Ones That Need Me Got Me

Hey Trouble What's Up?

January 2018

Brantley's POV

An ear piercing scream made me jerk almost dropping my coffee that I was sipping with one hand while flipping the requested pancakes with the other. What in the hell? Not even a second later footsteps flurry down the stairs making me sigh. Sitting my coffee down, I ran my hand over my beard wondering just how in the hell Mama raised me and Kolby while keeping her sanity. I opened my eyes meeting two pair identical to mine with sheepish looks on their faces while sitting their back packs down on the kitchen floor.

Bailey and Bowen were an equal mix of Presley and I both. I flipped the last pancakes off the griddle eyeing them both. Bailey gave me a sweet smile that I knew was designed to hit her daddy in the heart. Her chin length blonde hair swung as she whirled around to whisper in her brother's ear. Bowen's eyes widened then a smirk that Mama swore was all me spread across his lips. Crossing my arms over my chest, I stepped over to them.

"What did you two do?" I asked raising an eyebrow. They both shrugged looking down at their feet. "Bailey Kate, Bowen Keith, get to talking."

Stomping footsteps cut them off as they both smothered a laugh behind their hands grinning at each other. I turned to see a very irate Jana stalking into the kitchen snarling. She tightened the belt of the pink silk robe she was wearing with a towel wrapped turban style around her head. She reached my side growling at both kids making me sigh. Saying that these three did not get along was putting it mildly. My darling ex-wife thought it was hilarious. But Jana knew damn good and well dating me involved the two of them no if, ands, or buts about it. They came first.

"I'll tell you what they did!" Jana shrieked so loudly the kids covered their ears. She reached up yanking the towel off making my jaw drop. Instead of her normal brown locks, bright blue stood out like a neon sign. "They replaced my shampoo with blue hair dye."

"Aunt Caroline said blue is in this season," Bailey said with snicker only stopping when I glared at her in warning. "What Daddy...she did."

"I am packing my stuff Brantley," Jana growled poking a finger into my t-shirt covered chest. "I have an appointment at The Dry House in Nashville to get this fixed!"

"You can get that done here,," I grumbled shaking my head at my very pissed off girlfriend. She glared at me turning on her bare foot stalking out of the kitchen. I looked down at the twins snapping my fingers. "You two, eat your breakfast so I can get you to school on time. And don't think for one second that y'all have gotten away with this." I jogged up the stairs to my room finding Jana stuffing her clothes in a suitcase. A common theme it seemed to be for the women in my life. I heard a sniffle come from her making me sigh. I walked over wrapping my arms around her kissing the top of her head. "You don't have to go all the way back to Nashville, you know that."

"Have to be in the studio tomorrow anyhow," Jana muttered throwing clothes in before ducking out of my arms looking for her boots.

"Really?" I asked in disbelief. I didn't know whether to be pissed off or my feelings hurt. "You are gonna make me spend my birthday alone?"

"Then take the kids to school and go back with me," she said with a shrug even though she knew my answer would be no.

"You know I can't," I snapped putting my hands on my hips sighing in frustration. "I always have dinner with the kids for any of our birthdays. It's a tradition. One that I don't want to disappoint them on. Maybe I can come up after the weekend."

"Right," Jana hissed tugging on pair of jeans with a sweater rolling her eyes. "The dinner with those two and your ex-wife. One sometimes would think you two never even got divorced. I bet they don't pull tricks like this on Presley's boyfriend! They hate me."