Speaking of love, my little Annie is two and a half and has the prettiest blue eyes and black hair I’ve ever seen and she just… she just… she LOVES her father. It’s mutual and I think it’s beautiful. So no, that’s not why I want to strangle Les.
Les loves our boys but him and his daughter can watch Disney movies for hours on end. Or have tea parties. Or go to the zoo. Or bake cookies together. And shopping. Christ, can he shop with her and come home with a bunch of stuff for her as well as a toy or two for each of the boys. Her brothers love her and they are not jealous of the way their father is with their sister. They see Andy is the same way with Ericka and think it’s the norm. I’m 99% sure they will be the same way with their daughters because they also treat Annie the same way their father does.
It’s adorable.
So, Ericka was with her grandparents and Annie decides she wanted her Daddy to come get her from the clinic and made that loud and clear. Apparently, she wanted to see Frozen and Olaf again and right away. I blame Keely. She asked Annie for a warm hug when she saw her and set it all in motion.
I called Les and told him what Annie wanted. Even though he was in meeting and covering for Andy, he was at the clinic to pick her up in less than fifteen minutes.
As soon as he got there, Annie spotted him and ran to be caught up in his waiting arms. I immediately grabbed Annie’s little back pack and stood. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital room, in a hospital gown lying in the bed next to a laboring Keely with an IV shoved up my hand.
“What happened?” I asked groggily.
“Relax… The twins… whoo… will be back in a minute… Whoo… I’m… whoo… in… whoo… labor! And needed… ice chips… Les… checking on the kids… whoo!”
“What?” I frowned. “Labor? Since when? You were just coming in for a checkup. Wait, why am I in this bed?”
“Wooooooo. I was already contracting but didn’t feel it. I was at four centimeters then they gave me something and now I’m at eight and this shit hurts. Damn, I should have asked for the fucking epidural again.”
“You’re at eight? Damn. Where are your parents?”
“Getting food but they should be back any minute now. My labor interrupted their lunch plans and it’s now dinner time. Mom’s stomach growled so loud and I insisted they go but they’re only across the street, so they’ll be back soon.”
“Dinner time?” I frowned. “What happened to the time? And I still don’t know why I’m in this bed.”
“You’re there because you fainted and scared the shit out of everyone,” Keely breathed. “You’re exhausted and need fluids and rest. Doctor’s orders.”
“I’m fine,” I mumble and sit up. “Just needed some rest. I feel better already.”
“Sure you do,” Keely giggled.
That’s when my soon-to-be late husband and his mirror image walked in. Les was grinning ear-to-ear and looking damn proud of himself.
“Oh, no,” Les said and pointed to the bed. “Lie back down, honey. You’re on a 24-hour watch. Rest and relaxation the entire time you’re here and when you get home.”
“But our kids--”
“They’re fine,” Les grins. “My wonderful parents-in-law have them and Ericka. They will stay at the main house with them until you’re released. I’m attempting to get them to leave the guest house for longer than that but you know how stubborn they are. Remember what it took to get them to move into the guest house in the first place?”
“I do,” Keely laughed. “Not even the thrill of having my parents in our guest house eased that tension.”
“Yeah,” I nod as I laid back. “My third pregnancy helped with that immensely.”
Les’ grin became wider and I wanted to smack him. Something was so up with him.
“What’s so funny, Les?” I frown. “What’s going on? Somebody fill me in.”
“Well,” Andy grinned, feeding Keely ice chips. “Mom and Dad are almost here so now my Kee-Kee Baby can relax as much as she can. They’re about five minutes out and won’t miss David the third’s arrival.”
“Good,” I nod then point to my still grinning husband. “But that’s not why he’s grinning like that. The only time I ever see that particular grin is… oh, no…”
I look around the room at my family then back to my husband. They all are wearing that stupid grin. My eyes closed. I sighed and I just knew… I knew exactly what was going on but I still, foolishly, was in denial.
“No… no, no! You didn’t, Les! Tell me you did not do it again!”
“I can’t lie, honey. I so did,” Les laughed loud. “Number five is on the way!”
I ball my fists and make them jump up and down while I snarl, “I am going to kill you, Charles Christian Ford!”
“Can it wait until we find out what we made this time? I feel another girl in the midst.”
See? I’m sooo going to strangle him!
###
Ryanne Anthony enjoys sharing her stories and creating new worlds and putting them on paper, and is probably doing that right now.
Ms. Anthony is a Midwestern girl, born and raised, and is a loving wife and mother of a boy and a girl, one each of the human and furry species.
Please visit www.AuthorRyanneAnthony.com for more information, playlists and excerpts and to ask Ryanne a question about her and her books.
Other books by Ryanne Anthony:
BROKEN (The M Series, Book One)
The M Series, Book Two: MARIAH
The M Series, Book Three: MARCUS
The M Series, Book Four: MADISON
The M Series, Book Five: MATTHEW
Coming Soon:
Despair: The Negative Ion Series, Book Two
Fell: The Negative Ion Series, Book Three
The M Series, Book Six: MONICA
The M Series Finale: MENDED
Effection
So far…
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Table of Contents
Chapter ONE
Chapter TWO
Chapter THREE
Chapter FOUR
Chapter FIVE
Chapter SIX
Chapter SEVEN
Chapter EIGHT
Chapter NINE
Chapter TEN
Chapter ELEVEN
Chapter TWELVE
Chapter THIRTEEN
Chapter FOURTEEN
EPILOGUE
Chapter ONE
Chapter TWO
Chapter Three
Chapter FOUR
Chapter FIVE
Chapter SIX
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter TEN
Chapter ELEVEN
Chapter Twelve
Chapter THIRTEEN
Chapter FOURTEEN
EPILOGUE
Honey Babe Page 14