Rising Storm (Westin Force #2) - Julie Trettel Page 0,65

for some reason.

Kelsey rolled her eyes. “One kid is exhausting, but three at once is even more so. Shelby’s been with the babies pretty much twenty-four seven since they were born. She only ever takes a break from them to go to ladies’ night and doesn’t even make that every week. She used to teach, and it was really important to her. She’s great at it and she has the opportunity to go back part time as a substitute when the local school needs a fill-in.”

I wasn’t really following where this was going, but I nodded.

“Thanks for that.”

“What? I’m just ripping the Band-Aid off, now ask her.”

“Ask me what?”

Shelby sighed and closed her eyes then opened them to stare at me. “This is a great opportunity to keep my teaching credentials fresh. But I’m really nervous about leaving my babies. I don’t trust a lot of people to care for them. They’re so precious to me and I know it takes a village and all that, I just hate missing even a second and I will worry constantly if I’m not absolutely positive they are being loved and watched over while I’m gone. So, I was wondering how you would feel about a job?”

“Me? Oh no. I could never teach.”

Kelsey and Shelby giggled.

“No, I mean would you consider working for me babysitting the kids on days I’m called in to work?”

“You would trust me with your most precious babies?”

Shelby grinned and nodded. “I can’t really imagine anyone better. Maddie has her hands full with Sarah and soon a new baby. Lizzy works full time.”

“What about Kelsey?” I asked. It seemed rude to mention this in front of her.

“Nope. Leave me out of it. Most people around here seem to forget that being Pack Mother is a fulltime job. I’m still managing Kyle’s schedule too. It’s a lot. Plus, I have Jason and Zander to juggle. Heck, if you’re open for business, I may listen to the kid and beg you to watch him a few hours a week just to do errands in peace.”

“You guys would really want me to watch your children?”

To me, children were the highest commodity possible. In the wild they instilled the longevity of the band. They were family, and family meant everything to me.

They both nodded. “I honestly can’t think of anyone that I would trust more. I could go back to work part time and be at peace knowing my children are safe and loved. What do you think?”

“I’d be honored. I already feel like these little ones are part of my band and would do anything to protect them.”

“Yay! It’s settled then. I am so proud of you, Shelbs.”

The two of them embraced and then pulled me into their circle for a group hug while Mary Alice squirmed in protest.

“You’re sure about this?” Shelby asked. “You can talk it over with Painter first, if you want.”

I thought about it for a minute and shook my head. “No, I really think he’ll be okay with this arrangement and it will give me a purpose, something I’ve been missing while he was gone. At least before he left, I had him to tend to. I need to do something. Sitting around isn’t really me and you can only clean a house so much. This is perfect.”

I meant it, too. I loved her babies and watching them would give me a purpose again. I really needed that. Mostly, it dawned on me that I really wasn’t a burden to anyone. They wanted me here and I hadn’t done anything but be me to earn that.

“I’m so glad you said that, because they asked me to work on Monday and I don’t even know if the guys will be back by then,” she confessed.

I looked down at Mary Alice happily playing on my lap.

“What do you think sweet girl?”

“Say, yay!” Shelby encouraged.

“Yay!”

We all cooed over her cuteness.

I stayed for the day while we hashed out the details. Kelsey hung out until shortly after lunch. She and Shelby watched from the doorway as I got the triplets down for their nap.

“Wow, that was amazing. Can you be on standby for nights Jason refuses to sleep?” Kelsey teased.

I smiled proudly.

Shelby always waited until the end of the day to clean up, claiming they were just going to wake up and mess it all up again. To me, you might as well never clean with that mentality.

As had become our routine, she complained at me to sit down while I