KAT
The boys slept far better in their new home than I did. The ceiling fan muffled every noise, making them less recognizable. Soon, my mind morphed every sound into something negative, from cats hissing and babies crying to glass breaking and people arguing.
Unable to do more than doze, I was relieved when the boys began to fuss around one.
Maria, Rowdy, and I adjusted to our new location and kept to our system. Soon, the five of us were on the couch. Rowdy fed Cavan while I cared for Colson. Maria rested her head on my shoulder and yawned.
Having us together this way eased my earlier angst. This beautiful condo wasn’t cozy like the townhome. The masculine décor made the place dark and imposing. Yet, being sandwiched between Maria and Rowdy helped me settle down.
After we returned the boys to bed, Maria pointed at the cats now hiding under Colson’s crib. I smiled at the thought of them adjusting to their new home. If Wicked and Witchy could settle down, I would need to learn to do the same.
I slept better after we returned to bed. The fan comforted me rather than making me obsess over every noise. Sleep came easily once I cuddled against the back of Rowdy and inhaled his familiar scent.
I didn’t wake when the boys got up at seven. Rowdy crept out of bed and helped Maria. I found them at nine in the kitchen, making breakfast. I didn’t ask why they hadn’t woken me. My sister was always trying to get me to sleep more. Now, she had an ally in Rowdy.
My sister poured me a cup of coffee and explained, “Rowdy suggested we order groceries, but I’d like to walk around the store and get a feel for what they have.”
“We can go when the boys are napping,” I replied as I blew on my coffee.
“You shouldn’t be walking that much,” Maria said and glanced at Rowdy. “I will be fine alone.”
“Or,” Rowdy said as he set out the plates, “Ivy could go with you. She likes to shop. Unfortunately, Clint hates grocery shopping and wants to order everything online.”
Maria smiled. “Spending time with Ivy would be fun.”
Instantly feeling rejected, I began to cry. Though blaming my outburst on hormones made sense, Maria and I had long ago embraced our codependent relationship.
My sister wrapped her arms around me and promised to stay home. Rowdy wrapped his arms around us both and insisted Maria should go shopping with Ivy.
“I want to spend time alone with my woman and sons,” he explained. “You’re a fifth wheel.”
Gasping, I wiped my eyes to find him smirking at me. “Don’t tease.”
“Maria knows she has value. Don’t you?” he asked my sister, who nodded.
“I want to go to the store, too,” I said, sounding whiny.
“But I want to hang out here together,” Rowdy said, using the same whiny tone. “I thought we could let my mom watch the boys while I showed you around the condo building.”
“Shouldn’t I also know where things are in the condo?” Maria asked.
Rowdy’s pale blue eyes flashed between Maria and me. Occasionally, he seemed shocked by how tightly wound together we were. Having seen his family’s close bonds, I wasn’t sure why he didn’t understand that Maria and I couldn’t stand to be apart.
Feeling silly for pitching a fit, I backed down about Maria joining Ivy at the downtown grocery store.
“I’ll need someone to supervise you at the store,” Rowdy said after texting Clint at breakfast. “Several local guys think it’s funny to hassle the foxes. I’m not sure if they’d view you as off limits.”
“Are you sure it’s safe to go out?” I asked and reached for Maria’s hand. “Online shopping is fine.”
“Clint’s busy this afternoon,” Rowdy said, ignoring my comment. “I wonder if Farley is around.”
Maria’s expression brightened immediately at the mention of the biker’s name. Seeing her reaction, I couldn’t whine my way into her staying locked away with me. Rowdy finally focused his gaze on me, and I realized he’d orchestrated everything.
“Devious,” I hissed, making him grin. “When is Bebe coming over?”
“Around two. She can watch the boys while Maria shops and we take a walk. Bebe would like to stay for dinner again. My sisters might also show up. Will that work for you?”
“Of course,” I said, excited to spend more time with Lula, Sabrina, and Vanessa.
My excitement faded when Sabrina burst into the condo around lunch and began ranting before saying hello.
“I can’t believe you’re screwing with my life, little brother!”
Standing at the kitchen island, Rowdy smirked and asked, “How do you figure, Blabby Sabby?”
Sabrina flashed him a dirty look. “Your boys are fueling baby talk at the Sorority House.”
“How come that didn’t happen when Elle had Trent?”
