Perfect Embrace by Kaylee Ryan

Chapter 7

Laken

I keep my attention on the twins. I have to. If I let myself think about him, well, let’s just say we might burn the brownies.

“Ready, ladies?” I ask the girls.

“Weady!” they cheer. The smile that graces both of their faces warms my heart. They are such sweet little girls. My heart breaks for them with the loss of their mother. Grayson has done a fantastic job raising them. I make a mental note to mention that to him.

“Okay. Well, the first step of baking. You must read the directions, so you know what to expect.” I turn one of the two boxes of brownies over and begin to read the directions out loud.

“Waken, we can’t wead,” Harlow reminds me.

“Well, it’s a good thing you have your daddy and me here to help.” Harlow nods, satisfied with my answer.

“Okay, so the first step is to preheat the oven. That means that we turn it to the correct temperature and let it warm up before we put the brownies inside. Remember you should never ever touch the stove for any reason unless an adult is standing right beside you.” I give them both a look that I would imagine will be what my mom face will be when I someday have children of my own.

“Before we move on, I need for you both to promise me.”

“I pwomise,” Hayden is quick to reply.

“I pwomise too,” Harlow agrees.

“Good.” I turn my back to them to preheat the oven before turning back to face them. “All right, ladies. We have two batches, which means that you both get to make your own batch.”

“Yay!” Cheers all around make me smile.

“Let’s wash our hands, and we’ll get started.”

“We gots a stool,” Hayden says, pulling a small wooden stool with a handle up to the sink.

“That’s pretty cool,” I tell her.

“Pop made it for us.”

“Well, that was very nice of him.”

“We gots one in the bafroom too,” Harlow chimes in.

I help both of them wash their hands, and they immediately scurry back to their seats at the island.

“Daddy, you hafta wash you hands,” Hayden says.

“Daddy’s just going to watch, sweetie,” Grayson replies, popping her on the nose.

“Waken, tell hims he needs to wash hims hands,” Harlow instructs.

“You heard the ladies.” I nod toward the sink. The smile he gives me turns me inside out.

“Fine. Three against one. I’m outnumbered. Maybe I should call Ryder to come balance out the male-to-female ratio,” he quips.

“Oh, we love Uncle Wyder,” the girls say in agreement.

I can’t help but laugh. “Okay, ladies. You each get a bowl,” I say, directing their attention back to me. Over the next hour or so, we manage to finally get the batter mixed up, minus eggshells. Luckily I had them crack the eggs into a small bowl so we could fish out any shells before dumping them into the batter. There’s batter on the counter and on their faces, but that doesn’t take away from their smile.

“Now what?” Harlow asks.

“Now, we pour the batter into the pan and place them in the oven. They have to bake for thirty-five minutes.”

“That’s a wong time.” Hayden’s eyes are wide.

“Not too long.”

“Girls, let's go get you washed up while Laken bakes the brownies.”

“Okay, Daddy,” they agree.

“Laken, make yourself at home. I’ll be back to help you clean up.”

“Oh…” I wave him off. “I’ve got it. It won’t take me long at all. Girls, thank you so much for your help. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“We’re good helpers!” Harlow exclaims.

“You are very good helpers.”

Grayson nods, and with one girl on each side holding his hand, he leads them down the hall to what I assume is the bathroom to get them cleaned up. I hear giggles floating down the hall as I wash the dishes, and I don’t need to look into a mirror to know I’m smiling. The happiness of those two little girls is infectious.

“I told you I would do that,” Grayson says from behind me.

I turn to look at him over my shoulder. He’s standing against the island, his arms crossed over his chest. I crushed on the teenage Grayson, and let’s just say age has been good to him. He’s even more gorgeous than he was way back then. “I don’t mind,” I reply, quickly turning back to the sink.

I feel him next to me, and a glance out of the corner of my eye confirms it. “I'll dry,” he says, taking a bowl from my hands and drying it with a dishtowel.

“Thanks. Where are the girls?”

“Double-checking their room.” He smiles and shakes his head. “I’ve never seen them clean so fast in my life.”

“Are they messy?”

“They’re four-year-old girls; yeah, they’re messy.” He chuckles.

“What? Four-year-old boys wouldn’t be messy?”

“Don’t know.” He shrugs. “I can’t talk about raising boys. I know that those two can tear up that room faster than I can blink an eye.”

“My nephew is five. To hear Leni tell it, he can do the same.” We’re quiet as I wash the final bowl and hand it to him. I reach for another towel to dry my hands and turn to face him. “They’re incredible little ladies, Grayson. You’re doing a great job with them.”

He nods. I watch as his throat bobs as he swallows. “Some days I wonder.”

“Well, don’t let today be one of them. They’re thriving and happy. You did that.” I place my hand on his arm, and I feel a jolt. My eyes immediately seek out his, and he’s looking at where I’m touching him. “Sorry,” I say and go to move away.

His hand covers mine before I can. “Thank you for today, Laken. Truly. The girls, they have my mom and—” He swallows hard. “—Holly’s, but there have been no women around their mom’s age in their lives. They’re taken with you, and you’re so good with them. I know you probably have better things to do than make brownies with my girls, but I’m grateful you did this for them.”

“It was my pleasure. I was making them anyway.”

“Yeah, but you could have done it a lot faster and cleaner.” The corner of his mouth lifts in a grin.

“Maybe, but it’s more about the memories.” The words are barely out of my mouth when the girls come racing into the kitchen. They don’t stop until they both have themselves wrapped around my legs like little monkeys.

