True Colors (The Masks #1)(29)

“Are you sure your sister won’t mind?”

“She’s leaving in like ten minutes, it’ll just be me and the boys. I’ll hide their bodies before she gets home. No one will know.”

“You’ll have to come up with a good cover story.”

“Or drive to Wyoming.” I chuckled.

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something believable.”

“Well, I’ve got all evening to do it.” I winked, probably way too suggestively, and walked up the stairs before he could spot my fierce blush.

Ugh!

Could I have made it any more obvious that I would welcome him coming over to keep me company after the boys were in bed? Was that the only thing on my mind right now?

I slammed the back door shut and closed me eyes. The quiet patter of feet creeping down the hallway made me grin. I kept my eyes shut until the door creaked open.

“BOO!!”

They both squealed and took off. I chased them with a growl, happy to run from my humiliation. I caught Brody halfway down the hallway and swung him into the air. He was laughing so hard his giggles were silent. His red face and wide open mouth were too funny. I lowered his quaking body to the floor and tickled his tummy. A squeal burst free, giving him a chance to breathe properly.

“Don’t hype them up too much before dinner. They’ll never eat.”

I kept my eyes down, so Layla couldn’t see my eye roll.

Poking out my tongue at Brody, I let him scramble free and rush down the hallway. His father caught him as he tried to dash past and do a swan dive onto the couch. From the boys’ perspective, the best part about Grandma’s sunken in lounge was the opportunity to sky dive from the wooden floors to the couches below.

“Jake, don’t you dare!” Layla raised her finger. He paused, his eyes dancing with the thrill of breaking the rules and the dread of getting in trouble. He stayed where he was, trying to weigh up if it was worth it.

I winked behind Layla’s back, letting him know he could do it later, once the adults had gone. He grinned at me and stepped back.

Layla spun back to look at me as Brody wriggled free of his father’s grasp and barreled into my dad, who hoisted him up with a laugh.

Layla gave me a stern frown. “Don’t let them do anything naughty.”

I snickered. “Layla, they’ll be little angels.”

“Yeah right.” She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms to launch into a lengthly list of instructions. I’d heard them all before and I knew what I was doing, but I let her run through them. I knew it made her feel better. As she raised a finger for each new instruction, I pulled her mask away, more out of curiosity than anything. I wasn’t overly surprised by what I saw, although found it intriguing that the idea of leaving her boys made her feel a mixture of guilt and worry. I never realized she felt so obligated by her role as a mother.

“And don’t feed them any candy.” She was up to ten fingers now. Surely this was the last instruction. “I’ve left out the dinner I want them to have. It’s in the fridge. There’s enough for you too.”

“Thanks.” I forced a grin, knowing it would be some gross, overly healthy crap. Inspired by my mother, Layla followed the nutritionist path as well.

“Okay, I think that’s everything.” She tucked a lock of her straight brown hair behind her ear. Man, she looked like Mom when she did that. Her mask was still off and I decided to try something.

“You’re such a great mom.” I squeezed her upper arm. “You work so hard for your kids and take such good care of them. You deserve a night off. Go relax, have some fun. Don’t even think about your kids tonight. I promise I’ll call if there’s a problem, okay?”

Her reaction nearly made me laugh. First it was utter confusion that her kid sister was saying something so sweet and mature, but next came the look of relief I’d been hoping for. Her guilt and worry eased a little as she gathered me into her arms with a warm embrace.

“Thanks, sis.” She kissed my curls and held me at arms length to give me one more smile. I popped her mask back on and saw it was the same expression she was wearing. I was glad I made her feel better.

With that she turned to gather up her babies for goodnight kisses while I was dragged into my daddy’s arms.

“Have a good night, honey.”

“Thanks, Dad.” I could barely talk past his bear hug.

“Be a good peanut.” He flicked my nose, something I hated, but didn’t have the heart to tell him. “The restaurant is on the other side of town so we’ll be home late. Don’t wait up. The boys are sleeping over anyway.”

“I won’t.”

Brody and Jake came to stand beside me as we waved our goodbyes and blew kisses. The door clicked shut and I squeezed the boys’ shoulders, waiting until we heard the sound of a car pulling out of the drive. As soon as we got the all clear, I pulled the boys in front of me.

“Okay, Jake, you start pulling all the squabs off the couch and Brody you start gathering up any pillow in the house you can find. Don’t go into Grandma’s room though, okay? But any other pillow in the house is ours.” I winked, making him giggle as he dashed away.

Jake stood there with a beaming smile, just nodding at me. Yeah, at this present moment in time, I was the coolest aunt ever.