Music of the Soul (Runaway Train, #2.5)(48)

“That’s my pretty little angel,” he said. He tenderly kissed the top of her head before passing her over to me. We had two weeks to go before we were back on the road, and I had no idea how I would be able to keep breast feeding like this. At almost four months, I felt they were more than ready to be weaned, but Jake was pretty insistent that at least Jules keep on as long as I could.

Once Jules latched on and nursed heartily, Jake picked up Jax. “Okay, chunky monkey,” he said, with a grin to Jax’s scrunched red face.

“Hey now, don’t be giving him a weight complex,” I chided.

“Ah, he’s pure muscle, right Jaxy?” Jake asked, kissing our son’s chubby cheek.

Since Jake had nothing to do with his feeding, Jax continued wailing as he strained for me. He outweighed Jules by a good five pounds. Whatever he’d had on her in the womb, he had maximized it now that he was out. Usually, we had to give him some formula after a feeding because he just never seemed to get enough. He was going to be built just like his dad when he grew up. But regardless of his size, he was terribly protective of Jules. Whenever they slept, he always laid as close as he could to her, and he wasn’t satisfied unless he could touch her with his fist or feet.

Once Jax was in my arms, his cries quieted, and he snuggled in beside Jules to start feeding. Jake eased back into the bed. Lying on his stomach, he propped his head on his elbow and stared up at me. “You sure about going out on the road?”

I smiled. “Never more certain about anything. I can’t wait to prove that I really am Wonder Woman, and I can be a Grammy-award-winning songwriter and performer, as well as a mother.”

“Can I get you to wear a sexy Wonder Woman costume?” Jake teasingly asked.

“Maybe. If you play your cards just right,” I replied, with a wink.

“I’ll try my best.”

“Keep doing what you’re doing when it comes to helping me with the twins, and you’ll get lots of nice rewards.”

His brows then furrowed. “Do you really think Allison is going to be able to handle Jax and Jules?”

I laughed. “I think she’s going to do the best she can. I mean, sometimes we have a difficult time handling them.”

Jake’s expression lightened. “That’s true.”

It had been hard deciding on a nanny or a babysitter for the twins. Jake and I both had been raised by very hands-on mothers, and I planned to be the same way, even when on tour. Having Allison along with us for the summer tour happened almost too divinely to believe. Since she was about to finish up her last semester at SCAD, or the Savannah School of Art and Design, she needed some internship and field experience in her major—fashion design. What better way to have her kill two birds with one stone than to have her work on costumes for Jacob’s Ladder and Runaway Train while watching the twins during rehearsals and shows.

“I just hope your brothers don’t get any ideas about her,” Jake said, his fingers rubbing over one of Jax’s crocheted booties that Mia had made him.

“I think they value their manhood too much to mess around with your baby sister,” I replied, with a smile.

“They sure as hell better.”

As I shifted Jax onto my shoulder to burp him, I resisted the urge to tell Jake that it wasn’t my brothers and Allison he should be worried about. At the twins’ christening, the unresolved sexual tension between Allison and Rhys was palpable. Something had definitely happened between them, but there was also a hell of a lot unsaid and unspoken going on. They worked their hardest to stay away from each other, but at the same time, they were constantly looking at each other. Since I wanted her along with us on the tour, I didn’t dare pry. I knew the truth would come out when the time was right.

“What are you thinking about?” Jake asked.

“Nothing,” I lied, diverting my gaze to Jules who had just finished eating.

“Oh, no, I saw that expression of yours—the one you get when the wheels in your head are turning.”

“I’m just excited and nervous about the tour, that’s all.”

“We’re going to be a full house on the bus with Allison and the twins.”

“And Angel,” I said. Hearing her name caused Angel to raise her head and wag her tail.

“You really think it’s a good idea bringing her along?” Jake asked, as he took Jax from me, so I could burp Jules.

“I couldn’t bear leaving her behind. Do you know what that would do to her if she saw us and the twins leaving her?”

Jake grimaced. He knew as well as I did that Angel was so attached to Jax and Jules. She slept at the foot of their crib every night. If we let one of them cry too long while trying to get their diaper changed or bottle ready, she started howling and barking. “Fine, fine, we’ll bring Angel.”

As Jules emitted a giant burp, I laughed. “Thank you, babe.”

He shook his head. “I have no willpower when it comes to you.”

“I know, and I love it,” I teased.

Jake laughed. “Now that the little hellions—”

“Angels,” I corrected.

“Fine. Now that the angels are fed, what’s on tap for today?”

“Hmm, maybe baths for all of us, and then a nice, lazy movie day?”

“I like the sound of that. I bet I could get Papa to run down to Two Brothers for some BBQ for us.”