Page 100 of Fierce-Michael

“Yes,” Alex said. “Otherwise she tosses the whole bottle with her final burp and Cade will go running from the room gagging.”

“Not anymore,” Cade said. “You told me to stop doing that when the twins would spit up.”

“There is a big difference between spitting up and puking,” Michael said. “Trust me, I know.”

“I’d like to avoid any of it,” Kelly said. “If I can.” She put the baby on her shoulder and patted her back, a burp coming out fast. “That was easy.”

“She wants the rest of her food,” Alex said. “She’s greedy.”

“She seems like an easy baby to me,” she said.

“She is. Nothing like her father.”

They turned to see Jolene come in. Michael hadn’t known she was in the house. Hadn’t heard the doorbell but suspected she just walked into her son’s house.

“What are you doing here, Mom?” Cade asked.

“I wanted to come see the baby. I have Anthony and Joseph with me. They wanted to see Cam so we thought we’d stop and I was going to see if I could grab the twins and bring them to the house for a bit. Or at least Cam.”

“Regan likes playing with the baby and not all her male cousins,” Alex said. “She’d rather be with Madison.”

Madison was Ella’s daughter. “Then I’ll have to have a girl's day with them at some point. It’s nice to see you two together. How is it going?”

Jolene got comfortable in a chair facing Kelly and Michael. He was on the couch next to her in the rocker.

“It’s going well,” Kelly said, still watching the baby with the bottle in her mouth.

No one else answered that and Jolene was starting to fidget. He found it funny that she might be listening to her son.

“Do you mind if I leave the boys here for about thirty minutes since you’ve got company?” Jolene asked. “I was going to run to the store to get a few things and it’d be easier without them.”

He found the whole thing funny considering she’d said she was going to come here and get the twins. He’d be willing to bet she drove by and saw his vehicle and decided to stop, but he wouldn’t call her out on it.

“Sure,” Cade said. “They won’t bother us.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Jolene said. “It was nice seeing you all.”

“That was odd,” Alex said.

“Yeah,” Cade said. “But I think she can’t stand to sit there and not say anything so she had to get out of here. She’ll drive me nuts when she comes back.”

“We’ll make sure we are gone by then,” Michael said. “Thanks for covering.”

Kelly laughed. “I’m fine with whatever. But things are good and sometimes it’s best not to jinx it.”

Michael wasn’t sure what she meant by that and didn’t want to ask.

“You just can’t letit be, can you?” Gavin asked Jolene later that night.

“Of course not. I always call my sisters-in-law after their Memorial Day party.”

She hadn’t gotten much out of Cade when she’d returned to get Aiden’s sons.

The boys were now upstairs sleeping and she and Gavin were sitting in their sunroom relaxing.

“You’re only mad that you aren’t getting anywhere with Michael and Kelly,” Gavin said. “Admit it.”

“I am,” she said. “It’s frustrating to see them together and not be able to ask much.”