Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 67553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
I laughed and stood up with her in my arms. “PJs, Pchelka?”
“Mama said by the time we get back, it’ll be bedtime.” She frowned. “Can I stay with you?”
I looked at her parents, who were both laughing and staring at each other, and then back to her. “I guess that would be up to your parents. But I don’t have your car seat in my car.”
“We can take Mama’s,” she declared as if she had that right as such a little person.
“You know your mama hates taking those things out of her car,” I pointed out.
“Daddy is here, though. He’d do anything for her,” Lola pointed out.
My Lola.
She was right, though.
I’d witnessed Auden protect my sister with his life.
Of course he’d do this small task.
“How about we talk about it after dinner,” I said. “Would you like to meet my Kisa?”
“Kitten?” Lola asked.
Lola knew some Russian.
I’d been speaking it with her since she was born.
She’d been working on her Russian with her Aunt Bindi as well, who was a language expert.
Bindi was the wife of one of Auden’s brothers.
Honestly, for almost four years old, Lola had great recall and was almost as fluent in Russian as Dima was.
We’d all been taught Russian from a young age. But after Maven had disappeared, Mom had refused to speak it with us, and Dad had gone along with it because he’d do anything for my mom. What Russian we’d been able to retain had been minimal the younger the siblings got.
Dima was barely fluent in it.
Milena wasn’t much better.
“Her name is actually Brecken,” I said as I felt something slimy start to leak down my arm.
I was afraid to look.
“Please tell me I don’t have fresh breastmilk all over me again,” I pleaded, turning to my sister who was snickering.
“Listen, Shasha,” she said. “The kid can’t handle his drink.”
I grimaced and walked into the kitchen, away from the amused parents.
“Is she pretty?” Lola asked.
“The prettiest besides you,” I agreed.
“Oh, that’s pretty then.” She nodded.
That was my girl, not vain in the least. She knew her worth.
“That’s her…by the sink,” I whispered. “What do you think?”
“I love her hair,” Lola whispered back. “Will she let me braid it?”
“I’ll bet she would,” I confessed. “Do you want to ask her?”
“Maybe after dinner,” she said, squeezing my neck tighter. “Will she like me, Uncle Shasha?”
“She’ll adore you,” I promised.
More wetness, and then the sound of it hitting the floor.
I sighed and looked down at the little man in my arms who had his face turned outwards and resting on my shoulder.
The entire sleeve of my shirt was covered in it.
Gross.
The sound of wet hitting the floor had both JJ and McCoy, who were closer, turning toward us.
“Oh, babies!” JJ said.
That caught Brecken’s attention, and she turned off the water and turned.
Her eyes widened when she saw the kids.
“I feel like you might have a leak, Shasha.” She smiled wide, displaying her beautiful white teeth. “And who is that gorgeous girl that looks a lot like you?”
“This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” I bounced Lola on my hip. “Lola, this is Brecken. Brecken, this is my Pchelka.”
“And what does Pchelka mean?” Brecken asked.
“Little Bee.” Lola blushed furiously.
Brecken’s eyes softened as she caught a rag next to the sink and came toward me.
She cleaned off Brando’s face, and then my arm, before dropping to her knees and cleaning up the floor.
“These are Brecken’s sisters, JJ and McCoy,” I said to Lola.
“Hi.” Lola blushed harder.
Brecken stood up, tossed the rag into a room off the side of the kitchen, and then looked at Lola. “Would you like to help me finish the mashed potatoes?”
Lola’s eyes widened. “Yes!”
Gather…somewhere else.
—Wall sign
SHASHA
“I like her,” Auden said. “She’s great with Lola.”
“Brecken taught first grade before she moved on to high school,” JJ said as she watched Lola and Brecken bring in dessert.
The entire family was gathered around the table except for those two, and all of us were watching how cute they were together.
Another leaf had been added to the table. Chairs had been brought in. Food. So much food had been consumed.
And I’d enjoyed myself immensely.
So had my family.
Dima was currently laughing with Tibbs and Holden about some military fuck up from last week. Milena was talking to McCoy at the opposite end of the table. Nastya was holding Brando, who was sound asleep on her chest, and talking with Ryler and Bronc about a legal case set to be tried in the supreme court this week.
I felt so…full.
I hadn’t felt this full in a very long time.
“Why’d she move to high school kids?” Maven shook her head. “I can’t even imagine.”
“Long story short, she liked being able to actually teach what she loves—history. She has a love so deep for it that she almost obsesses over it sometimes. If you ever want to win her over, talk to her about the war or something. She’ll go all gooey eyed over it,” JJ admitted.