Page 256 of Call the Shots
Leo was knocked down and I ushered the dogs away. “Stop licking my kid, let him go?—”
“Mama!” Leo hollered. “MAMA!WHERE ARE YOU?!”
“I’m in the kitchen!”
My wife stood at the counter, talking to Willow, her long, blonde hair swept into a ponytail, green eyes twinkling as Leo ran over, just to get hauled up by Amber.
“Ambs,” Willow stopped her. “He’s too little, don’t hold him like that?—”
“What? He likes it?—”
“Put him down.”
Leo thumped to the floor and wrapped his arms around June’s leg. “Mama.”
Yeah, I’d do that too, but we had company. My wife was so achingly gorgeous. Every year, there were new things to love about her, and I didn’t realize I had a thing for MILFs until I had my own. Seeing her in the maternal, caring role…it wasn’t hard to fall in love with her all over again.
“I get to say hi to Mama too,” I interrupted, holding out her frozen yogurt. “Strawberry, every type of sprinkles, heavy on the chocolate sauce, marshmallow sauce, caramel sauce, banana slices, whipped cream?—”
“What would I do without you?” she breathed out, digging the spoon in.
I wrapped my arms around her middle, kissing her neck from the back. “How’s mama bear doing?”
“Papa.” Leo shoved at my knee. “Mymama.”
“Uh,no,my June,” I corrected him. “I’m just letting you bum here until you go to college.”
With an irritated grunt, he tried pushing me, hugging June’s leg, and I nestled against June, resting my chin on her hair, nudging him away. My godkids laughed at us while they ate frozen yogurt and King grinned, grabbing spoons from them to take his dad tax.
“I don’t know where he gets this from,” I joked.
“You really have no idea?” June teased.
“What do you mean?”
“He hugs just like you. Buries his face in my neck and everything.”
“And?”
June reached up to stroke my jaw. “My body spent nine months building your clone.”
I grinned and kissed her neck, ignoring my son chanting below for me to move. “This sounds like a good theory about the genetic makeup of our kid. We should make another one just to be sure.”
“Uh-huh,” she laughed. “Before then, we have the backyard set up. Everything’s ready when you are.”
There wasa new viral challenge that some of my Bulldog teammates tagged me in, shaving your head for donations to cancer research. I grew out my hair and my beard for the occasion and we were dedicating the video to my mom, Alicia Moreau.
We headed to the backyard, alive with the red maples that my wife adored. She had an entire living ecosystem built in our backyard with bird feeders, shrubs for butterflies, and low-level native flowers. I loved spending my evenings relaxing outdoors with them, but I understood that the garden was June and Leo’s domain. Ever since I tried to take out a dead tree—it’s food for the wildlife, Bear—I was demoted to someone who wasn’t allowed to touch the watering cans.
“It’s so pretty, Auntie Junie,” Emmy whispered, giving the garden a wide-eyed look. “You have so many hummingbirds.”
After Marrs, I grew close to King and Willow, especially after they had their kids. It made sense, with them in New York, and us in Boston, June and I were the natural babysitters. I grinned, nudging Emmy. “That’s right, Emmy. Butter her up, it’s the right decision.”
“I have to warn you…” King gave me a pained look when I sat down. “Adam said he’ll put down fifty thousand if you shave your eyebrows.”
“Myeyebrows?”
“He’ll drop it in the main chat too.”
