Cooper chuckles and sets his thermos on the counter next to me. “Do you need help with dinner?” he asks.
“Nope, it’s done. I just need butts in seats.”
“I think I can manage to wrangle the herd,” he says and kisses me on the cheek.
I get plates down from the cabinet and scoop spaghetti and bolognese onto plates, and make smaller portions for the little ones.
“Hey Mom?” Naomi calls.
“Yeah, hon?”
“Can I have a sleepover with Pepper? She’s inviting a bunch of girls and some of them are on the cheer team and I wanted to try out next year so…” she trails off and I smile at the girl usually full of sunshine, slowly turning into a woman before my eyes.
She started calling me Mom when she turned nine. Her mother hadn’t made contact, that she knew of. A few months after her birthday, we found out Rebekah was in rehab. She relapsed and was back at step one, but determined.Rebekah wanted a relationship with Naomi, but Cooper and I decided she needed to be at least three months sober before that happened. She managed to accomplish that and come to Naomi’s tenth birthday party, but since then we haven’t heard from her.
Cooper decided after that not to file for adoption. It’s a long process, and after we talked about it, it felt like it was a nail in Rebekah’s coffin. Addiction is a difficult thing, and she did the best she could to protect Naomi from it.
Adopting Naomi as our own wasn’t something we wanted to put either of them through. Legal papers or not, she’s our daughter, and she knows we love her more than life itself. My heart breaks for them. I don’t consider it an obligation to be a mother to Naomi. It’s an honor, and I hope Rebekah can get herself healthy to see what an amazing girl she is becoming.
“Will there be boys?” I ask her.
“Boys? Nope, the answer is no, princess,” Cooper says, holding Leo under his arm like a football, and his large hand over Isabella’s head so she doesn’t run off. They giggle and wiggle around, trying to slip free.“Dad,” Naomi grumbles.
He sets Leo down and puts Isabella in her seat. Leo starts to take off, but he’s not fast enough, and Cooper grabs him by his collar, picking him up with one hand. Leo giggles and shrieks as he’s set in the chair.
“As long as there are no boys, yes, you can go,” I tell her.
“There won’t be any boys,” Naomi grumbles.
I stare at her for a second, and I can see it in her eyes. The older she gets, the more she’ll get into. The Hayes kids are notorious for it.
“Fine, but if Uncle Ledger arrests you, you’re going to sit there,” Cooper says.
Naomi rolls her eyes with a small smile on her face. “Oh, please, Dad, he might arrest me in front of everyone else, but you know he’ll just bring me home.”
“Exactly, so I can ground you for twenty years,” he grumbles.
When we all sit in our seats, Leo says a prayer, though half of it makes no sense.
Isabella screams, “Amen.”
“How was work,babe?” Cooper asks.
“It was normal. I hired a new girl, and I think she’s going to work out really well. We’re also completely booked for next year’s weddings.”
“Wow, Mae, that’s great,” Cooper says, grinning.
“Thank you,” I whisper, his encouragement still makes me blush.
I worked for the accounting firm for another handful of years after Leo was born, and while I was pregnant with Isabella. But after I had her, a teenager, a husband that sometimes acts like a teenager, and a business growing faster than I can handle. My dad retired, and they moved to Paxton to be closer. After all that, I decided it was time to call a quits. I enjoyed what I did. But I love this so much more.
After we finish dinner, I get Isabella and Leo into the bath while Cooper and Naomi clean up the kitchen.
By the time I get the kids to bed, I’m dragging my feet to my own. We added to the house after Leo was born. We didn’t want to move, especially with no mortgage, but we needed more space, adding three extra rooms and another bathroom. During the remodel, we made the only bathroom in the house at the time the master bath. The kids can fight amongst themselves, sharing the other.
My eyes are almost closed as I pull the covers over me, then arms snake around my ribs.
He digs his nose into my neck and takes a deep breath.
