A Little Thankful (Small Town Lovers #8)

Sage 5

“Let me get this straight, I need five DNA tests?” Dr. Charles teased, already knowing why she was there and how many tests she needed to perform.

“I told you that in the text,” Mace said.

“You sure did, but I just wanted to see the look on everybody’s face when I questioned it.” One thing about Dr. Annette Charles, our local GP, she loved to tease, even though she rarely laughed, which only made her teasing even more frustrating. You could never tell when she was serious or not. “I take it everyone in this room is involved in this paternity test. Are we missing anybody? Any more possible baby daddies?”

“No,” Sage told her, with a straight face. “Just these three.”

“Great! And where’s the baby?”

“In the main house with my family. She’s asleep. Will that be a problem?”

“Not at all. Makes my life easier. Is she a good sleeper?”

“Yes, the best.”

“Then, most likely, she won’t wake up. I’ve got the touch,” she said, and I caught a slight grin on her glossy lips.

Dr. Charles had to be in her mid to late forties, had a couple kids of her own, was in love with her adorable husband, wore her black hair in big natural curls that surrounded her lovely face, and hardly wore any makeup on her flawless, mocha colored skin. She was our only local doctor, made house calls, delivered babies, and tended to more cracked bones and bloody noses than any country doctor ever could. Plus, I knew she had to be familiar with this kind of situation from some of the other group relationships living in Cricket.

The best thing about Dr. Charles, she never judged. She simply took care of the problem and moved on to the next one.

We all loved her, including me, who now depended on her to be discrete about this until we figured out what we were going to do.

As soon as she pulled out one of the long swabs, Forrest cringed, and backed away. “I hate these things. Reminds me of COVID. Where you putting that thing?”

“I’m just going to swab your inner cheek. Nothing up your nose or down your throat. Now open wide,” she told him.

Forrest closed his eyes and opened his mouth, but I could see his hand shaking, so I reached out for it, and he held on tight.

She swabbed, then said, “All done.”

His eyes popped open. “Wait. I didn’t even feel that. Are you sure you got an adequate sample?”

“You want me to go back in? Because I can be a lot more aggressive if that would make you feel better.”

Forrest stepped back, trying to get away from her. “No. No. If you say we’re good, then we’re good.”

“Okay. Next potential daddy.”

She sat on the far end of the sofa. Her sky-blue bag open on the coffee table, with the swabs and tubes lying next to it. We’d cleaned up the pizza boxes, and empty beer bottles before she showed up. I knew she would want a place to set things up so I asked Mace to open a folding chair next to the sofa, so the guys didn’t have to stand. She was quite a bit shorter than they were, only around five feet, four inches to their six feet and over. Hunter was the tallest and had to be at least six-three or four.

“Hey Hunter,” she said when he dutifully took a seat next to her. “How’s it going?”

“Well, I don’t know yet.” He leaned forward, clasping his hands together on his knees.

“How do you want it to go?” She put him completely on the spot.

“You know I love kids,” he said, without hesitation, and my heart melted. Of all the guys, I think my feelings for Hunter were the strongest. It had taken a lot of will power for me not to call him, and now that I saw him again, I hoped things might work out between us.

But I knew better than to get my hopes up. The idea of being a father was much different than the reality of it.

She glanced over at me for a moment, then back to Hunter. “Then I hope this whole thing works out for you.”

“Thanks,” he said.

She swabbed him, slipped it in a tube, labeled it, then looked over at Mace who was already seated in the chair.

“Time for you to take a breath,” she said, as she took the sample. “You know you work too hard. This might be exactly what you need to slow down.”

“Also, might cause me to work harder, depending on how this goes.”

“Now, you know you can’t be doing that. You need to work smarter, not harder.”

“A wise woman,” I said, thinking how I needed to apply more of that to my own life.

“She’s absolutely right,” Forrest agreed. “Sometimes when I overdo it, I feel sick.”

“Time to back off,” Dr. Charles said. “Your body is giving you a warning shot. Take it, and act accordingly. Okay, Mom, your turn.”

I took the chair, and opened my mouth for the swab.

Painless.

“Now, where’s that baby of yours? I can’t wait to meet the little doll.”

“She’s in the main house. Do you want me to take you over?” I asked her, wanting to stay with the guys, and find out what was up with Mace.

“I know my way around this place. No need. And I’m sure your mom will be more than happy to show me the way to Autumn’s room. But, does she know why I’m here?”

“Shit! No.”

“Maybe we should take care of that first, then your folks can… well… I’m only the doctor.”

