“I will.”
Sloan hopped out of the car, feeling a little boost from the kiss they had shared, but as soon as she sat down in her office she was struggling to pull it together all over again. She pulled out her phone and brought up her family text chain. It had been a little quiet the last few days. Everyone was busy. She sent a half dozen of the pictures she’d taken.
They’re off!
Before anyone could respond, she called her mom.
“Hold on one moment. My daughter’s on the phone. Hello, sweetheart.”
“Hey, mom.” Sloan couldn’t keep her voice from trembling. “Where are you?”
“I’m at Shaw’s, grabbing some fruit for Winston.” The thought of her sixteen-month-old nephew made her tear up even more. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t talk long, but I just dropped the girls off at school and I wanted to tell you I get it now.”
“Oh, you remember howIcried your first day of school and you told me to be cool? You had it under control?”
Sloan laughed as tears started running down her face. She’d given birth to double the payback for all the days she’d given her mom a hard time. “I vaguely remember that, but that’s not what I meant. I get why you stuck with me until I got all the way through. I wanted to stay with them too.”
“What’s the phrase the kids say? You’ve leveled up in motherhood.”
“Yeah, it feels sort of like that.”
“It’s part of the journey, baby girl.”
“I know. I should go, but I just wanted to slip you a well-earned I told you so.”
Her mother let out a snort of laughter. “Well, I appreciate that.”
After they said their goodbyes, Sloan ended the call. When she clicked back out to the home screen, her dad and brother had replied to her texts.
Gordy: They look cute as hell, Sloan
Dad Copeland: I just wanna know when they’re gonnaget jobs. Old enough for school. You’re old enough to work.
Soon dad. Don’t worry.
Sloan slipped her phone in her pocket before she wiped her cheeks. She had patients to see.
11
Monday Night
Rafe grabbed some of the massive, hotel-style towels Sloan stocked in the linen closet and helped Addison and Avery out of the tub, one by one. The girls had been fucking amped when he picked them up from school. The hustle and bustle of Mrs. Brown’s kindergarten classroom seemed to work for them just fine, but they were so hyper, he had to match that energy throughout the afternoon just to get them to mellow out.
Sloan would have killed Rafe if he let them go in the pool with their freshly done braids. The elaborate low pigtails were slicked down with what she made sound like a gallon of gel. She’d given him a quick tutorial on how to smooth down their parts if needed, but he couldn’t smooth down a dunk in a pool.
He’d let them buzz around the driveway on their scooters until they were out of breath and then fed them Italian for dinner. They were both listing a bit to the left by the time their bath rolled around. He knew they’d be out cold as soon as they hit their pillows. Just as they finished brushing their teeth, he heard the door downstairs slam closed.
“Hello?” Sloan called up the stairs.
“Mommy!” Avery spun on her heels and bolted out of the bathroom. Addison hung back, seemingly waiting for him.
“You alright?” he asked, taking her little hand. She adjusted her pink shower cap with the other.
“I’m just exhausted,” she said with a dramatic sigh.
“I get it. You’ve had a busy day. Let’s go say hi to your mom.” Out in the hallway, Avery was already telling Sloan about their day. “Hi, baby.” Sloan kissed Addison on her cheeks. “Oh, you smell so good. Come on. Let’s get your pjs on,” she added, directing the party into their bedroom.
