Page 2 of The Winning Hat Trick (The Steel City Knights #1)

Celeste

" M ama! Talon is not aposed to do dat!" Calla calls from the kitchen.

I let out a sigh from deep within my chest.

"Shush, Calla," Talon counters. "I'm tryin' a help Mama make food. I needs to help 'cause I'm the man of the house."

Groaning, I finish changing Layla, then scoop her into my arms and curse my dad as I head towards the kitchen.

I love that he was trying to instill responsibility in my little boy by telling him he is the man of the house, but for fuck's sake, I didn't think it would cause me more grief.

Now Talon is walking around our home acting like he's the boss, constantly fighting me and not listening.

"Oh, shit." I set Layla into her highchair and strap her in, then rush around the counter and grab Talon off the shelves he's scaling to get god knows what out of the pantry.

"Talon, baby, I love that you want to help Mommy, I do.

But I need you to do that in ways that are safe.

Climbing these shelves is not safe. You could fall off and get hurt or knock something off and accidentally hurt Calla.

Besides, I told you I would be right out.

I just needed to get Layla's diaper changed, and then I planned on getting lunch. I've got things handled."

"Yes, but Papa told me I'm the man of the house and I need to have more restonsipilities."

"It's 'responsibilities', and I think Papa meant you picking up your toys and being kind to your sisters.

It's not your job to worry about the big stuff.

Your job is to be the best big brother you can be and to have fun and be a kid.

You got me?" I raise my brow, cross my arms over my chest, and pop my hip while I give my sweet boy my best mom glare.

He mulls what I said over. Relief floods me when he smiles and holds out his hand.

"Deal. I can do that." He grins as we shake hands.

"Besides, you need to enjoy this time before school starts in a few weeks. Are you excited about kindergarten?"

"I can't wait. I'm gonna make lots of friends. Grammy said so."

"I bet you will. You're a good friend to your sisters."

Talon's nose scrunches as he helps Calla get into her booster seat at the table. "I'm not their friend, Mommy. I'm their brother, duh."

"Hey, lose the 'tude, dude. Uncle Ezra is my brother, and he's also my best friend. Just because he's one thing, it doesn't mean he can't be both."

"I misseded Unca Ezra. Can we go to his house?" Calla gives me the best puppy-dog eyes, making it impossible to tell her no.

"I'll give him a call and see what he's up to."

With Talon's feet on solid ground, I grab my phone out of my yoga shorts and call Ezra.

"Hey, Cel."

"Hey, big brother. You're on speaker phone," I warn him as I work on getting food ready to feed my tiny humans.

"Hello, niblings. How are my favorite kiddos?"

"I missded you, Unca Ezra," Calla calls out.

"I miss you too, Calla girl. How about you come see me?"

"Yay!"

Talon and Calla cheer from their seats as I try to get them to focus on the sandwich, yogurt, cheese, and fruit I placed in front of them.

"We just sat down for lunch, but if you don't mind, we can come by when we're done," I tell Ezra.

"You know I never mind having you guys here."

"That might've been the case when you were single, but you have Daphne now. I'm not just gonna show up with my brood like I used to. I will always be checking in first. I don't want to ever cause issues with your relationship."

"Oh, shut the hell up, will ya? You know Daphne loves you and the kids and does not think you guys are a burden. She understands that our family is close."

"Yeah, but just because we get along, it doesn't mean she wants us around every time she's over at your place. Besides, I'm more worried about walking in and seeing something that I can't unsee, if ya know what I mean. I don't need to scar my kids for life."

"Alright, brat. I get what you're saying. She's got clients pretty much all day, so you don't need to worry about that today. Just come over whenever, and we can go swim and grill out. I'm gonna get some work done, so if you can't find me, check my office."

"Sounds good. I'll let Mom and Dad know we're coming over."

"Great. See you soon."

"Love you. Bye."

"Love you too, Celly."

I hang up with Ez and dive into my lunch. It's hard to get the kids to focus on their food until I tell them that nobody will be swimming if they can't clean their plates.

Wouldn't you know, all I had to do was dangle the pool over their heads to get them motivated properly.

Layla makes a mess with her yogurt, which delays our leaving the house, but a while later, we are finally getting ready to head to my favorite person's place.

