Taming His Heart

KYLE

My beautiful wife stands at the door scared as shit of the man standing in the doorway. I hate him sometimes. He never treated her right. Now he acts like she was his pride and joy all along. Only because she is married and Courtney isn’t. “Hi, Dad. Mom. Come in. Dinner is just about done. We are waiting for the Millers.”

Her dad grumbles. “Didn’t know it was going to be a full house.”

Danny doesn’t miss a beat though. She has had enough of these people. She may be scared but she will stand her ground. “Well, you can always leave.” She closes the door behind her parents and walks past them. She walks right into my waiting arms.

I kiss her head. A reassurance that I know she needs when dealing with her parents. “The turkey smells amazing, baby.”

Mrs. Baker speaks next. “No dear. We just didn’t realize and probably didn’t make enough pie.” She hands over an apple pie.

She tries to be nice for the most part. She’s still stuck up, but we deal.

Courtney comes into the living room from the kitchen. “Mom, dad. Go ahead and take a seat. This is Mr. and Mrs. Peters. And Jordan’s little brother, Ethan.”

Mr. Peters stands up and shakes both the Baker’s hands. “It is so good to meet you. I have been by a few times with the Mrs. We always enjoy our visits with your lovely daughters.” Alright so his parents are alright people too. Jordan has been really great with Courtney. He stepped up and took on a roll that wasn’t even his. He loves Courtney too. Maybe not at first but he grew to love her.

Mr. Baker bristles. “Yes, we don’t get much of a chance to visit, but they are good girls.” Not that he really thinks so.

Thankfully before I voice my opinion there is a knock on the door. I answer this time knowing it’s my parents. They have their beaming smiles on their faces. My mom pushes her way in. “Where is that beautiful baby boy?”

I laugh. “Thanks mom, love you too.”

My dad laughs and hugs me. “That baby is all she talks about anymore. I think people are sick of hearing her talk about her little grandbaby.”

She waves us both off. “Oh, shut up. I can love him all I want.”

“He’s taking a nap mom. He’ll be up soon. We wanted to make sure he was well rested for guests.” I walk them towards the living room and the other guests. I introduced them all. Although my parents already have met the Peters on their many visits. They know the Bakers from home.

Now that we are all in the living room my dad claps his hands. “Alright, I was going to wait until dinner, but I can’t wait anymore. I have a present for the newlyweds and Courtney.” We have been married for eight months so to our parents we are still newlyweds.

We all wait with baited breath for my dad to continue. “I just put in a bid on a house here in town. It has a large yard, four bedrooms. Enough room for all of you. I got a call about an hour ago. They accepted my offer.”

Danny is speechless. “Oh, my God.”

I put my arm around her. “Wow, dad, that’s a big deal.”

He waves it off. “Now don’t get too excited, it still will need some work. But you know I am the man for the job. With the help of you two young men I am sure we can have it perfect in no time.” My dad is a major contractor back home. I trust his judgment on this.

Danny leaves my arms and hugs my dad. “Thank you so much.”

Before I can give my thanks there is a little cry from Courtney’s room. She smiles. “That would be Katie.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Danny pulls away from my dad. “That means Brodie will be next.”

I smile at my wife as she leaves me to get our son. I turned back to my parents. “This is great. Really awesome of you guys.”

Jordan smiles at my dad. “This really is great. I know it is only temporary for me and Courtney, but it means the world to her to stay close to her sister right now. Thank you so much for including us in that.”

Mr. Baker scoffs. “We can’t just hand them everything.”

My dad glares back at him. “Really, because from what I understand you don’t care enough to even visit. Is this the first time you are seeing either of your grandchildren? Those boys will be working for this house. I am not giving them anything. You are the one that needs to wake up before the whole town knows what an ass you are.”

Mr. Baker stutters a little. “Well, I.”

“What?” My dad squares off to him.

I put my hand up. “Dad. Let’s not fight today. The girls are nervous enough as it is. Let’s just have a nice dinner. If Mr. Baker is not happy with the company, then I am sure he can go home. Plus there are women and children in the house. This isn’t the time or the place.”

My dad backs down. “Of course, son. I wouldn’t want to ruin the day for the girls.”

Both ladies come in with bundles. My mom instantly takes the bundle from Danny. “Oh, my little grandbaby.” She coos to Brodie. He grabs her shirt. He loves his grandma.

Mrs. Baker looks on. She looks like she wants to hold the babies but is a little scared. Courtney can see it. “Mom, do you want to hold Katie?”

Nervously she nods. She doesn’t look at Mr. Baker, but that’s fine he can be an ass. He looks pissed. As soon as Courtney puts Katie in her arms, Mrs. Baker melts. “Oh, my God she is so beautiful.”

My mom comes closer to her with Brodie. “He looks pretty darn cute too.” She has a big smile on her face.

Mrs. Baker looks down at her grandson for the first time and smiles. “Oh, he is definitely cute.”

Mr. Baker shuffles a little. “Can I hold one?” I snap my attention to him. What the fuck? He never so much as showed any interest in the kids.

Danny takes Brodie from my mom, who reluctantly hands him over. She brings him to her dad. “Dad, this is Brodie. Your grandson.”

He holds him like he is a bomb that might go off. As soon as he locks eyes with my son he softens. “Well, isn’t that something? He has my eyes.” He does. That’s the first thing I noticed about him. Mr. Baker has these really narrow almond shaped eyes, no one else has them, but Brodie. He pulls my son closer. “I’m sorry I was aggressive. I have a lot going on up here.” He indicates his head. “I’ll do my best to be better. I don’t want to lose any of this.” He looks at his daughters. “I almost lost you two and I am sorry. I’m going to do better.”

Maybe it was finally having a boy in the family or just seeing everyone else loving his daughters the way that he should but he looked truly sorry. Danny and Courtney both hug their dad. One on each side.

After that I feel like we are all going to be fine. There might be some bumps in the road, but we can work through it as a family. One big happy family. Even if I have to accept Peters in it. He looks over at me with a smirk. He’s thinking the same thing I am.