They had a grand time eating, talking and laughing, between bites, the children kept the adults entertained, with their stories even Katie babbled not to be outdone by her big brothers.
Every so often, Candee caught Starke just looking at her, and when their eyes met he'd smile, he was watching her interact with the children, and she was a natural with them, he'd guessed it was because of her years as a child growing up with so many different families, having to be a big sister to some, and even a substitute mom to others, as she got older.
He loved the way she blended into this family that he loved so, and envied for years, he had hoped to have all of this with Marie but, it was not meant to be, but now he was beginning to think, maybe, just maybe it's not to late for his dreams to become a reality.
When he felt that they were just about finished except for Julie's surprise dessert, he ask the boys if it would be okay for him to take Candee back to see their tree house, and they both said yes, with exuberance. He rose up from the table, swung his long legs, over the bench seat, took her hand and they walked hand in hand towards the rear of the property into the stand of trees there.
They walked back a little farther, and Starke said, "Well what do you think" she looked up and said oh, my goodness! there up in a giant Maple tree was the most precious house, in a tree she had ever seen, it had real shingles on the roof, real windows although, they were small to suit the house, and it was painted, with a wrap around deck, and a ladder that pulled up to allow entry or no admittance when occupied, and as they walked around the bottom she saw a rear door with a super slide for quick escape. She said this is just adorable, he said, "don't tell the boys that just tell them it's way cool, that they will understand. He said, "I'll spare you having to climb that ladder to see the inside, I have dozens of photos at the cabin."
Cam and I sure enjoyed building that one, and we get a big kick out of seeing the boys enjoy it, and can't wait for the day when Katie takes it over as we know she will, she's one determined little girl even at the tender age of two. Guess, when that happens we'll have to run a phone line in too, it has electricity now. He looked over at her and noticed her mouth agape,