Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Kathryn and I parted ways after she’d greeted the kids briefly, and I brought them all with me to work. At least Casper loved our new morning routine. He got to have breakfast with Colin and Sam before Haley or Mai took them to day care. Colin was on summer break now, though, so I was gonna let Casper stay with me a couple days a week.
The driveway at the Condor house was reserved for me these days, so I didn’t have to hunt down a parking spot. At six-fifteen in the morning, I was strapping Adam to my front carrier, Casper was already darting for the house, and last but not least, I picked up a drowsy Callie and held her to my chest, right next to her brother.
“No screaming, no screaming,” I whispered. “There we go, sweethearts. No screaming.”
Please don’t scream.
Daddy was exhausted.
I shut the car door as gently as possible, then made my way to the front door.
So far, so good.
“Daddy, Callie here!” I heard Sam call.
I smiled tiredly and shrugged off the diaper bag.
“Indoor voices, baby,” Jake reminded from the kitchen. “Mornin’, Cas. Bear’s on the patio with breakfast.”
“Okay!” Casper didn’t know the meaning of indoor voices either.
Sam sprinted on her tiptoes toward me, a big smile on her face, and she hugged my thigh. “Hi! I play wiv Callie now?”
I chuckled silently and combed my fingers through her dark hair. She was a mini-Nikki with Jake’s blue eye color. “I’m gonna see if she wants to sleep a bit more first, but then you can play. All right?”
Sam pouted. “Okay. Momma say babies gots to sleep lots.”
“Mommy’s right.” I nodded. Yet, babies didn’t sleep nearly enough.
Twins could scream on their own, and they could scream together. For some reason, they were rarely quiet together.
Jake arrived on the scene and was one step ahead. He’d brought the babies’ home away from home, a travel bassinet on wheels we rolled all over the house.
“Thank you,” I said, relieved.
“No problem. Lemme snatch one up.” He came over to me and carefully grabbed Callie from me. “If it ain’t the mini princess. You feelin’ sleepy, sugar? You keepin’ Daddy up all night?”
“Daddyyyy,” Sam complained. “I wanna help.”
“Can you believe you were this tiny once?” Jake squatted down so Sam could greet Callie, and it was impossible not to smile. I remembered when it’d been Colin fussing over Casper. Whispering and touching gently.
In the meantime, I carefully freed Adam from the carrier and pressed my lips to the top of his head. I breathed him in and reveled in every second that ticked by somewhat silently.
For as rough as these past months had been, I loved being a father. When everything around me hurt, they soothed the aches and closed the wounds.
By some miracle, Adam and Callie remained in cooing mode. I bundled them up close to each other in the bassinet, and Jake promised coffee and food on the patio.
Sam wasn’t ready to let the twins out of her sight, so I picked her up and positioned her on my hip, and she “helped” me wheel the bassinet outside. She also wanted to be the one who lowered the mosquito net over the canopy. Because she was a big girl now, she told me.
Right here, I could let out a breath and feel right at home. The kids gathered around the coffee table on the patio, Sam and Colin still wearing PJs. The sun wasn’t up yet, so Jake had flicked on the bistro lights overhead, and there were blankets for everyone.
And the breakfast spread—Christ. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, reheated leftovers, and blueberry muffins. Oh God, coffee. I collapsed on the sofa I usually shared with Jake, and Sam giggled up a storm at being jostled.
We had about half an hour before our Friday podcast guest would be here, and I intended to make each minute count. Even more so because our food-truck Thursdays had become more rare. Sometimes we went, sometimes we brought food over here instead, and sometimes I was just too tired to consider it.
We hadn’t gone yesterday.
“Is this one staying home today?” I pointed at Sam over her head so she couldn’t see.
Jake nodded with a mouth full of pancakes. “Haley and Nikki have plans for the talkin’ triad, and Mai’s gonna watch the twins.”
The talking triad. I chuckled and took a sip of my coffee. “I hope Mai leaves her boyfriend at home this time.” Mai loved kids, and she’d thought it was a good idea to bring her boyfriend over for lunch one day when the twins had been here. The dude was traumatized.
As if on cue, Adam and Callie started screaming, and I closed my eyes and counted to ten.
I could do this; I could do this. They needed to be fed anyway.
Before I could ease Sam off my lap, however, we had company. I heard Nikki and Haley, promptly followed by Colin announcing his mommy was here.