Recovery by L. B. Simmons Page B

Draculaura?”
    “Better.” I run my hand down her long, curly hair. She’s growing up so quickly.
    I smile when I hear a very manly “oomph” from the other room; pictures of Kyndall and Rylie crawling all over him run through my mind. Sounds as though the two have joined forces against him .
    I couldn’t be more proud.
    I look back down at my growing girl. “I love you, Nyc.”
    “Love you too, Mom.” She turns away and I watch her disappear up the stairs.
    Shortly after, the doorbell rings, scaring the bejeezus out of Cooper, who lets out a couple of deep barks with a low growl, noting his protest. Nancy. I guess we’re running a little late this morning. Making my way through the living room, I pass Blake along the way. Rylie’s infectious giggle makes me smile once again as I watch her, hanging upside down over his shoulder, laughing and kicking—left butt cheek still hanging out—and Kyndall happily hopping up the steps after them. I guess she got her checkers back.
    Opening the door, I’m greeted by a huge grin and a super-sized hug. “How are you, my dear?” Nancy asks, stepping back to look me over. “You look absolutely beautiful.” I glance down at my “Birth Control is Over-Rated” t-shirt and reach up to touch my ratty hair. The hair that I meant to put in a ponytail. Nice.
    Giving an appreciative smile in response to her attempt to make me feel better about my appearance, I reply, “Thank you. And so do you.” She gives me a genuine smile that grows in size as I hear the pitter patter of little feet running behind me across the hard wood.
    “Rylie!” Nancy exclaims, scooping her up in her arms. I watch her feet dangle as Nancy sways her back and forth during her embrace. I guess Blake just threw a dress on over the swimsuit.
    Typical.
    “Where are your sisters?” Nancy asks Rylie after planting a huge kiss on her chubby cheek.
    “They’re comin’.” She leans in to whisper into Nancy’s ear. “I still have some of Kyndall’s checkers, but don’t tell her, ‘kay?” Nancy gives me a questioning glance, and I just shrug my shoulders as though I don’t know what she’s talking about. It’s a long and unnecessary story.
    Nancy sets her down and her eyes take in the living room. “This place is really coming along. It’s looks really great in here, Alex.” I look back over my shoulder, where my eyes find our most recently purchased item, the bright candy apple red lamp, a replacement for the one Blake shattered just months ago. I bought it with a bright color in mind so that it would always serve as a reminder to us of just how close we came to losing each other, but instead, we happily found ourselves immersed in one another.
    My body twitches happily at the thought of our make-up session.
    I turn back to face her. “Yep. It’s a still work in progress, but I couldn’t be happier with the way it’s turning out,” I say, fully aware that I’m speaking, not of the room, but of our marriage. She just smiles and continues to look around.
    After a few seconds, the loud clamor of footsteps coming down the stairs causes us both to turn our heads. Kyndall and Nycole enter the room, all smiles, and rush over to greet their grandmother. More hugs are exchanged along with a kiss on the cheek for them all, including Blake.
    I walk over and wrap my arm lovingly around his waist, leaning in to take a whiff, further feeding my addiction to his scent. Looking up at him from underneath my lashes, I see a flicker of desire pass through his eyes. I think our lunch date was just moved up.
    A sinful smile spreads across my face and he laughs, the same thing obviously going through our minds at the same time. He leans down and whispers in my ear. “Meet me in the shower?”
    “Yeah, I left the towels upstairs. I’ll grab two.” He nuzzles his nose behind my ear before bringing his gorgeous face into my line of sight. “I’ll get them for you. No reason for you to have to do it when