Page 195 of Always Us

“You need some help?” he asks, sitting down next to me on the couch.

“I think we’re good.” I look down at our babies, watching their tiny chests rise and fall as they sleep.

“You’re really getting the hang of this twin thing.” Garret lays his arm over my shoulder and kisses my cheek.

“I’m trying to. I seem to have the sleep thing down but the feedings are still a little tricky. Two babies are a lot harder than one.”

“Here.” He puts his hand under Ethan’s head. “Let me have him.”

I lower my arm as Garret slips his hand under Ethan’s little body. His eyes remain closed but he gurgles a little and his pink lips curl into a sweet smile as his daddy picks him up. He looks so tiny in Garret’s big strong arms.

“Is that better?” Garret asks, cradling Ethan in one arm and securing his other arm around my shoulder again.

“Yeah, thanks.” I glance down at Miles, who’s completely knocked out. He’s a deep sleeper. Both boys are, especially after eating. “You didn’t have to get up. I was just about ready to put them in their cribs.”

“I missed you.” He leans over and kisses me, then looks at the babies. “And I missed them.”

I smile. “You see us all the time.”

“I always miss you when you’re not next to me. You know that.” I see him gazing at me in the soft light of the room, his eyes so full of love. He glances down at Ethan, then over at Miles. “And as for these two, they’re brand new. I’m just getting to know them, and so far I think they’re pretty amazing, so yeah, I missed them, too.”

I laugh. “So far? You think you’ll change your mind about them?”

“No. They’re definitely amazing.” He rubs his thumb over Ethan’s tiny hand and leans over to kiss my forehead. “We’re pretty good at this baby-making thing, aren’t we?”

“Yeah. We are.” I shoot him a look. “But we’re done now, Garret. No more. We were only supposed to have three. And then you tricked me with the whole twin thing and we ended up with four.”

He laughs. “You think I somehow had control over that?”

“Yeah. I do. You couldn’t take being the only guy in the house, so you had to go and make two boys to even things out, and now we have four kids.”

“What are you saying? Four’s too many? Think we should return one?”

His face is serious and it makes me laugh. He lifts Ethan up a little. “This one cries more than that one. Maybe we should return him and keep that one.” He nods toward Miles.

“Garret!” I whisper scream at him.

“What? You think we should return Miles instead? He does eat more than Ethan. Could make for an expensive grocery bill, especially during the teen years. Where exactly do you go to return babies, anyway?”

“Cut it out.” I hold Miles even closer. “We’re not returning either one of them. I love them way too much.”

“I know you do. I love them, too.” Garret kisses the top of my head. “I also love this.”

“What?” I ask, leaning my head on his shoulder.

“Sitting here in the middle of the night, when everything’s so still and quiet. The girls asleep in their rooms. Us here together with these two little guys sleeping in our arms. It’s just…I don’t know, peaceful.”

“Yeah. It is.” I turn a little to face him. “Garret?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For giving me everything I ever wanted in life.”

He gently squeezes my shoulder. “What did I give you?”

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