Page 51 of Jaeda
“’Cause he’s my baby. Where is everybody else?”
“Kalia spent the night at Allison’s. Your mom is upstairs, taking a nap. Lunch took her out.”
“I’m starving.”
He nodded toward the stove. “Help yourself.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. After placing Jaiden on his feet, I washed my hands and made myself a bowl of my mama’s white chicken chili. I took a seat on the opposite side of the island to watch Hershel and Jaiden mess with this damn makeshift oven.
By the time I was finished eating, Hershel was grabbing his keys to go get my mama a snack from the corner store for when she woke up. The man had her spoiled, but it was expected and what she was accustomed to. My mother hadn’t had a job since she dated my father. When she got pregnant with Kerrion, he made her quit.
Since then, he’d always taken care of her, and once she married Hershel, he took care of everything else. Of course, Mom had a nice cushion in her bank account, courtesy of my father. He’d never been stingy with his money, especially not when it came to his kids or their mothers.
I made my way through the now quiet house and upstairs to Mom and Hershel’s bedroom. This baby seemed to have her tired all the time. I found her sleeping soundly. I smiled as I watched her holding her baby bump. She sported biker shorts and a sports bra, her favorite comfort fit. It was crazy that she was pregnant again, but she looked so cute.
Kicking off my shoes, I climbed into bed and snuggled up to her, gently rubbing her exposed belly.
“You aren’t slick, Jaeda Janelle,” she said.
“How did you know it was me?”
She turned over to face me. “I have four and a half kids. You can never sneak up on me. I heard when you came in the house.” She looked me over. “Avoiding going home in that man’s clothes?”
“You know your son, nephews, and baby daddy. I just wanna sneak in undetected.”
She giggled as she caressed my face. “My sweet Jaeda. Come here, baby.”
I snuggled up closer and rested my head on her breasts.
“Your titties got bigger,” I jested.
“Baby, everything on me is getting bigger. She’s making me fat.”
“She? It’s a girl?”
“Yep. Another girl. Hershel is over the moon excited.”
“You know people are gonna think she’s my daughter and not my sister when I have her.”
“Fuck people.”
I laughed as I rubbed her stomach. Leaning down, I kissed it.
“Hey, little sis. I can’t wait to meet you.”
My mom stroked my hair as I rested my head on her belly. I used to do this when she was pregnant with Kalia and Jaden.
“How was dinner?” she asked.
“Great.”
“And dessert?”
“Mommy!”
“Girl, please. You’re glowing. If I had to guess, you had a second helping this morning.”
“We didn’t have sex.”
