If there was anything Krys could count on, it was that she would likely never need an alarm clock again. Much like she hadn't for the last eight years. Motherhood took away that single expense.

The pitter-patter of little feet plodding through the house, getting closer, usually cut through the deep sleep and half woke her into a haze. But it was the soft breath on her face and the stage whisper of, “Mama, wake up,” that usually brought her to consciousness.

Today, Krys Dennison peered from between her eyelids to find the same blue-eyed smile that had given her a reason to live since the day Amelia was born. The small blond child leaned over and kissed her nose as she did every morning, and then she took off at a dead run, hollering over her shoulder, “I’m making breakfast!”

Krys groaned as she slid the covers down, envisioning the cereal that would spill all over the counter and the butter that would somehow end up spread as much on the counter as on the toast. Amy could make her own breakfast, but Krys almost worked harder to clean up after her than to make the meal in the first place.

Such was the life of a single mother.

Pushing to her feet, Krys wrapped herself in her favorite plush robe and pushed her toes into her worn slippers. She followed the sound of her daughter humming in the kitchen and walked in to find a pleasant surprise – a small spot of hot filling from a toasted Pop-Tart on the counter. The small mess made her smile, and she bent over to kiss Amy’s head. The kitchen could have looked like a squall had blown through and she would have simply been glad that her daughter was alive and well to cause the disaster.

A few years ago, she couldn’t have imagined she’d be so lucky.

Pushing a couple of Eggos into the toaster, Krys frowned as her cell phone rang where it was plugged in on the kitchen counter. She glanced at the caller ID, and her scowl deepened. No one ever called this early, and hearing from Kylie first thing in the morning didn’t bode well. She picked it up and hit ‘talk’ before pressing it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Krys! I’m sorry to call this early. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

Kylie didn’t sound upset, and Krys relaxed a little. “No, it’s fine. We’re eating breakfast. Is everything alright?”

“Sure, everything is great. Listen, I thought maybe the two of you might like to come to the scrimmage game this afternoon. Jordan has a couple of seats for all of us.”

With a smile, Krys nodded, still not awake enough to think about the fact that Kylie couldn’t see the motion through the phone. “We’d like that. It’s been ages since Amy saw him play.” Amy loved watching Jordan on the field, and it had been years since they’d seen a football – soccer, she corrected herself – game live. “What time?”

“The game starts at four. I’ll swing by to pick you guys up at three.”

“Sounds great. We’ll see you then.” Krys hung up and almost laughed. A few months ago, her stepbrother’s fiancé had nearly ended things with Jordan, and Kylie’s friend, Reesa, had contacted her to set things straight. Kylie had not only worked things out with Jordan; she’d also made it so he could watch his daughter grow up – and dissolve his marriage to Krys without concern for their future.

A lot of people would have found their relationship odd. After all, step-siblings didn’t often marry, and they certainly didn’t have a child together. There was a stigma attached to it. But Krys had yet to find a man she loved who really fit the bill as far as trusting him as a husband and father. When Jordan agreed to donate his sperm so she could have a child, Krys had been elated.

And then, the bottom dropped out, all three of them finding they’d fallen into the depths of hell. Amy’s leukemia had nearly killed them all, and because of the way politics worked, Jordan had married Krys, simply to get her and Amy out of Australia and to the States, where they would be covered under insurance. Amy had undergone treatment here, and when she’d gone into remission, Krys had decided to return to Victoria and her job.

She’d offered Jordan a divorce then, but he’d insisted on not dissolving the marriage. “What if it comes back?” he asked, nervous and overcome with pain at the idea of them leaving.

“The chances are low, according to the doctors,” Krys told him. “You should live your life. I never wanted to hold you down like this.”

But he’d shaken his head. “She’s my daughter, Krys, no matter the circumstances of how or why. I won’t risk it.” So, she’d gone home with Amy, but she’d left the marriage intact. And that had nearly ended his relationship with Kylie, who’d stolen his heart along the way.

Now, with the divorce final, he could move on, and he and Kylie would get married in a few months. Krys and Amy were settled in New York on a visa sponsored by Kylie’s design firm, where Krys had now worked for two months, and Amy loved her new school. They had insurance through the company, and she got to see her father all the time. Krys glanced over at her daughter and knew she couldn’t ask for a better situation.

Still, there were days when life seemed very lonely.

She didn’t regret her decision. She’d had no luck with men, and she wanted to guarantee she had a child of her own to love and raise. She had a perfect opportunity to groom Amy into a strong young woman, and she counted her blessings. But the more she was around Jordan and Kylie – and their newlywed friends, Reesa and Marcus Winters – the more she thought about how nice it would be for her family to be complete. She didn’t expect to fall in love, and she’d made her peace with that. At the same time, jealousy could rear its ugly head from time to time, and it saddened Krys, making her wonder where she’d gone wrong in looking for Mr. Right.

Taking a deep breath, she put her hot waffles on a plate and started dressing them as she spoke to Amy, determined to shake off the funk she was starting to settle into. “Hey, sweetheart, how would you like to go watch your dad play today?”

“Really?” Amy shrieked, beaming. “We get to go to a game?”

Krys nodded. “That was Kylie who rang. Says she’ll pick us up and take us this afternoon.”

“Oh, that’s going to be so much fun!” The girl was beside herself with joy, and that made Krys’ heart swell. Jordan could have picked any woman in the world. He had the looks and the charm that made him irresistible to most women. But he’d chosen a woman who appreciated even the small things, and Amy happened to have fallen in love with her. Krys trusted her implicitly, too, which made it easy to let Amy go over to Jordan’s place and stay as long as she liked. She always came home with fun stories, and Krys knew they were both truly blessed.

"I think you should wear your new Wonder Woman shirt and those light wash jeans of yours," Krys told Amy, sliding into the chair across from her.

But Amy frowned. “Of course not. I’m wearing my Sounders jersey. I can’t go to a game and not wear it, Mama. You should wear yours, too.”

Krys laughed. “You’re right, love. How could I think of anything different? How appalling of me!” And perhaps wearing the jersey would catch the attention of a handsome male fan. While Krys had obligations to be a responsible mother, she also wasn’t opposed to the random fling, just to ease her loneliness for a night. After all, Amy had other parents now, so she didn’t have to abandon her child just to have a good time. It was another upside to being in New York now, even if she hadn’t yet taken advantage of the opportunity.

“Why don’t we get ready early and go have our hair and nails done?” she suggested, getting another squeal from Amy, who jumped up and ran over to throw her arms around Krys’ neck. Krys laughed and held her tight. “Is it really that big a deal?”

“I want to make Dad proud, Mama. He’s going to be so happy to have all his pretty girls there.” Out of the mouths of babes, Krys thought. Then again, she was right. Jordan was a very lucky man.