"Mo-om. This homework is too hard."
April laughed, tousling her daughter's hair. "Harriet, you're in kindergarten. It's only going to get harder."
Harriet sighed dramatically and sprawled out across the table. Her step-sister, Ruby, who was sitting across the table, mimicked her actions. April giggled at their dramatics, and crossed the kitchen to finish putting away the dishes. "If you finish your homework soon, we can fit in two stories before bed."
"Yay! Two stories, Hattie. Do it fast." Ruby jumped down from her seat and around to stand beside her sister's chair. "I'll help."
April smiled as she watched her two daughters work together. It had been four years since she and Matthew got married and blended their families together. It had been hard at first. They married relatively quickly, and she started a new job around the same time. Her world completely changed, and it took some time to get used to. But these two girls...they were worth every bit of it.
April picked her phone up off the counter. She clicked her husband's name and listened as the phone rang. Matthew had been working late a lot recently. They didn't work together anymore. A few months ago, Matthew had taken a job at a hospital about thirty minutes away. It was a great opportunity, and he had said that he didn't feel as if he could pass it up. Honestly, April was a little relieved. Things had been a little tense lately, and she thought that not being at work together would relieve some of the tension, and allow them to focus on themselves as a couple. And it was true. Since he had left, they hadn't been fighting nearly as much anymore. Although, that could also be attributed to the fact that his extra hours at work had been keeping him away from home more as well. Truthfully, she hadn't seen her husband for more than an hour a day in a few weeks.
"Mom, I'm all done!" April smiled at her daughter and crossed the room to check her homework. "Very good, honey. Let's start getting ready for bed, then."
Harriet shoved her papers in her backpack. "Can I call Dad before bed?"
"Of course, sweetie. Just get into your PJs first." The girls took off running upstairs, little feet pounding all the way up.
Jackson and April had maintained a great friendship and co-parenting relationship. April had Harriet during the week, and Jackson took her on the weekends. Both parents went to the same church, so that made weekends really easy as well. Watching Jackson grow in his faith had been absolutely wonderful for April to watch. It was something she had been praying for for years, and seeing it finally happen brought her a lot of joy.
At first, Matthew had been a little resentful of Jackson. Actually, more than a little. He would get frustrated when Harriet talked about him, and he didn't like sharing a pew with them at church. But lately, he'd been a lot better at it. April was pleasantly surprised that he had even stopped grumbling when she spoke to Jackson on the phone.
Bedtime went off without a hitch, and the call to Jackson went well. Ruby had also grown to love Harriet's dad. She wasn't around him a lot (Matthew had not been a fan of that), but she loved to listen to Harriet talk about her dad, and would say hi to him on phone calls as well. He usually brought Ruby candy when he came to pick Harriet up or drop her off. It doesn't really take a lot to gain a four year old's affection.
After the girls had fallen asleep, April trudged across the hall to her room. The family cat, Boots, slipped around her and down the stairs, no doubt headed for the kitchen, where she kept his food. The kitten had been a Christmas present for both girls from Arizona. She'd run it past April and Matthew first. Matthew had said he was fine with it, and April had been wanting her children to have some sort of pet for a while. She loved growing up on a farm as a kid. So the family gained some more happiness in the form of a black and white kitten, named for the boots-like pattern on his feet.
April entered her bedroom and tripped on her ropers, which she had kicked off when she got home from work. Sighing, she straightened the boots up beside her bed, and picked up the jacket that was also laying on the ground, throwing it across the chair beside her window.
"God, I need to clean up." April muttered, but she slid on a night gown and crawled into bed anyways. She tried to call Matthew's phone again, but it went to voicemail. She figured he must be having a busy night.
"Mommy!" April's eyes flew open. Through her blurry eyesight, she saw two little girls running into her bedroom.
Something's wrong.
She blinked a few times and realized her blurry vision wasn't from being asleep. Her bedroom was filling with a thin layer of smoke.