Love Will Keep Us - Book 5

Morning Realities

LENA POV

"You all did well this morning running! Although Corey, you could do a little better tomorrow. You'll have to do two more laps to make up for your lack of effort." I say to the kids as I'm getting breakfast on the table.

Earlier for their 5:30 AM run I had made them smoothies even though they had complained and whined worse than ever all week nonstop. But I didn't care and each time they whined and complained I added one more thing to make it worse for them. Just as moving the time up to 5 AM, which we would do tomorrow.

Stef was proud of my sternness and of course supported my decisions because it was something I was not backing down from. Hell, if she was the Warden then I was now too for I refused to let them continue to bad mouth her. Not on my watch.

"AHH I did my best, Mama!" Corey complains. "You are being so impossible! Now changing the time to 5! How will I ever get up!!"

"Yeah am I? Well guess Mom is not the only Warden huh? Just call me Mocha Warden." I say turning around and smiling as all three kids let out a sigh and I see Stef walk in from her nap. Coming towards me she softly kisses my lips as I grab her hand. God she was beautiful no matter what time of day or what mood she was in.

"Mocha Warden huh? So we have two Wardens now? MM, babylove?" She says taking my coffee mug and sitting at the table with the kids who look as if they had seen a ghost.

"What?" She says looking straight at all of them." You all think I'm stupid as if I don't know what you say about me behind my back. You talk louder than you realize, loves." She says as I take a seat beside her and hand her a plate of eggs with toast. "So I'll embrace my new title that you all have for me and if you want to continue to ice me out of your lives because you don't like our punishment then so be it. But neither of us are giving in to your whining, your bitching, and your constant complaining about me. You all knew what you were doing. Each and every single one of you. And if you don't like our rules, tough shit. If you don't like me anymore because of it, or you think I'm a hard mean ass, or you liked me better then I was your Aunt," SHe turns to look at Corey who push his head down, " Or someone who never smiles anymore, and someone you claim who doesn't give a shit about you then so be it. Think what you want. Now of course if I let you go around doing whatever you wanted you would have nothing to complain about, huh?"

Glancing at all of them myself I can see a look of remorse on all their faces but also one of nervousness for my wife had this affect on them and it was not something I minded.

"Let me tell you all something," She says lighting a smoke and handing it to me, "I could be way worse. Far worse and none of you would have ever survived with my father. Hell, maybe I should run an even tighter ship. What do you thinking, baby? You think I should start room inspections? Beds made so neatly, I can bounce a quarter off the mattress?"

"MM, you could."

"How even? How could you run something worse than this?" Frankie asks shocked and nervous. She was beginning to panic, big time as she rarely, if ever made her bed correctly except to toss the blanket over the mattress super fast.

"Wouldn't you love to know now, huh?" Stef smarts back as I hand her the smoke and she takes a puff now. The kids look horrified now completely at all she has said as all I can do is smile and rub her leg from under the table. I loved them but they needed to shape up and they knew this as well.

"We can barely keep up with this Mama." Callie soon says. "It's hard enough what you have us doing. Some might think we are being taken advantage of."

"Well that sounds like a personal issue, my first born. Now doesn't it? And taken advantage of? That's a new one." She smiles.

"This is so unfair." Callie whispers as I continue to eyeball all the kids and watch my wife handle the situation with ease as she turns to look at me and back at the kids.