Page 21 of Single Mom's Christmas Wish

There’s too much to do and not enough time in the day to do it.

I can’t do anything more about that now, so I focus on attending the Single Dads Club meeting tonight. It’s a good networking opportunity, not just a learning one. The people atthe community center help each other out, according to Chelsea. Maybe I’ll get more work by attending. Who knows, but it’s worth a shot.

I haven’t heard much from the Faulkner triplets since Saturday, and I don’t know what to make of it. Maybe they think they scared me off or maybe they’re playing it safe, not wanting to pursue me. I don’t know. It’s all a jumble in my head, and my heart keeps tying itself up in knots as I try to sail forward, ever forward.

I’ve got my CPR dummies and a couple more pieces of equipment with me as I struggle to carry everything up into room 23. The whole time, I’m shaking my head at my own excitement to see the triplets again. My body may have hijacked my brain; I don’t know. But I’m conscious and aware of what I’m doing. No, this is all me. I’m drawn to them, and I have to follow through on this dangerous fantasy. I have spent every night thinking about it, wondering what it would be like. I can’t get it out of my head.

“Dakota!” Cole exclaims as I walk through the door, then shoots up from his seat.

“Oh, shit.” I stumble, and all of my stuff gets scattered across the floor. Fortunately, I’m surrounded by chivalrous gentlemen. In under five minutes, everything is set on the table in the middle, and I’m slightly less flustered than when I first walked in.

“Thank you,” I cut him off with a weary smile, my gaze wandering around the circle of single dads until I see Maddox, Archer, and Reed staring at me. “I was actually hoping you might have a seat for me after I’m done with the practical part of the instruction, at least for tonight.”

Cole thinks about it for a second. “Of course,” he says and pulls up a chair. “It will be right here, waiting for you.”

“Great. So, happy to see you again, gentlemen,” I say, my gaze bouncing and settling here and there—it keeps lingering on the triplets, but I hope nobody else notices. “We talked about reasons why you’d need an altered method of CPR for children last time, and tonight, I’m going to show you precisely why. I brought an adult torso and a child’s torso for reference.”

The guys all gather around as I begin my instructional demonstration. To my delight, they’re remarkably active participants. Some are shy, and some are hands-on. It leads to plenty of laughs as I do my best to layer some humor in between the seriousness of such potential scenarios. This isn’t my first training session, but I still get nervous, so it gives me great satisfaction to get such a high degree of participation from the guys—especially the triplets.

“I’ll admit, I’m impressed,” Reed says to me at one point in a low voice while it’s Cole’s turn to practice chest compression on the child dummy.

“How so?”

“You’re a very good teacher,” he whispers.

I chuckle lightly. “Ah, so, I deserve my certificate, huh?”

“I can also see who Maisie takes after with those whip smarts of hers. You’re definitely rubbing off on your daughter.”

“Maisie teaches me a lot, too, you know.”

He nods slowly. “Yeah, we learn from Trevor aplenty. But seriously, you are a very good instructor, Dakota. I apologize for doubting you at first. Mea culpa.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I reply with a warm smile. “I happen to like what I do for a living, small or big gigs alike. I guess that plays a part in my delivery.”

The rest of the training session runs smoothly, and we end up covering the third module as well since the guys are such quick and eager learners. By the time I’m done and the dummies are set aside, they’re each back in their assigned seats, waiting for me to join them.

“Dakota, please. It’s always a pleasure,” Cole says.

I breathe a sigh of relief as I go ahead and sit down, feeling tiny and vulnerable next to the Faulkner triplets. Their eyes, in differing shades of green, scan me from top to bottom, but I can’t really tell what they’re thinking. All I can do is offer a shy smile.

“I feel ten percent smarter now,” Archer quips with a playful grin.

“Then I’ve done my job,” I say. “And thanks again for having me for the single parent part of the club, too.”

“Pretty sure the community center has a Single Moms Club, too,” Reed replies. “Wouldn’t you be more interested in that?”

“This one’s more enticing,” I concede. “Besides, it’s like you guys said, we’re all parents here and single at that.”

“You hear that, fellas? She thinks we’re enticing,” Reed says, prompting his brothers to laugh lightly. “Welcome back, Dakota. It’s good to see you again.”

“So, how was everyone’s week?” Cole asks, glancing around at the circle.

I lean back in the chair and cross my arms. Physically, I’m a few inches too close to Archer. His broad frame casts a heavy shadow, and the scent of his cologne has my skin tingling all over. It reminds me of that evening at Dante’s, of how close I was to kissing him.

Reed won’t take his eyes off me, his lips curling into a slight smile. I remember kissing those lips. That was a treat I’d like to revisit. And Maddox, hot damn, the man is still a walking, hulking mystery. I shudder as my body reacts to his presence, remembering the way he kneaded my breasts and had me wet with desire.

“We had a bit of a rough one,” Reed says after one of the other dads finishes. “We took Trevor out to the Science Museum last Saturday.”

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