A Million Little Things (Mischief Bay, #3)

So if Kirk wasn’t having sex with some chickie, then she could win him back. She rubbed the leftover serum into her skin and decided that “winning him back” wasn’t the right phrase. She could reignite the spark.

Which was what this morning was about. Kirk was off and he and Lucas had taken Jack to the POP to give her some alone time. She’d put it to good use. She’d shaved her legs, done the mask and was now going to apply the scented body lotion Kirk liked. They had the whole day together. She planned to be flirty and fun, with just enough touching to leave him panting. Okay, maybe not panting, but in the mood. That was what she wanted for today. The promise of good things to come tonight.

As she applied her makeup, she thought about the other changes she wanted to make in her life. To be honest, the staying at home with a toddler thing was starting to get to her. A few months ago she’d been terrified at the thought of going back to work, but sometime in the past few weeks, she’d really started to miss teaching. Maybe it was hearing about Zoe’s substitute teaching. She’d always enjoyed her students and the challenges of making sometimes boring material interesting. She liked having summers off. But going back to work meant putting Jack in day care and that was a problem she had yet to solve.

She dressed. Early May wasn’t stiflingly hot, but the temperature had definitely gone up by a couple of degrees. She decided on light blue crop pants with a matching tank. She slipped on a crisp, white, short-sleeved shirt and left it open, then pulled the hot rollers out of her hair.

“And we’re done,” she whispered.

She thought she looked pretty good. Not fancy, but rested and pretty. The mask had worked its magic on her skin. She was more wholesome than sexy, but Kirk was a girl-next-door kind of guy and that should appeal to him. Later, she could show him her bad girl moves.

She went into the kitchen and downed as much water as she could without gagging. While she hated to admit it, the simple instructions Alana had given her seemed to be working. She’d taken to having her fifteen minutes of quiet time while Jack napped. Just being still and letting her mind wander was much more refreshing than a frantic attempt to get her mile-long list of chores done. Her blood work had come back showing she was low on several vitamins, including iron and D, which would make her tired and more prone to anxiety.

She liked that she was taking care of herself. It felt good. She’d been so focused on Jack for so long that she’d somehow gotten lost. There had to be a place somewhere between being self-consumed and being a martyr, and she hoped she’d found it.

She prepared the marinade for the flank steak they were barbecuing that night, then checked the clock. “The boys” were due back by eleven-thirty. She’d already made chicken salad for lunch. She would guess that Lucas was going to be exhausted by the outing and would crash for the afternoon. Hmm, Jack would take a nap, as well. Maybe the seduction didn’t have to wait until tonight.

She heard the sound of the SUV pulling into the garage and felt a little quiver low in her belly. She touched the spot and grinned. There was a blast from the past, she thought happily. Nice to know she still had those feelings for her husband.

She walked toward the mudroom to greet everyone. Kirk came in first, Jack in his arms. She took one look at Kirk’s happy expression and started to laugh.

“What?” she asked. “You’re pleased about something. What is it?”

Lucas stepped around him. “You’d be lousy at poker, bro. This is a family thing. I’m going to my room.”

Jen had no idea why Lucas felt he had to leave, but she let it go. She hurried over and took her son, who held out his arms for her and laughed. She pulled him close.

“Well?”

Kirk pulled her into the family room and onto the sofa. “Look!” He pulled out his phone and spooled up a video.

Jack squirmed to get down and ran over to sit by his low toy box. He began pulling out his trucks and cars. Obviously he wasn’t the least bit impressed by whatever Kirk wanted to show her.

“Here.” Kirk pushed a button on his phone and a video began to play.

She stared at the screen. Jack was running around at the POP, on the grass. Not by the playground, but off to the side. A woman walked by with two dogs. Labs, she would guess. Jack clapped and pointed.

“Dogs. Big dogs. See, Daddy?”

Her heart stopped. Actually stopped beating. The world went dark, then bright, bright white before tilting and finally righting itself. Relief was warm and sweet and so very welcome.

She stared at Kirk, who was watching her happily.

“He spoke?” Tears filled her eyes as she looked from the video to her son, then back at Kirk. “He spoke?”

“He did.”

She began to laugh and hurried to Jack, then dropped down beside him. “You can do it! I knew you could. Oh, Jack!” She hugged him tight, then tickled him. He laughed and put his arms around her. “Big kiss.”

He pressed his tiny toddler lips to hers, then squirmed away. She pointed to the truck. “What is that, Jack? Can you tell Mommy what that is?”

He smiled at her, then put his fingers against his mouth in a motion she knew to mean he was hungry.

“You want lunch? Okay, we can eat. But can you tell me what that is?” She pointed to the truck again.

He only smiled.

“I don’t understand,” she said to Kirk. “Why won’t he talk?”

“Why does it matter? There’s more on the video, Jen. He chatted up a storm. He can talk. That’s the important thing.”

She knew he was right, but still, why was Jack silent now?

“He’ll talk when he’s ready,” Kirk assured her. “It’ll be any second now.”

She nodded, but was less sure. Jack was her baby. Shouldn’t he talk around her the most?

She got lunch ready and called Lucas to join them. All through the meal, she tried to get Jack to talk, but he only smiled and waved and did his gesturing that was so clear to her. She understood him completely, but still, she wanted the words.

After his nap, she sent Kirk in to wake him. She waited in the hall, where Jack couldn’t see her. Kirk pulled their son out of his crib.

“Did you have a good nap?”