Samuel laughed and leapt from Shira’s arms into the arms of the man who loved him as much as his biological father. “Well then, you tell me yours, and Papa tells me his, and I decide who has the right solution,” he answered imperiously.
Sarah’s green eyes, so much like the woman she’d been named in honor of, tracked nervously from her brother to her uncle to her father and then to her mother. “Am I in trouble?” she asked, biting her lip.
“No, baby,” Yaphet answered. He pulled one of her springy brown curls and released it. “You’re not in trouble.”
“Uncle Ravi will take you on the buggy to the orchard while Sarah rides in the tractor with Papa,” Ravi offered.
“Or,” Pascal added. “Papa takes you in the tractor while Sarah rides in the buggy with Uncle Ravi.”
Samuel pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. He opened them wide and held up a finger. “I’ve got it. I ride with Uncle Ravi in the buggy to the orchard, and then I ride back with Papa in the tractor!”
Sarah squealed at the idea, apparently as taken with it as Samuel. Squirming, the siblings wiggled their way out of her husbands’ arms and took off running.
“Where’s Dov?” Pascal asked, wrapping his arms around her.
Yaphet squeezed her hand as he walked by them on his way to the olive press. “Missed you today,” he whispered before continuing past.
“He’s right behind me,” she said, glancing over her shoulder toward the house. The man in question came outside, pulling the knot of his tie as he strode toward them.
“What’d I do?” he asked his brother.
“Nothing,” Pascal answered. A squeal from inside the barn had all of them whipping their heads toward the structure. “I better get inside before they jump from the loft again.” With one more kiss, Pascal jogged away to check on their children.
Ravi moved closer to them, and reached out a hand. He touched Shira’s belly, sliding his palm along the taut, rounded skin. “How’s our baby?” he asked quietly. He smiled as he stared at her stomach, dimple appearing in his cheek.
Shira covered his hand with hers. “Good. Kicky.”
Ravi leaned over to place a kiss there. “Soccer player,” he whispered and kissed her again before straightening. “It’s not getting to be too much?” he asked.
Shira understood his worry. She’d discovered soon after they’d all decided to date each other, that she was pregnant. The baby was Pascal’s, she knew that right away. They hadn’t been careful when they’d been together.
The brothers had proposed the night before Shira had planned to tell them she was pregnant. They’d sat with Sarah in the final days of her life. It was, Sarah said, the best gift she’d ever received.
No matter what Shira’s grandmother thought, it hadn’t been a shotgun wedding. Shira had their engagement ring on her finger before they learned they were going to be fathers.
Or father and uncles.
The truth was, no one could love her babies more than her husbands did. Pascal didn’t love them any more than Ravi did, or Dov. Or Yaphet. Each one of them thought Sarah and Samuel hung the moon.
But pregnancies with twins were tough, and she’d had high blood pressure and exhaustion to contend with.
This baby, however, was a walk in the park after the twins. She’d had the typical morning sickness, but now, in her second trimester, she was feeling fantastic.
“The kids want to pick olives,” Ravi said, brushing off his pants. “And stand on ladders.”
Shira laughed. “Okay. Let me change and I’ll meet you out there.”
“Me, too,” Dov answered. “I want to get the camera.” He kissed Shira quickly before striding into their house.
Ravi took her hand, and with a gentle tug, pulled her toward their room. His gaze never left her as she dressed, though his eyes lingered on her stomach.
“I love you so much,” he said. “From the first moment I met you, saw you lying in the street. I knew you were the one.”
“I love you, too,” Shira answered. She sat next to him on the edge of the bed.
“I just didn’t realize you were the one for my brothers, as well.”
Shira took a deep breath. “Ravi.”
“It’s not what I expected, Shira,” he told her. “But it’s everything I ever wanted. It’s more than I dreamed possible.”
Her baby kicked, hard. Ravi stared, wide-eyed at her belly. “My boy!” He put his hands on her stomach again. “Or girl. Either way. I’m happy.”
A knock on the door pulled them out of their blissful baby contemplation. “You coming?” Pascal asked. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “The natives are restless.”
He came inside and held his hands out to Shira. With a gentle yank, he pulled her to her feet and slid an arm around her waist. “Sarah wants you to ride the tractor with us.”
“I think I’ll walk,” she said and laughed. “There’s barely room for you and her, let alone you, me, my belly, and her.”
“She’s worried you’ll feel left out,” Pascal explained. Like her namesake, Sarah had the biggest heart. She wanted everyone to be happy.
As Shira walked outside, her husbands chasing her children while they giggled madly, she thought about how happy she was. How deliriously, perfectly happy.
Yaphet emerged from the shed where the press was kept, flung a rag over his shoulder, and winked at her. Pascal left her to lift Samuel into a big green tractor, and Ravi jumped into the buggy next to Sarah, who was trying to reach over his lap to steer.
Jogging toward Yaphet, Dov unslung the camera from around his neck. The brothers bent their heads over the device, chatting amiably about whatever it was Dov wanted to show him.
Her family.
At the start of Hanukkah six years ago, Shira had no idea what her future held, but in her wildest dreams, she’d never pictured a life as happy as this one.
About the Author
Author Bio:
Ripley Proserpina spends her days huddled near a fire in the frozen northern wilds of Vermont. She lives with her family, three magnificent cats, and a dog she doesn’t deserve.
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Books by Ripley:
Midnight’s Crown:
Briar
Shadow of Thorns
Diadem of Blood and Bones
The Searchers Series:
Finding Honor
Finding Nora
Finding Valor
Finding Truth
Finding Courage: Coming Soon!
Demon Matched Series:
Matched with a Demon
Wishes and Curses Series:
Wrath and Ruin:
Revolution and Rising: Coming Soon!
Valos of Sonhadra:
Whirlwind: http://amzn.to/2EBrRQj
Standalones:
The Ice Bride
Missing Linc
While Beauty Sleeps
The Storm
Lightning Strikes
The Thief of Hearts Page 11