Page 22 of Coyotes Ever After

It helps to have a four-year-old nephew to love on. Rowan did all the parenting alone for a week when Tess was due with Ryland so I could be there when she went into labor. The house looked like a tornado had touched down inside when I got home, but I didn’t mind. I got to be there with my sister and my kids were loved and cared for.

“Hey, baby hog.” I give my husband a look and open my arms.

He passes Ryland back to me, his brows lowered in a serious look. “Just don’t get any ideas.”

“Uh-huh.” I take the baby back and he wrinkles his face and starts fussing, so I gently rock him.

“When will Sam and Tate be home?” Tess asks.

“Who knows?” Rowan says. “They show up when they’re hungry, or they need to sleep.”

Rowan retired two years ago, but the twins were already so settled in and happy here that we decided to stay until theyfinished high school. We plan to move back to Denver then to be closer to Tess, Dom and several of Rowan’s former teammates.

Dom and Mae come through the garage door into the kitchen, Dom carrying a tall stack of pizza boxes.

“Whoa, how many pizzas is that?” I ask, walking into the kitchen.

“Nine. One with pepperoni and extra cheese for my favorite sister-in-law.”

Dom sets down the boxes, grinning when he spots Rowan. They bro hug, clapping each other on the back.

“What’s with the face fuzz, man?” Dom asks.

Rowan strokes a hand over his beard. “You jealous?”

“Yeah, a little. When I try to grow a beard, I look like a walking mugshot.”

“Uncle Dom, can we play video games?” Max asks, his hands clasped in front of him in a begging motion.

“That’s up to your parents.”

Max turns to Rowan with the pleading hands. “Please, Dad?”

Rowan grins. “We’ll see.”

“That means no,” Mae says smartly.

Max’s face falls. “Does it?”

It usually does. Mae’s a quick study. Rowan had developed a habit of telling the kids to ask me instead of him when they wanted something so he never had to be the bad guy. I talked to him about it and he’s trying to do better.

“Is your room clean?” I ask Max.

He gives me a wide-eyed look, wanting to say yes, but knowing if he does, I’ll go check.

Last time Dom and Tess came, Rowan and Dom played video games all night long, like they used to. Max made it until eleven p.m. and thought it was the best night of his life. We usually limit the kids’ screen time.

This time, though, I’m not sure Dom will want to be up all night playing video games when he and Tess are taking care of Ryland.

I still can’t believe those two have a baby. But the way they both cried when he was born, I know it was meant to be. Tess sends me sweet photos of Dom and Ryland all the time. Ryland curls up on Dom’s chest while Dom’s sitting in his recliner, his legs pulled up beneath him and both of them asleep. My favorite picture is the two of them sleeping in Dom and Tess’s bed, Ryland’s arms above his head.

I kiss the top of my nephew’s soft head, walking him around the house while Dom and Tess eat. When I make it back to the kitchen, Rowan has Max and Ollie both on his lap, one on each leg.

He’s letting Ollie feed him all the toppings off of his pizza. It’s one of his things; he loves feeding us the food he doesn’t want to eat. Rowan’s concentrating on whatever Dom’s talking about, nodding and opening his mouth as Ollie brings a pepperoni up to it.

With an arm around each boy, he can’t eat any pizza himself. We’ll both end up eating when everyone else is done. I love his patience and selflessness. Holding both boys and letting Ollie feed him means peace. And peace is everything in this house.

Ollie used to have meltdowns because he was so frustrated about not being able to communicate with us. Speech and occupational therapy have helped. Even when things were at their worst and we were exhausted from Ollie not sleeping well, Rowan has been my rock. He didn’t ask me if I wanted him to hire someone to clean the house; he just did it. He arranges a weekly date night for us every week without fail.

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