Rising Storm (Westin Force #2) - Julie Trettel Page 0,75

with Painter, fixed our lunches, and kissed him goodbye. Cal was waiting and drove me to Shelby’s. The kids weren’t waiting excitedly for me. Nathan and Zachary played in the corner and barely acknowledged my arrival while Mary Alice clung to her mother’s leg.

I wrestled the screaming girl as Shelby said a hurried goodbye and left me to deal with the aftermath. I attempted to use the toaster and made frozen waffles for the kids’ breakfast. It was a mistake, the syrup I had drizzled on it was now caked in their hair and I had three sticky kids and a kitchen disaster to deal with.

Wrangling three kids into a bath was a lot harder than I ever dreamed. How I managed not to drown one in the process was beyond me. It was lunchtime before I knew it. We tried sandwiches again and this time I served it with a side of canned peas I’d found in the pantry.

Apparently, this was a huge mistake as the boys used them as projectiles to hit each other while Mary Alice continued screaming. After lunch we had to skip outside time and head back to the bath. I survived mildly better that time and was grateful it was naptime afterwards. I was so happy they went down without a fight that I literally cried in relief.

I walked back out and looked around wanting to cry even harder. I scrubbed the kitchen down and picked up the house. Just as I went to sit down, Nathan woke up. I ran to get him before he woke his siblings, but I wasn’t fast enough.

It was like they hadn’t even napped. Three crabby kids worked on destroying the toy corner I had just cleaned up while I sat there watching unable to stop the disaster before me.

I apologized to Shelby the second she walked in. She just laughed and waved it off. I went home and fell asleep without even eating dinner.

Day three I awoke cursing the alarm clock. I dragged myself into the shower and just stood there letting the water roll over me.

There was a knock at the bathroom door. “Sweetheart, are you still in there? Is everything okay?”

Nothing was okay, but I knew I was running late if Painter was already back from his run. When I finally got out and dressed for the day, he had breakfast ready. That made me feel bad, but when he handed me my bag with my lunch packed, I felt terrible.

“I’m sorry. That was supposed to be my job.”

“Emma, we’re a team. You’re having a rough morning, so I took care of it.”

I kissed him goodbye and hugged him tight not wanting to leave his arms, but I forced myself to. I’d made a commitment and I was going to stick to it.

Shelby was having an even worse day when I arrived. All three kids were screaming and clinging to her not wanting their mommy to leave. I knew how they felt. I didn’t want her to leave either. After corralling them to the toy corner long enough for her to make an escape, I sat down on the floor and cried with them.

Breakfast was dried cereal on the coffee table. I got a few minutes reprieve as they watched a cartoon. It was not one of the good educational ones, but this one kept their attention better, so I didn’t care.

We made it through lunch without the need for a bath, and then I let them run around the backyard until they were ready to collapse. Naptime was a breeze, but as soon as they were asleep, I curled up on the couch and crashed too. I was exhausted and I was beginning to think there was no way I could do this. I was even questioning if I’d ever want kids of my own if I even survived the triplets.

They woke up crying—all three of them. I groggily got up and straightened the house up while they cried in their cribs. Once I got them, they were each so hysterical that I couldn’t calm them down. Nathan and Mary Alice fought as I played referee blocking fist punches. Zachary pulled my hair and I fought back the urge to backhand him across the room. It was an all-out brawl. I had just managed to separate everyone when the door opened.

Shelby came home to the four of us on the couch with puffy eyes and red noses. Then like perfect angels, the kids morphed