Page 98 of Shattered Union

Granda Henry is seated, a glass of whiskey in his hands and a smile on his face. He met with Sean Kelly senior, the man had no idea the woman he was fucking was also giving his soldier the goods. Sean wanted to find William and kill him, but Granda made him a promise that we’d take care of it. So, there’s no war between us… yet, at least.

"Everyone gather round," Nichola shouts, getting everyone's attention. "It's time," she says, smiling down at Mary who's in her arms. Eric's standing beside her with Gareth in his arms.

"Fifty on a boy," Maverick says.

"I'll take that," Danny says and Melissa elbows him in the gut. "What?" he asks innocently.

"Maverick Jerry O'Hara, you are not too young for my wooden spoon," Nichola hisses at him, all the while smiling at Mary. "Do not mess this day up for your sister."

Chloe hands me and Callie a smoke bomb each. "On the count of three, release them."

Callie smiles up at me with a bright smile on her face.

"Three..." everyone yells together. "Two…" Callie grips her smoke bomb, holding it out in front of her. I do the same. "One," they yell, and I release the bomb.

Pink flies from mine while blue flies from Callie's.

There's gasps and cries of happiness.

I stare at the colours. Holy shit, we're having one of each.

Fuck.

I pull my woman into my arms and press my lips against hers. As always, she melts into my arms and kisses me back.

God, I don't think I've ever been as happy as I am right now. Having Callie and my kids around me, all of them smiling and blissfully happy. All because of the woman that I hold in my arms.

Damn, I'm one lucky bastard.

28

Callie

Three months later

Iwaddle around the house, making sure everything is ready. The past three months have been hectic, but also amazing. Denis's family returned home just a few days after we had the party, all of them over the moon that we're having twins. Danny and Malcolm come home at least once a month, if not more. I've grown really close to Melissa and Raylee. Those girls are amazing and we get along like a house on fire. It's cool as we're all pregnant at the same time and we have the other girls to talk to when things get tough.

I moved into my house two months ago. Denis, Dad, Mav, and Jer helped me move. Stephen was out of the country on a job for Jer. Walking into my old house brought back so many memories. Nothing had been done with it since the night I was attacked. There were bloodstains in the hallway and in the bedroom. The door to my room was splintered. Denis just about lost his mind. He punched a hole in the wall and went outside. Ten minutes later, he walked back in and announced we were all going out for dinner and some people were coming to sort the house out.

I was grateful I didn't have to stay there any longer and I know Dad was too; he was having a hard time hiding his emotions. I don't know how Denis did it, but he hired people to not only clean my house, but also pack everything up for me. It took so much stress off my shoulders that I cried.

My phone rings and I move into the kitchen to answer it. I see Denis's name on the screen, and I can't help but smile as I answer it. "Hey, Denny."

"Mo ghrá, we're almost there."

Butterflies form in my stomach. God, I've been waiting for this day for weeks.

"See you soon," I whisper, my excitement palpable.

"Soon, baby." His words are filled with a promise of what's to come, and I cannot wait.

I take a steadying breath and look around the kitchen. Everything's set up for their arrival. Today is the day that our family is finally together. Denis and the kids are moving in with me. The past three weeks have been busy. I've made sure that they decorated each bedroom exactly how each child wanted, well Gareth’s room is everything he likes. I want them to feel at home here and having a room they'll love is a big part of that.

Dad's been a God's send. He's helped me hire the decorators and he and Mam went on a shopping spree for me, for the beds, for the children, along with furniture. Mam, Ava, and I went a little crazy buying new clothes for them all, but we wanted to spoil them. To let them know just how much we love them, and we all do.

Mam takes the kids every Saturday, she says it's her day to spend with the grandchildren and she spoils them rotten. She takes them wherever they want to go and even insists on them spending the night. Dad's just as bad. When he comes home he and Gareth will sit on his recliner and watch whatever sport is on the TV.

I hear the car pull up outside and my heart pounds a mile a minute. Nerves shoot through me. I do not know why I'm so nervous. I know how much the children love me; they show me all the time. Mary and Gareth call me mam, something I wasn't sure about. I never want to replace their birth mam, but after speaking to Denis, then to Danny, Malcolm, Holly, and Chloe, they all agreed with Denis that the kids feel as though I'm their mam because I show them that's who I am and they're all happy with that. My heart melted when they said it again and I cried, sobbed my heart out. I was so touched they loved me enough to think of me as their mam, the tears just tumbled down my cheeks.

---