by L. A. Casey
I nodded. “It’s me ma’s birthday.”
The nurse smiled. “That’s a clear sign she is watching over you. That’s lovely.”
I smiled wide as pride filled me. “Thank you so much.”
“It’s my pleasure. I’ll print out some scan pictures for you to show family and friends.” She placed some tissue on my stomach and said, “You can clean away the gel now.”
I did just that. I swiped away the cold gel, folded the tissue over and repeated the action until my lower stomach was dry and gel free. I gave the tissue to Keela who binned it for me. I tugged my jeans back up, buttoned them up, then got up off the bed.
“Here you go,” the nurse said and handed me a large white envelope.
I peeked inside and saw a few scan pictures.
I gave the envelope to Keela and I said to the nurse, “What happens now?”
The nurse smiled. “We will pick a follow-up appointment date for you and you will receive a letter in the post within the next week. It won’t be until you’re twenty weeks. The appointments are spaced out so you don’t have to come in as often, but don’t confuse it with not coming in if you need to. This room is always open; a nurse is always on duty for the emergency room.”
I nodded my head in understanding.
“You can also attend your local medical centre for weekly check-ups. We have a nurse there who will listen to the baby’s heartbeat and give your tummy a feel. We have classes here at the hospital for parents or mothers-to-be and friends who you can sign up and attend whenever you like. They get you prepared for birth and for the arrival of the baby. I’ll give you some pamphlets that you can read up on, and if you decide on a class just go to our website, login, and sign up. Your patient number is your username and your date of birth is your password. Please allow twenty-four hours for you to be registered.”
I took the pamphlets she held out to me—which had a sticker with my name, address and patient number on it—and thanked her.
“My pleasure. Congratulations.”
I smiled for the umpteenth time and thanked her.
Ten minutes later I found myself back in my car. Keela and I didn’t speak when we got inside. We were silent for a few minutes until I said what I was thinking.
“I’m keepin’ her.”
Keela smiled. “Her?”
I shrugged. “I dunno, feels right sayin’ her.”
Keela reached over and gave my hand a squeeze. “Our family just got bigger.”
My eyes welled up. “I’m really havin’ a baby! I’m goin’ to be a mammy!”
“Oh, my God!”
I burst into laughter and began crying at the same time. I reached over and hugged Keela as tightly as I could. This was huge for me. Huge. I was having a baby. A real baby.
Holy fuck.
The entire journey home we talked about the baby, my being pregnant and how everyone would react. It was only when we walked into Branna’s house that we shut our mouths.
“Where have you two been?” Alec asked us as we walked into the kitchen.
Keela and I shared a look then looked around the room and found Alec, Ryder, Nico, Branna, and Bronagh staring at us. It was very late, past eleven pm, and it was weird that they were all sitting around the table together.
What was going on here?
“The garage to get sweets and petrol for me car,” I replied.
Alec cocked an eyebrow. “For three and a half hours?”
Were we gone that long?
“We went on a drive after it... Havin’ some best friend time... you know?”
Alec didn’t believe me when I spoke. I could tell by the frown that he gave me.
“What’s goin’ on here?” Keela asked as she sat down next to Alec.
I chose to remain standing.
“We’re bein’ questioned,” Bronagh said, rolling her eyes.
“Questioned?” I asked. “About what?”
Bronagh sighed, “Dominic wants to know—”
“I want to know which fucking one of you is pregnant!”
Oh... Crap.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, pretending I didn’t hear Nico’s question.
He glared at me, his eyes burning holes into me. “I said, which one of you is pregnant? No bullshit, each of you better answer the question.”
Bronagh held up her hands. “You know it’s not me. You made me drink two litres of water then piss on ten bloody tests.”
I snorted, but then quickly covered my face when Nico snapped his head in my direction and gave me a warning look.
When he was sure I wasn’t going to make another sound¸ he refocused and said, “Bronagh’s right—she’s not pregnant. Alannah isn’t here because she swore it wasn’t her so Branna, Keela, and Aideen that leaves you three.”
Branna sighed. “It’s not me either. Ryder knows this.”
Nico looked at Ryder who nodded his head in confirmation.
“Okay, the sisters are off the list, which leaves you two.”
Keela and myself.
Fuck.
“This is stupid,” I mumbled.
“Why is it stupid?” Bronagh asked.
I shrugged. “I feel like whoever says they’re pregnant is goin’ to be interrogated or somethin’.”
Bronagh frowned. “That won’t happen.”
I nodded at Nico. “Tell that to Drill Bit Taylor then.”
Bronagh looked at Nico. “You do need to back off; you’re comin’ on a little too strong.”
“Me?” Nico snapped. “I’m trying to find out who is pregnant. I wanna know if I’m going to be an uncle or not. So come on Keela, is it you?”
Oh, damn.
“Bronagh’s right, you know,” Branna intervened. “It’s not up to you to find out who is pregnant. She’ll tell us when she is ready. Your pressure won’t help matters.”
“Ah-ha!” Alec suddenly shouted. “At least we know it’s a she.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his stupid but brilliant sense of humour.
