My Home From Home (ManxMan)

Epilogue

Five Years Later

Spruce Lake, Alberta 1926

"Daddy! Papa!" Danny yelled out as he bolted down the stairs, bounding between the rooms in search for either of his 'Fathers' as he clutched onto a small leather bound book in his hand. "Papa! Daddy! Look what I found!" Danny's voice echoed through the house as he stopped in his tracks; craning his neck in every direction with a huff, realising his fathers were nowhere to be foundin this big old ranch house that Henry, Thomas and their now bigger family now called home.

   "Daddy!" He called out With a huff, he ran out the front door, stopping on the front wrap-around porch of the family ranch house and gazing out into the distance in hopes of finding either of his fathers; only calling out for his 'Daddy' knowing that calling Henry his 'Papa' was established as something only he was only meant to do when they were at home where nobody else could hear. He could see the late-evening summer sun bathing the flat Alberta plains with it's golden light, a bright smile creeping across his face as he caught glimpse of his Dad in the distance shovelling bales of  hay by the barn.

"Daddy! Look what I found." Danny called out to Thomas, who turned around momentarily to see his little son bounding towards him. Thomas smiled as he tossed the pitchfork he was using down into the golden coloured hay; wiping the sweat that'd collected over his brow with his already sweat-glistened forearm. It was terribly hot for July on the Canadian prairies that even going shirtless with nothing under his denim dungarees wasn't enough to keep his sun kissed and sculpted arm and chest muscles from gleaming with sweat.

"Hey kiddo, what've you got here?" Thomas smiled as the little blond eight-year-old ran up with the old dust-covered leather-bound book in his clutches.

"Look!" Danny reached the book out to his dad, watching him as he smiled knowingly; he knew exactly what that book was and he knew it all too well.

"Where'd you find that, bud?" Thomas asked curiously as he rubbed his hands over the fabric of his overalls to clean off any residual dirt or sweat before taking the book out of Danny's tiny hands.

"The attic..." Danny suppressed a cheeky smile, earning him a playful glare from his dad.

"What did your Papa tell you about going into the attic." Thomas scolded lightly with a smile perking up the corners of his lips, watching as his little son frowned and stared down at the hay-covered ground in shame. "Hey." Thomas knelt down to the boy's eye level with a cheeky smile. "I'll keep it our little secret, just don't go up there again, kiddo. It's dangerous. One day we can go together and explore. How's that sound?"

"Okie!" Danny nodded with a beaming grin as his father ruffled his soft blond hair and pulled him into his arms for a tight, warm hug; placing a paternal kiss on the little lad's head. "What is it, Daddy? What's the book?"

"It's your Papa's diary from when he first came here." Thomas flipped the book from front to back, examining it's perfectly bound leather covering and gold leaf on the edge of the pages; a thin red silken bookmark still carefully placed in the gutter where Henry had last written in it.

"Can we read it?" Blinked Danny curiously, to which his father shook his head in the negative whilst sucking air in between his teeth.

"No can do, bud." Danny took a playfully serious tone. "You never read anyone's diary, it's strictly private." He whispered to the little boy. "I once made that mistake and read your Papa's diary and I nearly lost him forever because of it." Danny's eyes widened at that, horror washing over his face as his amber coloured eyes darted between his father's serious expression and the old diary. "Now you go run along and play, kiddo. I'll go give this to your Papa. He'll be happy to see it."