“Waken, our woom is cwean,” The twin on my left smiles up at me. I think it’s Hayden. I still have trouble when they are this close. I can’t tell when they’re both this excited and from this angle, I can’t tell who is taller, which is my other tell at distinguishing which twin is talking.

“I’m so proud of you,” I praise them.

“Come see.” The twin on my right slides her hand in mine, her sister doing the same, and they pull me down the hall.

“Easy, girls!” Grayson calls out.

“They’re fine.” I chuckle as we stop at what I assume is their bedroom door. They lead me to a twin bed and tell me to sit, so I oblige. The next fifteen minutes are a flutter of showing me what feels like every toy that they own.

“Ladies, I think we need to check on our brownies.”

“Okay.”

“How about I go check on them while you put all of this away?” I suggest, looking at items strung out all over the floor.

“Okay,” they say again.

Standing from the bed, I head back to the kitchen. Grayson is sitting at the island, scrolling through his phone. “You were right,” I tell him. I walk around him to the stove, pulling down the door to check the progress of our brownies.

“Oh, yeah?” he asks, placing his phone on the island.

“They had to show me their toys, and their room is destroyed.”

He nods, a smile playing on his lips. “That sounds like my girls.”

“I wish I had their energy.”

“Right?” he agrees. “Some days, it takes all I have in me to keep up with them. I know my mom and Christine have to be exhausted after keeping them all day.”

“I’m sure, but I’m also sure they love every minute of it.”

“They do.”

“It’s nice that you didn’t have to put them in daycare. My sister had to put Trace in daycare, and she hated it. I’m glad Mom and Dad will be able to help her out now that they’re home.”

“Is she home to stay?”

“Yes. At least I hope that they are. It feels like Trace has grown up overnight. I’m excited to get to spoil my nephew more than on visits every few months.”

“They do grow up fast,” he comments.

Conversation lulls, so I turn to check the brownies again, and they’re ready to come out of the oven. I’m removing the second pan when the girls come back into the kitchen.

“Can we have some?” Harlow asks.

“Not yet. They need to cool. How about you slide up on the stool, and I’ll help Daddy with this nail polish crisis,” I say, pointing at her hands.

“You don’t have to,” Grayson says.

“I don’t mind. That is if you want the help.”

“Four hands are better than two.” He stands and disappears, only to reappear with the fingernail polish remover and cotton swabs.

“I want nails wike yours,” Hayden says.

“Well, I think we might be able to arrange that. As long as it’s okay with your dad.”

“Oh, can we, Daddy? Pwease?” they say at the same time.

He smiles at them. “As long as Laken has the time.”

“I can make the time for my favorite little ladies.” I wink at the girls, and they dissolve into a fit of giggles.

* * *

“I should probably get going.” I stand and toss my napkin from my brownie into the trash. After Grayson and I got the polish off the girls’ hands and nails, I repainted their nails, much to their delight. They made sure to point out that I did a better job than their dad, and that he doesn’t do it very often. Then they proceeded to tell me that he put all their polish away when they accidentally got into it. But they weren’t mad at him because Nana bought them more. The image of Grayson painting his daughters’ nails is like a string wrapped around my heart and these two littles and their daddy are tugging on it.

“No,” the twins whine.

They’re tired, and I’m sure it’s getting close to their bedtime. “I have chores to do, like clean my room,” I tell them, and they gasp.

“Girls, what do you say?” Grayson asks them.

“Thank you, Waken,” they say together. They slide off their stool and rush toward me, each embracing a leg. I bend down and give them true hugs.

“Thank you so much for all of your help today. Can you do me a big favor?”

“Yes.”

“We can.”

“Make sure you remind your daddy to take these to the firehouse so he can share with his friends.”

“But we wants dem,” Hayden replies.

“I made a small plate for the three of you, and the rest for Daddy to take to work.”

“Yous the best, Waken.” Harlow throws her little arms around my neck, almost knocking me back on my ass as she embraces me tightly.

“Sissy’s wight,” Hayden agrees, and that’s when I feel her little arms hugging me too.

Hot tears prick my eyes. These girls have so much love to give, and my heart breaks for them, for Grayson, and for Holly. More than anything, I wish she could be here to see that her daughters have her same kind heart.

“I’ll see you, ladies, later this week.” I wave and head for the door.

“Girls, go grab some pjs, and I’ll be in for a bath in a few minutes. Don’t start the water without me,” he tells them.

“Okay, Daddy,” they reply as their little feet pitter-patter down the hall against the hardwood floor.

Just as I’m about to open the door to leave, Grayson’s voice stops me. “Laken.” I turn to look at him. “Thank you for today. You made two little girls very happy.”

“It was my pleasure.”

“Be safe driving home.”

“Always.” With a wave, I turn the knob and exit their home.

My feet feel as though they are filled with lead as I make my way to my car. I never could have imagined I’d spend a Sunday afternoon with Grayson Davis and his adorable twin daughters. Now that I have, it’s something I want to do all the time. I hate that I’m leaving their home.

That’s exactly what it is. It’s more than a house. Grayson has made a beautiful home for his daughters.

Me? I live above my business, in a studio apartment. This afternoon has reminded me that I want a family. I want a partner to go through life with, and I want kids. Hell, I even want the dog and the white picket fence.

I got lost in owning and running my business and forgot what life is really about. The memories and the relationships. I think about the hugs given to me and smile.

Life is about the perfect embrace.