Page 5 of Hearts of Fairlake

"Adul…Adult word, Colin," I corrected as gently as I could, finally managing to get air as I almost coughed up a lung.

"Shit?" he inquired.

"Yes," Bri said in a neutral tone, staring at Adam.

"It's your brother," he said with a shake of his head. "Take it up with him."

"The only thing I'll get out of talking to my brother is a rise in blood pressure," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Alright, let's get what we need and get going."

Removing Amber from my hip proved to be a little more difficult than prying Colin away from Adam. The past couple of years had given her much more confidence, and every day, I saw more and more of her independence. On the other hand, when she felt particularly needy, she would cleave to whoever she wanted the most, generally me.

"Sweetheart," I cajoled her gently. "Don't you want to play in the water? Make some sand castles?"

Her response was a resolute twist of her head andpressing her face into my neck. Talking wasn't usually a problem for her, but when she was worked up, she shut right down and refused to talk...or maybe just couldn't.

Grimacing, I looked up at Adam and Bri. "I don't want to force her if she doesn't want to go."

"She's going to have to learn to separate eventually," Bri said, but her voice didn't have much fight.

"And she's been getting better and better about it because we've been giving her the space and time to do it," I said, holding her closer. "Not everyone comes out of the womb ready to conquer the world like you and Ethan."

She scoffed, but it was gentle, and her lips turned up at the corners. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But?—"

"I'll be fine," I said, knowing this would be a hell of a day until her nap later. "It's not like we haven't all suffered sleepless days to deal with the kids."

"Alright," she said with a pointed look toward Adam. "You two behave yourselves."

Adam blinked, and I once again had to force back a laugh, this time for the sake of his pride. As dense as the poor man could be sometimes, it seemed even he could figure out the message Bri was trying to convey. It certainly wasn't helped that she continued to shoot him dirty looks as she corralled the other two kids out of the house, with Colin chanting about moats.

Kids were weird.

When the door closed, I watched Adam's shoulders sag as he approached me, kissing me on the cheek. "I am so sorry. I should have told her you spent all week barely getting any sleep and were trying to play catch up."

"We've all been busy spinning plates," I told him, catching him with a kiss on the lips before he drew away. "Someone was bound to drop one."

"Yeah, I just wish it hadn't been this plate I dropped."

"Adam, stop. I know Bri is being hard on you, but don't worry about her."

"Don't tell me you weren't mad."

"I haven't actually had a moment to be mad," I admitted with a snort. "I went from confused to dealing with the kids. So I guess I skipped a step somewhere in there."

"You'd have every right to be mad because now you're not going to be able to sleep," he said with a pointed look at Amber.

"I'll nap when she does," I told him, adjusting her on my hip once more. "Plus, I reminded myself that time is linear, so part of me is kind of glad that one of them is still here with me."

At that, he smiled, running a hand over my head to gently cup the back of my head. "Did someone get sentimental again?"

"Maybe," I said and then sighed. "Alright, I got sentimental. These damn kids just keep growing on us. Boy, will I be glad when I don't have to clean up poop-filled pants, but?—"

"But sometimes it sucks to see them get there because it means they're that much closer to being adults," Adam finished softly. "I think about it sometimes. I look at these kids and wonder if we're ready for them to grow up or if we're doing the right thing. And then other times, I wonder if we'll survive long enough for them to make it to adulthood."

I laughed. "I think we'll be alright, but you're right, I worry too. But there are little moments where I think we might be okay. And that we're raising them okay."

"God, to think Ian went through this already," I said with a shake of my head. "Ayla's going to be eighteen in a few months. I can't imagine what that has to feel like. I fucking cried just putting Colin into headstart."

"I remember," Adam said with a fond chuckle. "Chase wouldn't let you live it down."

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