Lorn nodded with a chuckle.  "I completely understand."  He waved a hand up to signal Mrs. Pearson.  The maids came in, once again one to take off the cheese set up, and the other to bring a large wedge of one of the moistest rich chocolate cakes with chocolate icing Lorn had ever tasted.  Not that he would tell his mother that.   Another of his favorites.  Cora had learned that when his parents had come to visit.  It was actually his mother's recipe but with a few of Cora's own additions.

"Even a bite of this will take you to Heaven."  He promised her.  About then, of course in time for dessert, a small little, now four-year-old blonde angel, with completely tossed hair all wild around her head from sleeping came padding into the dining room with bare feet and a white ankle-length soft night gown.

"Daddy, I had a nightmare,"  Heidi said moving to his side, but seeing his cake, her eyes went wide and the nightmare was less of an interest.

Lorn glanced at Karen with a chuckle.  "I am guessing the cake would scare the nightmare away?"  He asked lifting her up into his lap with a gentle motion.  At her little gentle nod, he winked at Karen.  "What do you say?"

"Cake, please, Daddy."  She looked at him with a pleading little doggie look that it melted him totally every time.

"Ok, but not all of it.  This is mine."  He gave looked down at his daughter as he spoke, his tone low but gentle with her.  Looking back at Karen, he raised a brow.  Why not bring up the topic now.

"Heidi, you like having Miss Karen here and the twins right?"

She was carefully getting a fork, with her fingers help, of cake.  "Mmhmm."  She nodded.

"You know Daddy really likes them too.  In fact, what would you think of them living here in the house with us?"

She looked up over at Karen with a smile, and already having icing all over her lips.  "So, I could play with the babies all the time?"

He nodded trying to manage some of the mess with a napkin.  "You know Daddy told you about how he loved your birth momma and momma Cress right?"

She nodded with a pause looking at the cake then looked to Karen.  "They gone to Heaven, Miss Karen.  But we say gonigh' to them every night with the pictures in the nursry.   Never forget them, not ever."

Lorn nodded, trying to figure out how to explain it.  "What would you think about Miss Karen being being your mommy now?"

She stopped trying to put cake on the fork suddenly at that her eyes wide with fear.  "I donna want Miss Karen to go to Heaven yet, Daddy.  Don't make her go." 

Lorn hugged her quickly.  "No, no, sweetie."  He had not realized how much that had affected her and how the little one connected momma meant going to Heaven.

"Miss Karen is not going to Heaven yet."  Not that he hoped that was, he had loss too many that he loved already.  "We went to that wedding last year, remember?"

Little blue eyes so much like her father's, looked up at him totally trusting.  "They became married because they love each other too much to not be together."

Lorn nodded.  "I was thinking if you were okay with it, I might marry Miss Karen."

Heidi gave a cute serious look of thinking through that.  She looked at her father.  "You love Miss Karen?"  She scrunched up her forhead.  "But you love me."

Lorn had to fight back the smile at that.  "Yes, I do, but I have lots of love inside me.  I have enough for you, for Miss Karen and the twins too.  Do you mind sharing some of that?"

It was a few more moments.  Lorn wondered how that little brain thought.  Likely it would scare him.  She looked at Karen with that same very serious look that only a four-year-old could have.  "Tim and Tara married because they loved each other too much to stay away.  Do you love my daddy like that?"