Page 24 of Rowdy & Kat

“Do you have any family to help you?” Bebe asked after moving her chair closer to the bed to see Kat, Maria, and Colson better.

“We have a complicated family history,” Kat said as she rested Colson against her chest. “It’s only Maria and me.”

A dubious Pax asked, “Complicated how?”

Exhaling uneasily, Kat didn’t answer. Maria rested her cheek against her sister’s shoulder.

“Our mother was a mail-order bride,” Maria explained. “Maybe not literally, but she came to the US to marry him when she was eighteen. We don’t know much about her family back in Estonia. Lora died when we were eight. Our father was much older than our mom and decided he couldn’t raise two kids alone. He chose to rehome us to someone he knew.”

“Rehome like people do with pets?” Bebe asked, frowning in her mama bear way.

Nodding, Maria explained, “We went to live with a new mom and dad. When we were eleven, they got divorced. We bounced back and forth between them for a few years. Then, when we were fourteen, they decided they couldn’t raise us and gave us to our uncle and aunt. That Mom and Dad got divorced a few years later. That’s when we lived in Little Memphis. We had finished our junior year when that particular mom decided to relocate to the West Coast with a new man and gave us to her mom in Little Rock.”

Maria smiled at a sad Kat before continuing, “We lived with our grandmother for years. First, she paid our bills. Once we got older and started working, we helped pay her bills. When she died, we inherited her house. That’s how we bought our townhome. Her family didn’t like how we inherited anything since we weren’t blood relatives. The final court hearing was the last time we saw them.”

Kat sighed. “Like I said, it’s complicated.”

In that moment, I understood why Kat had struggled to trust me. Maria was the only reliable person in her life. Everyone else either died or ditched her.

A quiet moment passed as the Reed family claimed these lost twins. My mom watched the women like they were now her responsibility. My dad, who had spent most of his life in foster care, looked pissed at how people had done Kat and Maria wrong. Before the family got overly mushy, Sabrina entered the room to break the spell.

My sister’s dark hair was up in a bouncy ponytail, giving her a fun, harmless vibe that her mouth was likely to ruin. Before she barfed out complaints, Pax shushed her.

“Don’t make the babies cry.”

Sabrina zeroed in on Kat and frowned. “I have things to say to you. Cruel, aggressive statements meant to break your spirit and leave you in tears. But since you’re holding a small baby and likely went through a horrifying vaginal experience, I will save my cutting words for another time.”

“I had a C-section,” Kat replied. “My vagina is unharmed.”

“Well, that’s good, but I assume my brother damaged it a little when he put these crotch goblins inside you.”

Gasping dramatically, I warned, “Don’t you dare call my sons such a deplorable name.”

“You just called Elle’s kid a crotch goblin.’

“Yeah, because I’m not her son’s father. These kids are mine, so behave.”

Sabrina was in the process of a massive eye roll when Vanessa and Lula entered the room.

“Why did you run ahead of us?” Lula asked Sabrina.

“So, I could get all up in Rowdy’s face before you did.”

Lula smirked. “How’s that working out for you?”

“He’s using his newborn sons as shields, so I’m not doing well at all.”

Lula set the food on the side table and dug into her purse for antibacterial gel. She smiled at both sets of twins before her gaze settled on Bebe cuddling Cavan.

I made the introductions while my sisters sanitized their hands. Vanessa tied her blonde hair into braids as she stared fascinated by the babies.

“Are you sure they’re both boys?” Vanessa asked. “Could the plumbing be wrong?”

“I’ve checked their dicks more than once.”

“Too bad. You could have gotten a boy and a girl with one swoop.”

I smiled at Kat and Maria, who watched Vanessa like she was weird. They smiled in unison when her gaze fell on them.