Always Yours (40 page)

"Are you sure you can handle it tonight?" I asked Kate as I grabbed my purse and slung it over my shoulder.

"I've got this, Cara. Now go! You're going to be late," Kate said as she practically pushed me out the door.

I don't know what I would have done if Kate hadn't asked for a job at Maggie's Place the day she turned eighteen. Shay and Kyle were about halfway through their first pregnancy, when they decided together that it would be better for their family if Shay stayed home with little Logan after he was born. While I was completely bummed and stressed out that Shay was leaving the bar I couldn't have been more thrilled that she was going to be able to stay home with her baby.

For a month I stressed out, interviewed, and search for someone that I trusted enough to take her spot. That's when Kate called me. She had just graduated high school and was going to attend Denver University in the fall and she needed a job. She was a perfect fit.

I trained her all summer long and when school started that fall she was officially ready for the management position. She graduated just last month from DU with a bachelor's degree in business management and I couldn't have been more proud of her.

"Thanks, Kate. I'll see you tomorrow," I said as I headed for the door.

"I want all the details about how Cam takes the news when you get in tomorrow," she yelled.

"I guarantee you it's going to be comical," I shouted back with a smile. The door closed behind me and I got in my car. It was 3:16pm and I had exactly fourteen minutes to get to the elementary school to pick up Jessa on my way home.

I made it to school just as the bell rang and Jessa was one of the first kids to exit the school. She spotted me immediately, gave her teacher a high five, and then ran to me—her long, dark brown hair flowing behind her in waves. I kneeled down and scooped her up in my arms. "How was your first day of kindergarten, baby?"

"It was so much fun, Mommy!" she exclaimed. "We got to color...a lot. We read books and I even have my very own hook that I get to hang my backpack on."

I smiled at her enthusiasm. "That's so awesome, Jessa." I set her back down and took her hand as we walked to the car. "Did you make any new friends?"

"Uh huh, I did. Adriana and I are going to be BFFs...Best friends forever. She sits at my work table with me." She started skipping and I just laughed.

"Where did you learn what BFF means?" I asked her as I opened the car door.

She climbed in and buckled her seat belt. "From Aunt Shay. She says you are her BFF all the time so I asked her what it meant."

"You are so smart, baby." I kissed her on the forehead and then shut the door.

When we arrived home, Cam was watching TV while Easton, our three-year-old, played on the floor with his cars. Jessa and I walked in and I set my purse on the kitchen counter.

"Mommy, you're home!" Easton shouted as he stood up and ran to me. I picked him up in my arms and gave him a big kiss.

Jessa put her backpack down and ran to Cam, giving him the biggest hug. Jessa looked just like her father. Her bright blue eyes could light up the night sky and her nose and mouth were exact replicas of Cam's. She even had his facial expression. Sometimes I swore I was looking at twins when they were next to each other.

I set Easton down and walked over to Cam, kissing his lips. I pulled away after the quick peck and he grabbed me around the neck. "That's all I get?" he asked and I rolled my eyes at him. He pulled me down and captured my lips, giving me a slow, sensual kiss.

"Ewwwwww," the kids said in unison.

"Ewww yourselves," Cam shot back and everyone laughed.

I stood up, tickled Jessa, and made my way to the kitchen to pull out something for dinner. I decided on my favorite lemon chicken casserole. Pulling out the ingredients, I eavesdropped on Cam and Jessa's conversation.

"How was school today, firework?" Cam asked.

Jessa proceeded to tell him everything she told me only she was way more excited when she told Cam. They had a very special daddy-daughter bond that no one in a million years would ever be able to understand. It was special and I was so happy they shared it.

"I'm glad you made a friend. Was everyone else nice to you?" he asked and Jessa's face fell a little.

"This one girl at recess was kind of mean to me," she said and Cam's eyes narrowed.

"What did she do to you?" His voice was clipped and you could tell he was becoming protective. No one was allowed to be mean to his little firework. I feared for the boy that took Jessa on her first date.

"She said she didn't want to be my friend." The little frown on Jessa's face broke my heart.

"You want to know something?" Cam said as he leaned in closer to Jessa like he was going to tell her a secret. She nodded and her baby blue eyes lit up. "You're a firework, baby, and that means if someone doesn't like you, then they're the silly one. Because fireworks are freaking incredible and so are you."

Jessa's smile filled the room. "Thanks, Daddy," she said as she threw herself into his arms.

He kissed her on the forehead and looked at me out of the corner of his eye and I grinned at him. "Don't ever forget that either, okay?"

"Okay!" she agreed before she ran upstairs.

Cam was an amazing father and I truly was the luckiest woman alive.

Joining me in the kitchen he wrapped his arms around my midsection and splayed his hands across my belly. "How was the appointment this morning? Is everything good?"

