Texas Lullaby (Texas Montgomery Mavericks Book 7) Read Online Free PDF Page A

overwhelmed at the moment.”
    The twins shoved their way between Lydia and Jason.
    “Are we getting Jasper?” Annie asked.
    “I love Jasper,” Ellery said.
    “Jasper. Jasper,” Annie said, jumping up and down.
    Lydia caught Jason’s gaze and saw his determination. She wouldn’t be driving to Wichita alone.
    They decided that taking the girls to the house to pack might be too traumatic. Instead, they checked in to a hotel and Jason volunteered to babysit while Lydia did what she needed to do. The girls thought staying in a hotel was grand fun, especially since there was a pool.
    The house was so quiet with only the sound of a ticking grandfather clock to break the silence. The sense of loss and grief swamping her was like nothing she’d ever experienced. She went to the master bedroom and sat on Meredith’s bed. The room and everything in it smelled like her sister.
    She put her head on Meredith’s pillow and wept.
    * * * * *
    With Annie and Ellery dancing with excitement around his knees, Jason paid for a couple of new swimsuits and two sets of arm floaties. Even though the girls told him they knew how to swim, he did know better than to trust a couple of three-year-olds for accurate information.
    The young gal working in the store had flirted with him the entire time the girls had been picking out new suits. Once they were paid for, the store clerk volunteered to help Annie and Ellery get dressed for swimming. Jason gladly took her up on her offer as his arms were full of a wiggling Levi.
    The hotel advertised a small, indoor kiddie pool, one of the reasons he’d chosen this place. The girls giggled and pranced and twisted around like they had ants in their pants as they all walked down to the pool area. The kiddie pool was maybe six inches deep where the kids walked in and might have been two or two-and-a-half feet at its deepest, but that was about it, thank goodness. He pulled a lounge chair closer and let the girls wade in the water. Within seconds, they were laughing and splashing each other.
    Levi pushed against Jason’s chest, wanting down. He didn’t have a suit for the baby. Heck, he didn’t have one for himself. He hadn’t even thought about Levi wanting in the water.
    The baby began crying…loudly. Jason knew Levi wasn’t hungry and his diaper wasn’t dirty. The only thing he might want is the water.
    Jason sighed, pulled Levi’s shirt over his head and took off his shorts, leaving him dressed only in his diaper. He put a towel on the concrete where the pool was the shallowest. He sat on the towel and sat Levi in the water, whose diaper quickly sucked up water and doubled in size. Levi gurgled and splashed, a glob of drool dripping from his toothless grin.
    “Uncle Jason,” Ellery said. “You should come in too.”
    Jason chuckled. “I forgot my swim suit. I can’t.”
    “Levi doesn’t have on one,” Annie said.
    Oh, yeah. Jason could picture his explanation to the cop who would arrest him for getting into a kiddie pool wearing only his briefs. “But officer, Levi didn’t have on pants either.”
    “That’s true,” he said. “But I like sitting here watching you guys play.”
    The girls lay in the water, practiced swimming like someone named Ariel, whoever that was, and had a floating contest. Levi, on the other hand, loved hitting the water with his palms, effectively throwing water droplets on Jason. Before long, Jason’s shirt was fairly damp. He didn’t mind. In fact, he was getting quite a kick out of watching them play.
    He checked his phone for the time and to see if he’d missed a call from Lydia. Almost five p.m. and no call. That made him a little nervous. Sure she was fine, he nonetheless would have appreciated her checking in. He didn’t know how long to let the girls swim or what to do about dinner.
    At close to six, the girls were wearing down. He’d taken Levi out of the pool and gotten him redressed without getting squirted. A real accomplishment, in Jason’s