Page 48 of That One Heartbreak

She’d take her up to bed first, then Ethan. If by some miracle Marley didn’t wake between her trips, she’d deal with him last.

“Addy,” she whispered. “It’s time for bed.”

“Mommy, I’m sleeping.”

Kate’s lips twitched because that was so Addy. “Come on, honey. Get up. We need to get you into bed.”

Grumbling under her breath, Addy let Kate pull her to standing. And yeah, she was way too big for Kate to carry up the stairs. Maybe she should have called James for help, butthen she wasn’t sure what he would have thought at seeing his brother and sister all cozied up down here.

“Wait, what?” Marley’s eyes opened. He immediately reached out with his fingers, as though grasping for something. “Where’s my phone?”

She’d been a firefighter’s wife for enough years to know exactly what he was thinking. “There’s not an alert,” she whispered to him. “I’m just taking Addy up to bed.”

Marley was fully awake now. He sat up and gently moved Ethan from him. “You’re home,” he said, his expression unreadable.

She smiled at the sleep-thickness of his voice. “Yeah. Let me get the kids to bed and then I can say goodbye to you.”

“I can help.” He glanced at Addy. “Want me to carry her up?”

“I want a carry,” Addy nodded, looking suddenly awake. “Yes, please.”

Marley stood and easily lifted her daughter into his arms. Addy melted against him. Kate reached for Ethan, shaking his arm. “Honey, it’s bedtime.”

“Mom?” he muttered, his eyelids fluttering.

“Yep?”

“We’re watching a movie,” Ethan muttered.

“It’s over now.” A smile played at her lips. His eyes were still closed.

“I didn’t see the end.”

“We can watch it again tomorrow,” she promised.

She and Ethan followed Marley and Addy upstairs. They were both so tired they barely put up a fight as she helped them into their pjs and quickly brushed their teeth for them, like she used to when they were little.

Marley went back downstairs as she knocked on James’ door.

“Come in.”

He was sitting in bed, scrolling on his phone.

“Hey honey. Everything okay?” she asked, leaning on the doorjamb.

“Yeah, all good. Just going to sleep.” He looked up at her. “How was your date?” he asked.

“It was…meh.” She wrinkled her nose. And James gave her a sleepy smile.

“Maybe next time, hey?”

“Maybe,” she said. “You should get some rest.”

“Yeah. I only waited up to make sure you got home okay.” Then by some miracle he did what she suggested, putting his phone down and snuggling under the covers. She walked over to kiss his cheek.

“Night, sweetheart.” She felt touched by his protectiveness.

“Night, Mom.”

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