“It’s the twin effect,” Sabrina explained and frowned at Maria and me.
“A fox will look at one baby and fight the urge to turn herself into an incubator. But the second baby is simply too much cuteness. The foxes are hit with an avalanche of hormones. I just caught Moe asking Bay Jones how she found the sperm donor for Zadie and Farley.”
“And you’ve come here to ask that I father your woman’s child,” Rowdy said, and I instantly knew he was messing around.
Knowing it too, Sabrina tried to punch him in the gut. Rowdy effortlessly dodged her and winked at me.
“Unfortunately, my delicate sister, I’m saving my seed in case Kat and I want more kids.”
“More?” Sabrina balked. “Two is enough.”
“Uh, our family has four.”
“Yeah, and I feel like Mom and Dad could have easily stopped at two.”
“Someone’s fussy,” Rowdy taunted. “Does baby need a pacifier?”
As the siblings threw punches and dodged them, I smiled at Maria. “I think it would be nice to have another baby. Rowdy can be there for every step of the pregnancy.”
“Oh, Kat, we were warned about this. You’ve officially hit the point when you’ve forgotten how much pregnancy sucked,” Maria replied, winning a triumphant fist bump from Sabrina. “Besides, what if you get pregnant with twins again?”
“No, I’m sure it’ll be only one.”
“Based on what?”
My mind flashed to two months ago when I had blazing heartburn that turned every meal into a battle.
“I don’t know,” I mumbled, now horrified at the thought of another pregnancy. “I think maybe I should stop talking now.”
A smiling Maria leaned over to nuzzle my shoulder. “You have two beautiful babies. There’s no reason to worry about more for now.”
Nodding, I got my head on straight and realized Rowdy was watching us.
“You can’t get pregnant for two years,” he explained patiently. “My mom told me to be careful. She’s afraid our horniness will lead to another quick pregnancy, which will put too much strain on your body.”
I smiled at how Bebe worried about me. When Maria’s gaze met mine, I knew she was thinking about how much we lost over the years by losing our mom.
“Twins run in our family,” I babbled as I cuddled with Maria.
“I mean obviously, but our mom was an identical twin, too. Her sister, Lyda, died when they were teenagers. Our grandmother was an identical twin, and her brothers were identical twins. Based on our mom’s journals, no woman in generations has had a singleton pregnancy. ”
“Even more reason for us to be careful,” Rowdy said in a soft tone.
“I wish I could turn off my sperm until we were ready for another one. Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll be up to more kids once the boys start running around and climbing shit.
I was a rotten kid. If they’re like me, that’s twin rotten boys. ”
“You were fine,” Sabrina said, waving off his concern. “A little dorky, sure. No one knew what the fuck you were talking about half the time, but we eventually got used to your gibberish.”
Rowdy smiled at his sister as he stood behind me and stroked my head. “If we do have more kids, I hope they’re girls. I want to name the cuter one Alicia.”
“But they’d be identical.”
“Exactly, so the name can be used for either one.”
Sabrina sighed loudly. “Not to ruin this twin moment, but can we get back to Moe wanting a baby?”
“Just give her one,” Rowdy replied. “What’s the harm? Babies are easy.”
Sabrina’s dark eyes narrowed, and I felt her preparing to tackle Rowdy. He must have felt the same thing because he smirked.
“You’re going to end up on your ass, big sis,” Rowdy warned as he walked around the couch to face her.
Refusing to heed his warning, Sabrina started kicking and throwing punches. I watched while Rowdy dodged, blocked, and ducked her attacks. They moved around the family room until someone knocked on the door.
“You’re worrying too much,” Rowdy said as he maneuvered around his sister and toward the door. “The foxes are suffering from baby fever. Trust that once they spend enough time around my boys, they’ll realize how much work it takes and stop dreaming of offspring.”
“Did you just accuse the women I love of being lazy?” Sabrina demanded.
“Of course not,” Rowdy said and winked at me. “But you do like to sleep in, and I haven’t gotten a full night’s rest in a month. Just something that the women you love ought to realize before they ship sperm to the Sorority House.”
Rowdy opened the door as he neared the end of his sentence. He smiled at whoever was in the hallway.
“I hope you’re not here for donor sperm, young lady?”
