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“Sure thing,” Coop said, winking. “It’s only a couple of hours, but I canceled some appointments and I want to make sure they got rescheduled, then check in on them.”
“We got this,” I told him and waved him off. Archie and I pretty much worked for ourselves and Standish, which was also ourselves. So we could and had taken all the time we needed when we needed.
It was a perk, a luxury we could provide when the kids were sick or one of us was or if we simply missed Frankie after a tour and wanted a few days at home with her. Coop bumped my shoulder with his fist as he headed back into the house and I leaned forward to study the two of them.
“Are you really okay?”
“Honestly?” Frankie lifted her shoulders. “I’m not bad in the slightest. Stunned. A little apprehensive maybe, and trying to figure out all the ways that twins are going to be harder than one new one. Charlie will be potty trained in the not too far distant future, that will help, but…”
“I’m freaking out a little,” Archie admitted and after the freak out last week, I was glad he had no trouble owning it. “At the same time, I can’t fucking wait. This is… we’re gonna have twins. Our family is growing. I missed out on having siblings.”
“Me too,” Frankie admitted. “And I love the ones I have now but…”
“It’s not the same as growing up with them.” I knew that well. Those two and Bubba hadn’t had to share their parents or their attention or put up with little sisters who got into everything. I wouldn’t trade mine for anything and at the same time… “I get it.”
“I love this family we’re making.” Frankie said and a tear escaped to roll down her cheek. She swiped it away. “And I know we were going to talk about whether we wanted to go for more after this baby was born…”
“But now it’s babies. A girl and unknown. Izzy will be happy about the girl part.” She’d wrinkled her nose when Charlie turned out to be a boy. So I had a feeling she’d love a baby sister. “We’ll figure it out,” I reminded her. “Five kids is nothing to sneeze at and we’re enjoying them. If you want more babies after—well, I’m always up for practice one way or another.”
“Same,” Archie said. “And we will figure it out, but I believe you made a request earlier…”
“Oh yes,” she brightened. “Three orgasms.”
“Lucky bastard,” I said and Archie just grinned.
“You can give me three later,” Frankie offered, then circled the table to give me a kiss. I wrapped my arms around her and tugged her into my lap for a moment.
“Anything you want,” I promised, then nuzzled the corner of her mouth with another kiss. “Now, let Archie take care of you and let us worry about the kids for a bit.”
“If you need us…”
“I know where you’ll be.” One last kiss and then I set her on her feet. “Go on.”
She drifted inside, hand in hand with Archie, and I leaned back. Maxie and Murray looked up from where they were napping in the shade. Once Coop was done, I’d take these two out for a run. Bubba might be back by then.
Tilting my head back to let the sun hit my face, I sighed.
Twins.
CHAPTER 5
PILLOW TALK
FRANKIE
It was almost suspiciously quiet as we made ourselves down to the wing we shared. The kids had their own set of rooms and while it wasn’t in a totally separate wing, we were able to give ourselves some privacy when we needed it.
Izzy and Josh being home and sick had me glancing toward their rooms on the way. Without me saying a word, however, Archie navigated down the second hall to the kids rooms. We’d done the remodeling to incorporate the best parts of Archie’s wing where he grew up and yet, not isolating the kids far away.
They were our kids. If they wanted to come find us at night or climb in bed to snuggle in the morning, they could. As much as I loved that, it made finding quality time for just us a challenge. Not that the guys weren’t always up for a challenge.
Quietly, Archie opened Josh’s door and we peeked inside. He was sound asleep. A movie played quietly on the television. With the curtains drawn it was dark and cool in the room. His face was a little flushed and I checked my watch.
After Archie nudged the door a little wider, I went in to check. Josh was a little warm, the forehead thermometer was there, so I did a quick check. Definitely still a fever, but low-grade. I pressed a kiss to his forehead then shifted his blankets before slipping back out.
Next stop, Izzy’s room. We did the same, only Archie moved over to close the curtains cause the sun’s angle had changed. Her fever was low-grade too, but still there. She opened her eyes when I got close.
“Shh,” I whispered. “Just checking on you.”
