AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No point in fighting the inevitable.
Besides, the minx did have me fetching food and drink whenever the mood struck her, which was all the time at the end.
Not that I had minded. I loved it.
All of it.
The late-night cries, the dirty diapers, and the sight of Belle bonding with both her parents.
Charlie was made for motherhood. The past year, she has shown herself to be nurturing, patient, and calm, with a huge maternal instinct, which is everything I could have hoped for in the mother of my brother’s children.
My heart fills at the thought of Daniel and the family he’s made. The knowledge that I can never have that makes me all the more grateful that he’s willing to share this part of their life with me.
After six months, it had been time to go home and leave the small family to settle into their own routine.
With the occasional drop-in, obviously.
The grin on my face doesn’t leave but widens when Daniel’s truck roars to a stop next to mine.
It seems I’m not the only one annoyed by the early morning callout.
Climbing out, I laugh when he slams his door so hard his truck rocks.
“Fucking students,” he grunts.
“How are my girls?” I ask.
My brother tries not to react to my words. Only the fogged breath that shoots out of him shows his annoyance.
“My girls,” he emphasizes, “are perfect.”
I swallow the lump that lodges in my throat. Seeing Daniel smiling so easily is something I will never get over. Ever.
I make a mental note to drop off a strawberry milkshake and fries later this afternoon. Charlie liked to dip her fries in the shake while breastfeeding Belle, a craving that never left once she stopped . . . It’s the least I can do.
I startle when Kaleb’s car joins ours. His coupe stands out between our large trucks.
“Urgh, there had better be a fire this time. I swear to God, if one of these little fuckers set off the fire alarm cooking again, I’m going to snap a neck or two,” he grumbles, walking toward us.
Daniel grunts his agreement.
I stay silent because he’s right. Three callouts in two weeks for some drunk kid setting off the fire alarm cooking isn’t funny, and despite our father’s insistence, I’m beginning to think it’s not worth the money the college pays us for the little shits to live here either.
Although that could be the two hours of sleep I’ve had talking.
I roll my neck again as the three of us walk toward the front of the blaring building.
Fuck me, it’s loud.
My mood continues to sour the closer we get.
We’re a few steps away from the curb when Daniel suddenly stops.
“What?” I ask.
Silently, he lifts his chin toward the crowd of students.
Confused, I glance over to them to see his issue, worried it’s Lara.
