An Imperfect Love Story - Book 8

Meeting Petey

LENA POV

"Everyone, up! I said 6 AM, SHARP! Not 6:02,not 6:05! Six! You were all supposed to be up and ready to go, and if you are not in this kitchen in two minutes, tomorrow you will get up at 5:30 to RUN! NOW, LET'S GO!!" I yell down the hallway as Stef is making some breakfast for everyone and pouring us mugs off coffee. I was over these damn kids, every last one of them, and fed up and they would realize I was not always nice Mom.

"Unbelievable. They think I'm kidding. Apparently they think I'm a fool!" I say shaking my head as I take a seat at the table with Stef as she hands me my coffee winking at me.

"They know you aren't, and if they do think you are a fool, they are mistaken." She smiles as I find myself blushing at her compliment, and we now hear the kids scrambling around to get ready. "You sleep okay, babe?"

"Oh yes, like the dead. I needed that."

"Mm, I'm glad. I slept well too." She says as I smile once again at her forgetting how pretty she looked in the mornings.

"You got up? What time was it?" I ask as she sips her coffee. "I mean you always get up in the middle of the night, nothing new."

"Yeah, I got some water and talked to Cals for a bit. She's very insightful much like her father, especially the older she gets I just hear him come out of her mouth."

"She's always had a good head on her shoulders, Stef. Unfortunately, she gets mixed up in her siblings' crap, and as the oldest, well, in some respects she's the oldest, she feels the need to..."

"Cover for them." Stef finishes as she studies my face, and I nod.

"Yes, and I probably told her that in a not so nice way last night." I say sipping my coffee now as she looks back at me grabbing my hand and softly kissing it. "I was just so aggravated at them for breaking into your safe and I might have been too rough."

"I did the same, love. But you know we aren't perfect, Len."

"No we aren't, but they better get it together, or I will whip every single one of them." I say sternly as she laughs and we hear the kids loudly whispering in the hallway as I turn in my seat and call out to them. "Get out here! NOW! STOP wasting time!"

Jude walks in now with Corey right behind him as Frankie, along with Stefanie and Callie follow closely their eyes opening widely when they see Stef in her uniform. Callie yawns as she stretches, and Frankie folds her arms across her chest as she glares, looking straight ahead avoiding both of our eyes. Stefanie does not look phased, but her eyes are red as if she has been crying, and Corey keeps swallowing hard. I look right at Jude as he rolls his eyes, something that does not set well with me. What was with these children and the attitude they had?

"Well, what do we say when we wake up!"

"Huh?" Corey asks looking confused as I glare hard at all of them.

 "I said what do we say when we wake up? Mom is not invisible, we say good morning." I scold as Callie sleepily walks over to Stef hugging her.

"Morning Mom. Morning, Mocha." She says sweetly as I see Stef kiss her back and my eyes stare at the rest of these kids who I wanted to smack.

"HELLO, what do you say? Are you all deaf or what?"

"Morning, Moms." They all mumble as I sigh in complete frustration.

"Morning, loves."

"Tomorrow it's 5:30. No only  for getting up late but for being RUDE. I don't play games with you, and you know this. When I say 6 AM, that's what I mean, and you get up in time for school without a hitch. This is no different," I swiftly say as I stand to my feet and begin handing out sheets of paper with various chores around the house. "Now, Mom has made coffee and hot cocoa, and you can have it, but breakfast is at 7. So you have less than an hour to finish your chores, eat some and get out to start your day," I say as I look between them.