Page 74 of 5+Us Makes Seven

“I can’t give specifics to you, but I can tell you nothing is going on that shouldn’t be.”

I felt a wave of relief cascade over my body.

“And you’re sure?” I asked.

“Positive. There are a few things with her vitamin levels I want to discuss with her, but it’s nothing that won’t be corrected after a few days on her prenatals. I just can’t go into those specifics with you.”

“Why don’t you try calling her tomorrow morning? She’ll want to get up with the kids and be around them.”

“I’ll try her then. Have a good evening, Carter.”

“Thanks for everything,” I said.

I hung up the phone call and drew in a deep breath. Five children. It was insane. It was hard for me to wrap my mind around, honestly. This family was going to be massive! The kids were ecstatic when I told them Natasha was moving in and they were already planning out family weekend trips and scheduling games we could all go to together. They were ready to play with her and spend time with her and ask her all sorts of questions about Africa.

But with Natasha being on bedrest, it would prompt us to tell the children sooner than we wanted to about what was happening.

All the stress of work fell to the back of my mind as I gazed upon her face. This family was going to be wild and crazy, but it was going to be ours. And I wanted it. I wanted all of this with her. Natasha had come into our lives at a moment of desperation and had saved us from drowning. She had single-handedly turned my wild children into respectable kids and I knew she was going to be a wonderful mother to them.

To them and to the children she was carrying.

I leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She shuffled in bed, rolling over and pulling the covers up over her face. I heard the pitter patter of little feet coming down the hallway and I turned my head, watching as my children piled in the doorway of my room.

“Can we come in?” Joshua asked.

“If you be really quiet,” I said. “Natasha’s had a long day.”

I watched my children tip toe into the room. They climbed onto the bed softly and curled themselves up around her. I got up so Clara could nuzzle beside her and I made my way to the corner, sitting in a chair as I looked at the scene. Natasha, with her beautiful body and her long locks splayed over the pillow. And my children, curled up alongside her as they wrapped their arms around her.

And as if she knew they were there, she stretched out her arms and pulled all of them close.

All of them.

Like the family they knew they were.

I sat there and watched as their eyes slowly fluttered closed. One by one, the kids fell asleep next to her. Clara first, then Nathaniel, then Joshua was the last. I smiled in the corner, my heart soaring with joy as I watched my family sleep.

All piled onto my bed and tucked underneath the covers.

I pushed up from the chair and walked over to the bed. I tugged at the covers and made sure the blanket was on top of all their bodies. I leaned down and pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads, then I leaned over and rested my hand on Natasha’s stomach.

“Good night, you two. Make sure to let Mommy rest.”

I went into the closet and finished unpacking Natasha’s stuff. She didn’t have much. Her clothes barely took up half of the closet space I had to give her. And she only had four pairs of shoes. What woman only had four pairs of shoes? I turned off the closet light and shut the door, then slowly made my way out of the room. I was relegated to one of the guest bedrooms for the night, but I didn’t care.

The children wanted to feel close to Natasha and I wanted them to have that time.

Especially for when broke it to them that she was pregnant.

I went downstairs and cleaned up the kitchen before I sat on the couch with my laptop. Work never stopped for a man like me, and if I was going to be there for Natasha I had to get used to working from home again. Things with the merger had finally settled down and Logan was picking up the slack now that he was stateside again, which meant my schedule was settling out as well.

I hoped that would play in my favor for when Natasha needed me the most.

I checked in on some numbers and had a quick video conference with our German headquarters. I ran some numbers and answered some last-minute emails, then I went in and tailored down my schedule a bit. I reorganized some things so I could have shorter days in the evenings. Something in the pit of my gut told me Natasha would need me more at night than she would during the morning, and I wanted to make sure I was there with her.

After working for a couple of hours and enjoying a glass of wine, I shut my laptop and dragged myself off to a guest bedroom. I slipped between the sheets and closed my eyes, allowing my body to relax.

Five children.

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