“Please Bran, you’re just saying that because you know it’s not your sister. If Bee didn’t take a test yet, you’d demand she find out just so you’d know,” Ryder quipped ignoring Alec’s joke completely.
Branna turned her head and locked her gaze onto her fiancé. “Not if she wasn’t comfortable with doin’ it of her own accord.”
“Yeah, right,” Ryder snorted.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Branna snapped.
“Why are you shouting at him?” Nico demanded of Branna. “He’s right.”
“Are you serious?” Bronagh screeched. “He is wrong!”
The four of them engaged in a battle of words then and it hurt my head. Each person tried to shout louder than the person they were talking to and it grated on my already shot nerves.
“Please, just stop.”
Everyone ignored me apart from Alec and Keela who shot me a sympathetic look. I shook my head and looked back to the four screeching cats who were all but tearing at one another’s throats. It made me feel sick that they were fighting over me without knowing it.
I wanted to make it right.
“It’s me,” I sighed.
Keela looked at me with wide eyes, but she was the only one. I knew what she was thinking from her alarmed look too. She was mentally telling me to shut up because Kane needed to know first, but drastic times called for drastic measures.
“It’s me,” I said a little louder, attracting Alec’s attention, but none of his brothers.
Bloody hell.
“It’s me!” I screamed. “I’m the one who is pregnant. Me!”
The silence that flooded the room was even louder than the shouting that filled it only seconds ago. All eyes were trained on me and a few mouths were agape.
Great.
“You’re pregnant?” Bronagh asked, her eyes wide.
I nodded my head, but said nothing. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole at that moment.
“Really?” she asked as she slumped back into the kitchen chair she was sat on.
Again, I nodded my head.
“For who?” Branna asked, her face a picture of shock.
I lifted my hand to my neck and rubbed it. “Well, you see, that part... it’s a little complicated.”
Alec raised an eyebrow at me. “Why? Do you not know who he is?”
I felt my jaw drop open.
“Yes, I know who he is!” I angrily snapped. “I’m not a slut who opens her legs for every Tom, Dick, or Harry she meets, Alec!”
Keela shot daggers at Alec, who winced and gnawed on his lower lip. “My bad, Ado. I didn’t mean it like that.”
I didn’t even want to know what way he did mean it.
I waved him off. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that he should have known before all of you, but I couldn’t take the arguin’ anymore. The way you talk to one another is not okay—you’re couples, you shouldn’t behave like that with the person you love.”
Everyone frowned, even Keela and Alec who didn’t even argue.
“Sorry, babe,” Dominic said to Bronagh who apologised to him also.
“Sorry, Ry,” Branna mumbled to Ryder.
“Me too,” he replied, not looking at her.
I glared at the pair of them, but they avoided my burning gaze. They couldn’t even warm up to one another to apologise, or to even look at one another? Pathetic.
Alec cleared his throat and it got my attention. “So, who is yo baby daddy?”
I pulled a face at his fake ghetto accent. “Please, don’t phrase it like that.”
He snorted.
“And I can’t tell you until he gets here.”
The sisters gasped. “He is comin’ here? Tonight?”
Well, he lives here.
“Yeah, eventually,” I murmured and glanced up at the clock.
Everyone was silent.
“Where is Kane?” Keela asked after a moment.
I tried not to tense up at the mention of his name.
“He went out about two hours ago,” Nico said. “Not sure where though.”
Keela nodded her head.
“How long have you known?” Alec asked me.
I counted on my fingers. “About three or more hours now. I took a test in your bathroom.”
Bronagh blinked at me. “You didn’t go to the garage with Keela, did you?”
I shook my head. “We went to the Coombe to confirm it. The nurse checked me and the baby out, and everythin’ looks great so far.”
Keela let out a squeal. “We heard the heartbeat and even saw it flicker about on the monitor. It was just brilliant.”
If Alec was annoyed with Keela for lying to him he didn’t show it because he threw an arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze.
“So you just found out today?” Branna questioned with a raised eyebrow.
I nodded.
“Then how come Ryder found a positive pregnancy test in our bathroom last week?” she asked, her gaze narrowed.
I scratched my neck. “I took that test because I had to know if I was the pregnant one, but before I could look at the results Keela called me about Kane. I’ve been puttin’ it off since then—I’ve just been scared I guess.”
No one said anything, but I saw they understood where I was coming from, which relieved me greatly.
“Did you get scan pictures?” Bronagh asked, her voice high with excitement.
I smiled. “I did, but I’m goin’ to show the father them first, since I told you lot about the baby’s existence before I told him.”
Everyone huffed, but understood my decision.
“I’m puttin’ the kettle on,” Branna said and broke the silence that coated the room. “Who wants a cuppa while we wait for the baby’s father to arrive?”
“Me.”
Everyone answered Branna, even the lads.
It appeared all their nerves were shot... at least I wasn’t the only one scared shitless to tell the baby’s father that he was indeed becoming a father.
A cup of tea didn’t seem strong enough for that conversation.
God, help me.
