by Lori Leger
He pulled her into his arms. “It’s been a hell of a chore, let me tell you. You’re practically a slave driver when it comes to demanding that baby-making sex.” She finally produced the grin he’d been trying to elicit.
“I should be pregnant by now, Zach. I want to make a beautiful baby with you.”
“We will, Cat-tas-trophy. I promise, we will … or I’ll die trying.” He kissed her, groaning at the need he felt for his wife every time he laid his eyes on her. “Mm, doesn’t sound like such a bad way to die, at that.”
She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. “Not bad at all.”
Chapter 11
Kellie wiped the steady stream of tears from her cheeks. “Three babies in ten months, Bradley. What are we going to do?”
Brad kissed his wife tenderly on the lips. “We’re going to love them and we’re going to deal with it together. Now come sit here with me and relax for a bit.” He settled back against the arm of the couch and cradled her in his arms.
“The thing is we nearly drove each other crazy during the first pregnancy. Me with all my bitchiness and sharp tongue, and you with your internet researched facts on pregnancy.” She turned in his arms to stare at him. “Do you have any idea how irritating you are?”
Brad’s mouth twisted in a grin. “No, but from the tone of your voice, I’d guess I’m about to find out.”
Kellie faced forward again and sighed. “Brad, you have to stop, seriously. You can’t spend a day or two surfing the net and researching pregnancy and then tell a pregnant woman how she’s feeling. Not without making me want to scratch your eyes right out of that thick skull of yours.”
“Don’t hold back, babe. Tell me how you really feel about it.”
“It’s true. We all know you’re a natural Mr. Know it All. I let you get away with it most of the time, but you can’t pull that stuff on a seriously hormonal woman and not expect to get some kind of return fire. You are far too intelligent for that.”
Brad leaned over to breathe in the scent of his wife, some kind of perfume-scented shampoo that made him want to eat her up. “You think I’m intelligent?”
She cocked her head. “Please don’t tell me that’s all you got out of that statement.”
His deep laughter resonated in the air. “No, I got it. Honest I did. No more researching.”
“You can research all you want, just don’t tell me you know what it feels like to be pregnant, because you can’t possibly know. I mean, I’m pregnant for twins and I have no idea what to expect. Except that I’ll probably get huge … and miserable.” She leaned her head back against his chest. “And Lord, I honestly hope I’m not twice the bitchy, for your sake.” She released a long, low sigh. “Poor Bradley.” She covered her face suddenly and released a groan. “Poor mom, I have to call her.”
“What happened? All Doc said was that you got really upset and left.”
By the time Kellie had filled him in, Brad was handing his wife her phone. “Call her, now. Tell her you’re thrilled for her, and then tell her about the pregnancy. She’ll understand, but the longer you wait to call, the worse she’ll feel.” He rose from the couch and stood over her. “You call her and I’ll run a bath for you. You need to relax and take a good long soak.”
“But what if Di wakes up hungry while I’m in the tub?”
“It’s called a bottle and formula. I think I can handle it. I also know how to change her diaper.”
“What if it’s a poopy one?”
He headed down the hallway to the bathroom. “I’ll handle it, Kel.” He shook his head, adding quietly. “I won’t enjoy it, but I’ll handle it.”
Armed with wipes, baby powder, and a fresh diaper, Brad built up his courage and held his breath for a peek into his daughter’s diaper. “Aw, man.” He jerked the diaper back into place and stared down at the grinning baby girl. “Good God, how’d you get so much in there?”
Kellie splashed from the tub. “I know, right? She eats, she poops, it’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Brad turned his head to take a somewhat fresher breath of air. “Don’t be a smart ass over there, or I’ll bring her to you.”
His wife’s chuckle travelled from the bathroom. “Oh, no you don’t. This was your brainstorm and I intend to take full advantage of it. The candles were a nice touch, by the way.”
He smiled in spite of the putrid, pooh-filled aroma surrounding him. “You like that, huh?”
“Yup, a girl could get used to being pampered every once in a while.”
