Jilted by Eve Vaughn Read Free Book Online Page A

it was a labor of love and the little girl seemed to appreciate Skylar’s daily efforts.
    Once she tied the ribbon at the end of her daughter’s braid, she stepped back and admired her handy work. “What do you think?”
    Harper grinned in the mirror. “It’s pretty, Mommy.”
    Skylar stared at her daughter and, probably for the millionth time, she was in awe that she could produce such a perfect creature. Many people said that Harper was her Mini-Me. She had Skylar’s sherry brown eyes and heart-shaped face. She bent down and dropped a kiss on top of the child’s head. “Glad you like it. Now hurry up and brush your teeth so you can come eat breakfast.”
    “Okay.”
    Skylar went down the hallway to her children’s room to see her sons having tug-of-war over a toy figurine.
    “Give it back!” Finn growled at his brother.
    “I had it first. You didn’t want it until I picked it up,” Tristan countered.
    Skylar placed her hand on her hip upon finding her boys fighting. “How about you give it to me and you two get ready like I asked? You’re not wearing socks and you have yet to brush your teeth. Come on boys, we go through this every day. You know Mommy has to get you to school at a certain time and we’ve been late a lot lately. Now hand over the toy soldier.”
    Both boys hung their heads. “Sorry, Mommy,” they said in unison. They often spoke in tandem. While Harper was her double, this identical duo was all their father. From their straight dark brown hair, pale skin and dark green eyes, all she saw when she looked at them was Ashley. Sometimes it was still painful when she thought about his treatment of her and that he wasn’t in his children’s lives, but it wasn’t the kids’ fault and if nothing else good came from that relationship, she had her babies and she wouldn’t change a thing about them.
    “It’s okay, but hurry up, okay? The last time we were late you guys missed show and tell and you didn’t like that very much, did you?”
    The boys shook their heads simultaneously.
    “Okay. I’m going to go downstairs and get breakfast ready. No more fighting, okay?”
    “No more fighting,” Finn.
    Tristan only nodded.
    Skylar headed downstairs to the kitchen to find Harper at the table stuffing her face with pancakes. Izzy stood by the stove, pouring more mixture into the skillet.
    “Hey, kiddo, what are you doing here? I thought you had an early class.”
    “I did but I got an email from the professor saying that classes are cancelled because he had to take care of some kind of emergency. I had planned on going back to bed, but when I heard you getting the kids ready for school; I thought I’d help you out by making breakfast.”
    “Thank you so much. This is a big help. I was just going to give the kids some cereal and fruit but this is so much better.” Skylar gave her sister a quick hug.
    “That’s because Auntie Izzy is the best, right, Harper?” Izzy directed to the little girl.
    “Yep,” Harper acknowledged in between bites.
    Skylar chuckled as she grabbed her coffee mug that said ‘Best Mom In The World’, courtesy of her three gremlins on Mother’s Day. Thankfully Izzy had brewed a fresh pot.
    “I hope you have something more than coffee. That’s not substantial enough to get you through the day.”
    “I usually grab a bagel on the way to the office. This is fine for now.”
    “All right, pancakes!” Finn exclaimed when he came into the kitchen.
    “Auntie Izzy, will you make pancakes for us every morning?” Tristan asked as he took his seat.
    “If I made them every day, they wouldn’t be a treat. Now eat up.” She served both boys two flapjacks.
    When all the kids had plates, Izzy joined them at the table with a stack of her own while Skylar enjoyed her coffee and watched them eat. It was moments like this that she appreciated the most. The last five years hadn’t been the easiest but she wouldn’t have made it without her mother and Izzy’s support. Even