Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
I froze, my gaze flying to meet hers. She held a small white tube in her hands that she passed to me. Two lines and the word “Pregnant” were in the small window.
Pregnant.
Rosie was pregnant.
Instantly, I was out of my chair and on my knees in front of her. “Really, my love?”
She nodded. “Really.”
“Say it, Rosie. Tell me.”
“I’m pregnant.” She drew in a deep breath. “You’re going to be a daddy again.”
I wrapped her in my arms, holding her. Dropping hundreds of small kisses on her face. Pressing my mouth to hers, my tears mixing with hers. AJ was my son in every way that mattered, and now we were having a baby together.
“I’m about to overstep,” I warned, pulling back, cupping her face. “And you’re going to let me.”
“Okay.”
“No more working. You’re staying home with this baby. With all our babies. I’m going to be around more. I can work from the condo. And we need to buy a house. With a yard. James and I can build a swing set. Can it be a girl, Rosie? I’d like a little girl.”
She sniffled a little. “I can’t do much about that, but we’ll find out soon enough.” She swallowed. “I don’t want to work after the baby is born,” she confessed. “I had to with AJ because I had no choice, but this time—”
I cut her off. “You never have to work again. I’ll look after all of you. I’m going to be overstepping all the time now.”
“I know you will.”
“And you’ll let me.”
“Yes.”
I wrapped her in my arms. A baby. We were going to have a baby.
This was the best meeting of my life.
Christmas the following year
I held my son, cradling him in my arms. Only eight months old, Brandon was remarkably advanced. At least, I thought so. He was crawling, trying to walk. Jabbering nonstop at times. I pretended to understand everything he said. I thought he was pretty much perfect, aside from the crying and the pooping. He did more of the latter, it seemed. Rosie handled it far better than I did. On the nights he fussed, I sat with him nestled on my knee in a huge chair I had bought Rosie that she loved to read in. As I discovered one night, it was extremely comfortable, and I used it whenever I could. We talked for hours, me imparting wisdom, him grunting and gnawing on his fist as he absorbed everything I told him. AJ often joined us, and Rosie would find the three of us asleep, a blanket over us, one boy on each side of me in the large chair.
From the moment we had dragged in the tree, Brandon had been fascinated. The lights mesmerized him, and Rosie had started laying him down for his nap by the tree. He would stare at it, slowly falling asleep with the glow of the lights. Rosie played music all the time, and the sounds soothed him as well.
Rosie came in, carrying his bottle. She handed it to me with a smile. “How is he?” she asked, bending down and brushing a dark curl off his head.
“Good.” I patted the spot beside me, and she snuggled in with a sigh. “Tired?”
She rubbed her stomach, looking thoughtful. “This one is even more active than Brandon. I didn’t think that was possible.”
“You didn’t think it was possible to get pregnant again so quickly either.”
She sniffed. “You and your overactive libido. And determined sperm.”
I chuckled. “Fertile Myrtle, I think the doctor said.”
“Whatever it is, we are a dangerous combination. No sex for a year after this one.”
“Shit,” I muttered. “Don’t even joke about that.”
She laughed, pressing a kiss to my jaw. I captured her mouth and kissed her. “I can’t keep my hands off you for that long, Rosie. Ever.”
She settled her head against my shoulder.
“So, another boy,” I mused. We had decided to find out this time.
Rosie chuckled. “Yep. Your sister has girls. You have boys.”
“Maybe the next one.”
She tilted up her head. “Um…”
I grinned. “I bought us a big house, Rosie. We need to fill it.”
“It might be easier to move.”
I laughed, laying my hand on her stomach. “Whatever you want, baby. If you’re happy, I am.”
“I love you.”
I pressed a kiss to her head. “I love you.”
Christmas four years down the road
I woke up, my hand reaching out for my wife, already sensing she wasn’t there. I sat up, glancing at my phone. It was four a.m. We had gone to bed past midnight, getting everything ready for Christmas Day. Why was she already up?
I threw off the blankets, pulling on my robe, and went in search of her. I peeked into AJ’s room, the boy who was trapped between being a child and growing into a kid, but his room was empty except for him. I stopped to pull up his blanket, unable to stop smiling when I noticed his favorite teddy from years ago tucked by his pillow.