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Chapter Sixteen

S lice dished up the chicken nuggets, french fries, and cut-up apple for the boys. Faith had a teacher meeting tonight, and Slice had picked LB up from daycare. The boys had finished the little bit of homework they had and played for a bit.

Since making Faith his a week ago, Slice had been walking on air. After they’d made love, he and Faith had talked about how to proceed with the boys. Slice had spent almost every evening with them for supper and hanging around, but he still slept overnight at the clubhouse.

He and Faith wanted to take it slow with the boys so they’d be comfortable with him before they changed the dynamics. The boys were still adjusting to LB being there.

“Slice, can we play games after supper?” Micah asked.

“Yep. What board game should we play?” Slice asked. Micah’s forehead scrunched at Slice’s reply. Slice had wondered if the kids would try to convince him that video games were okay this evening.

Faith let them play video games on Friday nights and the weekends, but on weeknights, they played board games or read books.

“Don’t want to play a board game. Wanna play a video game,” Micah said, pouting.

“Well, house rules say video games are for Fridays and the weekends. We can read books, play board games, or we could build Legos,” Slice said. He sat down, dunked a nugget in honey mustard, and popped it in his mouth.

Faith and he had discussed that the boys were in a honeymoon period with Slice and would eventually try to push his boundaries. Slice waited to see if tonight was the night the boys would.

“Video games,” Micah yelled, stood up, and ran toward their room. Slice let him go and continued eating.

“Isaiah, did you try dipping the apples in the caramel? We make it fresh at the diner. I think I got the consistency right, but I need your opinion,” Slice said.

“What’s consis-siscy?”

“Consistency, the way I used it, is the thickness or smoothness of the caramel. I want it thick enough to stick to the apples but not so thick that you can chew it. I also don’t want it so thin that it drips off the apple slices like syrup.”

Isaiah dipped his apple slice in the caramel and stared at the piece as he brought it to his mouth, then took a bite and chewed.

“It’s good. It didn’t drip on the table. Micah, come taste the caramel?” Isaiah yelled.

Micah peeked around the wall from the hallway. “Can I come back?” he asked.

“Of course you can. You chose to leave, and you can choose to come back. I need multiple opinions on the consistency of the caramel,” Slice said, completely ignoring Micah’s temper tantrum.

Micah sat down and picked up an apple slice, dipping it in the caramel.

“Is it thick enough that it stays on the slice without dripping off?” Slice asked Micah.

Micah brought the slice to his mouth, chewed, then swallowed.

“It’s thick enough.”

“When we make caramel, the temperature and the time matter. Too hot for too long, and the caramel becomes the consistency of a rock. Too cool and too short, the caramel runs everywhere and is messy.”

Micah took a couple more bites of his nuggets and stayed quiet. Slice thought he’d waited long enough.

“Are we playing board games tonight or reading or building things? Why don’t you each choose one thing, and we’ll divide our fun time tonight.”

“I want to play games,” Isaiah said.

“Could we read more of the book we started yesterday?” Micah asked.

“We’ll do both. It sounds like a fun time,” Slice said, finishing eating and letting the boys lead the conversation. If that was the only dust-up they had tonight, Slice would consider it a win.

They finished supper and cleaned up the items. Slice wiped down the kitchen while the boys got out the games they wanted to play. Slice wondered how soon he could move him and Faith along to living together permanently. He wanted her for his Ol’ Lady and his wife.

“Okay, what are we playing first?” Slice asked, sitting down on the floor with the boys. They’d set up the games on the coffee table.

“I picked Trouble. Micah picked Sorry.”

“I like both of those. Is the person who picked the game going first?” Slice asked.

Micah nodded and pointed to Isaiah. Slice laughed as the boys chatted while they played the game. He could see himself being content with them—the woman he adored and the kids he loved. They might not have been his biologically, but they were his.

“Are you going to be our dad, and is Faith going to be our mom, like forever?” Micah asked.

Faith hadn’t mentioned the boys asking any questions about their relationship. Slice hoped he didn’t get this wrong.

“I’d like to be, but your mom hasn’t signed paperwork for you to be adopted yet,” Slice said.

“She will. She doesn’t like us,” Micah said.

“Yep, we’re dis-a, dis-a,” Isaiah looked to Micah.

“Disappointing bastards,” Micah said softly.

Slice held his arms out and cuddled the boys close. If he had the boys’ mom in front of him, he might renege on his promise to never hit a woman.

“I’m sorry she doesn’t like you. Sometimes when mommies or daddies are sick, they say things they shouldn’t to their kids. You are not disappointing at all. You are both smart and loving and oh so kind. You’ve welcomed LB into the home and been such good big brothers. I love you both, not just because I love Faith, but because I love you guys for being you. I’m so happy I delivered presents that night and met you because I got the best Christmas gift ever,” Slice said, cuddling their little warm bodies against him. Isaiah’s little arms held him tighter around his neck.

“We’re the best presents?” Micah whispered, sniffing a little.

“Yes. I’m grateful I met you both, LB, and Faith,” Slice said.

“I love you, Slice,” Micah said.

“Me too. I love you,” Isaiah said.

Slice held those little boys in his arms, knowing they weren’t going back to any mother that called them those names. He didn’t care what it took, but these boys were going to be his. He’d text War to see if they needed to go an attorney route or, heck, Slice would be willing to pay the woman to sign over her rights. He wondered, though, if she had any outstanding warrants. Maybe being picked up if she did could convince her to sign the boys away.

“My turn,” Micah said, pushing the dice popper and moving his piece the number of steps.

“If we stay here foreva, could we have a dog?” Isaiah asked.

“Yeah, Grant and David have dogs,” Micah said.

“We’d need to make that decision with Faith here. I’ve never had a dog. I always wanted one.”

“Why didn’t you have one?” Micah asked.

“I was in foster care, and none of the homes had animals,” Slice said.

“You were like us?” Micah asked.

“Yep, except my foster parents weren’t like Faith. They were more like your mom. I’m happy you’re with Faith. Now, whose turn is it next?” Slice asked.

He didn’t want to talk about being in foster care anymore. The boys were too young and innocent to hear about any of the things Slice had gone through.

“Is that why you can’t hear out of the one ear?” Micah asked.

Slice shook his head. “No, I lost my hearing in that ear when I was in the Army, and a building blew up beside me.”

“I don’t think I’d like a ‘plosion near me,” Isaiah said.

“Me neither,” Micah replied.

Slice got the boys’ attention off their mother and explosions until they were back to their sweet giggling selves. Micah farted, and Isaiah thought it was funny, so he tried to fart too but accidentally had an accident.

Slice helped him get cleaned up and had the boys take showers, then put on pajamas. He missed Faith tonight, but he’d loved the time he spent with the boys. They were watching a cartoon while he fed LB.

He’d thought his life would never be what he planned when the explosion killed all of his team but Cruise and him. But he would have never met Faith if he wouldn’t have lost them and his hearing. What he’d thought was the ending of what he wanted actually led him down a path to happiness. He dropped a kiss on LB’s head. He needed to go to a jeweler if he wanted to propose to Faith. He wanted her permanently in his life before she figured out all his bad habits and idiosyncrasies.

LB finished his bottle, and Slice laid him on the burp cloth and patted his back. He also wanted to present a united front so they could adopt all three boys. Nothing and no one was going to endanger these kids ever again if Slice had anything to say about it.