Page 19 of Rowdy & Kat

“That’s okay. She’ll sleep later.”

“When will you sleep?”

Maria sighed. “I had planned to stay here with her, but there’s only one of these chairs that turns into a bed.”

“You want me to leave.”

Maria studied me before admitting, “Yes, but just for the night. You only have one set of clothes. It makes sense for you to leave and figure out what happens next.”

“How long will they stay in the hospital?”

“Three days if Kat does well. If she has any issues, she might stay several extra days. I plan to have the nurses keep the boys in the nursery overnight to allow Kat to sleep.”

“You have everything planned out.”

Maria smiled softly. “I’ve had eight months to consider every contingency.”

Studying Maria, I decided against playing coy. “I’m planning on claiming Kat.”

“Is your condo one story?”

“Like the entire building or my unit?”

“The unit. Are there stairs?”

“My bedroom is in the loft, so there are stairs.”

“She shouldn’t use stairs for a week at least. You can claim her after she’s healed.”

“I can’t wait that long,” I insisted, poking at her.

“You’ve waited for months.”

“Because I had no choice. If I knew where she was, I would have stalked her.”

Maria cocked a brow and muttered, “That’s not as charming as you think.”

“Kat’s the woman for me. Not just because of the boys. I’ve wanted her for months.”

“Well, that’s nice,” Maria said and glanced at a still sleeping Cavan smacking his lips. “But you can’t claim Kat until your place is ready, and her body has healed.”

“Fine. I’ll move into your house until she’s ready to visit Little Memphis.”

Though Maria looked annoyed, she didn’t disagree. She watched me warily until I successfully burped Colson. Her gaze quickly warmed, and she glanced at her sleeping sister.

“Kat will be my wife one day,” I told Maria. “I don’t want you to become a third wheel, so I need to hook you up with someone. What are you looking for in a man? Or are you into women? My sister bats for the other team. It’s all cool.”

“Which sister?” Maria asked rather than answer my question.

“Sabrina.”

“She’s older than you, right?”

“I’m the youngest. All my sisters outrank me.”

Maria smiled. “Supposedly, I was born first, but it’s not like anyone can be sure. We’ll no doubt switch Cavan and Colson more than once before they’re old enough for us to tell them apart.”

“Oh,” I said and frowned at my sleeping sons. “I don’t like that. Can’t we mark them somehow?”