A/N: Cute little Katie and Melinda chapter :) I love these! xx Mariah

Ages:

Jim - 30
Melinda - 26
Katie-1

Melinda lifted her head from the papers she had been reviewing at the front register. It was suspiciously quiet in the store, which was odd. Even though she currently didn't have any people looking around her store, but she did have her one and a half-year-old daughter with her.

It was never supposed to be this quiet with a toddler around.

Delia was supposed to be watching Katie in the backroom, so it was even more unusual that it was so quiet. The two of them sometimes managed to make a ridiculous amount of noise together.

Melinda pushed back from the counter and stood up, cautiously approaching the back part of the store. Just as she stepped back, she heard a loud crash come from the set of books in the corner. Panicking—because God only knew what her daughter was getting into. She ran over to fallen books and picked them up, but she didn't have to worry. She found little Katie situated on a stool, a bright smile on her face as she traced her fingers up the spines of the book.

"Mama," the little girl giggled. "I sowwy."

Melinda let out a relieved breath and let herself relax. "Hey baby," she said as she crouched next to the seat. "What are you up to little lady?"

"Books!" Katie exclaimed excitedly, reaching one little hand out towards her mother to help her off the stool.

Melinda grinned and held her daughter's hands, watching as Katie wrapped her fingers around hers. It never failed to amaze her and fill her with pride with how happy Katie always was to see her. She absolutely loved being a mother and was so glad that she got to do it with Jim. That was something that she would never stop being thankful for.

"Where's your Auntie Delia?" She asked.

Letting out a happy squeal, Katie hugged her mother. There was no answer, but Melinda just looked around. Delia had to of just ran downstairs real quick, but still, it was unusual for her to just leave Katie by herself.

"Do you like all the stuff mommy has back here?" Katie clapped at the wors Melinda said to her as if it was the best thing she had ever heard. Getting a sudden idea, Melinda picked her up and walked around with her in the back storage area. Katie's little fingers reached out to touch everything and Melinda was there to make sure she couldn't break anything. Looking down at her daughter, she said, "It's shiny isn't it?" Katie's fingers played with the chandelier and Katie held the small crystals with wide eyes. She was completely fascinated by the combined sound of the crystals touching each other and the shininess of it.

"You like this one?" Melinda asked with a chuckle. "It's one of mommy's favorites. Should I just have your daddy find somewhere to put it at home?"

Katie's head shot up at the mention of her father. "Daddee?"

"Sorry, Katiebug, your daddy isn't here. I didn't mean to get your hopes up…" Melinda trailed off with a sigh, shaking her head when the bell at the front of the store dinged. "Should we go see who's here?" Then she caught sight of a familiar body as someone walked into the back room. She grinned as Jim came into view. "Oh, wait! Look who's here baby girl? We were just talking about you."

"Daddee!" Katie squealed, clapping ecstatically when her father appeared and crouch down to press a kiss to both of her cheeks.

"Hey, sweet girl, did you miss me?" Jim said as a soft greeting to their little girl in between kisses before he stood up and smiled at her. "And hello to you too, my beautiful wife."

"Hi, Jim. What's brings you by?" She asked, positioning Katie on her other hip as she turned around.

Jim smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "I thought that I would stop by to bring my two favorite girls lunch," he said as he pulled back slowly. "What are you two doing?"

Melinda smiled at him, seeing the food on her desk now. She moved Katie away from the shelves, out of reach of her curious hands. "It seems that our little troublemaker has a unique love for antiques. They are very interesting to her," she said, rolling her eyes a little.

"She definitely gets that from you," Jim said and crouched down to smile at his daughter in her arms, holding out his finger for her to grab hold of. "Do you like all this old stuff like mommy does, Katiebug? Are you going to help out around here when you get older, huh?"

Melinda gave him a warm smile, her eyes filled with tenderness. "You know, I would love a little helper around here!" She gasped, and Katie giggled as Jim took her into his arms.

"A year and a half might be a little too young for you to be starting her on the register, Mel," Jim said with a chuckle. "But maybe she can work the floor and reel customers in with that sweet face, what do you think Katiebug?"

Melinda laughed as she wrapped her arm around Jim and looked up at him. "I'm not going that far yet," she rolled her eyes. "Maybe she'll just keep helping me sell all the cribs we've been finding in warehouses." She lifted Katie into her arms and began to sway around the room. "I should feed her quick and then we can have some time to ourselves, okay?" She continued to sway, humming some song that she made up on the spot.

Katie clapped her hands and squealed, almost as if she was trying to sing along with her mother. Getting up, Jim decided to sway along with them, loving every second he got to spend with his family.