AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I know he’s right. I have always been Mike’s favorite.
Bree stands abruptly and walks over to me. “Aiden, you’re my brother no matter what. Even if you had a completely different mother as well as father, you’d still be my brother. Got it?” She puts her hand out for me to take.
Jeni lets go, and I take Bree’s hand and stand. She lunges forward and hugs me firmly.
“Bree, you don’t know how much this means to me,” I tell her, and she squeezes me tighter.
Killian stands and steps over and wraps his arms around both of us in a group hug. I chuckle, and Jeni stands and joins in as well.
This went so much smoother than I thought it was going to go. I guess I wasn’t really being fair to my siblings. I know I was hoping deep down it would turn out like this, but I couldn’t help that nagging feeling in my gut that everything was going to change. When, in fact, nothing has changed except for the fact I can now spend some quality time with my real dad.
We’re still locked in a group hug when Daniel coughs from the doorway. We all look over to see Daniel and Jenson standing there looking very confused. We all separate while Jeni and Bree giggle.
“Hey, Jenson, sorry to do this to you, but looks like I won’t be needing your advice after all,” I say apologetically.
“When you told me on the phone what it was about, I was fairly certain you wouldn’t need me either. I’m glad it turned out the way we all thought it would,” Jenson says. He walks across and shakes each of our hands, then turns and leaves.
“So, wait… did Father know you weren’t his?” Killian asks.
I shake my head and go on explaining everything Mike and Mom have told me.
Daniel stays to listen, and he’s just as shocked as they were, but I guess everyone knows now, which is a relief.
Well, everyone except Nana.
That’s the one person I’m absolutely dreading to talk to about it.
Needless to say, I didn’t get any work done this afternoon. I step out to Jeni’s desk as she’s finishing for the day, then we walk down to my sleek beast. I drive us home with a smile on my face.
Jeni opens the front door, and straight away we hear one of the twins crying. Suddenly, I feel like I’m back where I belong looking after my family. It’s a comforting feeling.
Marissa is busy washing bottles while Mom is rocking one of the girls in her arms, and Mike is cradling the other on the sofa. I have no idea where Brody is until I hear the pitter-patter of little footsteps running down the hall.
“Daddy, Daddy, you’re home… I missed you,” Brody calls out. He runs as fast as he can toward me, and I bend waiting for the impact as he throws his arms around me. Picking him up, I rest him on my hip. “Hey, little man, were you good for Nana today?”
Brody nods his head as I walk in and sit on the sofa next to Mike.
“How’d it go?” Mike asks as Jeni walks over to chat
with Mom.
“Better than I thought it would. Bree was a little upset, but basically about the fact that I was upset. She said it doesn’t change a thing. Killian feels the same. So that’s a good. How were the kids? Hope they weren’t too much of a handful for you both?” I ask, and Mike smiles.
“Well, they’ve been great for me. Not so much for Callie. She’s frustrated that they fall asleep when I hold them.” Mike chuckles.
“Yeah, well… Katie certainly seems happy where she is,” I say.
Brody jumps off my lap and runs over to his toy box. I swear the kid’s constantly drinking energy drinks or something because he has that much get-up-and-go.
“So, Bree ordered I that have the next two weeks off or until at least after the wedding. We thought it might be nice to spend some quality time together. What do you think about you, me, Mom, Jeni, and the kids heading up to the lake house to spend some time together? I’m not sure I’m over the shock of it all yet, but I’m working on it, and I think this may help,” I ask.
Mike’s face lights up like I couldn’t have said anything better. “Couldn’t be more perfect. Sounds great to me,” Mike beams.
“Where’s my other girl? I missed you, sweetheart,” Jeni calls out as she walks over to us. She takes her from Mike and kisses her head.
“I didn’t know it was possible to miss three tiny people so much in the space of eight hours,” Jeni gushes as Charlie walks over greeting me with a smile and a wagging tail.
The next day we pack our bags and head to the lake house. We asked Marissa to accompany us so she can help Jeni and Mom with the kids while Mike and I get in some male-bonding time. We take two cars to the lake house, unpack, and settle in for our stay.
