Karen glanced over to see Tina’s expression and something like longing flitted across her face. Time to change the subject. “When are you seeing the doctor?” he asked.
“Tomorrow at 2pm. Will you be able to take me?”
“Yes, that should not be a problem.” Ben placed his big hands on Tina’s baby bump and they both smiled. “I’m going to be out tonight. Overnight apparently but I’ll be back in the morning. The twins need to get back in time for their daycare shifts.
“Papa!” Christopher screeched from Lucy’s hip.
“Look who’s finally awake!” Lucy smiled as she handed the boy to Ben who immediately pretended to gobble up his stomach, sending the boy into a fit of giggles.
Lucy poured herself a coffee and made some herbal tea for Tina. She placed them on the table and looked at Ben.
“Me and my boy will have apple juice, please,” he said making a silly face at Christopher who watched him with delight.
Tina’s smile was also one of delight and Lucy’s heart swelled for her new family. She rushed over and got two juice boxes from the fridge and returned.
Ben pretended to be unable to figure out how to get the straw into the box and Christopher showed him how to do it. Ben grinned at Tina. Smart lad.
Penny arrived just as Karen began serving the plates.
Soon they were all enjoying their meals. Conversation revolved around plans for the day. Tina was the only one who didn’t have a full itinerary and looked a little blue so Ben told her he would take her out to lunch, any place she desired, when he got back from the milling shop. That brought a smile to her face.
Ben helped clean up then began the frenzy to get ready and out the door for their lift to school. Ben and Tina just stood back and watched with amusement as the others rushed to and fro. Then the ladies were out of the house.
“I’m worried about Karen. She seems a little lonely,” Ben said to Tina.
“She wants a boyfriend,” Tina replied and Ben nodded with a sigh.
“I’m going to speak with Jayden today when I check on the progress of the house. I promise not to get involved!” he stated as her eyebrows went up. “I’ve been really good and my finger is feeling so much better. All the tingles are gone and I have sensation right down to the tip.”
“Good!” Tina said with a smile.
He gave her another kiss and scooped up Christopher who was playing with his toys on the floor.
“DayDay!” the boy cheered.
“Yes! Kiss your Mama!” Ben said, holding Christopher sideways. The child kissed Tina’s cheek and she kissed his then Ben carried him to the front door. He and Christopher put on their shoes and jackets then Ben carried him over to the daycare.
Daphne was speaking with a woman and smiled when she spotted him. The woman turned and Ben saw it was Dawn Liston, the woman whose husband came at him with a tire iron due to her sex dream about Ben.
“Hi Daphne! Dawn,” he said with a nod to the woman.
Dawn’s face turned a lovely shade of pink as she looked at him. “Hello Ben.”
“Everything ok with Mike?” Ben asked, holding her eyes. He didn’t want to have another incident with the man.
“Mmmhmm,” she nodded then quickly turned her head to say goodbye to Daphne and made her way outside.
Daphne was grinning at Ben. “Tease.”
“What? I just wanted to avoid another confrontation.”
The woman just smiled and nodded as she took the squirming boy from Ben’s arms. She set him down and he raced away into the back. Squealing laughter was heard from the playroom.
Moments later Lisa and Lori poked their heads out to see if Ben was there and squealed a little themselves when they spotted him. They were wearing soft sweaters and slacks to tone down their svelte curves for the daycare environment. It didn’t diminish in the least their beauty which always stunned him whenever they entered the room. They rushed out to give him a hug. Daphne rolled her eyes with a smile and went back into the playroom.
Once the twins settled down a little he smiled down into their happy expressions. He could feel them trembling with excitement. “Looking forward to going dancing?” he asked.
“Yes!” they said in unison.
“What time do I pick you up?”
“9:30PM” Lori said. “It takes about half an hour to get there.”
“We booked a room for afterwards,” Lisa chimed in and bit her lip.
They tilted their faces up and closed their eyes making him grin. He kissed Lisa and she trembled when their lips parted. Lori gasped when his mouth took hers. He kept the kisses short as they were in the entrance of the daycare and someone might enter or one of the kids might come looking for the twins.
He stepped back and they smiled as their eyes opened. “Until tonight,” he said and their faces lit up with brilliant smiles.
Ben stepped outside into the cold air which snapped him out of the warm tingling he was feeling. He saw Dominic driving up to the house next door and walked over to greet him. He looked back at the house and saw the second story was on, the roof was in place and they’d gotten the windows in as well. The exterior insulation was in place and they’d begun the stonework on the outer façade. He was really pleased with how quickly this house was coming together.
“You’re back!” Dominic boomed happily.
Ben grinned at the man’s exuberance. He really was larger than life. He shook his hand.
“How are the grand kids?” he asked and the big man’s face lit up.
“Wonderful! We got to babysit this weekend and it was so much fun! Speaking of babies though, how is Tina?”
“She’s great!” Ben grinned. He turned to look at the house. “I see you’ve made great progress on the house!”
“Yup! It’s a sweet home! The inspectors have been by and everything passed. We’ll be finishing up the interior walls and trim work this week and it will be ready for painting next week. Move in date, the following weekend.”
Ben looked at the man with a huge smile. “That’s amazing!”
“You have a lot of really nice big rooms to furnish!” Dominic said.
“Yeah, I’ll get started on that now that I know when the stuff will be going in. The girls are going to be very excited about that.” He looked around at the other workers arriving and waved to a few. “How has Jayden been?”
“I have to thank you for sending him my way. He’s really fitting in with the team well and he really seems to enjoy the work. Hard worker too! He’s an excellent drywall installer!”