Chapter Thirteen
“You’re back!” Jennifer exclaimed looking up from the animated TV show.
“I am,” Tim replied, rubbing a towel through his wet hair. Jessica stood beside him patting down her rain-soaked body with a towel she had grabbed from the laundry room on their way back in.
Baby Jo-Jo was sound asleep on her back in the playpen set up in the corner, surrounded by various stuffed toys and a few books. When Jessica’s mother finally left, she hurriedly placated the baby in the safe place so she could retrieve Tim’s keys and shoes. Jill was nodding off in the corner of the couch, and Julia’s eyes were glazed over as she stared at the big screen, holding her blanket and sucking her thumb.
Jessica tilted her head to look up into Tim’s face. “I need to get them to bed. Do you mind hanging out down here while I get Jo-Jo situated?”
“No, of course not. Do you want any help?”
“No, I’ve got it. We have a pretty steady routine at bedtime. Keep Jennifer company while I take care of her sisters first.”
With the towel around her shoulders, she leaned over the pen and hoisted her sleeping baby up into her arms. Her damp t-shirt slid across the baby’s skin, and she started to fuss, causing her to reposition the towel. “I’m sorry, sweetie-pie. Mama’s all wet. Let’s get you upstairs.”
One by one, she put her kids to bed, and for some odd reason, none of them resisted. As she tucked Jennifer in last, she sat on the edge of the mattress and smoothed her fair hair back from her face. “Good night, Jennifer. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mama,” she replied sleepily.
Jessica turned off the bedside lamp and started to leave.
“Mama?”
“Mmm?”
“Is Tim going to live with us?”
Jennifer’s innocent question took her by surprise. She stood in the small opening of the cracked bedroom door. “No, baby, he has his own house he lives in.”
“Oh. Can we go see it?”
Jessica stifled a chuckle. “I’m sure he’ll show us his house sometime soon. Now, please go to sleep. It’s been a long day.”
“Okay.”
As she started to pull the door shut, Jennifer shouted, “I love you” again.
“I love you too, sweet girl. Now, go to sleep!”
Rounding the corner to the family room area, she couldn’t help but smile when Tim looked up at her and immediately stood. She was rewarded with outstretched arms, anxious to bury her head in his chest.
“You need to change out of these wet clothes before you catch a cold in the AC,” his voice rumbled in her ear.
She rested her chin on his sturdy torso and looked up at him. “You’re wet too. Do you need to throw your things in the dryer?”
His eyebrow cocked, and she swore she could see his green eyes sparkle like the Emerald City. “Sure, if you don’t mind a half-naked man hanging out in your house while my clothes dry.”
She giggled and took him by the hand, leading him through the kitchen and into the spacious laundry room near the garage entrance. She hit a switch, and the room was illuminated with soft lighting highlighting one full wall of attached little cubbies with hooks and benches underneath. Each Kaufman girl was assigned a space where tiny shoes and an assortment of coats and backpacks were neatly put away in the efficient area essential for a busy family with multiple kids. The enormous stainless-steel washer and dryer took up the opposite wall.
“Can I help you with this?” Jessica clowned, eagerly pulling up the edge of Tim’s shirt.
He smirked, lifting his thick, muscular arms and helping her pull the stubborn, wet clothing that stuck to his skin over his head. The air sizzled with immediate heat and the faint aroma of dryer sheets.
“Now let me help you,” he suggested, effortlessly peeling her shirt up and over her head. She crisscrossed her arms in front of her chest as her skin prickled with goosebumps.
“Are you cold?” He wrapped his warmth around her in a bear hug and lifted her up, setting her on top of the dryer with her legs dangling over the edge. Pushing her knees apart, he nestled his trim waist near the apex of her thighs and pulled her snug against him.
“We forgot to put our clothes in the dryer,” she said softly, fingering the damp hair around his face.
