Mrs. Robin's Sons by Kori Roberts (free children's online books .TXT) 📗

“This is nice,” Noah commented from the back seat.

Rylee unfastened her seatbelt and smiled at him over the seat. “Wait until you see the inside. It’s beautiful, and the lake is pretty spectacular, too.”

The front door of the house opened, and Rylee saw Mya and Tom walk out. She climbed out of the car and went to hug her friends. “You’re just in time. The food is hot, and the beer is cold,” Tom gave her a quick peck on the cheek when she walked by as he headed to the car to help Nick and Noah with their bags.

“Come on,” Mya pulled her by the hand toward the house. “Drew and Jacob are

supposed to be watching the food, and if we wait too long, there won’t be anything left to eat.”

Rylee laughed and followed Mya through the house. “Am I sleeping in my usual

room?” she asked as they walked onto the deck.

“Not this time,” Mya smiled. “We figured you’d need the additional space this year, so Drew and Jacob agreed to switch rooms with you.”

“There she is!” Rylee looked up to see Jacob walking toward her. “You finally made it.

We were just about ready to send a search team out to look for you.” He stopped long enough to give her a hug.

Rylee winced. “It’s my fault. I ended up working later than I’d planned.”

“You seem to be doing that even more than usual lately.” The sound of Drew’s voice had her searching the yard, finally finding him by the grill.

“Hey, no talking about work, remember?” Rylee kept her voice light as she ignored just how accurate Drew’s comment was.

“You’re right,” Drew joined them at the table. “Besides, I’m just happy that you made it at all.” He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I’ve missed you, kiddo. You work too hard, and I’m glad to see you taking some time to relax and enjoy yourself.”

Rylee’s attention was drawn to Nick and Noah, who walked onto the deck followed by Tom.

“I must admit that I have a lot more incentive to take time off for more pleasurable pursuits,” she murmured. Drew’s gaze followed hers. “If that’s what it takes to get you to take some time out for yourself, I’m all for it.”

*

Rylee sat with Mya on the deck, enjoying the warm July evening and watching the

men on the boat as it slowly moved across the lake.

“So, I take it their mother wasn’t too pleased to find out about the three of you.”

Rylee snorted at Mya’s comment. “That is definitely an understatement. If the woman thought she could have killed me at that moment, I’m positive she would have. I swear, you’d think I was the devil incarnate out to corrupt her precious little babies.” She chuckled bitterly, lost for a brief moment in the memory. It took her a second to realize that Mya remained uncharacteristically quiet.

Rylee turned and studied her friend. The look on Mya’s face made Rylee laugh again, and the sound was filled with hurt. “That’s just great. You actually agree with her.” She started to rise from her chair.

“Wait a minute, Rylee.” Mya grabbed her arm and stopped her before she could leave.

“I don’t agree with her, and I certainly don’t agree with what she said to any of you. But, I can see how she might feel that way.”

Mya held up her hand to stop Rylee from speaking. “Just calm down and listen. When we found out about the three of you, we were shocked and concerned at first because we were worried about you, and didn’t want you to get hurt again. But, ultimately, we accepted that you were an adult, it was your decision to make, and we were prepared to support you in whatever choice you made.” Mya paused, and Rylee watched her absently rub her protruding belly.

“But, it’s different for a mother, Rylee. It wouldn’t matter if Nick and Noah were twenty-one or sixty-one with grandkids of their own. They’re still going to be her babies. And she’s always going to think that there’s no woman who is good enough for her sons —

especially not the same woman who wants both of them.”

Rylee nodded slowly. Although she hated to admit it, Mya’s words made perfect sense.

“Mothers and their sons,” she murmured softly.

“You got it.” Mya chuckled. “And there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it, but hope that one day we’ll have sons of our own to torture and completely drive insane.”

Rylee burst into laughter. “You are pure evil. I’m going to pray really hard that you have a girl.”

They laughed quietly for a moment before Mya grew quiet. “Speaking of kids, do you think there will be any in your future?”

Mya’s question caught Rylee off guard, and she couldn’t think of any of her usual comments to blow off the subject.

“Yeah,” she said softly, opting for the truth instead. “I’d love to have a child. I think about it a lot, actually.”

“So, you’re not worried that it would be hard for a child to understand having two fathers?”

Rylee shook her head. “Do you have any idea how many kids grow up every day

without even one father around? I think that any child we have would be fortunate to have two of them.” She looked toward the water. “Especially those two.” She turned her attention to Mya again. “No, I’m not worried about that at all. I know Nick and Noah are going to be amazing fathers.”

“So, what’s stopping it from happening?”

Rylee sighed. “I’m not ready.”

Mya laughed. “Uh, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but in spite of how young you look, your body is still getting older, and your window of opportunity is getting smaller by the day.” “It’s not about being ready to have kids.”

“Then what is it?” Rylee heard the confusion in Mya’s voice.

“Would you believe me if I told you that