and set the paper on my nightstand, letting my gaze linger on it for a moment longer before I hurried off to see one of my favorite guys.
“Handsome boy,” I whispered, expression bright when I snuck into Levi’s room and found him staring at me through the slats of his crib. A cheesy grin spreading wide across his face and showcasing his dimples. “How was your nap?”
He babbled endlessly as I changed his diaper and put him in a new outfit.
“Tell me about it,” I teased as I lifted him into my arms and started for the door. “Your life sounds so rough.”
“Dadda?” he asked, pointing at the doorway and twisting my heart.
“Mmhm,” I forced out, nodding and keeping my smile in place. “Daddy will be here soon. So will lots of other people, including Grandma and Grandpa. Isn’t that fun?”
“Dadda,” he said again, continuing to lead the way with his finger.
“Yeah.” I took a fortifying breath as I started down the stairs. Trying to ignore the fierce ache in my chest and the way it felt like I would fall to the floor and never get up again if I stopped for just one second. “I know, buddy.”
Following the sounds of my older kids down the stairs and into their tucked-away playroom, I let my stare dance over them as they colored side by side. Their lightsabers still lit up and lying forgotten beside them after what I was sure was an epic battle.
“Qin.”
A soft gasp left me as I looked to where Levi was pointing at them, excitement bursting from me as I bounced him, slowly dancing with him. “That’s right! Is that your sister, Quinn?”
“Qin,” he repeated before giving a big belly laugh as if he’d just said the funniest thing in the world.
The older two scrambled to their feet and ran over at hearing his laugh, having just noticed us there. Cooing over their little brother the way they always did, as if he were a newborn and not nine months old.
“He’s trying to say your name,” I told Quinn, my throat tightening because Beau wasn’t there.
But that was silly.
He wouldn’t have been there anyway. He would’ve still been at work.
When they tried and failed to get him to say it again, and Levi just leaned his head on my shoulder and smiled at them like they were being funny, I cleared my throat. “Okay, guests are gonna start arriving soon, and we’ll have a completely full house this weekend.”
“Like Grandma and Grandpa?” Quinn asked excitedly.
“Yes,” I answered as Wyatt did some sort of karate chop to show his excitement. “But they’re coming in later tonight. Other people are coming before them. Do you remember the rules when guests are here?”
“No running through the house,” Quinn recited, her excitement still beaming through and making her all kinds of squirmy.
“No killing Quinn with lightsabers.”
A snort left me, my chest shaking with the laughter I was trying so hard to suppress. “Yeah, uh . . . no killing your sister ever. But definitely not when guests are here.” I studied them, love and adoration pulling at my chest. “If you need to be all wild and crazy, be crazy in here or your rooms, right?”
“Right,” they said in unison.
“But I think one last lap through the house might be needed,” I said slowly, pretending to think it over. Stepping back, I nodded toward the open door. “Ready, set, go.”
They were gone before I finished talking, screaming like mad and declaring who would win when they’d only just begun.
“They’re so silly,” I whispered to Levi when he giggled and reached after them.
But before they could return, the sound of the doorbell filled the house.
“Oh, someone’s early,” I mumbled mostly to myself as I hurried out of the playroom, silently cursing myself for not being more prepared.
Not for the guests, everything was ready for them. But for the first arrival. I’d wanted to get the kids at least settled with a snack before anyone showed. Then again, I hadn’t been expecting anyone until after Beau was supposed to be there.
Hitching Levi higher up on my hip when I made it into the entryway, I high-fived Quinn and Wyatt when I found them hurrying back to the playroom, covering their giggling faces with one of their hands because they knew the time for screaming was over.
“Who was winning?” I asked as they passed.
Wyatt huffed. “C’mon, Momma. You know I’m so super-fast.”
“Of course.” I playfully rolled my eyes. “How could I forget?”