Page 115 of Knot Broken

Nadia

Seven years later

“Nanna’s here!”

I looked up from where I was preparing fairy bread to see my daughter, Ava, come running in to the kitchen, her brothers hot on her heels.

“And she bought so many presents.” Jake was the loudest of all of my kids and he clambered onto the stool beside me, then flung his arms wide. “This many!”

As the stool rocked alarming, the last of the kids, Bran, lurched forward, stabilising his brother. Those big blue eyes peered up at me through a shock of dark hair as if asking me how the hell Jake could be so careless.

Me and my mates asked ourselves the same question late at night, once the kids were well and truly asleep. Sometimes I worried for Bran. He was always so quiet and self-contained, so I brushed my hands off, then hoisted him up on my hip. They might be all five years old today, but they were still my babies.

“That many presents, huh?” I grabbed Jake as well, putting him down on the floor where it was safer. “I wonder who they are for?”

“Where’s the birthday boys and girl?”

I smiled as I heard Ethan’s mum, Rosemary, coming down the hallway. She had indeed brought them a ton of presents. She walked in with an armful, as did both of Ethan’s brothers and his sister in law.

“Goddess…” I said, forced to put Bran down to go and help. “You guys didn’t have to do this.”

“Of course we did!” Rosemary was a fantastic grandmother, but Noah, Ethan’s brother let me know in advance that she particularly enjoyed spoiling kids when they were little. “Now, there’s a present each for you to open now,” she told the children, “and then some more for when all the guests arrive. This one’s for Bran.”

My son accepted the gift, staring at it solemnly.

“What do you say?” I prompted.

I’d been telling them to say please and thank you all their lives and yet they still hadn’t gotten in the habit.

“Thank you,” he said, staring up at his grandmother.

“This one is for Jakey boy,” Noah said, barely able to hold the present out before Jake had snatched it.

“Thanks Uncle Noah!” he said, then set about tearing the wrapping apart.

“And this one is for our Ava girl.” I didn’t like Ethan’s older brother, Geoff, much at all. He seemed intent on putting my mate down at every opportunity, something I hadn’t been able to sit by and tolerate. “Give your uncle a hug first.”

Ava didn’t like Geoff much either. Her face took on a familiar cast as she stepped back, pressing into my legs.

“No,” she said in a low growl. “I don’t want to.”

Some parents would’ve been horrified if their child responded like this, but not me. The fact Ava found it so easy to say no was both a joy and a burden. It meant a lot of time was spent working with her on the things that were non-negotiable like brushing her teeth, but that was a price I was willing to pay.

“Aw…” Geoff made a show of clutching at his chest. “You’re hurting my feelings.”

“For goodness sakes’ Geoffrey…” Rosemary hissed before turning to Ava. “Just give him a hug, darling.”

“Nope.” All eyes were on me now and while that took some getting used to, I was able to bear it. “As I’ve said before, we don’t force our kids to hug anyone.”

“If you ask me, you’re just spoiling her,” Geoff grumbled.

“I’ll give you a hug, Uncle Geoff!” Jake threw himself at the man, who swept my son up into his arms and then swung him around the room. I winced, seeing how close they were to knocking over the tower of cupcakes I’d been working on.

“Atta boy!” Geoff said, tickling Jake.

“Pretty sure we talked about this.” Ethan came strolling through the door with a mass of helium filled balloons. “The vast majority of ‘SA’ of women happens to those under the age of eighteen.” Geoff’s smile faded. “My daughter, all of my kids, know that no one touches them without their permission. Is that something you have a problem with, brother?”

“Wouldn’t want to.”