Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
When the voices on the baby monitor get quiet, I wait, and then I hear the sound of footsteps padding down the hall.
“I thought you’d be sleeping?” Bax says the moment he pushes the door open and finds me sitting up in the middle of the bed.
“I just put my book down.” I scoot over as he gets into bed, then curl into his chest when his head hits the pillow. “Was she okay?”
“She wanted to come sleep with us. I bribed her with double chocolate chip pancakes in the morning.”
“She accepted that?” I ask in disbelief. She never takes a bribe. Ever.
“Yep,” he mutters, squeezing my ass.
“Humm.” I slide my leg farther over his hip, and he grins as he slides his fingers into my hair and starts to pull my mouth down to his. When we are a hair’s breath away from each other, there is a thud in the hall, and we both freeze.
Looking at the door, I watch the handle turn, and a second later, Kate pokes her dark head inside. Where the boys look like their dad, she looks just like me, something Bax swears is a curse.
“Daddy.” She steps inside with Gemma, who is getting up in age right behind her. Again, she has everyone wrapped around her little finger.
“Fuck me.” He groans only loud enough for me to hear.
“Baby, you’re supposed to be in bed,” he tells her.
“I know, but I’m hungry.”
“You’re not hungry, you’re tired.” He sits up as I hide my smile.
“No, I’m hungry. I want pancakes.” She wanders into the room and climbs onto the bed.
“Can I have pancakes too?” Kase, our nine-year-old, asks, poking his head into the room.
“Are we having pancakes?” Lux asks, following his brother and Bax’s groan becomes audible.
“Fuck it. Fine, let’s go make pancakes,” he grumbles, and I know the only reason he’s annoyed is because he thought he was getting lucky, not that that still won’t happen later.
“Are you having pancakes, Mom?” Lux asks me with a wide smile.
“I never pass up Dad’s pancakes,” I tell him, grabbing my robe and putting it on over my nightgown as my husband sends me a look that makes me smile.
“Alright, come on, you guys. Pancakes, then bed.” Bax ushers everyone out of our room before sweeping Kate up into his arms.
When we get to the kitchen, I hop up on the counter and watch my husband make our kids pancakes as they talk about the day and things that happened at school.
I know that it’s not normal to have your kids up past their bedtime or to get out of bed to cook for them when they are. But it’s in these late-night moments that the best memories seem to be made, and one day when they are all older, I have no doubt that they are going to smile when they think about these times, and if we are lucky, they will do this with their kids and talk about us with a fondness that keeps us alive for generations.
The End