Chapter Twenty Three: No Backing Out

Miles shook his head. “Nothing. Is Mommy cooking?” ”Yes, I tried to help, but she thought I’d be more trouble, so she sent me out.” Miles nodded. “Mommy is probably worried you’ll end up burning the kitchen like I did.” Alexander was surprised. “You burned the kitchen?” ”Yeah, once when Mommy was out buying groceries, we wanted to help her out. We tried cooking something for her before she came back.” Miles’s voice got softer. “But we ended up setting the kitchen on fire. Thankfully, it wasn’t a big fire and Mommy got back just in time. She was really mad and scolded us.” Listening, Alexander felt an increasing wave of sympathy. He wished he had met Isabella sooner to prevent such struggles. ”I promise, I’ll never let you guys go through anything like that again.” Amelia was munching on a grape, her voice muffled. “Really, Daddy?” ”Absolutely Princess.” Alexander realized his own challenges after leaving his parents’ house and couldn’t fathom the struggles Isabella faced raising two