Page 9 of Daddy’s Little Secret

“We will, Grandma, I love you,” Trey told her.

“Love you too, sweet boy.” Trey and I waved as she drove away then headed inside. We kept Samian’s mattress out, since we were using it in his room at the cabin, along with what we’d need in the morning. All easy to throw in the box truck before we headed out in the morning.

“Pizza sound good?” One of Trey’s favorites, and I knew my tired boy wouldn’t argue about it. “You were such a big boy today, helping Daddy.”

“Mmm, pizza,” he moaned. If we weren’t so tired, I’d see how many other moans I could extract from that mouth. “Thanks for talking to Grandma. I’m so excited to build her a new place. She deserves it.”

“Yes, she does.” I placed our dinner order on the app. “Is there any furniture you can think of that she will want to bring? I’d like to make her new stuff for the cabin. Would she like that?” It was sad, after all these years, I didn’t know much about the woman who raised him. But that was all about to change, and I couldn’t wait to get to know her better. Hopefully, she didn’t have any issues with our lifestyle. It was important to me that Trey never had to hide any part of him or our relationship again.

“Umm.” He thought long and hard about it. “The living room furniture is old and so is the bedroom furniture. She’ll want to bring her hutch for sure, though.”

“Do you have a picture of it? I’d like to try and match the finish on the new pieces we make.” The creative juices were flowing. I loved designing and making new furniture. We’d done most of what the cabins had now. Trey enjoyed helping and was always eager to learn my likely-not-by-the-book woodworking skills.

Trey thumbed through his phone, looking for a picture of it while we waited for our food. I worked on a few emails, one of which was from the mayor of Taylor Ridge. He wanted us to start with the outbuilding at Judy’s rescue first if we could.

“Trey, what do you think about working at Ms. Judy’s starting on Monday?” We had to walk it with her and work out the layout and materials list, but he’d get to play with the kitties while we were there.

“Yay! I love all the kitties, Daddy.”

“I know you do, Angel. Have you ever had a pet before?” If he had, he’d never mentioned it.

He shook his head. “No, Daddy. Grandma couldn’t afford the extra mouth to feed, she always said.”

I’d ask Ms. Judy to keep an eye on Trey while I took measurements and see if he bonded with any of them. Huh, I wonder what would be involved with building an outdoor cattery by the playground Chuck and I were putting together for the boys? Then the cats could get some outdoor time while Tae and Trey played.

Okay, so having time to be the Daddy Trey deserved was turning out to be more fun than I’d imagined. Kinda like living the childhood I never had through my boy. Huh, I wonder if all Daddies felt that way.

With his belly full, shortly after we had showered and laid down, Trey dozed right off. Me, on the other hand, had a mind that refused to shut off. Not sure when, but at some point, I managed to get a nap in. Up before Trey, I gave up on trying to fall back to sleep and instead, ran out and picked up breakfast and plenty of coffee to fuel the long drive ahead.

“Morning, my sleepy angel.” He’d only begun to stir as I stepped inside the apartment. “Daddy brought breakfast.”

“And coffee?” he asked through a yawn.

“Like I’d ever forget, silly boy.” As much as I loved Trey, he wasn’t his friendliest until he’d consumed the elixir of life. “Go potty while Daddy gets us set up.” He rolled off the mattress, then onto all fours before struggling into an upright position. Yeah, it was gonna be a long day for sure.

Dressed and somewhat awake, Trey sat beside me on the mattress. I did my best not to laugh as his eyes rolled back when he took that first sip.

“Ah, much better. Thank you, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome. As soon as we’re done, we’ll finish loading up and get your SUV onto the car tow dolly, then we’ll head out and I’ll follow you. If you need to stop for any reason, just pull over safely and I’ll be right behind you.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Alright, let’s get going. I’ll drop the keys off at the office on the way out.”

Within a half-hour, we were done and on the road. It was bittersweet leaving the only life I’d ever really known. From getting me and my brothers out of that mess to moving in with a grandmother we hardly knew. We had to trust her. It was either that or foster care, and the likelihood the three of us would get to stay together was slim. Thankfully, she was a loving, caring person who only wanted the best for us.

When I really thought about it, I wasn’t really saying goodbye, just merely leaving our temporary housing. Now that we’d all grown up and found our own paths in life, we were starting anew with our partners. Tae’s was with Chuck, and Samian was in college and well on his way to finding his own. I was ridiculously proud of him, proud of both of them for going after what they wanted.

Then there was me and Trey starting our life together in our new home. Not an apartment but a house we’d made into a home—as a couple.

My boy’s excitement fueled mine, and I couldn’t wait to see what lay ahead of us.

5

“Ms. Judy, I love all the kitties!” It was so much fun playing with them while Daddy worked. I kinda felt bad about that, but he insisted, saying what was left he could handle on his own.

“I think Sabrina has taken a liking to you.” Sabrina was the prettiest gray tortie, a type of cat breed I didn’t even know existed until Ms. Judy told me about it. “She’s marking you with her scent.” I froze, icky thoughts hitting me. Must’ve shown on my face cause Ms. Judy laughed. “Not like dogs, Trey. Cats mark you with their pheromones when they rub on you. Only other cats can smell it, not humans.”