I lay back, putting my arms behind my head. I’m grinning from ear to ear when he sets the paper down and peels it back.
“Harrison?” Her voice is soft and wavering.
I pull my hand out from behind my head and reach for her. She comes to me, allowing me to hold her. I watch her the entire time, never flinching or needing to look that he’s doing it right, I know he is.
Mine is done quickly. He bandages it up and sends us on our way. I don’t ask if she wants to go home or if she has other plans. I need to go home. There are three people waiting for us and I have something to show them.
As soon as we pull into the driveway, Jenna is walking out. She looks tired, run down.
“What’s wrong?” Katelyn asks her. Katelyn puts her hands on Jenna’s shoulder to hold her still.
“I think I have the flu. I’m sorry if I got the kids sick.”
“It’s okay,” Katelyn says, walking Jenna to her car. I wait for Katelyn at the bottom step and make faces at Peyton who is staring at me through the picture window.
“I hope she’s not sick,” Katelyn says, meeting me at the step.
/> “I hope not either. She’s been acting so weird since the wedding, though. I don’t know, but something’s off. Did she meet someone there? You know, maybe had a bad one-night stand?”
Katelyn shakes her head. “I don’t think so. Heck, the last time I heard her talk about a guy was when she kept talking about you when I had a sleepover. She kept asking me if she could ask you out.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Oh yeah, what’d you say?”
Katelyn rolls her eyes and leans into me. She stands on her tippy toes to kiss me. “They were mean to me at that slumber party, Harrison. They teased me until I told them that I was in love with you.”
I rub my hands up and down her arms. “Poor baby,” I say, kissing her nose. “Come on, we have kids waiting for us.” I pull her hand into mine as we walk up the steps and into the house.
Three eager children meet us at the door. Quinn is used to me coming back with new ink all the time, but not Katelyn. We didn’t hide that she was getting a tattoo from them and they all seemed excited. Peyton, mostly. I have a feeling that she’s going to be the hellion of the trio.
“What’d you get?” Quinn asks.
Katelyn lifts her shirt and I pull down the bandage. The girls move closer and I tell them not to touch it because it needs to heal.
“What’d you get, Dad?”
“How do you know I got anything?”
Quinn laughs. “Because I know you, you got something. Come on and show us.”
I take off my shirt, much to the giggles of the girls. They colored on me last night and I didn’t bother scrubbing off their ink. I pull down the bandage and risk a look at Katelyn. She has tears pooling in her eyes. Happy tears.
“Perfect,” Quinn says, making me happy that he approves. The transition for us has been seamless. We fit as a family. He treats the girls as if they’re his sisters and has the utmost respect for Katelyn. In the nine weeks we’ve lived together, I’ve heard him call her mom a few times and she didn’t miss a beat when she answered him. I think the moment I knew she was in this for the long haul was when she introduced Quinn as her son.
The twins step forward, both of them looking at me with awe in their eyes. I kneel down so that we’re eye level. “What do you think, guys?”
“You put our names on your body,” Elle says.
“I did.”
“We’re with Quinn on your heart,” Peyton adds.
“That’s because I love you both.”
Both girls tackle me, knocking me to the ground. I wrap my arms around them and I hold them to me. Quinn finds a spot and wraps his arms around my neck.
“Hey guys, I think we’re missing someone,” I say above their laughter.
“Come on, mom, there’s room,” Quinn says, letting Katelyn know that she’s needed.