Page 24 of 7+Us Makes Nine

“Don’t. You were being a very good friend. You were being someone who had my best interests at heart. Which is what I’m trying to do now. Jace isn’t without his faults. He’s a bonafide workaholic who has baggage from a prior marriage that’ll never go away. But he’s a good guy. Just like Ryan is.”

“I guess so,” I said.

“Ryan was the best decision I ever made, Catherine. So if you want a shot at Jace, then go for it. You’re worth it. You’re worth his time. And I think he’s worth yours.”

“Then maybe I’ll give it a shot,” I said.

The two of us finished lunch and I got a coffee to-go. I hugged Emma tightly because I wasn’t sure when I would be seeing her again. Once I began implementing some of the things I wanted to do around the house with the kids, I would get very busy very quickly. The boys were already talking about wanting to try sports and Michaela was quickly blossoming into an outside kid. Running around in the backyard and asking to hook up a hose so we can play in the water.

I had so many things to run by Jace, so I wanted to make sure I caught him this weekend to talk about everything.

“You keep in touch now, okay? I know how busy you’ll get with the kids, so make text messaging and nighttime phone calls a thing,” Emma said.

“I will I promise. And maybe once things settle down with the kids, I could talk Jace into you and Ryan coming over with the kids one day,” I said.

“So many children in one place,” she said with a groan.

“But at Jace’s, the kids have forty-two acres to run on instead of around our bodies.”

“You provide the place and I’ll bring the wine,” she said.

“Sounds perfect.”

Nine

Jace

“Daddy! Come get me!”

“You can’t catch me!”

“No, Daddy! That tickles!”

“Can we turn on the sprinkler?”

“Kick it harder, Daddy!”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, guys.”

I hugged my kids close as we all dripped in sweat. I loved Saturdays with my children. We went on hikes around the property and played tag in the backyard. Sometimes we would go explore the woods and learn about the bugs and animals around us. Ivan was a bug nut. I had to read up on them just so I could explain new ones to him whenever they came around. And usually, I had to pull out my phone and look it up anyway. Michaela was always full of energy. Always wanting to play tag and get out the sprinkler.

I had plans to put in an in-ground pool in the backyard pretty soon so she would have somewhere to swim.

And Dmitri loved wrestling. We’d roll around in the grass and get positively covered in stains. By the time I was done teaching him the wrestling moves I learned in high school and college, he was trying to pin his brother to the grass. Of which Michaela would always come to the rescue.

And by rescue, I meant…

“Doggie pile!”

I fell down onto the ground and shielded myself from the oncoming storm. Ivan and Dmitri and Michaela flopped down onto me and the four of us began to laugh. Saturdays with my children were paramount. Unless there was an emergency at the theater or I was out of town, nothing ever came in between my weekends with them. Saturdays were for playing and running around and get absolutely drenched in sweat, then Sundays were for relaxing. Taking naps. Eating junk food and watching movie marathons.

I’d practically memorized every single Disney movie on the market.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, so I sat up. I told the kids to go spray each other down with the hose before we all went inside for lunch. They were covered in grass and dirt, and the last thing I wanted was them tracking it all into the house.

Especially after Catherine had cleaned the entire place down the other day.

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