I placed my hands over his. "Everything's great," I said as I leaned back into his arms. "I'm just over eight weeks, like we thought, and the official due date is June 23rd."

He kissed my neck and I closed my eyes. "You're so sexy when you're pregnant," he whispered.

I smiled at his words. "Shhh...We don't want the kids to hear, remember?"

We decided to wait to tell the kids about the baby until after the twelve week mark, just to be safe.

"Tell me more after bedtime then?" he asked. "I want to hear all about it."

After dinner, I demanded that Cara go and lie down. She would never admit it, but she was wearing herself out and it wasn't good for the baby. Cara was working long hours, making sure everything was perfect for the franchising of Maggie's Place. I was so proud of her but she needed to try and take it easy. Luckily, Kate was there to help with the nights.

This pregnancy had already been harder than Jessa's and Easton's put together. She was nauseous almost twenty-four seven and the fatigue she was experiencing was unreal—she was never this tired with the first two. It was actually making me nervous that something might be wrong.

"Daddy," Easton said as he came down the stairs. "I want mommy." His little voice sounded defeated.

"Mommy's resting right now, little man. What can I help you with?" I said as I knelt down in front of him. Easton was a mama's boy to the core. He had been attached to Cara since the day he was born.

He held out a toy car in his tiny little hand. "It's broken," he said as his sad green eyes looked up at me. "Can you fix it?"

"I'm sure I can." I took the car. "Let's see here..." I flipped the car over and noticed a string wrapped around the wheels. "I think I found the problem."

"You did? What is it?" he asked curiously as he reached for my hand.

"You have a piece of string caught in your tires."

"How'd that get there?" Easton asked with his palm up in the air.

I smiled and ruffled my hand in his dark brown hair. I pulled the string loose and handed it back to him. "There, good as new," I said and he wrapped his arms around my neck.

"Thank you, Daddy."

"You're welcome, little man."

"Can I go see mommy now?" He looked at me with big puppy dog eyes.

I looked at the clock—7:36pm. "Yeah, but let's get your pajamas on first, okay?"

Swooping Easton up in my arms, I flipped him over my shoulder, holding on to his legs so he was hanging upside down. He screamed and laughed the whole way up to his room.

After getting him ready for bed I finally let him into our room to see Cara. She was reading on her tablet when I opened the door. Easton ran into the room, jumped on the bed and into Cara's arms. My heart burst with pride as I watched my youngest son and his mother embrace. Jessa ran past me and lunged onto the bed laughing and Cara reached over and tickled both the kids until they were begging her to stop.

"Will you read us a story, Mommy?" Jessa asked.

"Of course, go grab one," Cara said.

I sat on the edge of the bed while Cara read "I Love You Forever" to the kids. They were all snuggled up next to her, looking at the pictures. As I sat there, smiling, because my entire world was right in front of me.

We tucked the kids into bed and then headed downstairs for a little 'us' time. I sat down on the couch and Cara snuggled up next to me, resting her head on my chest. "So you want to hear what happened at the appointment today?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah, how did things go? I wanted to be there so bad." I was so pissed when I was called to the emergency training this morning. I was present for every ultrasound appointment Cara had with Jessa and Easton and I was fucking pissed that I missed it.

"It's okay, baby, I understand. Duty calls," she said with a smile.

"So what did I miss?"

"The heartbeats," she said, looking up at me with a wicked grin on her face.

Did she put an 'S' at the end of that word?

"Wait, did you just say heartbeats?" I asked confused. "As in, more than one?"

"Yep!" she said, popping the P. "Two, to be exact." She held up an ultrasound photo with two distinct, peanut shaped dots in the middle of it. "Congratulations, Cam. We're having twins!"

I thought my eyes were going to come out of their sockets, they were so wide. My chest tightened and I'm sure all the color drained from my face.

Twins. Two babies. At the same time.

I was going to hyperventilate.

But then I looked at Cara. She was glowing—positively radiant and overwhelmed with joy. The smile on her face stretched from ear to ear and her unstressed demeanor made me want to relax.

"Don't think, Cam, just feel," she warned me and the words brought a smile to my face.

She already had everything under control. Just like she always did.

"We're really having twins?" I asked when I finally collected myself.

She laughed and shook her head at me. "Yes, we are really having twins."

I sat up and took her face in my hands, kissing her deeply. I tried to picture what my life would've been like without her in it and I couldn't do it. Because she is my life. I wouldn't exist without her and I wouldn't want to. We always belonged together and we always will.

To my husband and my two wonderful children - Life itself wouldn't be what it is without you. You are my reasons for breathing and I love you all so very much.

To my parents - Thanks for always believing in me and supporting me no matter what I do in this life.

To my sister - Thanks for being there, when I need you the most. You always have my back and I couldn't do half of what I do without you.