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“It’s always okay.”
She stroked her hand through his hair as he lay there, one hand on her stomach. I kept a hand on her hip, just being there for both of them. Eventually, Coop’s breathing evened out. It was a little nasally from his tears, but Frankie didn’t go back to sleep.
“He’ll be okay, Angel,” I said, rubbing my hand up and down her side. “Go back to sleep.”
“I—”
“I know,” I said, then nuzzled a kiss to her cheek. “We only have rehearsals tonight so I can afford to be awake. You sleep. I’ll keep watch.”
If he had bad dreams, I’d wake his ass up. But I’d be here.
“I love you, Ian,” she said and I gave her hip a squeeze.
“I know you do, now be a good girl for me, and sleep.” I dropped another kiss to her lips and she sighed.
It didn’t take her long to drop off and while I could probably sleep, I stayed awake and read on my phone while I kept an eye on both of them. One luxury I had on the road, I could catch sleep when I needed it. Right now, they needed me to be on watch.
I could do that too.
CHAPTER 9
CHICKEN DANCE
FRANKIE
“Mom!” Izzy streaked into the kitchen where Jeremy and I were already working on getting the turkey hustled into the oven. It was the second turkey. The first had already gone in. There were easily a dozen other dishes prepared. The moms would be down shortly, as it was still early for almost everyone except me, Jeremy, and apparently now Izzy.
She slid to a stop next to me, blonde hair escaping her braid in wisps, her eyes huge and her expression panicked. The last is what had me wiping my hands to meet her intense gaze. Our eldest daughter was something of a perfectionist, didn’t always know when to take a break, and could often work herself up into a fit of anxiety trying to do everything.
“Hey,” I told her as I crouched. Then she threw her arms around me and I cradled her close. “Shh, what’s wrong?” She was actually shaking. “Bad dream?”
I caught Jeremy’s eye as I stood, still holding her. I was five months pregnant now, the bump was there with our fourth—and fifth children. We’d announced it to the whole family. But I had the balance down for carrying even my big girl.
He’d wiped his own hands before running a hand over her head. “I’ll make you some hot cocoa.”
“Thank you,” Izzy said in a muffled voice that came out small and a little worried. Leaving Jeremy to the prep, I carried Izzy out of the kitchen and down the hall. The house was huge and we’d made some changes over the years. Other parts, we’d kept the same. Grandpa Ted’s study was exactly as it had been, right down to the pool table and the big chairs in front of the fireplace.
Archie had so many memories in this room. So did Eddie. More than once I’d found them here after a meal or a day, just sharing a drink and chuckling. We’d put up Christmas decorations everywhere else, but we kept it light in here. This year, we’d achieved twelve trees. I rather suspected next year, one would end up in here whether we planned for it or not.
Still, I nudged the door closed and carried Izzy over to one of the big armchairs. It was the one Archie favored and it always made me think of him as I sat. There was no fire at the moment, though the wood was set up. The room was more than warm enough, so I settled Izzy on my lap just holding her until she lifted her head.
“I had a bad dream,” she admitted, tear tracks on her cheeks a testament to that.
“Bad dreams are no fun,” I said and she gave me the most solemn of nods.
“I don’t like them.”
“Most people don’t like them, babycakes. Do you need to talk about it?” I didn’t ask if she wanted to because, well, I never wanted to talk about mine. Sometimes, I needed to talk about them. Sometimes she needed it and sometimes she just wanted cuddles.
“I don’t know,” she said, lower lip jutting out for a moment. “I?—”
Jeremy opened the door quietly, carrying in two nice mugs of hot cocoa. While I was stuck on decaf coffee, I could have hot chocolate and he’d loaded it with whip cream, and candy canes. Oh, he’d broken out the peppermint hot cocoa.
He set the mugs down next to us and I had a feeling my eyes were as large as Izzy’s at the moment. “For my two favorite ladies.”
“But we’re not supposed to ask for the special hot cocoa,” Izzy said, the wonder in her voice dazzling.
“You didn’t ask,” Jeremy told her with so much kindness it squeezed my heart. “Besides, what good is a rule if I can’t break it now and again?”
