The worst part?
The way a breath-stopping, core-clenching feeling unfolded in my belly.
It was fucking hot.
Jeanine openedher front door with bright eyes and flour all over her shirt. A toddler ran out the door and into the yard, looking like George Washington with how much flour she had on her.
“Hazel!” Mara shouted, rushing down the hallway. “Don’t go out there!”
“I got her,” Jeanine said, pushing past me and gaining on the redheaded toddler, who was giggling her head off. Jeanine wiggled her fingers and hunched down like a monster. “Come here, you. I’m gonna get ya!”
Jeanine scooped the girl up and tipped her upside down off her hip. “Welcome to the madness! We’re making cookies. Come on in.”
She breezed past me into the house and was already back in the kitchen by the time Mara shut the front door behind me. “You still have a chance to back out,” Mara murmured. “It’s seven children and we’re a good four hours from bedtime. It’s even too much for me, and four of them are mine.”
“What’s the phrase? Many hands make light work?” I asked.
“Greyson, do not throw flour,” came Jeanine’s stern voice followed by a wail that certainly sounded performative.
Mara patted my shoulder. “You’re a trooper. You will be rewarded handsomely after we get these kids in bed.”
Jeanine plunked the smallest into a high chair by the counter. From there, it was stair steps of smallest to largest.
“Hi, everybody!” I said with a wave. “I’m Violet.”
Jeanine said, “This is Uncle Colton’s girlfriend.”
The second smallest little girl scowled at me, looking like a carbon copy of Jeanine in a preschooler’s body with luscious raven black hair that came to her shoulders and turquoise eyes.
“Let’s go through the lineup,” Mara said, pointing to each kid in turn. “The little redhead is mine, obviously, Hazel. She’s two and a half. Aspen is six, he’s also mine. Then Harper is six, and Jace is four. They’re both Jack’s and mine.”
“Our oldest here is Greyson,” Jeanine said, ruffling his hair from where she stood behind the kids. The mini Jeanine bared her teeth and snarled at me. “Then Alice there is six, and Bella, honey, you don’t have to growl at Violet.” Jeanine mouthed a “sorry” at me.
“Can I go play videogames?” Greyson whined.
“Why would you want to do that when we’re all having such a wonderful time making cookies?” Jeanine tried, sending him a maniacal smile. Greyson let a reluctant smile slip. “Just settle in wherever, Violet. We can use hands anywhere!”
I rolled up my sleeves and wedged myself between two of the girls. A high-pitched growl came from two seats away from me, Bella still making her distaste for me known.
Her sister, Alice, sighed from between us. “She thinks Colton is her boyfriend. Ow! Mom, Bella pinched me!”
I stifled a laugh. “That’s okay, Bella. Colton told me how special you are.” It was a little white lie, but I had to ingratiate myself somehow. He told me he played with Sorrento’s kids when he went over there, but he was always a little intimidated by Bella.
With good reason. That girl could mean mug, hard.
“Bella,” Jeanine warned after she stuck her tongue out at me. “It’s okay for Colton to date someone his own age.”
I was clearly not winning with Bella. I moved on to theolder kids. “Okay. Harper, Aspen, what shapes are you working on?”
The older kids were much more welcoming, and all I had to do was ferry different containers of sprinkles around. I settled in, and I hardly felt the sad pang of wishing for a family of my own. It helped that the kids were older, so it was more of a picture of what to look forward to.
Maybe someday, I’d be surrounded by chaos, and teasing, and giggles.
By the timethe last drink of water was administered, every shadow mystery was debunked, and every child was snug in their bed or sleeping bag, Jeanine, Mara, and I convened in the kitchen.
Jeanine headed for the refrigerator for a bottle of white wine and a can of seltzer for Mara. I sat next to Mara at the island.
“Here, I even got you a fancy weed seltzer so you don’t have to waste one of your gummies,” she said, setting the can in front of Mara with a glass of ice.
