Page 18 of Inked Temptation
ChapterFive
Archer
“What do you mean you’re not in the mood for cheese?” Leif asked, his eyes wide.
I quickly hushed him, turning around to make sure that nobody was paying attention to us. Of course, the entire room had quieted because they all heard.
“I ate homemade macaroni and cheese yesterday, and I thought I would try a veggie plate today instead of going full cheese. I’m sorry.”
Annabelle came up to me and handed over my nephew. Jack reached up and patted my cheek before laying his head on my shoulder.
“If you don’t want cheese, hold a baby. That’ll help whatever the hell’s going on in your mind.”
“Don’t say hell around our kid,” Jacob muttered, holding the other twin, Hailey.
My lips quirked, and I just smiled at my family. “I was in the mood for comfort food yesterday and made that five-cheese layered baked macaroni and cheese of mine. I’ll have leftovers for days, but I forgot about dinner tonight while I was making it. I craved it and was so focused on making that macaroni and cheese that I didn’t stop to think that maybe my arteries and stomach can’t handle that much cheese so many days in a row.”
“Okay, that’s a decent excuse,” Leif said as he folded his arms over his chest. “I don’t know, though. I may have to tell my dad.”
I narrowed my eyes at my second-cousin. “Okay then. That’s just playing dirty. You know your dad, even if he’s nearly two decades older than me, can kick my ass.”
“Stop saying A-S-S in front of the baby,” Annabelle whispered as she put her hands over Jack’s ears.
“I’m sure they’ve all heard worse in this family,” Brenna teased as she checked her phone. Her baby, as well as Beckett and Eliza’s kid, were sleeping in the nursery. Paige and Lee were just now going up to put theirs in the nursery as well.
My parents had taken one of the spare guestrooms, ones that any number of Montgomerys had used in the past, and made a full-scale nursery, with multiple cribs, changing tables, and anything a growing baby could need. It didn’t matter that we all lived within easy driving distance. They wanted grandparent time and were having a blast with it.
I knew as the kids grew up to big-kid beds, they’d have those of their own too. It was nice the way that we all banded together and that everybody was growing in ways and finding each other.
I loved my nieces and nephews. They were fantastic individuals and brought so much joy to my life.
I might only be slightly jealous that I didn’t have one of my own, but that didn’t take away any of the happiness and life I felt for the new babies in the Montgomery family.
“Okay, I understand, no cheese plate.” My mother moved forward and plucked my nephew from my arms.
“Let’s put the kids down for their N-A-P, and then we will find some vegetables in this house for you.” She rolled her eyes, even though I knew she was joking.
The Montgomerys might joke that we were part of a cheese cult and that cheese was life. And while all of that was probably true, well, mostly true, it wasn’t the whole of it. We still ate healthily and introduced new foods to our palates without involving cheese. Scary, but it happened.
I looked over at Leif as the rest of my siblings milled around the house, helping my parents with one thing or another, or just catching up with their spouses. Since we all worked together, we spent a lot of time with one another. However, it was rare we were all together at the same time as often as we used to be, thanks to babies, new families, and just life.
Hell, I was spending a lot of my time in the mountains now. I could do most of my work that I would need to do in the office from my computer, and as long as I had internet, I didn’t need much.
Okay, maybe I needed a little bit more.
Leif pressed his shoulder against mine as he stared at me. I blinked, surprised that he was a little taller than me. When did that happen?
Probably about the time the kid had finished puberty and was no longer a kid. It still surprised me daily that this kid was only a few years younger than me. Time didn’t make much sense.
“What’s wrong?” Leif asked, and I shook my head.
“Nothing’s wrong. Maybe I just ate too much cheese.”
“You keep saying these things, and your family’s going to think that there’s something wrong with you. At least that’s what my family would think.”
“True. I am glad that you’re here for this, though. I thought you would head back down to Denver.”
“I am, later tonight after dinner. I want to go see the twins and Colin.”
