Page 104 of Deserving Ryleigh
“They” meaning the kids. Everyone gathered around the more startled than hurt little girl, calming her. Elizabeth got her to her feet, Patrick brushed the dirt off her knees, while Max did the same to her hands. The younger kids simply patted her back and arms, telling her that she was all right. Within two minutes, everyone was running around again, all hurts forgotten.
Their kids had made their own tribe, were their own best friends. And once more, Tiny’s heart swelled in his chest. This was their future. The future of The Refuge. This second generation would never know what it meant to be an outcast. They’d never be bullied because they had a tribe of “brothers and sisters” who’d have their backs.
Looking down into the face of his daughter, he smiled. She was the youngest, the baby. She’d probably be spoiled rotten, but he was all right with that. Every little girl should feel as if she was a princess. He sighed thinking about his wife’s upbringing, how horribly she’d been abused by the very person who was supposed to love her the most, and he vowed that Miracle would always know she was loved. By her father most of all.
Ryleigh could’ve let her father break her. Just as all the other women here could’ve let their experiences destroy them. But they’d all been determined to be happy. To put their pasts behind them and live the best lives they could. It hadn’t always been easy. They’d had to deal with thenegative emotions and trauma that popped up now and then. But with the support system they’d created here, everyone was thriving.
Tiny had no idea what was in store for the next decade and beyond. For Miracle, his wife, or the rest of his friends. But one thing he knew without a doubt was that what they’d built here, in their corner of New Mexico, would last for generations. The children they were raising, the people they were helping, the friendships they’d solidified in the last decade, they would all continue to flourish.
“What do you think they’re talking about in there?” Owl asked, referring to their wives, who were inside the mini-lodge, shut into a room with a “do not disturb unless there’s blood and guts” sign on the door.
“Food. Sleep. Sex,” Spike said with a shrug.
Everyone laughed. He probably wasn’t wrong.
Leaning down, Tiny kissed Miracle’s forehead, and her little face smushed up in response. Probably in irritation; his daughter loved her sleep and didn’t like to be interrupted for any reason.
“Gonna go shoot some hoops with Max,” Pipe said. “He’ll beat my ass, but that’s okay. One day he’ll be a big NBA star and I’ll brag that I taught him everything he knows.”
“I think I’ll go see if Sam, Dylan, and Elizabeth want to play hide and seek with me. Anyone else in?” Owl asked.
“Sure.”
“Sounds good.”
Spike and Stone joined Owl, heading for the yard.
“I’ll go corral the younger kids and maybe we can play tag,” Brick said.
“I want to check on the animals. I’ll grab the rest of the middles and see if they want to help,” Tonka said.
And just like that, Tiny was alone on the porch with Miracle. He sat on one of the dozen rocking chairs they’d put on the porch, grinning as he watched his friends and their kids run around in the fresh mountain air.
The door to the lodge creaked, and he looked over, smiling when he saw Ryleigh.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. It was my turn to get more snacks from the kitchen, and I thought I’d check on everyone at the same time.”
His wife was still one of the kindest people he’d ever met. It was more likely she’d volunteered to get more snacks, and while she and the other women had no problem leaving their husbands in charge of the kids, Tiny knew she was still a little traumatized by the three miscarriages she’d had and the trouble she’d had conceiving. She didn’t like letting Miracle out of her sight for too long.
“She’s fine,” he whispered, holding out a hand to his wife.
Ryleigh came to his side immediately. She leaned down and caressed Miracle’s face with a finger, then turned and kissed him. And just like that, Tiny’s cock hardened. Even after ten years, his wife never failed to turn him on. She wasn’t even trying to seduce him, she was simply showing her husband how much she loved him.
“You need anything?” she asked.
“No.”
“Sure? Water? A snack?”
“What, am I three?” he teased.
Ryleigh rolled her eyes. “I seem to remember the last time you got a freaking cold, you acted like you were dying and wanted me to bring you ice chips and sit by your side, holding a compress on your forehead…like you were a toddler.”
Tiny chuckled. She wasn’t wrong. “I don’t need water or a snack. I’m good.”
She grinned. He couldn’t get enough of her smiles.
