Page 53 of Surrender

Aiden bites into the cookie, crumbs falling to the front of his long-sleeved navy shirt. He slaps them away. “Where’s the fun in that?”

A round of chuckles accompanies Mom’s eye roll, but the smile on her face attests to her amusement.

“Anyway, we’ll meet at eight on Wednesday night. Late enough, but not too late,” Bree announces to the girls.

“What do you say, boys? Meet at eight on Wednesday?” Lee asks.

Corjan wraps his arm snugly around Bree’s hips. “Make it eight thirty. I need to make sure my girl gets there safe.”

Nods of assent come from all around. I drop my gaze to the sleeping babe on my chest as something unfamiliar slithers inside me. Something unpleasant I can’t name.

I shove it aside.“Someone bring me one of Juniper’s chocolate chip cookies.”

“How do you know I didn’t make those cookies?” Lee asks.

“Because if you tried to make cookies, you’d end up with a mess and no cookies,” I fire back.

Juniper covers her mouth on her way out of the room as she cackles.

15

Whitney

“Are you sure your babysitter can handle three small children?”

My palms sweat, and my heart ticks a little too fast in my chest. I wipe my hands on my black jeans before cooling them with the condensation on my glass.

We’ve been at The Rocks for no more than twenty minutes, but I haven’t been able to settle down yet. I thought leaving the kids at a daycare center was hard.

Ha! How naive of me.

Leaving the kids with a twenty-year-old babysitter is a million times harder.

Scarlett seemed well-equipped to handle the kids, going so far as to recite her résumé, including her first aid and CPR training, but my nerves decided not to get the message.

Lifting the Moscow Mule to my lips, I savor the spicy, crisp drink before swallowing it. If it wasn’t the first round, I would have ordered a shot of tequila instead.

The place hasn’t changed one bit. Reddish-brown brick and liquor signs displayed in the windows feel like a step into my past. Dim pendant lights hang above the bar. The dance floor and pool tables still sit in the back of the room, and if I wanted I could even order a burger from Ruben, the same cook from when I would come here for dinner in high school.

Bree forgot to mention that the girls we’d be drinking with were none other than Jack’s sister and sisters-in-law. I’m surrounded by Powells when one Powell in particular is the last person I’m supposed to think about.

“Are you okay?” Bree asks from her stool beside mine. Us four girls are lined up at the bar like we’re waiting for the start of a bachelorette party.

“Hm? Oh, I’m fine.” I shove the black straw between my lips. “I’m not used to leaving my kids.”

She wrinkles her nose. “Me neither. This is only the second time. Being with family helps, and Scarlett is really great. We’ve been doing a trial run by having her come over to watch Charlotte while I do some things around the house and run errands. She came highly recommended, I promise.”

I roll my shoulders back and lift my chin. “I just need to get over it. They’ll be fine. Everyone’s fine.” I wave my nearly empty mug in the air and catch the bartender’s eye. He nods.

“Jack said you were looking for a place to stay. Any luck?” Juniper asks around her own straw stuck in some sweet-looking pink drink.

“Jack told me about a rental on Third Avenue. I’m supposed to see the place on Friday.”

Juniper rotates toward me on her stool. “I hope it works out. I spent a good six months searching for a rental. Of course I found one as soon as Lee and I became official, and he moved right in with me.” She giggles.

“I hope it doesn’t take that long. I can’t stay at Jack’s forever.”

A pause in the conversation beneath the flashing strobe lights has me lifting my eyes from my fresh drink.

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