My gaze is broken by a not so little, but still cute, yellow ball of fur as he trots into my path. “Cooper, sit.” Immediately he obeys, sweeping his tail across the floor, eagerly awaiting my reward. I look over my shoulder at Blake and smile before petting Cooper behind the ear. “Good boy.” He rises off his haunches and trots to lay by Nycole’s feet under the table, most likely waiting for a scrap or two from the plate next to her. I have to admit, he’s been a wonderful addition to our family, and I think he will do just fine with our next new addition.
Speaking of which…
“We have my thirty-four week doctor’s appointment tomorrow, don’t forget. I already told Harlow I’m taking half a day off. Maybe you should too? We could make it a date.” Blake looks up, cocking his brow. I nod my head and he crooks a sexy smile. “Consider it done. What time?”
“Eleven o’clock. We should have plenty of time.” I add with a wink and a wide grin.
He chuckles under his breath before continuing to watch the girls’ super exciting checker match. After happily snatching a glass, I open the fridge to retrieve the gallon size orange juice. It’s all I seem to want to drink lately. Normally, I loathe O.J., however the little man residing in my tummy seems to love it.
Rylie skips into the kitchen with a handful of tiny plastic creatures in her hands. I have no idea what they are, what their purpose is, or why they seem to be all the rage right now. They don’t do a damn thing, but she just got a whole bucket full of them and insists on carrying them everywhere. I watch her brown eyes light up and a mischievous smile play on her lips as she lays the pile down on the table and climbs up onto Blake’s lap. I know what she’s going to do before she does it, and I can’t fight the smile breaking across my face.
She places the purple turtle looking thing on the board, in the uninhabited black square nearest to her. Eyes dancing with anticipation, she looks up at her sisters, who are still concentrating on the game. Her face falls when they don’t seem to notice her attempt at distraction.
She stretches her little arm out and using her tiny fingers, she slowly pushes the animal into the corresponding red square. With her sisters still not paying attention, I can see the frustration mounting on her face. After a few seconds of patiently waiting for any type of response from them, she does the only thing left to do. She quickly snakes her hand into Kyndall’s pile of red checkers, grabs a handful, and bolts off of Blake’s lap into the living room, giggling and squealing the entire time, her left butt cheek hanging out of her swimsuit as she runs.
“Rylie!” Kyndall shrieks loudly, jumping out of her seat. She takes off after her, and I can hear the scuffling as she is most likely wrestling her baby sister to the ground. Nycole just rolls her eyes and reaches over to move a couple of the checkers to a more favorable position.
Cheater.
Blake lets out a laugh as he rises from his chair, scooting the seat out from underneath him with the backs of his legs. He gives her an encouraging pat to the head, mussing her hair before sauntering over to me, coffee mug in hand. Once he’s directly in front of me, he places one arm on each side of my very pregnant belly, bracing himself against the counter, and leans in closely. After placing a very gentle kiss on the hollow of my neck, he raises himself, his green eyes meeting mine. “I love you, Alex.”
“And I love you,” I respond. My heart is flittering from the recent contact. One touch from this man and I turn to mush.
And I love every second of it.
“Mommy! Kyndall pushed me!” Rylie screams from the other room, half crying and half laughing through her attempt to escape her sister’s wrath. I lean my forehead into Blake’s neck. “Make it stop, Blake. Please.” He snickers as he lifts one arm from the counter, and runs his fingers through my brown tresses. The light touch sends an electric jolt through my veins.
“You relax. Go take a shower and I’ll get them dressed. Nancy’s coming to get them, remember?” Oh, yeah. Pregnancy brain strikes once again.
“Yes, of course I remember.”
Blake chuckles once again, and then pushes his body away from mine, turning to take care of the altercation still occurring in the living room. I look over to Nycole, who’s watching me with a smile beaming on her face. “What?”
“Nothing,” she states with a shrug of her shoulders. “I love you, Mom. That’s all.”
I walk over to her chair, and she stands up as I approach her. She wraps both arms around my stomach, embracing both me and her little brother. He kicks as soon as her cheek hits my tummy and she moves her hands to the sides of my belly, feeling for his next movement. He shifts around a bit, then delivers another powerful one on my right side. I think he just cracked a rib.
Setting her chin on my stomach, she looks up at me. “I can’t wait to meet him. I hope he turns out better than Rylie.”
Laughing, I explain to her the inevitable. “Oh, he’ll be worse. Count on it. You guys tend to be getting more and more ornery as you come along.”
Her big brown eyes dancing with joy. “Then that makes me the best, right?”
I lift my hand and place it on her soft cheek. “In-dubitably.” I respond. Still smiling, she releases me from her embrace.
“Better go get dressed, Grandma Nancy’s on her way to take you costume shopping, remember? What are you going to be this year?” I ask, always interested in her costume selection.
She bats her eyes at me and I already have a feeling I’m not going to like her response. “I’m thinking belly dancer?”
The image of my child dressed with her mid-drift exposed assaults my brain. “Um, no. Try again.”
With a roll of her eyes and a humph, she responds, “Fine. Draculaura?”
“Better.” I run my hand down her long, curly hair. She’s growing up so quickly.
I smile when I hear a very manly “oomph” from the other room; pictures of Kyndall and Rylie crawling all over him run through my mind. Sounds as though the two have joined forces against him.
I couldn’t be more proud.
I look back down at my growing girl. “I love you, Nyc.”
“Love you too, Mom.” She turns away and I watch her disappear up the stairs.
Shortly after, the doorbell rings, scaring the bejeezus out of Cooper, who lets out a couple of deep barks with a low growl, noting his protest. Nancy. I guess we’re running a little late this morning. Making my way through the living room, I pass Blake along the way. Rylie’s infectious giggle makes me smile once again as I watch her, hanging upside down over his shoulder, laughing and kicking—left butt cheek still hanging out—and Kyndall happily hopping up the steps after them. I guess she got her checkers back.
Opening the door, I’m greeted by a huge grin and a super-sized hug. “How are you, my dear?” Nancy asks, stepping back to look me over. “You look absolutely beautiful.” I glance down at my “Birth Control is Over-Rated” t-shirt and reach up to touch my ratty hair. The hair that I meant to put in a ponytail. Nice.
Giving an appreciative smile in response to her attempt to make me feel better about my appearance, I reply, “Thank you. And so do you.” She gives me a genuine smile that grows in size as I hear the pitter patter of little feet running behind me across the hard wood.
“Rylie!” Nancy exclaims, scooping her up in her arms. I watch her feet dangle as Nancy sways her back and forth during her embrace. I guess Blake just threw a dress on over the swimsuit.