Page 25 of Crossing Lines

“Where’s the baby?” I asked, my nose wrinkling.

“Right here, I just needed to hold him for a few minutes.” Mama Jay was all smiles as she came toward our little group.

“Mommy, can I hold the baby?” Kaitlyn looked up at Shelby and grinned.

“Of course you can, sugar plum. Come sit over here, and let’s wipe off your hands and arms. We don’t want the baby to get dirty.” Shelby got her wiped down and in the chair. Mama Jay held their baby out, and they got him in her arms. My heart melted at the sight. That could be my kids in a few years. One asking to hold the new baby. That thought was a sucker punch to my gut. The air whooshed out of me, and I went down. Right on my ass.

“Stella! Are you alright?” Dani Lynn handed off the babies and knelt before me.

“Sissy!” Carter’s voice boomed out across the yard.

I held up a hand, trying to give myself a minute to sort out my shit. I was fine, just a bit overwhelmed. I had no one to blame but myself… Damn.

“Sissy. Are you okay?”

“Yes. I just needed to sit down,” I lied, but not really. I didn’t choose to sit down, but they didn’t need to know that. Right?

“Come on, she’s fine. Let her have some air. Stel, did you eat this morning?” Shelby asked, her fingers on my wrist.

“She did,” Carter answered. “Dad made French toast and bacon. She ate half a plate of bacon by herself.”

I snorted. “Don’t be telling all of my secrets, kid. Look, y’all, I’m fine; I just had a moment. I’m gonna have a baby. Someone I’ll have to take care of. I can barely take care of myself. It’s gonna be an adjustment. I’m still working that out in my head.”

“You’re gonna be fine, woman.”

I wrapped my arms around Robbie when he fell into me and blew a raspberry on his cheek. “I’m gonna eat me a Robbie sammich.” I tickled his sides and watched, laughing, as he danced around. It soon became a free for all. I was covered in kids, all trying to tickle me and save each other. The kid was safe from the sammich monster. I wrapped an arm around Tyler, who jumped at me and started to tickle her next.

“Stoooop…” she laughed as I tickled her more and more.

“Never. I have you now. You’re mine,” I laughed.

“Day Day, help me!” She wiggled, trying to get free. I scooped her up in my good arm and blew a big raspberry on her belly. She tried to push her shirt back down, but I wouldn’t let her.

“I’ll save you!” Taylor, Kris’ little monster, tried to tackle me to the ground. It almost worked too. I laughed again as I grabbed him, getting my hand around his ankle, and gently tugged him back to me, tickling the bottom of his bare foot. The peal of laughter that tore from him shocked me. After that, I was a goner. I had a pile of children ranging from eight, almost nine, to two climbing all over me. I laid back in the grass, getting a knee to the ribs, a foot in the thigh, and a hand squishing my boob. I shook my head and waved my arms.

“I give up. I give up,” I surrendered, panting for breath in the grass while they decided what to do with their prisoner. I chuckled and shook my head. Then my bladder made me sit up. “Okay, I gotta get up for a minute.”

“No!” Robbie said, sitting down on my leg.

I huffed. “Yes, I’ll be right back. I need to go potty.” He looked at me, then I guess he decided that I could go pee. Chuckling, I got up, wiped my hand on my shorts, and headed inside. “I’ll be right back!”

“I need to go too!”

“Me too. Me too!”

By the time we got inside, every kid had to pee. It was all hands on deck. Carter and Derek had the boys. Dani Lynn, Shelby, and I helped the girls go potty. It was exhausting work with so many of them but rewarding at the same time. I couldn’t wait ‘til I could experience these daily adventures with my own baby.

Trace and I would take turns taking them into the adult bathrooms. Cleaning hands. Wiping noses. Hugging them when they scraped a knee falling from a bike. We’d have to take the good with the bad and be ready for anything in between.

Chapter 11

Tracey

Over the last few weeks,I've learned a few things about my girl. One, surprising her with a ring in front of her whole family on game night was not one of my smartest moves. I had been carrying this damn ring around for so long. No time seemed perfect, but I knew game night would be a good night. Or so I thought. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, but her reaction...things just got messy.

The moment she saw me on ‘one knee,’ which meant I was sitting on the ottoman, ring box open on the palm of my hand, the tears started. There had been tears, hoots, and whistles—and then my girl lost her dinner. The excitement had her and the baby battling again. In the end, she’d said yes. That was all I needed.

Another thing was that her morning sickness, which could happen at any time, hit her hard and fast. The baby was making some serious room in there for itself. That to me said it was a girl, but we wouldn’t know for a while. Also, she was grouchy—borderline psychotic—most days, but especially if anyone woke her up once she was asleep. It didn’t matter if it was midday, morning, the middle of the night. Anytime she was sleeping and you woke her, you risked the wrath of Satan himself—unless youwere a tiny baby. With that strict requirement on your side, you were officially safe from the anger. I knew she had a soft spot for kids; I’d seen it with her nephews and her friends’ kids. But, it was great to see it with this little one. Her maternal instincts were kicking in big time.

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