A woman pushed past him and opened her mouth to complain. She came to an abrupt stop and looked between Maria and me. Sabrina wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Goldie, these are the girl twins. The boy twins are sleeping.”
Glancing in the direction of the nursery, Goldie sighed. “One baby seems like madness. I don’t know how you’re handling two of them.”
“There are three of us,” Rowdy explained and tugged at her right braid. “Your hair is growing back fast.”
“I’m taking supplements,” Goldie said and ran her fingers over her two braids. “I feel like I should be able to tell which twin is yours, but they look exactly the same.”
I gestured at my rounder belly, making Goldie smile.
“Barely noticed that. You look beautiful after giving birth only a month ago.”
“Don’t kiss her ass,” Sabrina scolded her friend. “They’re infecting everyone with baby fever.”
“No, my adorable sons are doing that,” Rowdy said and showed Goldie the monitor.
I felt a surge of pride when her face lit up. Sabrina’s bad mood had gotten me grumpy. Though I understood why Sabrina was afraid of babies, I doubted Moe would rush into motherhood.
Goldie’s happy response put me in a better mood. She sat in a nearby chair and touched her hair.
“I thought you were blonde,” I blurted out, feeling dumb as soon as I said the words.
“An asshole cut off my braid last year,” Goldie explained. “I hated my shorter haircut. I’ve been doing everything I can to get my hair to grow out, including no longer bleaching my hair.”
“Who cut off your braid?” Maria asked.
A clearly tense Rowdy tapped Goldie’s shoulder before sitting between Maria and me.
“It’s dealt with,” Rowdy said, holding Goldie’s gaze.
“Yeah, my brother beat up the guy,” she said and shrugged. “But that didn’t fix my hair.”
“You look better as a brunette,” Sabrina insisted as she watched Wicked slink up the stairs to investigate the loft.
“Is my presence here a hassle?” Goldie asked Rowdy.
“Not at all. The boys will be up soon. Then, my mom will arrive. Afterward, Maria and Ivy are walking to the market a block over. Farley is babysitting them.”
Goldie’s mildly annoyed expression warmed when Farley’s name was mentioned. Her gaze flashed to Maria before focusing on Sabrina.
“I am glad Farley likes someone who won’t need to be smacked around,” Goldie said and returned to eyeing Maria. “You’re a nurse, right?”
“Nurses can be crazy stalkers,” I said and smiled at my sister. “Maria isn’t one, though.”
“Good. The last one annoyed the shit out of me,” Goldie said as she eyed the baby monitor. “Cordy talked tough until we shoved her. Then, she fell on the ground and cried like a baby. It was obnoxious.”
“Those fake-ass tears didn’t do shit,” Sabrina said as she looked out the windows. “We scared her off. Bitch hasn’t been around since last year.”
When Maria looked at me, I felt her worrying about everyone knowing her business. Back in Little Rock, we kept to ourselves. At work, we were friendly but rarely saw people outside of the job. We barely chatted with our neighbors.
Now, we planned to live in a place where Rowdy’s large circle of family and friends would be aware of our every triumph and failure.
“I thought you hated kids,” Rowdy said to Goldie, who stroked the image on the monitor.
“Why does everyone think that? I just don’t want a kid.
Probably. It’s possible I might change my mind after Boone and Nova have a kid together,” Goldie said and smiled at the monitor.
“That’s why I’m curious about your boys.
I barely get to see Elle and Trent. Your boys are my chance to test if I have what it takes to be a good aunt to a baby.
I already know I’m an excellent aunt to older kids.
” Goldie looked up from the monitor and focused on me. “Have you met Boone and Nova yet?”
As I shook my head, Rowdy explained, “My parents are having a party in a few days at their place. Kat and Maria will get to meet Nova, Boone, and the girls.”
Goldie nodded and fell silent. Sabrina remained at the windows. I wasn’t sure about the mood in the room. Maria’s gaze was focused on the wall. I sensed she was thinking about Farley. Or maybe she was just tired.
I turned toward Rowdy and rested my head on his chest. He instantly wrapped me in his arms. Despite his cool and relaxed exterior, I sensed Rowdy was always afraid I might flip out and run away.
I didn’t blame him for worrying. I couldn’t even trust myself. I felt normal one minute and like a weakling in the next moment. My emotions might leave me feeling nuts, but they wouldn’t derail the life I was making with Rowdy.