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"That's really cool," I said, touched that he would be sentimental about his past.
"So I'm thinking the Escalade might be the best option in case we need to transport your nephews anywhere, don't you think?" Drew twirled the key ring around his pointer finger.
"Probably. Though I wouldn't mind taking a ride in that thing sometime." I pointed to the flashy silver car parked in the center. It looked like it could go fast.
"The Aston Martin?" Drew grinned. "I think we can arrange that." He winked, and I almost forgot what we were doing.
Right. The boys!
About thirty minutes later, we finally made it to my sister’s house. Drew paid the babysitter. I helped my nephews get into their pajamas while Drew found their toothbrushes.
"But I don't want to brush my teeth. I'm tired," Decklan whined when I handed him his toothbrush.
"You need to do it, Decky. We don't want you to get cavities."
"I don't care about cavities." He crossed his arms. "I just wanna sleep."
"Hey, Decklan," Drew said, his voice much more enthusiastic than I had the energy for.How did Lana and Jonas do this every night?"Do you know the special tooth brushing song?"
"No."
"How about you just open your mouth, and I'll brush your teeth with the special song."
Decklan eyed me for reassurance that he could trust Drew not to do something weird.
I nodded my encouragement, hoping this would work so we could get the boys in bed soon. Just getting them in their pajamas had about used up all my energy.
Decklan slowly tipped his head back and opened his mouth wide.
Drew didn't hesitate to stick the toothbrush right in and get to work. He started singing to the tune ofRow, row, row your boat, but with different words. "Brush, brush, brush your teeth, brush them till they're clean. Mom and Dad and Tayden and Kate want you to brush your teeth."
When Drew was done, Decklan was smiling and ready to climb into bed.
"I want a song." Tayden rubbed his eyes sleepily. "I want your fwend to bwush my teeth, too."
Drew smiled and took over the toothbrushing duty, singing the same song but switching the names around. And I couldn't keep from smiling as Drew sang. It was too cute to see him be so sweet with the boys, even if he wasn't much of a singer.
It wasn't until after Drew had finished that he seemed to realize what he'd just done. He stood up tall, his cheeks redder than usual. "Uh, sorry you had to hear my singing."
"It was sweet," I said, hoping to reassure him. "And it worked, so if you have any other tricks in getting two boys to bed, feel free to impart your knowledge to me."
Drew rinsed and put away the toothbrushes. “My sister's kids could probably vouch for my bedtime storytelling ability…though I'm pretty sure this girl I know named Kate Dawson, who is a professional writer, could make up a story that would blow mine out of the water any day."
My cheeks heated. ”I’m not a professional yet."
"Yet." He winked, and my knees went weak.
When I led Drew back to the boys’ room on wobbly legs they were already settling in their race car beds.
“Can you tell us a story, Aunt Kate?" Decklan asked, his big brown eyes drooping with exhaustion.
"Sure." And so I launched into a story about two boys who went on a walk in the woods one day and ended up having the most wonderful adventures. "And when the boys made it home that night, safe and sound in their beds, they made sure to give their mom three squeezes so she would know how much they loved her.”
And when I was finished, I stood from where I'd been sitting on the carpet against the wall. Drew had been sitting against the other wall the whole time, quietly listening to my story. I was just about to walk out the door when a tiny voice spoke in the dark room.
"Why'd they give three squeezes to their mommy?" Decklan asked, yawning.
How was he still awake? Tayden had zonked out almost as soon as he climbed in his bed.
