Page 44 of Home Is Where the Witch Is
“I’d never have known y’were carrin’ twins,” she marveled.
“Neither,” Rosie confessed. “Although now I think about it, it accounts for the constant somersaults!”
“Bless you,” Saoirse laughed. “You must be exhausted. Eat your breakfast, and then off to bed you pop. We’ll help Declan with the babies while you have a lie in.”
It was such a kind and knowledgeable offer, and Rosie could have melted just from how heavenly that actually sounded. “You are an angel.”
“No, my dear,” Saoirse said, leaning over to pat Rosie’s hand. “That’s you. Now here—have something to eat.”
Meanwhile Killian and Declan were discussing important business.
“Have y’thought about names?” Killian said gruffly, as though he had a lot to say on the subject, and Rosie wasn’t disappointed in her assessment. “What about Grainne and Fionn?”
“We need names American people can pronounce, Da’.”
“I s’pose y’do, when you put it that way.”
“We’ve thought about it a lot,” Rosie smiled. “And we’ve decided on Iris and Rowan.”
“Gorgeous,” Saoirse beamed. “Now hand Rowan over to his grandma, please.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
She settledback in the comfy rocker they had bought—brand new—for the nursery. Its buttery-feeling upholstery was heavenly against her bare arms as she cradled Rowan. He gazed up at her with his huge blue eyes, the exact same color as his twin sister’s. Rosie wondered whether they would stay that gorgeous blue or turn gray or green as they grew older. She smiled as he blinked sleepily, a little milk-drunk from his breakfast. So tiny. So precious. So unaware of the challenges life would throw his way.
Rosie would do everything in her power to make those challenges as easy for him to tackle as she could. Back when Maggie had been born, Rosie’d taken to motherhood like a duck to water. Nothing had been too much trouble when it came to raising her baby girl, and it hadn’t taken her long to realize she would need to be both motherandfather for Maggie. She didn’t regret a single damn sacrifice. How could she, when she felt fit to burst every time she looked at the strong, capable woman her daughter was growing into.
“You’ll be resourceful, like Maggie,” Rosie cooed down at Rowan, her lips curved upward in a gentle smile as he gurgled and awkwardly grasped her finger in his tiny fist. “And resilient, like Gabe. And handsome as all get-out, just like your papa.”
“Not to mention trouble, just like his ma.” Declan smirked, joining them in the room. Rosie shuffled sideways as the huge Irish witch perched on the arm of the chair, angling for a better look at his son.
“Bless his heart,” Rosie chuckled sympathetically. “What a thing to wish on a poor defenseless child!”
But Declan’s cheeky grin had already softened, and as his sea-green gaze shifted from his child to his wife, there was such tenderness in his expression that Rosie felt her heart skip a beat. “He couldn’t do any better thank you. None of us could.”
She would never have dreamed of Randy saying anything like that to her. Declan was many things—her best friend, her confidante, her partner-in-crime. But there, alongside all else, he was her lover. And he always knew just when she needed to hear the sweet words his heart kept safe just for her. Right now, though, she engaged a little of that trouble he’d mentioned.
“You ate the last brownie, didn’t you?” she asked her husband playfully, narrowing her eyes in jest.
“Da’ did,” he chuckled apologetically. “They’re here.”
“That’s my cue,” she sighed gently as her gaze turned back to the baby boy who was drifting off to sleep in her arms. “Sleep well, my handsome boy. We’ll be back before you know it.”
Life had settled into its new groove over the last few days. Iris and Rowan were proving to be largely unfussy babies, to Rosie’s relief. Expressing her own milk and getting the twins to take the bottle early on meant she didn’t have to be on hand round the clock for feeding, which was good when both babies wanted their food at the same time. Everyone in the house had stepped up to help, and Maggie had proven she reallydidn’tmind changing diapers, which was also a huge blessing.
What little she had seen and heard from Tammy had shown her friend was in a state of total bliss. Rosie had left the Bishops to enjoy their newborn daughter—who they’d called Prudence—in peace. The timing wasn’t terrible. The looming issue of Aata’s unsolved murder was still drifting around in the back of Rosie’s mind, waiting to be dealt with. And now that Cillian and Saoirse had arrived, it was a matter that could be handled forthwith.
“You know how to reach us if you need to,” Rosie told them, gathering up her bag now that the perfunctory greetings and instructions were done.
“We won’t need to,” her father-in-law scoffed proudly. “Wedidraise our own child, y’know.”
“With only minimal disasters to count,” Declan added with a grin.
“Unhelpful,” Rosie said with a raised brow, her gaze flicking between the two of them.
“They’ll all befine,” Saoirse promised soothingly, casting an annoyed look at her husband and son as she swooped in to save the day. “Gabe and Maggie won’t even come out of their rooms, probably, and the twins’ll only need a change and a snack before you get back. Now off you go, the pair of you. I’ve got grandmotherin’ to do!”
Being backin the small foreman’s office at the sugar mill felt surreal after giving birth to twins and the whirlwind for crazy that had come along with it. The other Council members had come together a few minutes early to provide their renewed congratulations, having already seen photos and videos galore. Once the baby-welcoming business had been taken care of, however, it was Chaoxiang who reminded them all they were there on official Council business.
