'Sorry this one is sooooo late! I've been stressed with finals, but now they're over and I have all of winter break to write : ) Maybe a new chapter tomorrow...?
"I said no, Abbygail," I warned a second time.
She gave me an even look and then inched closer to the deer that was lying on the edge of the yard watching us.
I stood from my spot on Jake's lap. "Abbygail, get back over here right now."
She crossed her arms, glaring at me. "No."
"You have three seconds to get back over here, Abbygail."
She stuck her tongue out at me and then continued on going to the deer. It started to get uneasy as she got closer.
"Stay!" I ordered it.
The doe's body froze and it lay back down. Abby reached out, just about to pet it before I got to her. I grabbed her in my arms even as she began crying in frustration. She screamed out her protests even as the animal began to panic.
"I've told you countless times, Abbygail. You do not go near the animals!"
She sobbed, trying to get out of my grasp.
The doe's eyes flashed to mine, and I nodded towards the woods. "Go home."
It took off in a mad sprint through the trees. I turned, walking back towards the group sitting around the fire behind Sam and Emily's home.
"No, Mommy!" Abby shrieked.
"Abbygail," I warned as she tried to kick. I hiked her up on my hip.
"I hate you!" she exclaimed suddenly.
My heart plummeted. Jake saw it and came, taking Abby from my hold. He began talking to her in a quiet voice, much scarier than I could have mustered up. He went into the house as I stood there frozen in my spot.
"She doesn't mean it," Sue assured me.
"Every child says it at some point," Billy agreed.
I looked at the doorway where Jake was coming back outside, Abbygail nowhere to be seen. He held the baby monitor up so I could see it. "She's in time out."
I faintly nodded, but my thoughts were still far away until he grabbed me around the waist.
He buried his face in my neck. "Kaleigh, you know that she's just mad. She'll be fine in a few minutes."
"She's never…" I trailed off, shaking my head.
"Because it's not true, and you know it." He pulled away slightly before taking my hand and tugging me back to my seat. "She wasn't listening to you, and you did what was right. She shouldn't have gone near that deer."
"I don't want to be my parents, and make her think that she can't sing or whistle or anything like that. I just want her to be safe. The animals are too skittish around her still."
"You are nothing like your parents, Kaleigh." He rubbed his hands up and down my arms. "She'll learn. It'll just take some time, and until then she'll have to understand that she can't touch an animal if you don't allow her to."
Aidan came over to us, waddling slightly. His tiny fingers grasped Leah's as he tried to take his first steps by himself.
I smiled at him as he erupted into giggles. "Hi, baby," I murmured.
"Mama!" He stopped in front of us and then wrapped his arms around my leg. He blew raspberries against my knee that was covered in black leggings. "Up! Up!"
Leah laughed softly along with everyone else. She gingerly picked him up, placing him on my lap.
He wiggled his body around so he could face me and then threw himself against my chest in a fit of giggles.
I gave a soft sigh before my smile grew. "Thank you, sweetheart," I whispered. "I needed that."
Aidan gave me a sloppy kiss right on my lips.
Liza laughed from her spot between Sam and Emily. "He's silly."
"Daddy," Kaleigh's voice said quietly. I glanced at the baby monitor resting on the ground next to us.
He looked over his shoulder, yelling for her to come out. "Remember, you were right, Kaleigh."
A few moments later Abby came outside, shuffling her feet as she went. Her face was red and puffy, tears still streamed down her cheeks. She was sucking on her thumb, clutching the stuffed wolf she'd had since the day she was born.
I handed Aidan back to Leah as Abby stood a few feet away from all of us. She looked at me with her watery eyes. "I'm sowwy, Mommy," she whispered.
I held my arms out to her and she quickly crawled onto my lap. "You know I don't like yelling at you, baby girl."
"I just wanted to play with the deew."
"Honey, I—." I stopped for a minute, trying to figure the right way to explain things to her. "Alright. You know how Daddy, and Leah, and the other boys are special?"
She nodded. "Doggies."
I smirked at the guy's disgruntled looks. "Wolves, Abs."
"Like puppies," she agreed.
"Yeah, like puppies." I laughed with the other girls and then turned back to Abby. "Anyway, and you know that I'm special too?"
Her lips pursed slightly in concentration. "Yes, Mommy."
"Well you are too, Abby, but you're not…uh, ready yet."
Her brow furrowed. "I don't undewstand."
"The animals know that you're special, but they aren't ready for you yet, monkey," Jake explained, stroking her hair back. "When you're older, they'll be more comfortable around you."
"So I scawe them?"
"A little, honey. Sometimes they're even a little jumpy around me."
"But I just want to play," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "They'we cute. Like teddy beaws."
I kissed her forehead. "I know, Abs, but it's not safe for you to go near them like that unless me or one of the boys are with you, okay?"
She hesitated and then let out a sigh, nodding her head. "Okay, Mama. I'm sowwy." Her arms wrapped around my neck as she moved to hug me. "I don't hate you, Mommy."
"I love you, Abbygail," I whispered, hugging her.
She settled into my arms, returning to sucking her thumb as her eyes started to close.
Liza wormed her way down the old log we were sitting on to us. I moved off of Jake's lap, letting him wrap his arm around my waist as Elizabeth crawled onto his lap. "I'm tired, Daddy," she said quietly.
I looked at the cell phone Brady was using to text someone. Once I saw the time I gave Liza a smile. "It's getting late. We should get going."
"But you're going to miss the legends!" Seth protested.
"They need baths and if we stay any longer they'll be asleep before we even get home." I got to my feet, handing an exhausted Kaleigh over to Jake as I turned to get the twins. I cradled Sean in my arms, checking his diaper before settling him in his carrier. "And besides, Seth, we know the legends already," I reminded him.
"Rach knows them too. She just needs to be told them once more to…uh, understand them better," Jake said, smirking at Paul.
Paul shifted uncomfortable, reaching out to take Liza from him. "I'll walk you guys to the truck."
Emily was slightly reluctant to let go of Ryan, giving Sam a sideways glance.
"Are you guys…?" Kim trailed off imploringly.
Emily was quick to shake her head. "No, no!"
"After we get married," Sam agreed.
"But they're just so cute," she mumbled, holding onto Ryan for a moment longer before releasing him to me.
"You know, you could watch them one night. To get an idea of what it's really like. Well, it'd probably be best to just watch one."
She looked between me and Sam for a moment. "Really? You'd trust us that much?"
I nodded. "Of course, and it's not like I'd be far away."
"We would know if we were ready or not…," she said, looking up at Sam.
He nodded, wrapping his arms around her waist. "We'll talk about it."
Ryan gurgled in his spot in my arms, suddenly searching and pulling at my shirt in weak attempts. I laughed, stroking his hair back. "Well I'm going to go fed him real quick before we leave, 'kay?"
Jake chuckled. "That seems like a good idea. You think Sean will make the ride?"
I looked at the sleeping baby before nodding. "Just try not to rock him too much when you put him in the car."
**Jacob's Point of View**
Abby wormed her way onto my lap when Liza and Kaleigh went into the house with Ryan. "I'm sorry, Daddy," she mumbled.
I kissed her forehead, wrapping my arms around her in an attempt to keep her warm from the slight breeze. "I know, monkey. It's alright."