The Last Thing He Needs Read Free

he’s watching, and I don’t have it in me to argue with him any more tonight.”
    Bobby dug into the bag and passed Colleen the medicine just as Zoe tried to squirm out of her arms.
    “Thanks,” she said as she took the boxes and passed Zoe over to Bobby.
    The baby reached for him. Tommy could have laughed then too. Zoe didn’t like strangers, but Bobby had made so many visits to their home—on official business—that she treated him like family.
    “No problem,” he murmured, pressing a small kiss to Zoe’s hair just as Tommy had done when he picked up Max. He started pacing, bouncing the baby in his arms and whispering to her, “It’s okay, we got your medicine, you’re gonna feel better soon.”
    Zoe was still whimpering, looking worn-out and uncomfortable, but she was settling under Bobby’s tender tones and gentle steps. The image made Tommy’s breath catch. It twisted and tightened something in his chest that felt like it might break now.
    “I’ll go get Collin up to bed,” Tommy said, his voice a rough whisper, not sure what to do with himself with this new person in the mix.
    Colleen nodded as she started reading the back of the little bottle, serving up a dose for each of the babies. He could feel Bobby’s eyes on him as he strolled back into the living room with Max still in his arms.
    Collin was sound asleep, curled up on the couch with the remote tucked in his hand. Some old sci-fi movie played on the TV, black-and-white, with a girl screaming as she ran through the woods with a bright light chasing her down. He muttered a curse as he turned off the television before reaching to nudge his little brother. “Rise and shine, kiddo.”
    All he got in return was a mumble and a slight stir before Collin shifted and rolled over. Tommy shook his head, smiling fondly and thinking Collin was a lot sweeter when he was asleep and not swindling classmates out of their milk money or filching something off the back of a delivery truck with Davey. The kid worried him no end. Collin was growing up to be either a genius or a thug. Tommy hated it, but he knew which direction he’d bet his money.
    He quietly wandered back to the kitchen, sidestepping a small pile of toys on his way. “I got these for the kids tomorrow,” he heard Bobby say as he rounded the corner. Bobby was passing the box of doughnuts over to Colleen.
    “Bad for their teeth,” Tommy pointed out, not even sure why he was being such an ungrateful prick.
    Bobby looked bashful for a flash of a second, like a kid caught doing something despicable, but then he shrugged and twitched a guilty smile at Tommy.
    Colleen shot her brother a glare and then turned to Bobby. “Thanks, Bobby. I’ll let ’em know they’re from you.”
    Tommy could tell Zoe had already had her dose as Colleen came over to give Max his. The baby fussed in his arms when he saw the little dispenser filled with purple fluid, but Tommy stroked his back and shushed him, and the boy let his sister give him the medicine. “There,” Tommy whispered, pressing another light kiss to Max’s temple. “We gotcha.”
    Colleen started to wipe down the counters. Mike had done the dishes, but things were still a mess. “Collin go up to bed?”
    “Nah, he’s out like a light. I’ll carry him up after I get the twins to bed. You go on up, you look beat,” he told her, nodding toward the door.
    “You sure?” Tommy knew from the look in her eyes she was grateful to the point of tears, but also willing to stay up and make sure everything was done if he wanted her to. It broke his heart a little.
    “I’m sure I’ll kick your ass if you don’t get upstairs and get to bed.”
    “Thanks, Tommy.” Pausing as she started to pass him, Colleen pressed a small kiss to his cheek, then to Max’s. The baby looked almost as tired as her, his eyelids drooping, then snapping back up, his thumb tucked between his lips. “Bottles are ready for ’em, if they’ll take anything this