Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 90290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“Honey, you look ravishing. Pregnancy agrees with you,” she says as we hug. “Tell me, do they have names yet?”
“Unfortunately, no. Right now, we have baby A, baby B on the left. We are calling them the boys right now. Baby girl on the right.”
“I can’t wait to meet them.”
“Me, too.”
“Okay, my turn,” Liam says. He gives me a hug and then says hi to the babies before I sit down next to him and Mack.
“Do you want to say hi to the babies?” I ask him.
Mack shakes his head. “No, thanks,” he says as he looks at me from the corner of his eyes. “Don’t be mad.”
I laugh. “I’m not mad. But I hope when they arrive, you’re not afraid of them.”
He looks at me sheepishly. “I remember when Amelie was born. She made a lot of noise. Cried a ton.”
“Yeah, babies cry.”
“Will they cry at the same time?”
Great question. I want to know as well. “I don’t really know. I’ll have to ask my mom. Make her think back to when she had Elle and me.”
“Betty Paige is really excited to be an aunt. She says she’s going to babysit all the time.”
“Is she now?” I love the idea of her wanting to babysit. I’m not sure she will actually be able to do it though. I’m not sure how I’ll be able to handle three babies, and if I don’t know how, neither will a teenager.
“Yeah, she says it’s a rite of passage or something.”
While I babysat back in the day, I never considered it a rite of passage. Some of my classmates went as far as taking a Red Cross course on how to care for a baby. Everyone seemed to call Elle and I to watch their kids though, and I have no idea why.
“How come Paige didn’t come with you guys?”
Mack shrugs. “She’s been helping out at the café and spending time with my sister.”
I lean in and ask, “Are you jealous?”
Mack tries not to smile. “No, not really.”
“How’s Talisa?”
He does smile this time. “I like her a lot. She does everything for us, but we help her. She has somehow turned chores into something fun and she teaches us how to make all kinds of food. It’s funny though, when she hears a word she doesn’t know the meaning to, and once we teach her, she uses it all the time. She makes me laugh.”
“I’m excited to get to know her,” I tell him. “How’s school going?”
“Lame. I don’t know why we have to go every day.”
“They’re preparing you for adulthood when you have to do the same thing, over and over again.”
“You and Noah don’t.”
“No, but that has to do with the jobs we have. Noah still has to train, stay in shape, and do a bunch of community events. Like the camp you went to over the summer. A lot of contracts require players to do something in the community.”
“Noah would do the camp regardless.”
“You’re right. He would.” I smile at Mack.
“I wish Noah could come to my games.”
You and me both, kiddo.
“I’ll be there this week,” I tell him as I bump his shoulder with mine. “Noah will be there when he can.”
We stand for the national anthem and cheer when the guys take the field. At halftime, the Pioneers are up by one touchdown. I find it hard not to critique my husband or even the rest of the team. It’s no longer my job but shutting my mind off from those thoughts is easier said than done. I hope Noah asks later, but if he doesn’t, I won’t say anything.
I think.
Autumn and Kelsey make their way over to where we’re sitting. They gush over my belly, ask about names, and tell me how much they miss having me around.
“I do miss coming to work, but I like the freedom and flexibility of doing whatever. At least until I’m put on bedrest.”
“Dang, really?” Autumn asked.
“Yeah, my OB says it’s pretty much a given now since there are three and with the damage that was done in the accident. It’s more for me than them. She’s not sure my body will be able to hold the weight of them up.”
“So, what are you going to do?” Kelsey asks.
“We’re moving back to Beaumont,” I tell them, only to realize my mistake. Immediately, I start shaking my head. “It’s not what you think. Noah will stay in Portland and once I have the babies and we can travel, we’ll come here during the season.”
“Oh, phew,” Autumn says. “I thought you were telling us Noah got traded.”
“What? No. That’s not even an option.”
Autumn looks down at the ground quickly and out toward the field. “Autumn?”
She looks at me.
“Did you hear something?”
She gives me a slight grimace. “Just rumors, according to Julius. You know how the guys gossip.”