Curse of the Peters Brothers

Chapter 22

"Mommy! Mommy wake up! Daddy made us pancakes!" A little redhaired girl bounced up and down on her as she slowly woke up. The little girl must be about three or four years old.

"Ellie?" How she knew what the girl's name was she had no idea.

"Happy Birthday, mommy!" Ellie squealed.

"Good morning, sweetheart. Happy Birthday," he chuckled as he kissed her temple. "The baby is still asleep but our little ginger and I made breakfast."

"Hopsey?"

"Yeah?" he looked at her face and smiled, "What's the matter? Getting confused in your old age?"

"Happy Birthday mommy!"

"Thank you," then she turned to Leland, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you for breakfast. You'll want to eat before Joey wakes up."

"Joey?"

"Mommy, Joey is my baby brother. Did you forget him?"

"No, baby. Mommy's just tired," Leland told the little girl. "Joey still gets hungry in the middle of the night, so mommy has to feed him."

"Mommy! Daddy said we can go to Grandma and Papa's house this weekend!"

"He did?"

"I did. It was supposed to be a surprise..." he said and then started to tickle Ellie. She shrieked with delight. The scene made her heart flutter. Leland was so good with this little girl. Their little girl.

This stupid, stubborn man that she loved with her whole heart was the best father she could ever imagine for her children. Kit could see how much he loved both of them every time he looked at them, the way he teased them, laughed with them, made her heart burst.

"Mommy, are you ok?" Ellie asked as she wrapped her little arms around her. "You're not supposed to cry on your birthday, mommy."

Leland reached up, smiling thoughtfully, as if reading her thoughts, and wiped the tears from her face. "I just love you both so much," she sobbed.

"I love you too, mommy."

"I love you too, mommy," the deep timber of Leland's voice made the tears fall harder. "Ellie, why don't you go check on your brother."

"Ok."

"Make sure you're quiet," Leland put his forefinger to his lips to remind his daughter, his eyes twinkling with love for her.

Ellie tip-toed out of their bedroom and walked down the hall. When she was out of ear shot, Leland leaned  forward and kissed along her jaw.

"What's with the waterworks?" he asked her between kisses.

"I love you so much, and you love Ellie don't you?," Kit wrapped her arms around Leland to keep him close.

"Of course I love Ellie. She's ours, although she inherited your nasty disposition," he chuckled and flicked her nose with his finger teasingly. "We made her together. She and Joey, and I love them, because they're ours."

Pulling him closer to her, she kissed him hard. She had never initiated a kiss like this with Hopsey. This was possessive and passionate. "I can't believe I almost gave this up."

"You did give this up Hell-Kat. Twice." He told her, his voice hard as he glared at her with cold eyes and then left her there alone in her bed.

"Hopsey?" she called after him. "Hopsey?" she called, louder this time. She kept calling him, louder and louder each time. Then she got out of bed and chased him down the hallway. "Ellie? Joey? Hopsey?" she just kept yelling until her no sound came out of her mouth and tears where tumbling down her face faster than she could wipe them away.