Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“She and the mom were already having issues. Apparently, she wanted nothing to do with her father. The mom wanted her to try to be civil. So the daughter went and ‘helped’ to appease her mother. But she’s been taking self-defense classes—and I’m looking more into the why of that—but yeah. As you can see, she probably should’ve steered clear,” Folsom answered.
“Bad!” Addison replied, splashing the water around. “Water is hot!”
I rolled my eyes. “Addison, it’s literally freezing.”
“No, it’s not!” she argued.
If nothing else, she was really good at that.
“Addison,” I started, but Ande laughed and patted my arm. “Go get your son.”
I left my daughter in the very capable hands of my wife.
Ande had much more patience than I did.
I loved my kids; really, I did.
But just like my nieces and nephews, there was only so much of their bullshit I could handle. And Ande was a softy. She loved our kids.
At least our son, Tex, wasn’t bad like his sister, yet.
Walking into the shared room almost scared of what I’d see, I found my sisters already cleaning it up. “It’s not bad. They decided to do it in the bathroom at least.”
Thank God for small miracles.
“I’m coming to get Tex so your kids don’t infect him with their badness, too,” I teased.
“Whatever,” Val laughed. “Your kid is just as bad as ours.”
She was right, dammit.
They were all awful.
But they were happy.
If anything, we were a lot more lenient on our children because of how we were raised. We wanted them to be happy, and sometimes, that came with them being really bad kids.
Which was bad, we knew.
But there was only so much we could do with the childhood trauma we were given.
“Hey!”
Folsom’s words reminded me that I still had my phone that Ande had slipped into my pocket.
“Sorry, sorry,” I said. “Anything else?”
“No,” she said. “We’re getting back on the road now. We’ll be there soon. I’ll find out whatever I can on the daughter as we drive.”
Picking up my son after Folsom hung up, I cuddled him close.
He smelled so sweet and innocent.
I fucking loved this age.
At four months old, he wasn’t so fragile that you were scared to hold him, but he was still small and cuddly and couldn’t do much. Unlike his demon spawn sister who could do absolutely everything. All without getting caught.
Tex did the cute little baby groan, and then stretched in my arms, throwing his chubby little hands up high over his head.
I grinned and held him while he stretched, standing stock still as I took him in.
He was the perfect little blend of Ande and me.
He had mine and Ande’s bright blue eyes, cute, pouty little lips and chin. He had my dark hair and skin tone, as well as what was looking like hair texture.
Meanwhile, the little girl who stomped into the room looking angry that she’d had to have a bath, was Ande’s mini-me all the way.
All auburn hair and no coordination, she was Ande’s to a T.
“Daddy, bad daddy.” She pointed her little finger at me.
“Bad daddy?” I asked. “Why?”
“Mommy trow up.” She mimicked the move that Ande was making a lot lately. “She says you bad daddy.”
I usually was only declared that when I knocked her up.
Which I had.
But as was apparently the way with my family, I was having lots and lots of kids.
We’d managed to make it the first year without any.
We’d gotten married at a small civil ceremony at the courthouse with only her parents as witnesses—something my sisters had never let me forget.
But after we’d tied the knot, we’d decided to stop the birth control. The moment she went off of it, she’d gotten pregnant. It was as if her body knew it was time just like our minds did.
“And did Mommy say bad daddy?” I laughed.
“I sure did.” Ande groaned as she walked in, patting her flat belly. “I just threw up my Reese’s, so now I need another one.”
Laughing, I walked to the closet that held a change of clothes for kids of all sizes.
Grabbing a t-shirt and shorts, I tossed them at Addi, who caught them, then dropped them.
“Totally your kid,” I teased.
Ande dropped down onto one knee and helped Addi into her clothes.
The moment she was dressed, she ran out of the room, hitting the door frame as she went and knocking herself onto her ass.
She screamed, but before either Ande or I could get to her, Germaine was there, picking her up and cuddling her into his broad chest.
“Sucker.” Ande laughed as she walked over to me and pressed her hand onto Tex’s chest. “I swear this kid would sleep through the zombie apocalypse.”
He was a great sleeper.
Unlike Addi.
Hopefully, the next one would be, too.
Wrapping my arm around Ande’s waist, I guided her out of the common shared bedroom and back into the large kitchen.