son from Violet’s arms and kissed him. “Was he okay for you?”
“Are you kidding? He is perfect.” And as she watched Katie walk around cooing to the baby, Violet felt a little…envious.
Okay, a lot envious.
What is going on with me?
“I know I’m biased,” Katie said, interrupting her thoughts, “but he really is. Kira wasn’t nearly this agreeable.”
“Oh, stop. She was a good baby too. I just think you and Brian were a little more uptight because she was your first.”
“Maybe, but other than being a bit of a night owl, this little guy is just…”
“You can say it. He’s perfect.”
Katie grinned. “Yeah, he is.”
Violet closed her laptop and got up to stretch. “Did I hear you talking to Brian late last night?”
“Five days,” she said excitedly and immediately cringed when Benjamin startled in her arms. “He’ll be home in five days!”
“Oh, my goodness! That’s amazing!”
“I know! It’s a whole week sooner than we were expecting, so…”
“So…?” And then it hit her. “So five’s a crowd, huh?”
“What? No! Oh, my gosh, no! I was going to say it’s not a lot of time to prepare.”
“Prepare? Like how? This is his house, and you just had a baby. What could you possibly have to prepare for?”
“Just…give me a minute,” Katie said before going and placing Benjamin in his crib. When she came back into the living room two minutes later, she looked a little frazzled. “I need to make sure all his favorite foods are here, the whole place needs a good cleaning, and…and…his car could use a tune-up since it’s been sitting so long and…”
It would be wrong to give her a good shake and tell her to relax, so Violet opted to walk over and gently grasp her friend by the shoulders.
“Kate? Relax. I am sure we can get most of that stuff done, but if we can’t, it’s still going to be okay. Brian’s not going to be expecting perfection when he gets home. He’s just going to be so happy to see you and Kira and to meet his son.” She smiled. “It’s going to be amazing.”
And just when she thought she had said all the right things, Katie’s face scrunched up, and she started to cry.
Hard.
“Oh, crap! Oh, Katie, I’m sorry! I just thought…” But she never got to finish because she found herself in her friend’s fierce embrace.
And it wasn’t a bad place to be.
So she hugged her back, knew in her mind this was just hormones, and came to the realization she wasn’t going to have a moment’s peace until Brian was home.
“Eli, let’s go!” Hunter called out with more snap than he meant to.
“You okay, Hunt?” It wasn’t the first time his father had asked him that this week and more than likely wasn’t going to be the last.
“It’s just been a long day, Dad, and I still have a shit-ton of stuff to do.”
“Today was your last day of work for a few weeks, right?”
“Yeah, but…”
“So then what’s the hurry? You’re going to have plenty of time on your hands to do anything you want or need to do,” his father stated simply.
If only…
He hadn’t seen Violet since she left his house the morning after the baby was born. They talked and texted every day, but it wasn’t enough.
And it was making him more than a little irritable.
“Hey, Dad!” his brother Kyle called out as he walked through the front door with a couple of pizzas. “I brought dinner!” He grinned on his way to the kitchen. “You and Eli staying?”
“Uh…no. I didn’t know you were bringing dinner,” he murmured and looked for where Eli was.
“So, stay,” Kyle said. “There’s plenty here and I’m sure you don’t feel like going home and putting on your apron.”
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” he demanded.
His brother stared at him blandly before shrugging. “Still in a pissy mood, huh?”
“What the hell…”
“Dude, you seriously sound like a broken record. Get a new phrase, for crying out loud. And while you’re at it, maybe find a way to get Violet to come out and help you get out of this mood you’re in.”
“I’m not in a mood…” But even he knew he was lying.
“Trust me, you are so in a mood,” his brother countered.
“Okay, fine. I’m in a mood. Happy?”
“Always,” Kyle said with a big grin. “Life is good. Why be depressed or pissed off?” He shrugged. “Life is all how you look at it.”
Yeah, easy for him to say, Hunter thought. His brother had no real