Chapter 256
Xander
Seeing my baby girl walking into the kitchen on steady legs was definitely something I was going to
have to get used to. Lanie got her settled at the table on one of the booster seats we’d ordered,
expecting the pups to need them in the next couple of weeks.
“Sit up straight, little love,” Lanie told her. “Mommy’s going to get your snack ready.”
“Abba, juice, pweese?” Stella gave Mason a look I could already tell was designed to wrap all of us
around her little finger.
It was working.
My mother entered the kitchen with Isaac holding one hand and Alaina gripping the other. They’d both
hit their growth spurt, too, but although they were toddling, neither one of them was as steady as Stella.
They babbled to each other softly, not real words,
Isaac held up his arms. “Dada.”
I
I picked him up and put him on my hip. “Hey, there, little man. Do you want a snack, too?”
The little boy put his finger in his mouth and nodded My mother was already putting Alaina in a booster
seat as Lanie cut up apples onto plates and adding a dollop of peanut butter. Zane opened the
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtcupboard to grab out some sippy cups with lids Lanie had also had delivered, and Mason pulled out the
jug of apple juice.
We all moved, coordinated as a dance, and I looked over to see my mother shaking her amused
expression.
I settled our son into his seat as my mate put the plate in front of him. My mother saw me She let out a
soft chuckle.
“It takes five adults to take care of three children,” she said with another chuckle. “And now tha
mobile… Well, if your children are anything like you were as a boy, Xander, we’d all better step up our c
workouts so we can keep up with them.”
Stella kicked her little legs against the rungs of the chair. “Daddy, what car…cardy.”
“It means exercise.”I bent to kiss the top of her head.
Lanie put the plate in front of Stella. “What do you say?”
“Please” Stella said confidently
an
Lanie looked startled, but her voice was calm. “You say please when you want something, but when
you get something, my little love, you say “thank you”
“Tank you,” Stella said. Then, after a second, softly as though she was speaking more to herself, she
repeated it. “Thank you.”
1/2
only is she speaking in sentences, which is way beyond what she ought to be doing, she’s also
progressing in her language skills.”
Alaina pounded the table, and my mother hurried to get the little girl her own plate of apples and peanut
butter. Alaina didn’t say anything, but her pout turned into a smile when my mother gave her the snack.
The differences between Stella and the twins were so obvious now. Isaac dragged his apple slice
through the peanut butter and managed to get it into his mouth, but the peanut butter fell off and he
used a finger to try to scoop it up. Alaina didn’t even try to get the apple into the peanut butter, just
used her finger right off the
bat
Stella, on the other hand, daintily took an apple slice and dipped it into the peanut butter. She used her
finger to press the gooey brown treat onto the apple slice and lifted the entire thing to her lips, then took
a
small, careful bite.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe difference in her coordination was vast.
“You were an early walker and talker,” my mother said in a rough voice. She gave me a look that
seemed. oddly hopeful.
Like the rest of us, she seemed amazed by her granddaughter’s growth. And like us, she was
obviously hoping that it didn’t mean something was wrong with our little girl. The catch in her voice,
though, led me to believe my mother was doing her best to sound braver than she felt.
I met Lanie’s gaze over the top of our little girl’s head. My Luna’s eyes flared bright with her wolf for a
few seconds. Waves of nervousness rolled off her, a rush of sensation that faded in a second. She was
doing that on purpose, and it was taking a lot of effort. I could feel her using self-will to shield her
anxiety.
We all were frozen, watching our children at the table. No idea of what to do, or how to handle any of
this. Just then, Isaac dumped his cup and the lid came off. Apple juice spread across the table as he
started to cry. Alaina joined him. Stella pouted and looked upset.
“Oh, no, what a mess. Let’s get this cleaned up. Don’t cry, sweetheart. Mommy will get you more.
Lanie sounded glad for the distraction, and we all started working to clean it all up.
But what were we going to do about this much bigger mess, the one we didn’t know how to take care
of?