Sweet Trouble Read Online Free PDF Page B

awkward and unsure of her welcome. “It’s been a long time.”
    Nicole stared. “Jesse?”
    “It’s me.”
    “I can’t believe it.” In the distance, a baby continued to cry. Nicole glanced in that direction. “It’s Molly. Holding them both when they need to be walked is impossible. Hawk’s out of town. He didn’t want to leave, but he and Brittany had planned the trip celebrating her graduation from college for a while and it didn’t seem fair to cancel it because I have twins who aren’t sleeping.” She rocked the crying baby in her arms and looked desperate.
    “I can help,” Jesse said, stepping in the house without being invited. “Here. Let me take this one.”
    “Are you sure?” Nicole asked, obviously reluctant to hand over her baby.
    “I raised one myself,” she said.
    “Right. Sure. Here.”
    Jesse took the wrapped baby and smiled down at her. “Hello, pretty girl. How are you? Keeping mom up? She’ll remember and punish you later. You might want to think that through.”
    The baby’s eyes focused on her face, then slowly began to close. Nicole hesitated a second, before retreating to the back of the house to collect Molly. Eric stared at her.
    “Who are you?” he asked.
    “I’m your aunt Jesse,” she said as she closed the front door, stepped over several toys and followed him to a family room.
    There was a sofa and television, along with toys and a couple of baskets of laundry. A stack of diapers sat in one chair. Shoes littered the hallway leading to the kitchen.
    Jesse remembered Nicole’s house being mostly tidy and quiet. It was a place Jesse had never felt at home. While this place made her feel at ease, she couldn’t believe her perfect sister lived in chaos.
    A small, hairy white dog raced through the room, followed by a slightly larger black-and-white dog. Pets? Nicole had pets?
    “That’s Sheila,” Eric told her. “Rambo is her son. Like I’m my daddy’s son.” He seemed proud of the fact.
    Nicole returned with a second infant and collapsed in a chair.
    “Clear a space,” she murmured, rocking her daughter with a desperation that spoke of many nights without sleep. “Come on, Molly. It can’t be that bad, can it?”
    Kim, the baby Jesse held, had quieted enough for her to ask, “Want me to put her down?”
    Nicole shook her head. “She won’t sleep. She’ll wake right up.”
    “We can try,” Jesse said, knowing getting the twins into their own cribs was the only solution that was going to let Nicole rest.
    Nicole’s gaze narrowed, then she shrugged. “Whatever. They’re in the sitting area off our bedroom. They have a room upstairs, but it got to be too far to walk when I realized they weren’t ever going to sleep.”
    Her voice was thick with emotion, as if she was inches from losing it all.
    “I’ll show you,” Eric said. He’d been hovering by his mom. Now he led the way down a short hallway and into the master suite.
    Jesse had the impression of space, large furniture and a view of a massive backyard. She followed Eric into what would usually be the master bedroom retreat area. A love seat and coffee table had been pushed to the side. Two cribs stood in the middle of the space.
    “This one is Kim’s,” Eric told her, pointing to the one on the right.
    She smiled at him. “Wow. You’re very helpful. I’m sure your mom is happy to have you around. You’re a great big brother.”
    Eric beamed. “I’m the man of the house while Daddy’s gone.”
    “Your mom is so lucky.”
    She eased the sleeping baby into the crib. Kim stayed asleep. Jesse wound the mobile above the crib and motioned for Eric to join her as she backed out of the room.
    They returned to the family room. Nicole stared at her.
    “She’s sleeping?”
    “Yes. Why don’t I take Molly while you go grab a shower?”
    Nicole hesitated, as if she was going to argue, then she handed over the infant and hurried down the hall.
    Jesse gazed at the sleepy baby in her arms. “Do