do you want for this year?”
I shoot him a look. “As I would say.”
She smiles. Even after traveling the world and visiting the most beautiful places, nothing compares to Lana’s smile. It illuminates her entire face, making her skin glow and her eyes shine.
However, Esme could give Lana a run for her money. Our little girl doesn’t have teeth yet, but that only makes her smiles that much cuter.
Lana looks at me with narrowed eyes. “You’re wishing for a boy this time,
No?”
“Am I that predictable?” Asked.
“Yes,” Declan and Rowan respond at the same time.
I put my eye white. “I swear, I send a couple of pictures of little kids in hockey gear…”
“And guys hitting golf balls.” Rowan places Esme in Lana’s open arms.
“Don’t forget the kid driving a minibike.” Zahra buckles Ailey into her high chair. The girl applauds when she sees the cake.
I raise my hands in mock surrender. “It is not a crime to demonstrate.” “Girls can play hockey, hit golf balls, and ride dirt bikes too, you know?” Lana raises Esme’s tiny fist in the air for emphasis.
“Does that mean I can buy Cami a dirt bike for Christmas?” Rowan smiles like the instigator he loves to be.
“No ,” Lana and I respond at the same time.
He laughs as he begins to light the first of the thirty-eight candles. He grabbed the lit candle and helped her tackle the rest of the unlit candles while rocking Esme.
Ilona runs into the room with Iris hot on her heels. Based on the guava frosting that covers Ilona’s mouth and hands, it is Es
Safe to assume she’s already tried my birthday cake. A quick glance to the side confirms my suspicions.
“Sorry.” Iris shudders.
Don’t worry about that. “I always like to have my food checked for poison before I eat it.”
Lana loves us too much for that. Zahra smiles. Declan points at me. “You, on the other hand… questionable.”
Iris tries to wipe Ilona’s face with a cloth napkin, but she bolts in the opposite direction. Declan grabs her daughter before she can run out of the room and places her in her lap. Ilona shakes her head to resist, causing the beads at the ends of her braids to clatter, but Iris ignores her as she wipes the remaining icing from her face.
“I found it!” Cami runs into the dining room and places a crown on my head.
“Perfect. Just what I needed.” She placed a kiss on her cheek. She wrinkles her nose as she wipes her face. “Dad,” she whines. “Rough.”
Despite how many times I hear the name come from Cami’s mouth, my chest still tightens sometimes hearing it. Cami started calling me her dad a year after Lana and I got together and we never stopped. I hope she never does.
I tickle him. “I miss the days when you didn’t believe children had lice.”
“Yuck. Stay away from all the guys. They have flesh-eating bacteria that will make your skin fall off,” Declan says with a serious face.
One of these days I’m going to kill him.
Cami’s eyes widen. “That?” She wipes her cheek harder. I wrap an arm around her and pull her close to me. “He’s just kidding”.
“I am?” Declan wiggles his eyebrows at Cami, making her laugh. It’s strange to see my brother let his guard down around the kids. He makes it look human.
Lana laughs as she hands me Esme before taking a photo of me with the kids and my cake. Half of the candles are already melted, so Lana urges everyone to start singing her happy birthday song. My brothers can’t hold a tune to save their lives, but the girls save the day with their upbeat tone and sense of rhythm.
“Make a wish.” Cami smiles at me. I close my eyes and blow out the candles.
I wish a healthy baby and a healthy wife.
No matter how much I joke about having a kid, I don’t give a damn what the gender is, as long as Lana and the kid are safe.
Everyone applauds and shouts. Lana starts cutting the cake for everyone. “Psst.” Cami grabs my hand. “I want to show you something.”
I cast a glance at Lana as Iris grabs Esme from my arms. My wife only offers me a small smile before returning to her task.
“What’s up, kid?” I allow Cami to lead me out of the dining room. “I have a gift for you.”
“What is it?”
His eyes roll so hard I’m afraid they’ll get stuck in the back of his head. He laughs as he takes me to the kitchen and hands me a manila envelope. “What is this?”
“Open it.” She gestures towards the envelope.
There is a slight tremor in my hands as I pull out a sheet of paper. My vision blurs when I read the first line.
“Do you want me to adopt you?” I double check the adoption papers to be sure.
She nods, her eyes looking as cloudy as probably mine.
I get rid of the papers and lift her into my arms. She may be getting a little old for me to carry her, but I can’t help it. I still remember the days when she would beg me to do it. “Will you be my dad? True?” Cami blinks at me.
I repeat the same words I told you three years ago. “There is nothing I would like more.”
Lana comes out of the hallway where she was secretly recording everything while holding Esme. Tears run down her face, ruining her makeup. Shot of the three in a hug.
I thought I could never be happier than I was with Cami and Lana, but I was partially wrong. There is no way I can be happier than I am right now with the family I always dreamed of and the future I always wanted.
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