His Baby, Her Heart. Sue Swift

you all night long if you let them.”

      Alex followed Dena to the living room. Jack, curled up with a picture book, sat on an overstuffed, plump couch, upholstered in dark red leather. For reasons known only to her, Miriam rolled around on the floor in front of the TV set. Rugrats occupied the TV screen.

      So much for routines.

      “Pick a book, Miri, it’s time for bed.” Dena tapped the toe of her bunny-shaped bedroom slipper on the gray carpet.

      Miri stood and staggered around the room until she regained her footing. “I want Cat in the Hat. ”

      “I have it,” Jack said.

      Her little face crumpled. Tears threatened. “I want Cat!”

      Here it comes, Alex thought. How would Dena rise to this challenge? He watched intently.

      “Your copy is in your room. Come on, honey.” Dena gave Miriam a little push. “We’re going to brush our teeth in my bathroom. Jack, go with Alex.” She flipped off the television.

      Alex guided his nephew up the stairs, with Dena and Miriam behind him. He couldn’t see Dena, but his awareness of her had increased exponentially. Her flowery, feminine scent filled his nostrils while the rustle of her robe engendered wild fantasies. What kind of nightgown did Dena wear under that cozy pink chenille? Did white lace or black satin cling to her curvy body?

      Every one of Alex’s muscles vibrated with a peculiarly sexual tension, new, different, and definitely unwanted.

      After climbing the stairs, he followed Jack to the bathroom the twins shared. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw Dena and Miri head to a different room, presumably to use Dena’s bathroom for Miriam’s ablutions.

      He relaxed. He feared these new feelings for Dena Randolph, and didn’t want to experience them with her around.

      Jack entered the bathroom and neatly placed his copy of The Cat in the Hat on the beige Formica counter. Plucking a green toothbrush from a holder shaped like Donald Duck, he held it under the water, then began to brush his teeth.

      “Hold on there, buddy.” Alex picked up the toothpaste. “You forgot something.”

      “Mommy said I don’t have to use that.” Jack looked up at Alex, his brown eyes wide and innocent.

      Alex hesitated. Dena had some far-out ideas about child-rearing, and she’d been short of cash. Maybe Jack was telling the truth.

      Dena buzzed in. “Jackson, have you brushed? Miri wants the sparkle toothpaste.”

      “He brushed, but he didn’t use this yet.” Alex brandished the tube.

      “Oh, he’s gotta have his fluoride.” Dena applied paste to the green brush, then shot her son a pointed stare. “Don’t try to scam Uncle Alex. Don’t you want your teeth to be shiny and bright for the tooth fairy?”

      Jack stared at the mirror. Leaning forward, he touched a finger to a front tooth and tried to wiggle it. “Tooth fairy’s never gonna come,” he grumbled.

      “The tooth fairy’s going to come in about two years, Jack. Be ready.” Dena dropped a kiss onto her son’s dark head, then winked at Alex again before she bustled out.

      Alex stood, silent and stunned, as Jack brushed, his mouth foamy with sparkle toothpaste.

      Dena Randolph winked at me. Twice. An unexpected warmth started in the region of Alex’s heart, then dropped like sand through a sieve, going straight to his libido.

      Do not get turned on by Dena, he admonished himself.

      Finishing, Jack rinsed his mouth, then tossed the brush into the sink. “Can I watch more TV? Mom lets us stay up and watch TV after we brush.”

      Alex rescued the brush and inserted it into the holder. “Mom said book and bed. Now.” Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

      The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss in hand, he herded Jack to his room. Jack’s bedroom, the ultimate little boy’s hideout, was decorated in green-and-blue plaid. At the foot of his bed, a toy box overflowed with both twins’ treasures: baseball gloves and Barbies, Nerf balls and Nintendo.