The next few days go by rather quickly. Spent mostly at the bakery finishing up Thanksgiving orders and the few last-minute ones. The boys attempted to help a bit, too. Though they were mostly in the way so I had to drop them back off with my parents. I made up not spending very much time with the boys by baking cupcakes with them and their friend Sam.

Thanksgiving was good. Just a normal relaxing holiday. It was just what I needed after so many hectic hours at the bakery.

Cage had called on Thanksgiving to tell both me and the boys happy Thanksgiving. He did ask when we can arrange for us all to hang out and we set it for Saturday.

Which is, well, today.

We decided to do lunch instead of dinner. We're meeting at this small diner at the edge of town called 'The Maple Tree'. The diner hasn't been around long. It opened about four years ago, but it has the best milkshakes ever. I would bet money on them having the best milkshakes in all of Montana. I've taken the boys there a lot over the years and it's their favorite place, besides my bakery, to eat at.

The boys come out of their bedroom with nice plaid dress shirts on and dark wash jeans. Though they are dressed mostly the same, Kohl is wearing a blue shirt while Knox is wearing a red one. Honestly, if they came out with the same colored shirts on, I would have been fine with it. I'm just glad they listened to me when I said to dress nicely.

I'm dressed in a maroon sweater, dark wash skinny jeans, and my knee-high brown leather boots. I thought about wearing a scarf as well, but decided that would be a bit much.

Kohl and Knox don't seem to be nervous at all.

Just excited, going off how much they are bouncing in their seats and asking if we are there yet. Going off their reactions, you would think they have never been to 'The Maple Tree' before. I guess in some ways this is kind of the first time. It's the first meal with their father there.

They are excited about both meeting their father and having lunch with their favorite former baseball player.

Baseball must be something that runs in Cage's family because I can not stand it. My Dad doesn't mind it but he wouldn't go saying he's a fan. He mainly just watches it cause the boys love baseball. I thought about getting them into a little league, but the one we have isn't much of a team. I guess kids aren't interested in baseball like they are in video games. That is one thing I'm happy my boys don't like that much. A few other moms I talked to complained about how videogames are all their kids want to do once they're home. And how it's all video games this, video games that, and can I get this new game that came out? I could live with sitting through baseball games. All the video game talk? Not so much.

Five minutes later, we are arriving at the diner. We all hop out of the car and go inside. Spotting Cage in a corner booth, we head over to him.

Once he sees us, he quickly gets out of the booth.

"Hey, Rory."

Cage hugs me and I'm startled at first, but then I hug him back.

"Cage," I say when he releases me from his embrace.

I turn towards the boys and beckon them closer. Since they were standing back a bit.

"Cage, this is Knox, and this is Kohl. Boys, this is Cage... your father."

"It's nice to finally meet you both. I don't know about you, but I could devour a cheeseburger right about now. What about y'all, you hungry? Your mom said this place has got the best milkshakes." Cage says crouching to the boy's level to not seem so intimidating.

"So could we." The boys say at the same time.

"And they do have the best milkshakes," Kohl adds.

Cage laughs and gestures to me to sit in the booth before sitting next to me. The boys sit in front of us and are super excited about their milkshakes.

Beth, one of the waitresses here, comes over to take our order.

"Hello, boys. Let me guess: cheeseburgers with pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, and no onions with fries on the side."

"Don't forget the milkshake!"

"Oh yes, how could I forget? Also chocolate milkshakes with extra whip and chocolate syrup on top." Beth pretends to write down their order while laughing.

We have come here so many times that she doesn't even need to hear our order. She knows it by heart. I bet the only reason she came over here, besides talking to the boys, was because she saw Cage. Since he's never been here before (not that I know of anyway), she won't know what he wants.

The boys give her huge smiles and nod their heads in approval.

I look over at Cage and see him smiling, too. Catching me looking at him, his smile gets bigger.

"Come here often, I take it?" He asks me.

