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Gavin shuffled across the floor, sorrow and guilt on his face. “Is Miracle alright? I didn’t hurt her did I? I shouldn’t have started the fight,” he mumbled into the collar of his shirt, tears starting in his blue eyes.
I hugged him and smiled down at him. “No. Don’t ever think that you can’t have fun too. Your sister just needs to learn what her body can and can’t handle. Nothing that happened is your fault.” I nodded my head over to where Miracle was relaxing in Jessica’s arms. “See? She’s already settling down.”
Jessica smiled down at Miracle and it was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. So gentle and sweet that it took my breath away.
“You alright, kiddo?” she asked.
Miracle nodded and held tighter to her aunt. “I’m okay.”
I looked around at the mess on all the tables and every surface on the kitchen. Grimacing, I jerked my head at Jessica. “Why don’t you go ahead and take the kids out of here? I’ll clean up this mess while you try and clean them up a little.”
She hesitated. “Are you sure? I can clean it up later.” Both children watched me silently and it felt like this moment meant something more than it should.
“Yeah. I’ve got this. You take care of the kids.”
She nodded and hustled them out of the room. I spent the next half hour cleaning up the kitchen and whipping up another batch of cookie dough. By the time Jessica brought the kids back out, yawning and dressed in brand-new pajamas, I was pulling a sheet of perfectly-baked cookies out of the oven.
Jessica’s eyes widened. “Did you make another batch of cookies? You didn’t have to do that.”
Shrugging, I set the cookies down and lean on the counter, grinning at her. “It’s no big deal. Besides, I’m sure the kids would love a cookie before they go to bed.”
She shoots me a rueful look out of her bright blue eyes. “I’m sure they would. But it takes long enough to get them ready for bed. I’m not sure adding cookies to the mix is a great idea.”
I stand up straight and press my lips together. “If anyone wants to have a cookie tonight, they have to promise that they’ll go to bed with no hassle. And if either of you give your Aunt Jess any problems, I will take the cookies home with me.”
Gavin’s eyes widen to saucers. He shakes his head. “No, sir. I promise we’ll be good.”
Miracle mumbles something around a huge yawn.
“Alright. You two come out here and sit down. I’ll get you some milk, you’ll eat one cookie and then it’s off to bed.”
Nodding their heads wildly, they run to the kitchen table and sit down quickly.
Jessica follows them and sits down at the table as well, her mouth hanging open in a tempting fashion.
It takes no time at all to get the kids off to bed and I’m cleaning the crumbs off the table, washing out the cloth and resting it on the sink.
“Wow! Do you have kids? Cause you’re really good at this. I don’t think those two have ever gone to bed willingly and without a fight.”
I shake my head and study her, struck again by how beautiful she is. And young. She seems almost as young as the kids in her charge. My heart clenches and I immediately feel like an old fool.
She’s too young for me and no matter how much I like her and how pretty I think she is…it’s wrong.
“No. I don’t have any kids. I’m just used to being around them, I guess. Once you get to know kids, it’s easy to figure out what motivates them”
Her perfect rosebud lips twist. “Yeah. I haven’t quite got the hang of that. I grew up in foster care and I am not really used to thinking about kids in any way but as competition. For attention, food, whatever.”
I can hear the pain in her soft voice and I immediately move closer to her, putting an arm around her. Her slim figure stiffens but she doesn’t pull away. Instead she sighs and rests her head on my chest like she needs this as much as I do.
I kiss the top of her head. “I’m so sorry that you had that kind of childhood. Is that why you and your sister didn’t really know each other that well?”
She nods and sighs into my chest. “She ran away as soon as she turned eighteen. I hadn’t even had any contact with her since she left.” I could hear the tightness in her voice and then she sobbed into my shirt. “I didn’t even know that my own sister had died. That she had a family. That she was happy. I don’t know how she did it. I can’t make myself wish for any of that. I feel like there’s a part of me that’s missing. Like I just shouldn’t want those kinds of things for myself. I don’t deserve them,” she whispers, twisting my shirt in her fists.
I kiss her head again, letting her settle down in my arms. She feels like she belongs there.
I drag myself back when the bell goes off in the firehouse. Jerking my office door open, I watch my men scramble to get to the trucks.
“Where is it and how bad is it?” I ask.