“I intend to, but we may have to bring a couple of those scented candles in here once I’m finished cleaning Little Miss Stink-butt.”
Brad smiled down at his daughter. “Daddy scored a point. What do you think about that?” He laughed as she kicked her feet and cooed at him, batting her long lashes. “Oh, my gosh, Di, you’re a beauty, just like your mom. Am I going to be in a heap of trouble when you hit your teens, or what?” He took a shallow breath. “All righty then, let’s do this thing.” Using the same technique he’d seen Kellie use, he cleaned her up as best he could. “Gah, why does she always do that?” he gasped, thankful for the changing pad Kellie had insisted he place under her to protect their bedspread.
“She peed, huh.”
“Before I could get the fresh one under her. I’m guessing it’s her usual thing?”
“That’s a ten-four, big daddy.”
Brad smiled, recognizing that relaxed slur in his wife’s tone, and he was glad to hear it. He put the finishing touches to his daughter and powdered her bottom before pulling the adjustable tabs across her waist. He rolled up the dirty diaper then wiped his hands with a fresh wipe before depositing them both in the diaper pail.
“Now! You smell like a princess again. How’d daddy do, baby girl? Would you give daddy a perfect 10?”
Diana squealed, grabbing for her father’s mouth and catching his lower lip. He blew a raspberry on her belly and chuckled when she broke into an adorable laugh. He carried her into the bathroom and leaned over to kiss his wife. “Bye mom. I’m going to feed her now.”
“You might want to wait and let me do that. I’ve just started her on her first foods. They’re all pureed and can get a little messy.”
“I’m a petroleum engineer, sweetheart. I think I can manage to feed her without the world falling apart. Just tell me where to find the grub.”
Kellie walked into the kitchen just in time to recognize the gleam of intent in her daughter’s eyes. “Watch out, she’s gonna—”
“Ahhhh….Pbbbbbt.”
Brad jumped back as a spray of pureed peaches splattered everything in its path. “Good Godamighty.”
Kellie chuckled from the opposite side of the kitchen. “Yeah, that’s her new game—blowing raspberries with a mouthful of food when she’s had enough. You should see what she does with the prunes.”
“Well hell, maybe we should hold a canvas in front of her when she does it. I bet we could sell it as Baby Art, start a whole new trend to pay for her college education.”
“The trick is being able to predict when she’s going to do it.”
Brad looked down at his previously white shirt. “All I need to do is wear the darn thing. She’ll hit it, I guar-an-damn-tee it.” He pointed at his wife. “We could market them as wearable art and call them that—Guar-an-damn-T-shirts. Brilliant!”
Kellie giggled as she placed a cup of water in the microwave for tea. “I’ll bleach your shirt, don’t worry.”
He nodded as he wiped the carrots from his daughter’s chubby cheeks. By the time Diana was clean enough to remove from her chair, Kellie sat on the couch with her cup of hot tea. He sat next to her and propped the baby between them.
“What are you hoping to have, dad? Girls or boys?”
“Maybe they’re fraternal twins and we can have one of each.”
Kellie smiled. “Yeah, I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Stick with me, babe. I’ve got it all figu
red out.”
“Of course you do.” She smiled at him. “But I thought about something when I was in the tub. You remember how sick I got during the first pregnancy?”
He nodded. “Yep, you couldn’t keep a thing down the first four months.” His gaze clashed with his wife’s and he sat up suddenly. “But, you’re already three months. Maybe you’ll get to skip that part this time.”
“I think so. It’s already a completely different pregnancy.”
He placed his left arm around Kellie’s shoulders while cuddling Diana securely between them. “Do you feel any differently now that it’s out in the open?”
She leaned into her husband’s shoulder while twirling her daughter’s silken tufts of hair around her fingers. “I’m okay with it, now that I know you are. It helped to talk to mom about it. She forgave me for ruining our lunch, by the way.”
“Of course she did. And I bet she’s thrilled about the twins.”
Kellie smiled at him. “She’s ecstatic that the third generation twin tradition is alive and healthy in our family, and it’s being upheld by one of her children. She can’t wait until we find out for sure so she can spread it all over town.”
