Daisy calls as she and Savannah aim water shooters at me and the boys.
“Take cover, men! We’re under fire!” I yell as we all swim toward the jetty.
Brent, our eldest, gets there first, followed by his two younger brothers, Seth and Cole. We hide underneath, our eyes wide as I hold a finger to my lips, and then point to the jetty overhead.
A wild laugh erupts as Savannah appears, being held upside down by her ankles. She points her water shooter at me and gets me square in the eye.
“Truce! Truce!” I call, holding my hands up in mock surrender. “Please! No more! We promise to behave!”
She whoops and then disappears as she’s pulled up. Me and the boys take it in turns to climb the ladder onto the jetty.
“Daddy!” Savannah calls, jumping into my arms before my feet leave the last rung. “Guess what?” She grabs my cheeks and squeezes them together, laughing when my lips squish up like a fish’s.
“What?” I try to say, which has her giggling even more.
“Girls float like a boat, and boys stink and sink.”
“Is that so?” I widen my eyes at her as she lets go of my face. She giggles again as I bury my face in her neck underneath her blonde hair and make a mixture of growling and eating noises.
“Daddy!” she squeals, trying to push me away.
“Oh, yum, yum. I do love a tasty three-year-old,” I say as I pretend to gobble her again.
“Come on, you two!”
I look up and catch Daisy’s eye. She’s shaking her head and grinning at us. She and the boys are already sitting down on the back porch, drinking juice, and wrapped in towels.
“Better go. Mommy’s waiting.” I haul Savannah up over my shoulder and carry her to the porch.
“Daddy, put me down.” She giggles.
“What? Who said that?” I spin around, so she’s facing her brothers.
“Dad.” Brent rolls his eyes.
At nine years old, he’s not only the eldest, but the most sensible.
“That’s Wild Daddy to you!” I grin at him as he snorts.
“You’re not going to make us watch your old programs again, are you?” he moans.
Daisy laughs as I put Savannah down on one seat and then drop onto the sofa next to her.
“Mommy likes it when Mr. Wild comes out. Don’t you, babe?”
The kids ignore us and guzzle down their drinks, jumping back up, and grabbing a ball, running onto the grass with it.
Daisy narrows her eyes at me as I smirk.
“At least that’s what she told me this morning,” I whisper in her ear, “when I had her pinned into submission with my cock.”
“You have certain redeeming qualities, I guess.” She tilts her head to the side and runs a finger over my jaw.
“I think you’ll find I have many—”
She puts a finger to my mouth and smiles as she replaces it with her lips. I cup her face in my hands and kiss her gently, pulling back to laugh and rest my forehead against hers as the kids shout out.
“Never a quiet moment, eh?”
“What did you expect with four kids and three dogs?” She smiles at me and presses another quick kiss to my lips. “You can finish that later.”
“You bet I will.”
I wrap my arm around her, and she leans into me as we watch the kids throw the ball for Molly and Jack. Betsy’s lying on her favorite sofa, watching the action unfold.
“Keeping an eye on the kids, girl?” I call.
She lifts her head and looks over at me, her tail wagging against the cushions.
“She’s a wonderful mum,” Daisy says, resting her palm against my chest and letting out a sigh.
I smile at my girls. “You both are.”
Betsy had eight puppies in total. Seven boys and one girl. We kept Molly, and Jack, who’s the spitting image of Betsy—all silky brown hair and big eyes. Ralph had one boy to keep Duke company, and the others all went to good local homes. We see most of them out walking around town when we go in. And Betsy still meets Duke for a run at the beach most weekends. Although Travis saw to it that neither of them would provide any more surprises again.
“How are you feeling about tomorrow?” Daisy looks up at me, her blue eyes clear and bright.
I shrug. “Good. It’s not my first interview about it.”
“No. But it’s your first big award! And you’ll be accepting it on live TV. No time for re-takes.”
“You saying I need lots of re-takes?” I stick out my bottom lip at her and she smiles and swats my chest.
“I’m so proud of you. You deserve the recognition. Your photos, Blake…” She sighs as she looks out across the lake toward my old house—the house which has turned into my photography studio. “They’re incredible. You capture something so fragile and raw in them.”
“Why, thank you.” I puff out my chest, and she shoves me lightly.
“Big head.”
“Big cock too.”
She snorts. “Idiot.” Then her voice drops low and serious again. “I mean it, Blake. The way you captured the contestants on all the series of your show. Caught them at their most intimate moments. At their most incredible, defining moments of growth. It’s real and inspiring. And the world is better for seeing them.”
“I’m definitely getting some later, aren’t I?” I wiggle my eyebrows at her.
She shakes her head with a smile.
“I love your smile,” I say, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her hair. “I’ll do whatever it takes to see it every day. You know that, right?”
“I do.” She leans her head against my chest and traces her fingers in circles over my t-shirt. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to always make you smile too.
We fall into a contented quiet as we watch the kids and dogs play. What a difference ten years make. In some ways, it feels like it’s flown by; but in others, it feels like so much has happened that it must be longer.
The trial was hard. We were over in England for weeks. The press hounded Daisy every time we appeared at court. It was all over the papers there. The true extent of Mickey’s criminal activities only came to life as the case against him was built. The jury found him guilty of attempted murder, as well as a host of other charges. It took them seventeen minutes to reach a verdict. Daisy’s lawyer said it was fast. I think it should have taken seconds. He won’t be due for parole for a few more years yet. Daisy’s strong, but I know it will be tough when the time comes. But I’ll be here to do whatever she needs. And this time, if he’s stupid enough to come back, I know without a doubt he will leave in a body bag.
Daisy snuggles into me, and Betsy shuffles about with a sigh as the sounds of our family playing carries around the lake.
This right here, is perfect.
I’ve got my girl, my family, my career. Daisy still makes her organic products. But it’s more for fun now. She struck up a deal with a large distillery to have sole rights to her Aunt’s homebrew recipes. Iris’ Brew is drunk in bars around the world now.
And it all started here on this lake.
“You are brilliant at capturing life with your camera, you know,” Daisy says.
“Did I capture you as well?” I look down as she gazes up at me from underneath her lashes.
“Blake Anderson, you captured me a long time ago.” She smiles as I rest my forehead against hers.
“And you captured me when you were seventeen, babe.”
We look at each other, not needing to say anything else. We both know how fucking lucky we are to have been given a second chance. Our house is always noisy and chaotic now. But I know we wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s vibrant.
Full of energy and life.
There’s one word that sums up this fucking amazing ride of life I’m on with her.
Wild.
