Page 50 of Loving at 40

I release Jenna, running faster than I ever thought capable before catching Rosie in a tangle of her small limbs and the metal chains of the swing.

“Holy shit.” I exhale. My chest heaves while Rosie nestles against me. Jenna is at my side in a heartbeat, scooping Rosie from me and holding her. My leg gives out from the rush, and I collapse to the ground, landing hard on my butt and covering my face for a second before swiping down it and bracing myself on shaking arms.

“Holy shit,” I repeat.

“What were you doing?” Jenna shrieks at her daughter while holding her tightly to her chest, and I’m reminded of the morning Rosie held my gun. She’s such a wild one, and standing on the edge of a two-by-four some twelve feet off the ground is definitely reckless.

At the same time Jenna is waiting out an answer, Oliver and Trevor leap down from the tree fort.

“Are you okay, Rosie?” Oliver asks, his small voice full of panic.

“What happened?” Zack questions. Where did he come from? He might have been in the house and heard River’s scream. Quickly assessing Rosie in Jenna’s arms and his chagrined-looking sons staring up at her, Zack heavily sighs and swipes a hand through his hair. “What did they do?”

I’ve watched his sons inspire trouble in one another for the past week, pushing each other’s limits. In some ways, their behavior reminds me of Noah and myself when we were young.

River places her hand on Zack’s forearm while her other hand covers her extended belly. Her face is pale. She’s still in shock, as we all are. Her mouth opens and then closes, struggling for words.

“He didn’t do anything,” Trevor defends his brother, which instantly has Zack looking at Oliver.

“What did your brother do?” Zack asks the second child, and I see he knows the gig. One defends the other while the one defending is the guilty party.

“I don’t know,” Oliver admits. His small face looks perplexed and stricken as he stares at Rosie. I’d like to say I clearly saw the surprise on his face when he noticed Rosie on the board or even heard his strangled cry of fear mixing with her name as he pushed his brother out of the way, but I took off so fast, anticipating her fall, I hadn’t thought of anything else other than her little body not hitting the ground.

“I think it’s time we go home,” Jenna says, still holding Rosie to her.

“Please don’t leave,” River begs before turning to Trevor and bending as best she can with her expanding waist. “Trevor, baby, what happened?”

Zack tips his head back toward the sky and puffs out another breath before glancing back at Jenna. “I’m so sorry. Whatever happened, I’m sorry. We’re really working on things but . . .” He shakes his head, unable to finish.

“No tree fort,” River says, standing upright when Trevor hasn’t responded.

“But, Mom,” he groans while River shakes her head at him.

“That’s the deal. If we don’t play nice in the tree fort, we don’t play at all.” She pauses as Trevor looks off to the side of the yard. “Do you know how dangerous that was? She’s so tiny, Trevor. How could you let her walk that beam? Do you understand how hurt she’d be if she fell?”

My own body trembles at the thought. How did these little girls get under my skin so quickly?

I can’t take my eyes off Jenna until something brushes against my arm. I flinch at first, a natural reaction until I see it’s Talia. Fear fills her eyes as she stares at her mother, still clutching Rosie to her chest. Instantly, I reach out for her, wrapping my arm around the back of her knees. For a second, I expect her to fight me, but I’m relieved when she falls into my lap. I need to hold on to something myself, and Talia is shaking as badly as me.

“What do you say to Rosie?” Zack addresses Trevor. I’m not certain either River or Zack is getting through to the kid, but Oliver still focuses on Rosie. His face is drained of color as reality might be settling in for him. Whatever game these two concocted up, Rosie could have died if she fell the wrong way. It’s extreme but not impossible, and we all know it.

“You’re a real pirate,” Trevor states which is not what any of us wants to hear. Even if he apologized, the words would be fruitless as far as I’m concerned. Apparently, Rosie approves, though, as she pulls her thumb from her mouth and tucks it into a little fist. She leans her head back from her mother and looks down at Trevor.

“What?” Zack barks, and Talia flinches, so I clutch her harder to me.

“She walked the plank. Now she’s a pirate.” Trevor doesn’t bat an eye at his explanation. He doesn’t lose color in his face or even look regretful. He just stares up at Rosie and winks. The frickity-frack trucker-mother little shit winks at her.

With that, Zack places a hand on Trevor’s shoulder. “Time. Out.”

Trevor looks at River, but she holds equally firm that Trevor needs some time to reflect on what he’s missing. As the little guy walks toward the house, he looks over his shoulder at Rosie with a devious smile. Rosie watches him over the shoulder of her mother.

“I’m so sorry,” River says, stepping over to Rosie and stroking a hand down her small spine while Jenna continues to hold her daughter.

“It’s not really an excuse, but we’ve had a lot of adjustments in the past year. He’s doing so much better, but sometimes, I swear, I don’t know what he’s thinking,” Zack adds, placing his hand on the back of Rosie’s head. “I’m sorry, Jenna.”

People might want to argue boys will be boys, and this one certainly has some imagination. However, Rosie is five years younger than Trevor and so tiny compared to the twins. Even at eight, he should know better, right? Then again, what do I know about kids? Either way, my heart is still racing.

“We’ll be talking to him again,” Zack adds, placing a hand briefly on Jenna’s back.