"Yeah. Told you it was their favorite place to eat."

"And what can I get you?" Beth asks Cage with her notebook and pen ready to write down his order.

"Can I get a bacon cheeseburger with extra pickles, fries, and a milkshake? What milkshake should I get, boys?"

The boys' eyes light up with excitement at being able to pick Cage's milkshake. Kohl and Knox whisper into each other's ears before motioning Beth to crouch down. They whisper in her ear and she nods in agreement, and tries to keep the smile off her, then walks back to the kitchen.

I have a feeling I know exactly what they ordered for Cage, just not the flavor.

"Should I be worried about what you both ordered me?" Cage asks them.

"Oh no, you have nothing to be worried about," I reassure him before mumbling under my breath, "Except for diabetes."

Cage barks out a laugh, momentarily catching the attention of a few customers before they turn back to their food.

"I heard that," he murmurs to me.

"Mom, you didn't tell him what we ordered him, did you?" Kohl questions me with a pout.

"No, of course not, honey."

As soon as I say that, he drops his pout. I swear that boy pouts a lot. I bet when he's older he's gonna use that pout of his on girl's to get them to give him whatever he wants. I have to make sure to teach them manners before they're any older. I want my boys to behave like gentlemen. For them to always treat girls with respect and not just use them.

Knox is about to say something, but stops when he sees Beth coming back with our milkshakes. She places the boys' chocolate milkshakes in front of them and my vanilla in front of me. She quickly walked back into the kitchen and came back out with Cage's milkshake.

And it is huge.

It's the largest glass they have here. The outside looks to be dipped in chocolate and covered with smashed-up chocolate chip cookies. Then it's got vanilla ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate syrup, and more smashed-up cookies on top. And, of course, a mountain of whipped cream with more chocolate syrup.

The boys have asked for The Maple Tree specialty since the first time they have seen it. Each time I said no, there was no way I was gonna let them each get one of those. All the sugar will make them run a mile a minute for hours and drive me insane. If the boys would have been okay with sharing one, I would have maybe gotten them one, but they hate to share desserts, so that got ruled out.

"Oh sh... oof I mean crap. That thing is huge." I smack Cage in the chest when I realize he was about to cuss in front of Kohl and Knox.

"Enjoy, your food should be out shortly. I can have it boxed up if you want?" Beth asks before laughing and walking off to another table.

"Remind me not to let you boys pick out my milkshake again... or any kind of dessert." Cage says, chuckling and slowly spinning his milkshake around to view the entire thing.

"Mom said we weren't allowed to get one cause it's too big for us to have. She never said that we couldn't get someone else one," Knox says.

"Yeah, Mom, you never said we couldn't get someone else one," Kohl says.

"Yes, I did never say you couldn't order one for someone else. However, it's your father's milkshake since you ordered it for him. Which means you won't be getting any of it unless he decides to share."

The boys share a few looks, seeming to be speaking with each other without words.

"Will you share with us, Cage?" Knox and Kohl both clasp their hands together like they're praying, giving him puppy dog eyes.

I suck in a sharp breath. Instantly brought back to the only time Cage used those same pleading puppy dog eyes to get his way. It still amazes me how much they both resemble the man sitting beside me.

"Well, there is no way I'm going to be able to finish this myself. I'll share with you both." The twins are about to say something when he continues talking. "Only if it's okay with your Mom."

They both groan automatically, assuming I'm going to say no. Yes, I thought about it since that's way too much sugar for them. They'll be burning off all that energy for hours. However, it is a special occasion, being the first lunch they ever had with their father. I debate on it for a little longer before giving them my answer.

"Fine, but only this once." I sigh and flick back the hair that was getting in my face.

"Yes!" they exclaimed and high-five each other.

I glance over at Cage and see him already looking at me. He gives me a smile and my stomach flutters. Ignoring the fluttering, I focus my attention on the food that arrived and the sound of Knox and Kohl's laughter.

And Cage's.

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