Page 107 of Promises to Keep

When we got to the living room Emma’s was the first face I saw. “Really, truly? Another baby? We’re going to have two babies at almost the same time?”

I nodded. “I can’t believe it, we’ll be about a month behind Beaty, I think.”

Beaty poked her head over the back of the couch, her hair was mussed, she was a shade of sickly green. “Yay! We are twinsies, Queen Kaitlyn, our bairns will be like siblings.”

I folded my hands together. “They will be so freaking cute! We can put them in matching clothes!”

Hayley said, “Ugh, more babies, seriously? My gift-buying bill has just skyrocketed. I see you’re all acting like this is the most positive thing in the world, but you need to think about the aunts and uncles, this is alotof extra work for us.”

Fraoch laughed. “Och aye, I will need a bigger boat if I am tae take them all fishin’, how many will it be? A dozen? I will need a verra big boat.”

I said, “Dear God, I hope Beaty and I aren’t carrying eight children!”

As the nieces and nephews ran through the room, he said, “Wait, there are only four nieces and nephews here aready? How come it feels like so many more? Everywhere they go they are a mob.”

The kids mobbed him and wrestled him down to the ground.

Archie asked, from the bottom of the pile of kids on Fraoch’s stomach, “What are you talking about?”

Magnus said, “We were announcing to everyone that yer ma is goin’ tae hae another bairn.”

“This is really happening?” Archie climbed from the pile. “And it’s definitely a boy? Oh man, I hope it is a boy.”

Isla put her hands on her hips, her face frowned. “No one asked me first.”

Magnus said, “Ye canna ask first, Isla, ye hae tae accept God’s will. Tis a bairn and we are goin’ tae rejoice in the blessing.”

“Will I have to share Angelica with the baby?”

Magnus said, “Who is Angelica?”

Isla rushed across the room, plucked a doll from a basket, and rushed back. “Angelica.”

“Och nae, tis yer bairn, Isla? Ye winna hae tae share yer bairn.”

“Good. Because I don’t like to share my babies. Tell Zoe she can’t hold Angelica.” She tossed the doll down and came over to sit beside me. Behind her, Zoe picked Angelica up and dragged her by the ankle around the room.

Magnus asked, “Anyone else hae any questions on the coming bairn?”

Isla said, “Will Aunt Beaty’s baby and our baby be brothers?”

Magnus smiled. “All of our bairns will be brothers, even the sisters.”

Archie said, “You don’t look pregnant, how do you know?”

“I took a test.” I held up the stick, “Don’t touch it, I peed on it — but see that mark?”

Ben’s eyes went wide. “Youpeedon it?”

“Yes, but that’s not the point, see the mark? That means I’m pregnant.”

Magnus said, “But ye ought tae tell them aboutwhyye took the test…”

I said, “They were here, they know, I took the test because your father told me that I was going to have a baby.”

Magnus rolled his hand.

I continued, “And I didn’t believe him, but he was absolutely right.”

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