“Never leave donuts unattended in these parts.” She grinned. “You’ll learn.” She passed me the baby wipes. “You’re on sticky hand and face duty. We can’t let them in the house like this.” I took the wipes as Rose started giving orders. “All right, donuts down, get your little behinds out of the truck and line up.”

They all did what she said, no hesitation, all lining up in front of her like tiny soldiers. Maybe it was because she was a kindergarten teacher. “You’re up, Luke,” she ordered, then climbed into the truck.

I handed each kid a wipe for their hands, then went down the line wiping their silent, guilt-ridden faces before doubling back to check their hands.

Was I supposed to laugh at this? Or was I supposed to give a time-out or something dad-like? Finally, I cracked and let out a laugh. I couldn’t help it; they were all so cute with their hang-dog expressions. “I’m not mad,” I said.

Dylan hugged me. “I’m sorry. We came out to say hi, but you weren’t here, then we saw one million donuts and we wondered if they had sprinkles. We just meant to peek at them, I don’t know what happened,” he said.

“Yeah, you really shouldn’t leave that many donuts around without a grown-up to watch them. Kids can be unpredictable when it comes to sweets,” Mikey added.

“We’re sorry,” Mike and Mara chimed in.

Little Madison was still just staring at me. I smiled at her, and she gave me a tiny grin. Rose hopped out of the back of the truck and tipped up Madison’s chin. “How come the littlest kid always makes the biggest mess?” she asked and brushed sprinkles out of her pigtails. Madison shrugged. “Maybe you’ll be in my class when school starts,” Rose said, then she looked at me.

“Bad news, Luke. Every box was opened, and every donut was tasted or licked.” She grinned. “Luckily, all the truck needs now are a whisk broom and a vacuum. And we’ll have to be on tummy ache watch for a few hours,” she added.

“Thanks, Rose. I’m going to steal Dylan for a bit and find Lily.”

He took my hand. “Okay, Dad.” I was a dad. It was beginning to feel real. The more time I spent with Dylan and Calla, the more I felt myself getting comfortable with it. As soon as Lily was my wife, it would be irrevocable. Everyone would know they were mine. My heart burst with pride and love. I felt like he could fill my truck with a million sprinkles and get sticky handprints on everything I owned, and I wouldn’t care because my heart melted every time he called me Dad. This boy and his baby sister owned my heart right along with their mom.

“Let’s find your mom. We have something to tell you.”