“Should we wait here?” Forrest wanted to know, looking like he might be more comfortable if he didn’t have to face my family just yet.

I gave it some thought, then I said, “I’d rather you came with me for emotional support.”

“You’ve got it, Sage,” Hunter said, as he turned to Mace and Forrest, obviously wanting their buy in.

“Absolutely,” Mace finally said after a moment of hesitation.

“Let’s do this,” Forrest said, after he took in a deep breath.

WHEN WE WALKED back into the house, my family, including my niece, Sami, were all in the kitchen helping my mom clean up after dinner. I knew my mom wasn’t a fan of pizza, but she’d gone along with it because my dad had stepped in and ordered them. Normally, she would have ordered in some elaborate three course meal for everyone. She actually only cooked on holidays, and for bake offs. Not that she couldn’t cook an outstanding meal, she just preferred not to.

“Dr. Charles… is everything okay?” my dad, Vernon, asked. I could tell he was physically upset to see her standing in his kitchen. “Why are you here? Is something wrong? I didn’t see you come in.”

“Everything’s fine,” she told him.

I stepped up. “Dr. Charles is here to take some paternity DNA samples.”

“No fucking way,” Sami said, grinning. “That’s so cool.”

“Watch your mouth,” my mother, Martha, scolded.

“She’s just expressing herself,” my aunt Sylvia countered. No matter what, she always defended Sami. On one hand, it was nice to see such loyalty, but on the other, it made for a self-absorbed teenager.

“She can express herself without swearing,” my mother countered.

“No F… ing way,” Sami goaded, leaving out the important letters.

“That’s much better, darling,” my mother said, looking straight at me. “So let me get this straight. All three of these fine local men might be Autumn’s father, which means you had sex with each of them during one month. Is that right?”

“Yes,” I told her. “Over three days, to be exact.”

“We were trapped in your cabin,” Forrest said.

“The roads were out,” Mace added.

“It just kept raining,” Hunter tried to explain.

“No fucking way,” my father said. “And it’s not our cabin. It belongs to Sage’s grandparents.”

“This is so cool,” Sami repeated.

My mom threw my dad a scathing look.

“What? I’m just expressing myself,” he countered.

“Yes, so cool,” Dr. Charles mumbled. “Now, where can I find Autumn?” She held up a sheathed swab stick.

“I can show you,” Grandma Iris said, excitement in her voice. I knew she already loved Autumn, which made me so happy. She was the best grandma ever. “Just follow me.”

“Sami, maybe you should join Grandma?” Aunt Sylvia told her Diva daughter.

“And miss the fireworks? No way.” And she dropped down on a bar stool to watch.

“I don’t know where to direct my anger,” my father said.

“Dad, don’t be angry. You have a beautiful granddaughter. That should make you happy, not mad,” I told him.

“And what about you? Are you going to marry one of these guys? Or what?” he asked.

“One step at a time. Let’s wait for the results of the paternity test,” I said, trying to get him to calm down.

“Then what?” my mother asked.

“I’d like to date them while we’re waiting,” I told her.

“Date? You want to date them? All three of them?” my dad looked like he might self-destruct.

“Kids these days,” my grandfather said. “They got their own rules. Very different than when I was growing up. You should relax, Vernon. You might pop a vein or something. Then what?”

“Then, I’d be dead and I wouldn’t have to see all this,” Dad said. “I wouldn’t have to know that my sweet daughter is some kind of… I don’t even know what she is.” He sat next to Sami on a bar stool.

“She’s a mother and mother’s get respect,” Grandpa said. “And she’s the mother of your beautiful grandchild and my great grandchild. I didn’t think that would happen while I was still alive, but it did, and I’m thankful. That’s what I am. Thankful.”

I went over to him and gave him a big hug. “Thank you, Grandpa. I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart, and that baby of yours. I love her too.”

“I can’t accept this. I’m just not ready. I don’t know what to think,” my dad groused.

“You think too much, Vernon. You over-think everything. Take a breath,” Grandpa told him. “Relax. Let’s hear what these kids have to say.”

“All done,” Dr. Charles said as she walked back into the kitchen. “If everything goes right, you should have the results before Thanksgiving. I’ll call you when I get them, Sage. Have a nice Thanksgiving, everyone.”

“I’ll see you out,” my mother said, and followed Dr. Charles to the front door.

“Wow… three baby daddies,” Sami said. “I never would’ve thought you were so cool.”

“Yeah, who knew, right?” I told her. “Not that I’m condoning it.”

Sami folded her arms across her chest. “Never.”

“Never,” I repeated, but my smirk already showed.

“It’s been a long day. I should be going,” Hunter said, as he smiled at my family.

