AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I rubbed my stomach. “Not yet. It’s going to be after the Easter Bunny. And I’m going to get a huge stomach first.”
Ty blew out a breath. “I’m going to be five hundred years old by then.”
“Not quite, buddy. But, your mom and I have a surprise for you to help the wait go by faster.”
“A surprise? A real surprise for me?”
We nodded as Ty bounced. Levi walked from around the house with a squirmy puppy in his hands. Ty noticed, his voice growing louder. “Is that my puppy? A puppy for me? The one that I wanted?”
Before we could answer, Ty took off and Levi sat the golden retriever puppy on the grass. In wonderment, Ty looked to us. “Is this my puppy?”
Jaxson put his arm around my waist. “She’s all yours, son.”
Ty hugged the puppy to himself. The puppy chewed on some grass. “Dad, she likes to eat the clovers. Can I name her Clover?”
“Of course.”
We knelt down beside Ty as we all played with the puppy.
This was my life. And it was perfect.
A year later
I SAT IN THE ROCKING chair as the sun rose above the mountains, rocking Chloe while burping her after her feeding. Jaxson and Ty were sound asleep. Chloe’s sweet head rested on my shoulder as I patted her back.
Finally she burped.
“That was a good one, little angel.”
She nestled into my neck ready for another snooze. Chloe was almost three months old. Ty loved her unconditionally though sometimes he didn’t realize she wasn’t able to play catch and zoom racecars around. There’d been a few bumps and bruises along the way.
Being a mother to my two kids was unbelievable. The best experience of my life, along with finding Jaxson. A creak down the hallway brought a smile to my lips. Sometimes in the morning, Ty snuck in here and laid on the floor in front of the crib. Chloe was going through what I assumed was a growth spurt this last week and had picked up an extra feeding.
The door cracked open and Ty’s head peered in and lit up. “You’re up again, Mom.”
“Chloe was hungry.”
He made a nasty face and I giggled. One time while I was gone to visit Mom on my own, I’d pumped a bottle for Jaxson to give Chloe. The ever-curious Ty thought my milk was better than the milk he drank. He was afraid of missing out on something good. Needless to say he was cured of trying Chloe’s bottles.
Walking into the room, Ty climbed up on my lap. Clover followed and laid at my feet. They were inseparable. Ty loved it. “My sister should get chocolate milk. It’s much better.”
“She will when she’s older.”
We kept rocking as I held both kids. Ty touched Chloe’s purple-clad leg. This was peace. A month ago, the adoption for Ty officially went through for me to be his mother on paper. Crystal had been admitted to a psychiatric ward after attempting suicide in prison.
“Mom?”
“Yes, buddy.”
“Do you think for Christmas this year I could get another brother or sister? I want a lot. Chloe took forever to com
e. I just want Santa to bring another one. You don’t have to grow the baby. And then your back won’t hurt.”
I stroked Ty’s hair as he looked at me, pleading with those puppy dog green eyes. Through the pregnancy with Chloe, my back killed me. Jaxson always rubbed it. “Ty, that’s not how it works.”
“Then how does it?”
It was too early in the morning to have this conversation and I scrambled how to respond. At the door Jaxson appeared smiling, his dimples prominent with his sleep-ridden hair. “What did I walk in on?”
