Page 6 of The Baby on Marco Island

“Hey, Dad,” they said in unison.

“You’re home early,” Liam commented, and his eyes widened. “Is Mom okay?”

“She’s fine,” Max assured them. “But let’s not stress her out, okay?” His brows lifted. “And that means no arguing or roughhousing inside.”

“Sure,” Liam said alongside Jack, “Of course, Dad.”

“We’ve decided to get takeout for dinner tonight,” Max told them. “What do you two feel like?”

“Pizza!” Liam and Jack said together.

“I knew you were going to say that.” Max rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you try something new, like Chinese or burgers?”

“We like pizza,” Jack answered.

“We don’t like noodles. They look like earthworms.” Liam shuddered. Like his mother, he didn’t like worms. They creeped him out.

“I don’t like how oily or sloppy they are.” Jack tried not to gag. “And we already had a burger today.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t have takeout if you’ve already had some today,” Max raised an eyebrow teasingly.

“Aw, come on, Dad,” they groaned in unison.

“If it’s any consolation, we’ve been active the entire day, and I’m sure we burned the burger off hours ago,” Jack, the brainiac, pointed out.

“Yeah, and I’m starved.” Liam rubbed his stomach, his head swiveling toward the kitchen. “I think I need a snack, or I’m not going to make it to dinner.”

“I could do with one, too,” Jack said.

“Have something semi-healthy,” Max ordered.

“Sure, Dad,” Jack called over his shoulder as he and Liam dumped their bags in the door of their rooms and took off toward the kitchen.

Steph stepped out of their bedroom and Max turned toward her.

“Did I hear my ba…” Steph’s face seemed to pale, and she swallowed. “My sons?”

Max’s brow crinkled, and his head tilted as he looked at Steph, wondering what was going on with her. While she tended to avoid contact with him as much as possible or moved out of his way if they bumped into each other, she wasn’t usually jumpy—and now she was jumpy. Max pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind as he followed her down the hallway to the kitchen, where the twins were caught with a jar of peanut butter.

“Hey, you two.” Steph’s smile warmed and lit up her eyes.

She stepped into the kitchen, skillfully caught the jar of peanut butter, and greeted the twins with hugs and kisses. Max had never been envious of the attention Steph gave them until that minute when he’d have given anything for her to look and greet him like that again.

“Dad says we’re getting takeout for dinner,” Liam said, stepping out of her embrace and taking the peanut butter.

“PBJ isn’t healthy,” Max pointed out, standing on the opposite side of the kitchen counter, watching the action.

“Peanut butter isn’t bad for you,” Jack told him. “And jam gives us energy.”

“You two definitely don’t need more energy.” Steph laughed at their sons. “If I had a bit of the energy you two had, I’d get three times as much done in a day.”

Max watched the three of them, his heart swelling as it always did at the sight. Liam and Jack were tall for their age. Max was six-three, and by the look of them, his sons would be just as tall. They already stood nearly a head taller than Steph’s five-foot-six frame and loved pointing it out to her.

While they may have his height, they shared their mother’s auburn hair and blue eyes. Max’s smile broadened. He knew he was being biased, but he had a good-looking family, and they made him burst with pride. Steph was the best mother, and the twins adored her. Max and Steph had ensured they had a good relationship with their boys. Max did his best never to miss a game, function, or important date. With him working at the Marine Center, it was a lot more possible now than when he was with the fire department.

“How was horseback riding?” Steph asked the boys as she took over making their sandwiches.

“I rode Midnight,” Jack told her. “He’s the best horse.”

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