Recovery by L. B. Simmons Page A

nearest to her. Eyes dancing with anticipation, she looks up at her sisters, who are still concentrating on the game. Her face falls when they don’t seem to notice her attempt at distraction.
    She stretches her little arm out and using her tiny fingers, she slowly pushes the animal into the corresponding red square. With her sisters still not paying attention, I can see the frustration mounting on her face. After a few seconds of patiently waiting for any type of response from them, she does the only thing left to do. She quickly snakes her hand into Kyndall’s pile of red checkers, grabs a handful, and bolts off of Blake’s lap into the living room, giggling and squealing the entire time, her left butt cheek hanging out of her swimsuit as she runs.
    “Rylie!” Kyndall shrieks loudly, jumping out of her seat. She takes off after her, and I can hear the scuffling as she is most likely wrestling her baby sister to the ground. Nycole just rolls her eyes and reaches over to move a couple of the checkers to a more favorable position.
    Cheater .

     
    Blake lets out a laugh as he rises from his chair, scooting the seat out from underneath him with the backs of his legs. He gives her an encouraging pat to the head, mussing her hair before sauntering over to me, coffee mug in hand. Once he’s directly in front of me, he places one arm on each side of my very pregnant belly, bracing himself against the counter, and leans in closely. After placing a very gentle kiss on the hollow of my neck, he raises himself, his green eyes meeting mine. “I love you, Alex.”
    “And I love you ,” I respond. My heart is flittering from the recent contact. One touch from this man and I turn to mush.
    And I love every second of it.
    “Mommy! Kyndall pushed me!” Rylie screams from the other room, half crying and half laughing through her attempt to escape her sister’s wrath. I lean my forehead into Blake’s neck. “Make it stop, Blake. Please .” He snickers as he lifts one arm from the counter, and runs his fingers through my brown tresses. The light touch sends an electric jolt through my veins.
    “You relax. Go take a shower and I’ll get them dressed. Nancy’s coming to get them, remember?” Oh, yeah. Pregnancy brain strikes once again.
    “Yes, of course I remember.”
    Blake chuckles once again, and then pushes his body away from mine, turning to take care of the altercation still occurring in the living room. I look over to Nycole, who’s watching me with a smile beaming on her face. “What?”
    “Nothing,” she states with a shrug of her shoulders. “I love you, Mom. That’s all.”
    I walk over to her chair, and she stands up as I approach her. She wraps both arms around my stomach, embracing both me and her little brother. He kicks as soon as her cheek hits my tummy and she moves her hands to the sides of my belly, feeling for his next movement. He shifts around a bit, then delivers another powerful one on my right side. I think he just cracked a rib.
    Setting her chin on my stomach, she looks up at me. “I can’t wait to meet him. I hope he turns out better than Rylie.”
    Laughing, I explain to her the inevitable. “Oh, he’ll be worse. Count on it. You guys tend to be getting more and more ornery as you come along.”
    Her big brown eyes dancing with joy. “Then that makes me the best, right?”
    I lift my hand and place it on her soft cheek. “In-dubitably.” I respond. Still smiling, she releases me from her embrace.
    “Better go get dressed, Grandma Nancy’s on her way to take you costume shopping, remember? What are you going to be this year?” I ask, always interested in her costume selection.
    She bats her eyes at me and I already have a feeling I’m not going to like her response. “I’m thinking belly dancer?”
    The image of my child dressed with her mid-drift exposed assaults my brain. “Um, no. Try again.”
    With a roll of her eyes and a humph , she responds, “Fine.