Page 50 of Joyful
“You don’t have to,” she assured him, leaning in and giving him a quick but fierce hug. She smelled a little like disinfectant, but underneath that was her familiar perfume of gardenias. “Do you like it, at least? You know, since it’s permanent and all.”
He rolled his eyes and finally looked down at his leg and sucked in a breath. It was… perfect. The pretty script that readProperty ofsat above a beautifully rendered, black-and-gray Snowball. Underneath, in a bigger, bolder font, was his daddy’s name. For the whole world to see.
“It’s amazing,” he said hoarsely. “Thank you.”
She pecked him on the cheek and went back to cleaning up. “You’re welcome, babes. I’m glad you like it.”
“I love it. Snowball looks so good.”
“It turned out really great,” Rooster agreed, placing a hand on Emmett’s knee and turning his leg a little to see better.
“Thanks.” She held her knuckles out for a bump.
Emmett sighed and looked up at his daddy. “I think I might need a nap after that. It was so stressful.”
Rooster chuckled and stood, grabbing Emmett’s hands and tugging him up. “Let’s get your new ink covered, and then you can change, and we’ll head home.”
After Roni placed the clear bandage stuff over his tattoo, he gave her another hug, then hustled back to the bathroom and changed back into his jeans. He hissed at the fabric rubbing over his tender skin, but there was no way Rooster would let him ride home on his motorcycle with bare legs.
The ride home didn’t take long, thankfully, and he started stripping off his pants the second they were inside. Rooster chuckled and followed him through the house. “How about little time to unwind?”
He spun around so fast, Rooster almost ran into him. “That’s a great idea. Will you make me a snack while I change?”
“Of course.” Rooster kissed his head and went back to the kitchen.
Emmett pulled on another pair of shorts and a T-shirt with trucks on it, grabbing Snowball and Woofie from their bed. He really was tired, so he decided not to pull out his blocks or superheroes. Instead, he colored for a while as he munched on crackers and celery with peanut butter, which he pretend fed to his stuffies too.
Struck by inspiration, he pulled out a plain piece of paper and got to work.
“That’s a pretty picture you’re drawing,” Daddy said as he settled on the couch behind where Emmie was sitting on the floor not too long after he started.
“It’s us and our house and our new dog,” Emmie said, grinning up at him.
“New dog, huh?” Daddy ran a hand over his head in the most perfect way, then handed him his superhero sippy cup.
He drank half of it down right away, realizing he was super, super thirsty. “Please, Daddy? I promise I’ll be good.”
Daddy chuckled and kissed the top of his head before leaning back against the couch with a sigh. “You’re always good, baby.”
That sounded like a yes to him.
Dropping his crayons, Emmie pushed to his knees and then pulled himself up onto the couch. He grabbed Daddy’s face and laid a big kiss on it. “Thank you, Daddy!”
Laughing, Daddy wrapped his arms around Emmie’s back and pulled him into his lap to give him a big hug. The best kind of hug. “I don’t remember saying yes, silly boy.”
Emmie wiggled into the bestest position so his owie wouldn’t hurt and fully relaxed against Daddy’s big, strong chest. “You will. Know why?”
He could tell Daddy was smiling when he said, “No, why?”
“’Cause you love me so much.”
Daddy’s arms tightened around him. “That’s true. I really do.”
Squealing in excitement, he hugged Daddy back, then scrambled out of his lap to get back to his picture. He wasdefinitely getting a dog, and they were all going to live happily ever after together.
He just knew it.
