Mom gave me a disbelieving eye and scoffed, “Your father never changed a diaper in his life.”
I jostled my elbow in Slade’s rock-hard stomach. “They don’t get away with that with me.”
“I need to see that,” Mom muttered as we carried the children to the lounge room, settling down to boast about the kids and how deliriously perfect they were.
The mention of my father made my mood drop slightly. I missed my dad more than ever in that moment. I wished the infamous Hellhound Heller was here to meet his grandkids and to take care of Mom, so she wasn’t so lonely and far away. Anger flared that Danny’s greed for power deprived my father of a comfortable retirement and time with his grandkids. That Colton convinced my brother to waste my dad.
Dad would have loved to teach his grandchildren how to ride, fix bikes, the value of family and brotherhood, how to stand up for themselves on the playground with their fists and words. Tasks left to my mates to deliver instead. Dad built Danny and me go-karts and other toys that drove fast and crashed just as hard. My quads would have loved their fearless, uninhibited grandpa.
“Granny, look!” Mia bustled into the lounge room carrying her baby sister, Alaric hot on her heels, making sure she didn't drop her. “This is Maddi. Isn’t she beautiful?”
“Favoritism,” I reminded her. She needed to learn to love them all equally. I suspected she shared a special bond with Maddi because of the one she shared with Alaric. He made her feel safe and in turn, Maddi gave her that too.
Mom passed Jackson back to Slade, attempting to usher Maddi into her arms, but Mia wasn’t sharing. “Oh, come here, baby girl.” Mom chuckled and tickled Mia’s chin. “I’ll give her back in a little bit. Just let me give her a kiss. She’s so sweet. Look at those cheekbones.”
Mia grinned. “Maddi’s the quietest and she doesn’t cry. Her poops don't smell like Jackson and Belle’s.” She waved her hand in front of her nose.
“TMI.” I clasped a hand over Mia’s mouth and laughed. “Sorry, Mom.”
Mom laughed it off. “Nothing I haven’t experienced.”
She went through round after round with the babies, never tiring of cuddling them, stroking their chubby cheeks, dusting their faces with kisses.
She cooed over Abayad’s long, dark eyelashes and his unusual golden eyes. “This handsome little man is going to break hearts.”
Slade pinched Jackson’s toes and opened his mouth playing with his boy. “Not as much as Jack. He’ll steamroll through hearts and leave a trail of them.”
I groaned. “Stop it.” Not in front of my mom. Thank God Castor wasn’t here to defend himself and his boy, otherwise the World War III of competitive barbs would fly back and forth.
Slade chuckled and grinned at me like the devil he’d always be.
This was perfect. My family finally united and brought together by loss and new life. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
