Inherited: Instant Family by Judy Christenberry Page B

pink.
    Brad gave her a peck of a kiss before he surrendered her to Sarah.
    She sat down at the table and immediately the baby took the proffered bottle. “You’vealready taught her to suck the bottle, haven’t you, Abby!”
    “Yes, I have, and she learned quickly. We have a little more difficulty feeding Michael. Brad, would you do the honors for Michael?”
    “Come here, big guy. We’ve got to teach you to eat, so you can keep up with your sister.”
    “Brad, you shouldn’t teach him to compete when he’s two days old,” Sarah protested.
    Brad began to whisper to the baby as he fed him.
    Halfway through the bottle, Sarah put Sarah Beth on her shoulder and burped her.
    “Do I have to do that, too?” Brad asked.
    “Yes, when he’s taken about half of it, you should burp him, too.”
    “He’s not there yet.”
    Sarah chuckled. “Way to go, Sarah Beth.”
    “Hey, who’s teaching whom to be competitive?” Brad asked.
    “I was just trying to be supportive of Sarah Beth.”
    “Yeah, right. Listen, Michael, that lady was making fun of you because you aren’t eating fast enough. You have to work harder.”
    “Don’t give him ulcers so young, Brad,” Sarah said with a laugh.
    Nick laughed at the two of them. “I can’t believe you’re worrying about how much he’ll eat. That boy is a Logan!”
    When the babies were about two weeks old, Sarah realized she had a problem. According to what Abby had initially proposed, she had about two weeks left on her job.
    Not only would she be heartbroken when she had to leave, but so would her brother and sister. Anna was so attached to the new babies, and Davy would be heartbroken if he had to leave Robbie.
    In an attempt to wean her from the infants, Sarah had begun to involve Anna more in what she was doing in order to shift Anna’s focus. She had the girl help her make dinner or make a dessert. They were skills that Anna would need eventually, she rationalized.Besides, she had a knack for cooking and seemed to enjoy it.
    One evening, Sarah let her make the dessert while she looked on for safety’s sake. The chocolate cake was an easy recipe, and Anna had fun and felt proud when she served her homemade creation after dinner.
    Brad in particular raved about it. “It’s almost as good as your sister’s,” he said with a wink to Anna.
    Anna beamed.
    Sarah knew the praise was good for Anna’s self-image; indeed, the child seemed to be coming out of her shell in the last two weeks. But Anna certainly didn’t need more attention from Brad. He’d already gone out of his way to make her feel special. Sarah was afraid her plan might backfire.
    Probably the best thing would be to simply bite the bullet, she told herself.
    She had no choice but to start her job search and let the kids get used to the idea.
    Herself, too.
    Several days later, when Kate came over to help feed the babies because Abby was napping, Sarah asked her if she’d heard of any jobs in the area.
    “You’re not thinking of leaving yet, are you?” Kate asked.
    “My employment here is supposed to be over in a week. I think I need to find another job, hopefully in the area.”
    “But Abby can’t take over now. And it takes two people to feed the babies.”
    “I know, Kate, but Abby hasn’t said anything and I’m supposed to leave at the end of the month.”
    Kate stared at Sarah. “I’ll ask around. If there’s a job to be had, I’ll hear about it.”
    “Thank you, Kate.” Sarah bent her head over Sarah Beth and placed a featherlight kiss on her downy brow. “I think Sarah Beth is really growing.”
    “Yes, so is Michael, and he likes his bottle now as much as Sarah Beth.”
    “Now you sound like your sons,” Sarah said with a grin.
    “It’s amazing how quickly we’ve gotten accustomed to these two, isn’t it?”
    “Yes, it is.” But Sarah was thinking about when she’d have to leave them. Would she ever see Sarah Beth and Michael grow up?
    “You do realize the kids will be