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“In Iwish?”

“Mmhmm,” she started rubbing his head softly, hoping he’d fall asleep. It couldn’t be normal for such a young one to be up so early, could it?

“I do’n have no mom to make me peel special,” he whispered sadly.

Kissing his forehead lightly she told him, “One day, Jaxson, you’re going to have a mam so amazing your heart will burst with happiness and love. One day, she’ll give you hugs bigger than mountains and kisses sweeter than sugar.”

“I wiss you was my mom, pincess,” he whispered falling asleep and stealing her heart.

*****

“Daddy!” Darting upright in bed just in time to catch Jax as he jumped on him, Dom wasn’t sure whether to laugh or yell from being woken out of one of the best night’s sleep he’d had in years.

“What’s happening, bud?” he asked, voice thick with sleep.

“Pincess made panpakes,” he said excitedly.

“She did, did she?”

“Uh huh, and they hab bananas in them.” The excitement on his son’s face was contagious.

“Alright, let me take a leak and I’ll be down. Don’t let Uncle Casey eat them all!” he shouted as Jax ran from the room screaming in excitement.

Jaxson was the biggest surprise in his life. He’d never dreamed of having kids, but when Brooke dropped him on his doorstep—literally—he’d instantly fallen in love. Knowing without a shadow of a doubt, he would love and protect the boy with everything he had.

Nearly four years later, and Jax was thriving. He knew that Jax often wondered why his friends had a mom, and he didn’t. Thankfully, he hadn’t asked the hard questions yet. But he had a feeling with Deedee around they might start coming.

Finishing his business in the bathroom, he made his way downstairs to hear Jax talking about leprechauns and castles. “What’s this about castles?”

Dee jumped when she heard his voice. “Shit,” she mumbled.

“Pincess, you said a bad word.” Jax reprimanded her.

“Yes, a stór, I did but don’t you go repeating it.”

“A stór?” Dom asked her.

A blush crept up her cheeks as Jax answered. “It means my tweasure.” Pride shone from his chubby cheeks. He was clearly loving the fact she had a special nickname for him.

“That so?” he asked grabbing the coffee Deedee handed him. Black, the way he liked it. Raising an eyebrow in question, she smiled shyly.

Leaning down, he lightly grabbed her chin placing his lips on hers murmuring, “Thank you,” before kissing her lightly.

When he pulled away, she looked confused. “For what?”

Turning to see his son coloring happily at the table with a plate filled full of his banana pancakes and sliced apples, he told her simply, “That.” He pointed to his boy. “He’s happier than he has been in a long time, Deidre. You took the time to do things he likes. Not many women would. And that’s what makes you so extraordinary.”

“Oh. I didn’t really do anything, though. He said he was hungry. Only seemed fair I feed him.”

She really didn’t understand how much she had done. His son could be picky at the best of times and downright stubborn at the worst. He refused to eat apples unless they were sliced. Never before had he liked the idea of bananas or anything else in his pancakes, yet he was scarfing them down like a starving man.

“How did you get him to eat the pancakes?”

“I don’t understand. He asked for them; I told him I liked them with bananas,” she explained.

“And the apples?”

Confused about his line of questioning she told him, “It was how my mam gave them to me. Did I do something wrong, Dominic? I won’t cook for him anymore if you don’t like it.” She seemed stressed that she had somehow screwed up something so simple. Little did she know she was perfect.