“I thought it was a done deal.”
“The ultrasound machine was down today. Dr. Brown did a pelvic exam and he says I’m definitely pregnant, and believes he heard two separate heartbeats. He called Doc Barton in for his opinion, and he said it’s probably a second heartbeat, but they both agreed it could be an echo. We won’t know for sure until we schedule an ultrasound.”
Brad shifted Diana so he could lean forward to speak directly to his wife’s belly. “Hey, are you listening in there? This is your dad talking, and I just want you to know, whether you’re one baby or two, boys or girls, or one or two of each, you’re already loved. So you don’t need to be scared. You’ve got the best mom in the world and daddy’s gonna do his best to take care of all of you.” He finished his speech by pressing a gentle kiss to her belly. By the time he straightened beside his wife, she was sniffing and wiping her face.
“Oh, come on, there’s no reason to cry.”
She shook her head slowly. “I’m imprinting those words and that kiss on my brain so that every time I’m tempted to be angry with you for some silly reason, I can pull it up and remember how much I love you, instead.”
“Sounds good to me. What do you say to that Princess Di? You gonna help mommy remember that I’m ‘da bomb’ when she gets mad at me?”
Baby Diana cracked a big grin as a long string of drool fell onto her father’s tan khakis.
Brad laughed and kissed his daughter on the top of her head before reaching for Kellie. “I think baby girl’s got her dad’s back.” He leaned over to kiss his wife’s forehead, then both eyes, and finally caressed her mouth gently with his own.
He pulled away several luscious moments later, leaving Kellie breathless and wanting him.
She cleared her throat and took the baby from him. “I think we need to play with this little one so hard that she goes to bed early.” She passed one hand lazily through Brad’s thick hair and smiled. “Yeah, I think daddy’s getting very, very lucky tonight.”
Chapter 12
Ellen approached the corner booth where her two daughters sat.
Cat looked up from the half-empty bowl of chips and salsa. “Hey, Mom.”
“Christmas Eve.” Ellen slid onto the circular bench seat next to Kellie and kissed her cheek. “Where’s Di?”
“Bradley offered to keep her so I could have a peaceful dinner. There is something about the sound of a fork hitting a plate that causes Diana to either wake up or start fussing. What about Christmas Eve?”
Ellen dipped her chip into a bowl of salsa, groaning in appreciation at the savory spiciness of the dip. “That was sweet of him to offer. Our wedding—we want to get married on Christmas Eve.”
“Mom! We always have Christmas Eve at Brad’s parents’ place.”
Ellen met her daughter’s shocked gaze with one of total acceptance. “Oh honey, that’s fine. Gavin and I are keeping it simple. You girls don’t have to be there.” She waved her finger at her two daughters.
“What?” Cat sat there holding a tortilla chip in her hand. “Why wouldn’t we have to be there? You’re the only parent we have.”
“Because both of you are busy with your own lives. Doc Barton and I can travel anywhere. We’re actually considering going to Las Vegas to tie the knot.”
Kellie slapped the table with one hand. “You can’t get married in Vegas.”
“Sure I can. I’ve never been and I’d love to go. I told you, we are free to do whatever we want, go wherever we want. Gavin has a partner now and he can take a couple of days off from his practice as well as the hospital. We’ll be back by Christmas night. Neither of us feels like going through the hassle of wedding planning at our age.”
Cat reached out for her mother’s hand. “Mom, please don’t do that. Get married here, with family around. I think you should let us plan your wedding. Drew and his wife could help. Donna owns her own plant nursery and I bet she could help us plan something small, but tasteful and really beautiful.” She turned to Kellie. “It won’t kill Brad’s parents for you to spend Christmas Eve with us for a change— especially for this.”
“I suppose you’re right. God I hate having Christmas Eve over there, anyway. It’s so boring. Could I invite his parents to the wedding?”
Ellen beamed at her daughters. “I think that would be a fabulous idea. That way we could all be together for Christmas Eve. Are you girls sure you don’t mind doing it? I don’t have a creative bone in my body, so there’s no way I could plan something like that.”
