He tilted his head to the side and furrowed his little brow. “Funny trick on Daddio?”
“Exactly.” I nodded and grinned. “Mommy is going to trick Daddio.”
He grinned in a way that, quite frankly, scared me a little for the future and giggled.
“After Mommy leaves, you still don’t tell Daddio that I was here, okay?”
“Okay,” he whispered back, and then like a little genius, he ran back the way he came and called out, “Come on, Lia! Follow me!”
Moments later, their giggles and Thatch’s voice were back in the playroom, and I officially had the green light for the getaway.
God, my kid was the fluffing best.
Obviously, he gets his pranking abilities from me.
“Okay, guys. What do you want for lunch today?” I asked, edging on exhausted from chasing two little track stars around the house. These kids had endless energy, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was going to be closing in on forty soon. Thankfully, much like it did for me, food worked fairly effectively as a distraction.
“What’ve ya got?” Ace asked, climbing up onto the stool in front of the counter and assisting Julia as she did the same.
See? I’m not raising a complete animal. He’s just got a few wild tendencies, which, considering his parents, is to be expected. But he’s also a gentleman. Kline’s girls could do worse.
Evie had been sleeping beautifully for the last hour and a half even as we yelled and caroused, the little angel. I made a mental note to check on her just as soon as I rustled up some food for the older hellions.
“Well, sir, today we’ve got a fine selection of turkey and cheese sandwiches, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, and one of the most popular items on our menu this season, the cheese quesadilla,” I listed playfully, merely a servant to my young masters.
“Queso-deea!” Julia shouted enthusiastically.
“All right!” I cheered. “We’ve got a winner for the lady. And for you, sir?” I asked Ace.
“Make mine with extra cheese.”
“Ahh, yes. A fine choice, sir.”
Julia giggled at my theatrics, her little blond curls bouncing as she did.
I grinned as Ace looked at her with wonder. Ah, young love. My son, the romantic.
“Lia, let’s go get naked again!” he yelled suddenly.
Oh Christ!
“No. No, no, no,” I repeated. “What did Daddio say about showing each other your special parts?”
“Not to do it,” the two of them muttered dejectedly at once.
“That’s right. Don’t do it.” After that, though, I couldn’t come up with anything else to say.
Fuck, maybe I really wasn’t the best person for this kind of shit. I loved special parts, and coming up with reasons not to look at them wasn’t exactly my forte.
The two of them got over it pretty quickly, though, thanks to the short rebound time with which three- and four-year-olds were equipped, so I listened intently with a smile on my face as I sprinkled heaps of cheese on top of a couple of tortillas and then pressed a second one on the tops. I smashed them together and then popped them into the microwave to heat them up.
I took out my phone as they did their thing and shot Cassie a quick text.
Thatch: How’s work?
She answered quickly but succinctly.
Cassie: Good. How are the kids?
Thatch: Good.
Cassie: Good.
Okay, that was weird.
The timer on the microwave dinged its song and dance, so I tossed my phone back on the counter and pulled out the plate with their entrees.
“Ma’am,” I said as I set Julia’s down in front of her. She smiled, bending her ear to her shoulder and giggling up at me.
“Kind sir,” I offered as I set Ace’s down in front of him.
They dove in nearly immediately.
“You guys okay while I go check on Evie?” I asked.
Julia nodded. Ace glanced to her first with wide eyes before looking back at me and nodding.
“Okay. Be right back.”
I strolled down the hall at a brisk pace until I neared the nursery, where I slowed down and tiptoed so that I wouldn’t disturb her if she was still sleeping. She’d yet to make a peep on the monitor, but from what I remembered Kline saying, she wasn’t known for napping for much more than an hour or two at a clip.
Ever so slowly, I pushed the door open, a sliver of light cutting its way through the otherwise dark room, and stepped inside until the plush carpet pushed up through my bare toes. Each step was calculated and painstaking as I gave my eyes time to adjust to the change in lighting and got close to the bed.
Only, when I finally got there, a cat jumped out and hissed, scaring the ever-loving fuck out of me.