Page 18 of Rowdy & Kat

“They’re with Rowdy,” she said and gestured across the room where the sexy biker made a video.

“This is Cavan,” Rowdy explained in the video. “He’s super chill. Probably going to be devious. We ought to keep an eye on him. This one is Colson. He’s easily pissed off. We’ll need to watch him, too. My boys are natural outlaws.”

Rowdy noticed us watching him and smiled. “I’m sending this to my mom. I also need to send pictures to my people back in Little Memphis as proof that I’m not shooting blanks.”

Maria and I laughed at his bragging. The nurse finished prepping everything in the room and left us alone.

“Cuddle with me,” I told Maria like I did when we were kids.

She climbed into bed and rested next to me. Rowdy took a picture of us and smiled.

“Do you want to hold them?” he asked. “Or do you need a nap?”

“I’ll nap later,” I said, trying to scoot myself higher in bed.

Rowdy picked up Colson and brought him to me. “He looks just like you.”

Once I held Colson, Rowdy brought Cavan to Maria. “He also looks just like you.”

We shared a chuckle while admiring the identical babies. Up until this moment, I’d remained detached from this new reality. Exhaling softly, I smiled at my future.

The boys weren’t tiny, both weighing a healthy seven pounds. Maria and I had been small at birth. Lora hadn’t had anyone to take care of her like Maria cared for me. My sister had worked hard to make sure I arrived at this joyful moment with my new family.

I met Rowdy’s gaze and smiled wider. His icy blue eyes glowed with pride and affection. I felt him thinking about how our future would forever be intertwined.

ROWDY

Wearing a smile, I owned a hell of a poker face despite feeling like a man drowning. I had two sets of twins depending on me to keep my shit together.

Cavan and Colson terrified me. The two babies silently waited for me to fuck up. Even after they dozed off and returned to their hospital cribs, I felt them plotting. Or maybe I was just tired and assuming too much.

What I did know was Kat needed me to stay positive. She had been so scared during the C-section. Even when she spoke calmly, her green eyes revealed how terrified she felt.

Once the babies were asleep, Kat crashed hard into a nap. Maria sat nearby, reading on her phone. Her gaze flashed to me regularly while I sat in a chair between the two cribs.

“You’re free to walk around or get something to eat,” Maria said softly when she checked on the babies. “Kat will likely be out for a few hours.”

“What about you?”

“I need to stay with my sister.”

Maria didn’t speak these words with added emphasis. She wasn’t hinting that if I took Kat away, Maria would follow. Yet, that’s what I heard. Kat’s happiness was completely linked to Maria’s. I really was responsible for two sets of twins.

The woman sleeping on the bed was worth the stress. Our first two introductions hadn’t gone as well as I wanted. Now, I got a third shot to seal the deal.

Watching Kat sleep led me to doze off. I woke when Colson whimpered while Maria changed his diaper.

“He seems hungry,” Maria whispered. “Do you want to feed him?”

I glanced at Kat to find her still sound asleep.

“She’ll be in pain soon,” Maria said and wrapped Colson in the blanket. “As the epidural wears off, she’ll feel more of the incision. You should be ready for that.”

“They can keep her doped up, right?”

“Yes, but she needs to eat something today,” Maria said and nestled Colson against my chest. “Our mother lost a lot of weight after she gave birth. That sounds good since she was losing baby weight, but she lost it too fast. That made her weak, and she never recovered.”

I smiled at Colson’s hungry sucking at the bottle. “My parents will be here soon. They’re bound to wake up Kat.”