Touchdown - Leslie North Page 0,31

he needed to be levelheaded. Jill would have an action plan. She would think of some unexpected options that would lead to a solution.

Maxwell chewed on the inside of his lip as he thought. And then it came to him: he could try calling some of Jill’s friends. She’d given him Marie’s number once as an emergency contact, in case something ever happened with the kids and Jill couldn’t be there. And this counted as an emergency. His entire family was missing.

He swiped through his contacts list, struggling to remember Marie’s last name through the panic and foreboding, when the entrance gate clicked and started to slide open.

Jill’s car pulled into the driveway.

Relief flooded him, rendering him immobile. All he could do was stare as she parked, her moss-green SUV stuffed to the brim with car seats in the back.

As soon as she opened the door, he blurted, “Where were you guys?”

She cocked her head, concern creasing her features. “Didn’t you get my texts?”

His heart refused to resume its normal rate. He headed for the driveway as Jill opened the backseat. The triplets were babbling and laughing like usual. Everyone was fine.

“No. I was calling and freaking out.” He massaged his forehead, drawing a deep breath in the hope that it might finally calm his nerves. “Your phone was off. I was just about to call Marie when you pulled in.”

Jill fumbled with her purse to produce her phone. “I sent you messages…” Her brows drew together as she inspected the screen. “Oh my god! They never sent! My phone was in airplane mode!”

She sighed, pressing her hand to her forehead. “It has been a day, Maxwell. I took these three to urgent care. Shelley had a nosebleed that wouldn’t stop, and I was nervous, so off we went.”

Maxwell helped unload the kids, taking extra time to look over Shelley. “Oh, man. She looks great now, at least.”

“Yeah. I made sure we made up for the doctor’s visit. We stopped for a tiny ice cream cone on the way home, which is why we weren’t here before you got home. The doctor’s office only had two lollipops, so of course the kids went off the deep end about it. I had to rectify.”

Maxwell held Shelley in his arms, feeling the need to coddle her a little while Cameron and Kevin toddled amok in the front yard. “Not gonna lie, Jill—part of me was ready to start calling around to police stations and hospitals.”

She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder as they lingered in the driveway. Kevin and Cameron headed for the bushes, where they started hiding from one another. Shelley wriggled in his arms a moment later, wanting to be let down and join her brothers. When it was just the two of them, Maxwell wrapped his arm around Jill’s shoulders.

“I’m so incredibly relieved you all are okay,” he said softly before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“I would have come home right away if I’d known you were worrying.” Jill said. “I don’t even know how my phone got in airplane mode. Probably Kevin. He got my phone while I was cleaning Shelley up.”

“You did the right thing,” Maxwell said. “I’m not complaining.”

Jill looked up at him, her brown eyes sparkling. “So did you. You could have easily chewed my butt out for messing up the texts. So thanks for being you.”

They shared a warm smile and then Maxwell dipped down to press a kiss to her lips. “Back atcha, sweets.”

Jill laughed. “Oh, is that my new pet name?”

“Absolutely.”

“The one thing I counsel every patient to avoid,” she noted dryly.

“You might not want others to binge on sweets, but whether you like it or not, you’re the sweetest damn thing I’ve ever tasted,” Maxwell crooned.

She swatted at his chest, but her smile was ear to ear. “Now you’re pulling those player moves again.”

“Football player only,” he chided as he guided them to the front porch where they eased onto the bench swing. The triplets played happily in the grass, and their familiar squeals and babbles were a balm to his receding nerves. Neither said anything for a few moments as they watched the kids play.

“You know,” Maxwell said, “coming home and having silence be the first thing I heard instead of kids…it was strange. But it also felt really lonely.”

Jill looked over at him, a brow lifting. “It’s strange, isn’t it? How quickly we can adapt to this.”

“Yeah. All the noise and chaos.” He laughed