Page 47 of Nothing to This

SEVENTEEN

After Baxter disappeared around the corner, she forced herself to hail a cab.The apartment was only a few blocks away, but walking felt like too much.She didn’t want to think; she just wanted to be with her family.Her kids always helped her feel better about everything, especially when the Earth was tilting on its axis.

Using her key to go into the apartment, she dropped her purse and scanned the mess in the kitchen.No sign of the kids, but she could hear something further inside.Heading down the hallway toward the sound, she ended up pushing JD’s slightly ajar bedroom door further open.

The trio were on JD’s bed watching a movie on the TV that shared a wall with the doorway she was standing in.All their attention swung around to her.Kye was lying across the foot of the bed, his head propped on his hand.JD sat in the middle of the bed, in front of his pillows, hairbrush in hand, doing something with Sky’s hair.Their daughter was content between her father’s legs, stretching a hairband.

“Momma,” Sky called.“Daddy’s making my hair wavy.”

“I called Brenna,” JD said, frowning at whatever he was doing to Sky’s hair.“I don’t think I followed the instructions right.”

Just like that, they accepted her.No one asked questions or needed explanations.No one accused her of anything or made demands.

Dragging her feet, she slipped off her shoes and climbed onto the bed.Forcing her boy onto his back, she held his cheeks in her hands and pressed a kiss to his forehead.That wasn’t all.Her gorgeous, precious boy got a kiss on each of his eyes before she kissed his lips.

Kye laughed when she moved on and did the same thing to her daughter.When she was done kissing Sky, she crawled up the bed some more and gave her daughter’s back a little push.

“Slide down a bit,” she said, taking the hairbrush from JD’s hand and climbing over his leg to sit between them to take over with Sky’s hair.

“Mommy saves the day,” JD said and kissed the back of her head before slouching against his pillows.

After removing the ties and pins to put them aside, she took JD’s wrist to pull him into a sitting position again.

“Watch,” she said to him.“Every good daddy should know how to braid his daughter’s hair.”

“In case of braiding emergencies,” he said, smoothing a hand down Sky’s hair as she brushed it.“Her hair’s as soft as yours.”

“I wish,” she said, putting the brush aside to run her fingers through the length of Sky’s tresses.

Within their daughter’s locks, JD’s fingers tangled in hers; his torso pressed against her back.Sky and Kye laughed at the movie on the screen ahead.

JD’s breath warmed the shell of her ear.“Everything okay?”She nodded and gave his fingers a squeeze before extricating hers to separate out the hair for braids.“Did he hurt you?”

Physically or emotionally?She hadn’t intended to be back home that night.The fact she was in the apartment at all told him something had happened.Tipping her chin toward her shoulder, she kept her volume low and continued braiding, so as not to draw their daughter’s attention.

“I’m not your responsibility,” she murmured.“I’m Mommy, you’re Daddy, that’s it.”

“Mommy,” Kye called out.

“Yes, sweetpea?”

“You should put your jammies on.”

“Yeah!”Sky exclaimed.“Can Mommy sleep in our bed tonight, Daddy?”

JD’s bed was communal property?That was funny.Just like Sky to claim ownership.Kye scrambled up the bed, bypassing his sister and mother to wrap his arms around JD from behind.She didn’t have to look to know it.Her boy’s hands caught in her hair as he threw his arms around JD to clamber up onto him.

“Watch the girls, buddy,” JD said, picking her hair from Kye’s hands.

“Can she, Daddy?”Sky demanded.“Can Mommy cuddle with us?”

“Thumb wrestles, Daddy,” Kye said.

Pushing Sky further down the bed to between JD’s feet gave her space to shimmy down the bed and the boys more room to play.

“Daddy!”

Kye’s exuberance tempted her to smile and peek over her shoulder.In demand, JD scooped their son around to sit on his torso and lay down, pushing his groin hard against her ass.Not that he’d notice, being too busy locking his hand around their giggling son’s.