“What is everyone in here for?”
I looked at the kitchen door and frowned when I saw him. He was slumped and had his shoulder pressed against the doorframe. It looked like it was holding him up. I could see from across the room that his eyes were bloodshot and his face was pale grey.
He looked like shite.
“Have you been drinkin’?” I asked.
Kane shrugged uncaringly. “What’s it to you if I have?”
He didn’t slur, or sway from side to side... but his eyes looked empty.
“You shouldn’t be drinkin’,” I replied, and stood up from my seat. “You never even got your second injection today. The sugar and calories from alcohol will require more of it. Damn it, Kane.”
Kane waved me off. “I’ll survive.”
I growled, “No, not without the bloody injections you won’t.”
I didn’t threaten Kane in the least; I could tell by the way that he smiled at me. “Come here,” he said.
I felt everyone in the room glance between us.
I ignored them and focused on Kane as I got up and walked towards him. I stopped just short of knocking into his body. I tilted my head back and glared up at him. “What?”
He laughed down at me and pressed his forehead against mine. The action shocked me. “You’re the only person who I know that isn’t afraid of me.”
I lifted my hands and placed them on his biceps. “How much did you have to drink?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Didn’t count the pints as they were pulled. Sorry, Mom.”
“Damn it, Kane,” Ryder grunted from behind us.
Kane lifted his head, looked over my head, and shot him an evil grin. “You mad, big brother?”
He was looking for a fight—I could sense it.
“Don’t tempt me to start some shit with you, Kane,” Ryder growled.
Kane tried to step around me, but I wouldn’t let him. There was no way in hell that I was allowing him to take whatever was up his arse out on Ryder.
“Hey!” I snapped and reached up, linking both my hands behind Kane’s neck and forced him to look down at me. “Come outside and talk to me, okay?”
Kane’s eyes burned into mine, and for a moment they flicked to my lips before he nodded his head and broke away from me. Without a word or look in Ryder’s direction, he turned and walked out of the kitchen and down the hallway. I followed him, closing the door behind me as I went.
I found Kane sat on the bottom of the stairs—his elbows resting on his knees, his hands clasped together and his eyes focused right ahead at the front door. I stood in front of him causing him to sigh and lean back so he could look up at me. When he did, he smiled lazily at me.
“You’re beautiful.”
I snorted, “That’s the drinks talkin’.”
“No,” Kane replied, “it’s me.”
Oh.
I tilted my head to the side and hunkered down so I was eye level with him. “Honey, what’s wrong with you? Why did you go off drinkin’ on your own? It’s not like you.”
Kane shrugged. “Just felt like it.”
I felt my eye twitch. “I want a better answer than that.”
“Or what? You’ll spank me, Miss Collins?”
I hated that I snorted.
“Made you laugh.” Kane grinned and closed his eyes.
I observed his face. I ran my eyes over his scars, the curve of his jaw, the shape of his straight nose, the thickness of his eyebrows and the length of his eyelashes.
“It’s not fair to the rest of the male population that you’re so good lookin’.”
Kane opened his eyes. “It’s not, is it?”
“You make up for it by being a huge prick though so it balances out.”
Kane laughed and closed his eyes again. “Babydoll?” he murmured.
“Wh
at?”
His lip quirked as he reopened his eyes and looked at me. “Just wanted to see if you’d answer to babydoll.”
I glared at him. “You’ve called me it so many times that it’s stuck, you arsehole.”
Kane blinked at me. “I feel sad, Aideen.”
That gutted me.
That sudden admission twisted something inside me.
“Why, sweetie?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, and that’s what’s pissing me off. I just feel... alone.” He lifted his hands and rubbed his face. “God, I’m such a bitch. Don’t tell my brothers what I just said.”
I chuckled. “Your secret is safe with me, big lad, but know that you aren’t alone. You have your brothers and the girls, and you have me.”
Kane looked at me. “Do I have you?”
It felt like there was an underlying meaning to his question.
I mentally shook it off and smiled. “Of course, you do, silly. I’ll always be here for you. Me and you?”
Kane never broke eye contact with me as he said, “Me and you.”
A little voice in me wanted to tell him that ‘me and you’ would become a me and you and a mini you, but I bottled it and decided I couldn’t tell him until he was in a better place mentally. The only problem was that everyone else knew, and if he found out from them he would instantly know the baby was his and he would be really mad that I wasn’t the one to tell him.
“Come and let me give you your insulin. I’m goin’ to have to give you a higher dose because you were drinkin’.”
Kane smirked. “If you want to punish me, Miss Collins, just let me know.”
I realised then just how close my face was to his at that moment. The sudden urge to close the space even further freaked me out so I took a step back and held out my hand.
“Come on, you big baby. Let’s go get this done.”
“On one condition.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “What’s the condition?”
“That you stay a few more hours and watch some Sons of Anarchy with me.”
Did he not realise how late it was?
“You haven’t started the second season yet?” I asked, curiously.
He shook his head. “No. I watched the first one with you so I want to watch the rest with you, too.”
“You plan on watchin’ them all?”