Page 73 of Small Town Frenzy
She’s tall, again, not surprising after meeting her brothers. The man is near Griffin’s height but not quite. A little terror of tousles waves her hands wildly in the air as she runs to Griffin. He kneels, and she asks, “Who’s that?”
“This is Jacob. Jacob, this is Daisy. She’s three like you.”
“I’m,” he says, holding up four fingers.
“Not quite, buddy,” I say, not letting him get away with even an exaggeration. No one likes liars. “Two weeks.”
His sister takes hold of the baby in her arms, and comes closer with a welcoming smile on her face. But suddenly gasps. “They’re twins.”
Oh no.
Everyone starts glancing between the two kids, and then his sister looks at me. “Are we sure these two aren’t related?” She laughs, as does her father and husband.
Griffin and I are in a standstill of panic over what to do, his eyes hitting mine. When we are at a loss for anything that would make sense other than the obvious truth, his dad says, “Best to air these things out before they stink up the house.”
The smiles fall from their faces as they look from Griffin to me twice before a young boy I didn’t notice joining in the fun, says, “What’d I miss?”
CHAPTER 30
Cricket
Griffin laughs,but there’s nothing real in it. I roll my eyes while shaking my head, but then that makes me laugh for some reason.
Turning to me, he starts to laugh for real. We’re two fools laughing like that, hoping it will throw them off the scent. Other than staring at us like we’ve lost our dang minds, his brother-in-law finally throws us a lifeline. “Hi, I’m Tagger Grange. This is my wife, Pri—Christine, Griffin’s sister.” He comes closer for a quick handshake.
“I’m Cricket . . .” Do I tell them and go through the whole hullabaloo again?
“Dover,” Griffin states. “Cricket Dover, and this is her son, Jacob.” Turning around to find the boy, he adds, “You didn’t miss anything, Beckett. This is my friend Cricket and her son.”
“Whoa. I thought that was Daisy on your shoulders.”
“Silly, brother.” Daisy cracks up, then kicks him in the shin.
“Daisy!” her mom scolds while Beckett hops around on one leg like they might have to amputate. “You don’t do that. Now tell Beck you’re sorry.”
“But I’m not sorry.” She takes off running along the fence line. “Come on, Sunrise.” The horse gallops along with her, which is so entertaining to see. I’ve never seen a horse do that before.
Christine watches until they near a curve in the bend, then turns back. “I’m sorry, Beck. Are you okay?”
Annoyance produces a scowl on his face before he grumbles, “I’m fine.”
When he takes off running after her, his dad says, “Be nice, son.”
As if a little embarrassed, Christine closes her eyes and sighs. When she reopens them, she says, “She’s wild like the flower she was named after.”
I’m not sure if I should fear her wrath or applaud her spirit, but that Daisy is going to love having a cousin her own age to play with. I’ll have to make sure Jacob is up to the task, though. Other than going to play gym twice a week, he’s not used to the dynamics of other kids, much less ones who kick.
Tagger says, “Beckett’s my oldest. You’ve met Daisy, and this here is baby Julie Ann.”
“She’s precious. How old is she?”
“Four months and just the best baby,” Christine practically coos. “We named her after my mom. She’s so sweet and already sleeps through the night, which is a win.”
My gaze darts to Griffin who gives me a reassuring smile. When I turn back, I say, “I remember that period well.” My gut twists when I realize what we’re saying in front of Griffin though. He didn’t get the opportunity to be there for his child like we did. His expression is one ofindifference, but I’ve learned he holds a lot inside that he tries to hide from everyone. “Well, I’m glad you guys get to sleep as well now.”
She says, “If Baylor and Lauralee were here, you’d get to meet the whole family.”
“Oh.” I hold a finger up. “I met him.”