Cat clapped her hands. “Oh, I’m so excited! A Christmas Eve wedding … an evening wedding with lots of candles and poinsettias everywhere, it’ll be so elegant.” She turned to her mother. “Where? Are we talking church or residence?”
“Do you think we could have it at Doc’s house on the lake?” Kellie chimed in. “That would be awesome. Oh God, now I have to go pee. Come with me Cat so we can talk in the restroom.”
Ellen’s smile followed her daughters until they turned the corner, though she heard their chatter all the way down the hall. She pulled out her cell phone and made a single call.
“Gavin? It’s me. They took the bait and ran with it, just as I told you they would. Best thing for you and me to do is sit back and let them handle the entire thing. Christmas Eve, evening ceremony, only they’re talking about using your place. Do we want that much headache, or should I convince Cat that a country wedding in a beautiful Acadian style home would be better?”
Chaos.
That was the only word Zachary could think of to describe the scene he walked into. Absolute chaos.
There must have been two dozen poinsettia plants lined up along one wall, while another dozen Norfolk Island Pines, each somewhere between three and four foot tall, took up space in the living room. Cat, Kellie, and Donna Barton, Doc’s daughter-in-law, sat there, painstakingly stringing them with tiny battery operated LED lights.
He leaned over to give his wife a quick kiss before waving at Kellie and Donna. “How are you ladies doing today?”
Donna smiled up at him. “Hey Zach, I’m good, thanks.”
“You feeling okay, Kellie?”
“I’m good, too, and did you hear the news, Zach?”
“If you’re talking about the flower shop getting vandalized, yes I have. If not, I obviously haven’t because I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She placed a hand on her belly. “It’s not twins. We found out today. And the flower shop was vandalized?”
“Uh-huh, second business this month.” He scratched his head, clueless on how to take the other news. “No twins. Hm … is that a good thing or not?”
She shrugged, looking a little solemn. “It is what it is, I guess. It’s funny, but once the idea grew on us we were both over the moon about it, and now, we’re not
. We just have to get used to the idea of a single pregnancy again.”
He nodded, remembering how excited Brad had been when he thought they were having twins. He couldn’t help feeling kind of sorry for the poor guy.
Cat looked up from her pine. “So the flower shop was hit. Much damage?”
He nodded. “Yep, but just like the other place, nothing stolen.”
After several moments of watching his wife skillfully wire tiny lights and delicate crystal ornaments onto the small pine, he shook his head and grunted. “Isn’t that overkill?”
She turned to him. “Excuse me?”
“I see all this stuff y’all have going on and I’m pretty sure Ms. Ellen and Doc Barton would have been satisfied with a lot less.”
She nodded. “What they would have been satisfied with was going to Vegas.”
“Yeah,” Kellie added. “There’s no way in hell we would have let mom get married by some dude in an Elvis costume.”
Zach snorted. “You don’t actually think they’d have gone through with it, do you?”
“That was their plan all along.”
He gave his head a slow shake. “I think they knew if she told you that, you and Kellie would jump in to take over the planning. That’s exactly what you did, isn’t it?”
Cat glanced at her sister then back at Zach. “You really think so?”
He shrugged. “I think it’s a possibility, but it doesn’t really matter, because I’m sure it’ll be very nice. Not exactly what I was expecting for my first Christmas as a married man, but I’m sure it’ll be fine and we’ll have plenty of other Christmases.” He grabbed an apple from a basket on the table on his way out of the room.
Cat stared after her husband. “Do you think he sounded a little upset about all this?”
“We did kind of take over your house with the preparations.”
Cat glanced around the room at the major mess they’d created. Thanksgiving was the day after tomorrow and their place looked like a bombsite. Not exactly what she’d imagined for her and Zach’s first Thanksgiving. She stood and stretched her back before reaching out a hand to her sister and Donna. “Come on, we’re stopping all of this until after Thanksgiving. Zach’s right, you know. This is overkill and at this rate, we’ll drive ourselves crazy by Christmas Eve.”