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Waylynn walked over to Liberty. “Liberty, you don’t have to cook. Why don’t you go see baby Liberty? She’s with Jonathon, I think, in the formal living room working on that tree.”
Her brows pulled in some. “Is there more than one tree?”
Scarlett and I looked at each other before I turned my attention to Liberty. “Don’t ask, just go with it. You may want to avoid my mother, though. Whatever room she is in, stay out of it.”
She gave me a puzzled look. “Why?”
Corina peeked her head into the kitchen. “Scarlett, Mom told me to tell you that you must have left your reindeer ears in the other room. Here they are!”
With a pout, Scarlett took the strap-on ears from Corina, who was wearing a Santa hat that kept singing “Jingle Bells”.
Corina squeezed the tip of Scarlett’s antlers, causing everyone to jump to the sound of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
“I think I see why,” Liberty whispered as she took the spatula out of my hand and went back to cooking the hamburger meat.
“Smart girl. I like you already,” Scarlett said with a smile.
“Come on, we need help with the Disney tree,” Corina said, wrapping her arm up with Scarlett’s.
“Have fun! I’ll stay here and keep making cookies!” I called out.
Glancing over her shoulder, Scarlett shot me the evil eye.
I laughed, then started to take the cookies off the cookie sheet to put more dough on.
“I love your family,” Liberty stated.
“Yeah, they’re a good bunch. Have you spoken to your folks at all?”
Her smile faded as she shook her head. “Mike and Wanda feel more like my folks these days. They’re amazing and have helped me so much. I don’t know what I would have done without them.”
“Yeah, they’re good people. They were there for Wade when he lost his family.”
Liberty nodded, then smiled. It was clear she was fixin’ to change the subject.
“So, let’s see. Harley is pregnant with twins and due in March?”
“Yep.”
“Amelia is due in April and Scarlett is due when?”
I grinned. “May 25.”
“You must be excited.”
“Very.”
She turned to face me with a serious look. When she glanced over my shoulder, I couldn’t help but wonder what was on her mind.
“May I ask you something, Trevor?”
“Of course.”
She swallowed hard and glanced at the floor before catching my gaze with hers. “How is Waylynn handling the pregnancies?”
My chest constricted. I was a fucking shit brother for not even thinking about that. I hadn’t once thought about how Waylynn might be handling all of this.
“I, um, I’m not sure. Christ, I hadn’t even thought of it.” My hand ran over my head and I cursed under my breath again.
“Don’t beat yourself up about it. She is such a strong woman, and I know she doesn’t show her emotions all the time. I was just wondering if you had an idea of how she was dealing with it all.”
“I don’t. I’m sorry. If I get a chance to talk to Jonathon today I will.”
She nodded. “Me too. Wanda was asking, as well.”
I slipped the cookies into the oven, then shut it and leaned against the island.
“Liberty, I wanted to tell you that I think you’re very brave.”
She stopped what she was doing and faced me with a confused expression.
“Why?”
I shrugged. “I can’t imagine giving up a baby, but I know why you did it, and I think that was a very brave thing to do.”
“Thank you, Trevor. It was hard, but I knew it was the right decision and I think baby Liberty is going to have the best life possible.”
“Waylynn and Jonathon love her.”
She grinned. “I know they do.”
“What about you? How are you doing?”
Her grin grew to a wide, full-blown smile. “I’m doing great. I’ve sort of met someone. I haven’t told anyone yet. I was going to tell Waylynn and Jonathon soon. It’s been crazy.”
My brow lifted. “Crazy good?”
The way Liberty’s face lit up, I already knew the answer.
“So crazy good. He’s such a nice guy, I was honestly beginning to wonder if there were any left. He knows about baby Liberty and he didn’t judge me at all. That was important to me. He supports my dreams and encourages me all the time.”
“Sound like a good guy.”
“Who’s a good guy?” Waylynn asked. The giant Christmas tree hat on her head was blinking its lights off and on. Liberty busted out laughing the moment she saw it.
Waylynn rolled her eyes. “Laugh all you want but wait until my mother gets to you. Now, who are we talking about and why are you standing in the kitchen gossiping with my baby brother?”
I pushed off the counter and kissed Waylynn on the forehead. “Can we talk out back for a second? Just the two of us?”
She looked confused. “Okay.”
I motioned for her to lead the way and followed. We walked over to the rocking chairs and each took a seat.