It was a hell of a lot more convenient seeing Ezra when we were staying in his pool house, but once my divorce was finalized and the house sold, I needed to find my own place and to stand on my own two feet.

I needed to know that I could . If I leaned on Ezra for too long, I was afraid I'd never leave.

Not only did I have Ezra's support, but I had both of my parents around constantly too since they have a small house set at the back of Ezra's property.

After the divorce, being close to my family was what I needed.

I wasn't heartbroken over Chad, but my heart was breaking for my children because I'd chosen a dead-beat dad for them.

I chose to ignore all the red flags when it came to Chad and continued bringing babies into the world.

Not that I regret my children, but their sperm donor is a piece of shit.

Having Ezra and my dad around to show the kids how real men are, and how we all deserve to be treated, helped ease some of the wounds left by Chad dick .

It was everything the kids and I needed at the time.

Selling my house, to start over fresh, even though I owned it and Chad had no claim to it, was also the right move. I'd never been in love with the house to begin with but let Chad's opinion sway me into purchasing it when I was house hunting. That house was too sleek and modern for my liking.

Our current one is much more my style, and the kids are thriving here.

It's meant for a family to grow and build memories in, and that's exactly what we are doing.

It's also beneficial being close enough to Ezra and my parents—just under a fifteen-minute drive and also only twenty minutes from the city.

We've been here for a few months, and I feel more at peace than I ever did in the five years in my old house.

"Alright, gremlins, who's ready to go swimming?" I herd the kids to the car.

Talon and Calla start bickering before I even finish buckling Layla in, making my already frazzled nerves buzz.

I take a deep breath, but some days it's hard not to lose my shit with them.

Jumping into the driver's seat, I connect my phone to the car and pull up my Spotify.

Paramore's Conspiracy pours through the speakers as I inhale slowly, release it, then roll out my neck.

Feeling calmer, I peek in the rearview mirror and smile. Talon and Calla are head banging and bopping in their car seats. They may drive me nuts, but I also love them like crazy. Seeing them enjoying the music that eases my soul calms the frustration of having three kids under five.

By the time I pull up to Ezra's house, we're all singing along and having a blast. Well, everyone except Layla, who passed out before we even made it to the end of the block. It's her nap time, so I'm not really surprised.

Talon unbuckles and is out of the car before I can even get his door open to help him. His peel of laughter rings behind him as he flies through the air and lands in Ez's waiting arms.

Shaking my head at their antics, I help Calla out of her car seat then unload our swim bag, snacks, and diaper bag.

I'm just about to grab Layla when Ezra bumps me out of the way. "I was gonna get the bags, but I think I want my baby. You might want to catch up to Talon before he has to sit out for fifteen minutes again."

Talon is a very strong swimmer, but he is under no circumstances allowed to get into the pool without an adult around.

In his excitement, he's been known to forget this a time or two, and the fifteen minutes he has to wait while everyone else swims may as well be an hour with how much he carries on.

"Ugh." I groan as I heft all the bags into my arms and hurry into the house.

Much to my relief, I find Talon helping Calla into her puddle jumper.

"Thanks for helping your sister, baby." I caress his shaggy mop of hair, then lean down and kiss his head.

"I'm not a baby, Mommy. I'm just doing my job and being a good big brother like you said."

"You're being the best big brother."

His beaming smile has my mama heart melting.

"Alright, sunscreen, and then you lot can go swim."

Both kids wear long-sleeve sun shirts for suits, so all I really need to apply sunscreen to are their faces and necks, which doesn't take long.

By the time I'm done, Ezra has made it outside with a sleeping Layla and is lounging in the shade with her. Layla, sprawled on his chest, is content as can be.

I plop down in a cushioned lounger next to him and enjoy some sun while keeping an eye on the kids.

"She looks good on you, big brother," I tease him.

A smile tugs at the corners of his mouth.

"You think you and Daphne are going to have kids?"

"Absolutely. Gotta get her to marry me first, though." His dopey smile lets me know he's completely serious.

Ezra and Daphne haven't been together long, but he's been pining over her for years. He's known she's it for him, and luckily, she feels exactly the same. They are the first people I've seen whose love reminds me of our parents'—the love I so desperately wanted and convinced myself I had with Chad.

"So, when are you going to ask her?"

"Soon. We need to get through the program for our non-profits first, but I'd like to ask her after that."