AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Behave then, because I know just the remedy for a stressed-out little girl and stressed out Auntie."
Katie looked up feeling guilt pang her gut. "You're stressed, too?"
"Of course I am, sweetie, but none of this is in our control, so letting the stress win is a waste of energy."
"I wish I was strong like you."
"You are one of the strongest women I know, Katie-girl."
"Are you two just gonna stand there and hug all day or are we gonna do something with this pile of stuff?" Noah asked, tapping his foot impatiently.
"He sure does have your sass, doesn't he?" Rose laughed.
"Maybe a little."
"You're right. We're wasting precious fort-building time." Rose bent down until she was at eye-level with Noah.
"We're making a fort?" Noah asked excitedly.
"Not just any fort, but the most epic living room fort of all time."
"Yes!" Noah pumped his fist.
"Did you get the blankets and sheets from the hall closet?"
"Oops, I knew I forgot something."
"Okay, go get them and me and Mommy will finish moving everything out of our way."
Noah took off again and Rose turned back to Katie, taking her in her arms again, and resuming their tight hug.
"You going to be okay Katie-girl?"
"I'll keep trying," Katie promised.
"Good girl." Rose kissed her head again. "Now let's get the rest of this stuff out of the way. We've got a fort to build."
"An epic fort," Katie corrected, making Rose laugh.
"The epic-est," Rose agreed. "After all, I promised Noah, and goodness knows he won't let me live it down if I don't fulfill that promise."
With all of the furniture moved, the trio set out on their fort-building adventure. They quickly learned that they all had different ideas about how to make it work and Rose tried hard to let Noah and Katie figure it out as best they could without her. She loved watching them interact when Katie was in her Little headspace. Noah had no idea there was a difference; he just enjoyed playing with his mom.
It was the sweetest interaction she'd ever witnessed as the two of them put their heads together and tried their hand at fort construction. Rose had an ace up her sleeve because she’d purchased a fort building kit, but she wasn't sharing that until she had to because the longer this activity took, the better. They all needed the fun of it and even if Claire-Bear woke up, she wouldn't hinder their fun at all. She would probably enjoy watching her mom and brother as much as Rose was.
"This is not working!" Noah exclaimed, stomping his little foot.
"Wait, wait, what if we got one of the bar stools?" Katie answered, heading for the breakfast bar off the kitchen.
"Or both of them. Then it will be high enough for me to stand in." Noah followed behind Katie and tried to mimic her by lifting the other stool. "Umm, Auntie, you mind givin' me a hand?" he asked when he realized his determination was no match for the job at hand.
"You betcha," Rose answered. She would have helped right away but Noah was the type of kid that liked to try on his own before accepting help. She knew a Little girl with the same trait, and her time with Katie had taught her that she needed to be strategic and not step in too soon. "Where do we want the chair?"
"Opposite this one." Katie pointed to a spot on the floor and Rose set the chair down and backed off.
"How do we make these stay?" Noah asked as he threw the side of the blanket over the chair and it promptly slid off.
"Oh, I know!" Katie exclaimed and then took off down the hall.