“Probably a good idea,” my father said.

“Good to see you, Mr. Pilgrims, Hank, Sylvia and Sami. I’m sure I’ll see you all again, soon.”

“I’m sure you will,” my grandfather said, grinning like this was way too much fun.

“I’ll walk you out,” I told him, hoping Mace and Forrest would join us. “Long day for me too. Autumn gets up early.”

“I have to be up at four. Better head on home. Nice seeing everybody.” Mace said, getting the hint.

“Yeah, nice,” Forrest mumbled to my family. Then he turned to Mace. “You really get up that early?”

“Every morning. Have to. Those desserts don’t bake themselves,” Mace said, and they started a conversation about the difficulties of running a bakery.

I led them to the front door expecting to see my mom, but she’d disappeared along with Dr. Charles, who was probably driving home by now. Hunter opened the door and we all stepped outside.

“I want to thank you for taking the news so well, today, and for showing up for me when my family had a meltdown,” I said, closing the door behind me.

“I think they took the news well,” Forrest said. He still seemed kind of nervous about the whole thing. Like he truly loved the idea of being a father, but he didn’t know if my family would accept him.

“Better than expected,” Mace added, looking amazing in the moonlight.

“The jury’s still out on my father’s acceptance of all of this,” I added, feeling bad about his reaction.

“You might want to give him a break,” Hunter said. “You’re his sweet baby girl. His little princess, and he has to accept that you slept with three guys in a very short period of time. I don’t think his mind could even entertain the fact that you also slept with those three guys at the same time, in one bed. That’s a lot for a dad to accept. He’ll come around. You dad’s a good fair man. He just needs a little time.”

“Yeah, like for the rest of my life,” I told him. “I can’t see him ever accepting this. My mom… she’s just happy to have a grandchild. And my grandparents, they seem more open minded than I ever thought they would be.”

“And your aunt and her daughter seem to be cool with the whole thing,” Mace offered.

“Yeah, well my aunt is kind of a wild child. Before she had Sami, she hiked the Appalachian Trail all by herself, lived in a commune, joined a cult, was part of a group relationship that contained both men and women, was a paid medium, and memorized the entire Bible.” If these three thought they were just getting me and Autumn in this deal, they had to think again. I came with an entire entourage, and unless they started dying off, they were part of the package.

“I’ve always liked your family,” Forrest said. “From when we were kids. Your mom threw the best birthday parties in town.”

“She did, didn’t she,” I said, agreeing, remembering jugglers, cowboys teaching us how to use a trick rope and horse rides, magicians teaching us magic tricks, and even a rock-climbing wall. We baked cakes, made pizza, bread and pies. There was even one party where we helped build a dog house for Winston, my first real best friend, a chocolate Lab.

“Your gram gave me her secret recipe for the best lemon cake I ever tasted. It was at one of your birthday parties. I use that same recipe in my shop. It’s my best-selling cake.”

“Did you ever tell her?”

“No. I didn’t think she’d care,” Mace said.

“I think she’d love it, especially if you give her credit for it.”

“I already do. It’s my Iris lemon cake.”

“Then you’ve got to tell her.”

“I will. As soon as I can.”

I couldn’t help the yawn that overtook me.

“Let’s go,” Hunter said. “It’s been a long day for everyone.”

Then he hugged me, and not a friend’s kind of hug, a full-on body to body, kind of hug. Or was that me pushing in closer to him so I could give him a kiss. Nothing too long, but enough of a kiss to remind both of us of those three delicious days and nights.

When we pulled apart, he held my hand for a moment longer and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Turkey Trot at ten. Moon Street. Autumn will love it.”

“We’ll be there,” I told him, right before Mace slipped his hand around my waist, pulled me in close and reminded me what an incredible kisser he was. Not that Hunter was a bad kisser, he was amazing, but Mace… well, he could bring me to my knees with those lips. Which he had, and the memory still burned bright.

“Tomorrow,” he said, stepping away as I worked on keeping my balance. Their cars were all parked in our circular driveway. Hunter’s monster truck, Mace’s silver van, and Forrest’s black BMW.

“Looking forward to it,” Forrest said, right before he crushed his lips on mine, ran a hand down to my ass, pulled me in tight enough so I could feel his massively hard cock, and left me positively breathless.

“All that from the accountant,” I whispered as I watched him walk away. “Yep, I’m going to take my time and get to know them better. Sure I am.”

And as I walked back into the house and headed for my bedroom where my sweet baby girl was already fast asleep, I couldn’t help but think of my cousin’s words: This is so cool.