Page 23 of Roam

“Where are their sippy cups?”

Roam nodded his head toward the cabinet close to the sink and continued trying to rinse out Georgia’s mouth.

Holding Casper in one arm, she quickly got the sippy cups ready and poured in the milk. She awkwardly tightened the sippy cup lid on while Casper alternated between crying and rubbing his mouth against her shirt. Then she grabbed a small bowl and poured some milk in it.

“Washcloths?”

“In the drawer in front of you.”

She opened the drawer and pulled out two. Once she had all this done, she brought Casper to the sink close to Roam and Georgia. She leaned Casper over the sink and scooped some water in to rinse his mouth, then moved back by the bowl. She grabbed one of the washcloths, dipped it in the milk and wiped Casper’s tongue and the inside of his mouth. Then she handed him his sippy cup.

“Here, trade me.”

She handed Casper to Roam and took Georgia in her arms. Tears were running down her face. Sprite grabbed the other washcloth and repeated the same process with Georgia. Once the milk was flowing over her tongue, she held her sippy cup and leaned against Sprite’s shoulder, drinking.

Once both kids had quieted some and were drinking the milk, Roam looked at her.

“Thank you. All I could think of was water.”

Sprite nodded. “I knew milk and yogurt help but I wasn’t sure if they liked yogurt. I knew I’d seen them both drink milk.”

Roam leaned toward her, holding Casper while she held Georgia, his side rubbing against her.

“Hey, how do you like being invited for supper at my house so far?”

She chuckled at his wry tone. “Well, I can honestly say my heartbeat had a workout. Now that they are calmed down, it’s getting a little better.”

“Yeah, now it’s time to talk to my little helper, who caused this incident.”

Sprite didn’t envy him that. She was a little surprised Grant had done it, but who knows what was in his mind. As she and Roam carried the kids into Grant’s bedroom where he, Blake and Oakley were playing, she could see this being her life. All of them living here, her and Roam raising a family. She also couldn’t understand why this man had been able to crack through her shell of not letting anyone in, but he had. Watching him this last couple of weeks with his kids and hers, along with the club, had her understanding there were good men in the world like her brother. She’d thought he was the anomaly because every single one she’d met was a jerk, or maybe before Roam that’s all she’d attracted.

Roam sat down on the floor close to Grant and Sprite sat down close with Georgia.

“Grant, I know you didn’t mean to hurt them.”

Grant was moving a car along the floor, not looking at Roam with Cane lying beside him. Blake was petting the dog. Grant shook his head.

“Even though you’re the big brother and I know you were trying to help them, you’re still little and don’t know everything. So how about if they want something from the pantry, you come get me. I can help you know if they are okay to eat it. And some of the things they need to be sitting in their high chairs to eat so they don’t choke. Do you think you could do that?”

Grant nodded again but still wasn’t looking at Roam.

“I’m glad to hear that. You’re such a good big brother, always helping them and making sure they’re happy. Now, how about you say sorry to Casper and Georgia and then come get a hug from me. I am proud of you that as soon as you saw it was hurting them, you ran out the back door to get me.”

“Sowwy,” Grant whispered, then crawled under the arm Roam held out to him and wrapped his arms around Roam’s waist. Roam hugged him and kissed his head.

“Well, Blake and Oakley, that was quite the welcome to our home. Blake, thanks for watching over everyone. Are you ready for supper? I made homemade pizza, and it should be just about ready. I have juice boxes in the refrigerator for drinks if you want.”

Sprite followed Roam and the kids out, helping everyone get situated with drinks in high chairs and booster seats. She really hadn’t had a chance to appreciate Roam’s island that had seating with chairs or the large table across from it in the kitchen. Since the booster seats and high chairs were at the table, she assumed that was where they were eating.

As she worked, she thought about the difference between how Roam handled a child messing up compared to how her mom had treated her when she did something wrong. Sprite had vowed her children would never be slapped or knocked around because they did something wrong. Roam’s gentle voice and talking through a solution with Grant told her more about his parenting style than she could have ever learned with questions.

She’d been apprehensive even after Roam had made his intentions clear, but tonight, she realized they could do this. Roam’s house was huge with plenty of bedrooms and maybe if they did end up together, someday, they could have a child from both of them in a nursery.

ROAM HAD PUT GEORGIA and Casper down for the night. Grant, Blake and Oakley were watching a movie. It had about thirty minutes left, and the kids were entranced. Sprite had said she was going to finish picking up the kitchen while he put the kids down. He hadn’t needed any help because they’d already changed diapers and put the kids into pajamas twenty minutes before they drifted off watching the movie.

Putting them to bed tonight was placing them in their cribs and kissing them good night. He walked out of the room, leaving it open a little, and walked to Sprite in front of the sink.

She was as gorgeous from the back as she was from the front. Her pink hair cut short had the curve of her neck exposed and highlighted all the places he wanted to kiss. She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, and he found himself wishing she had on one of her tank tops. He loved seeing her delicate collarbones and her tattoos unveiled for his eyes to feast on.

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