Page 131 of A Ryan Recollection

She claps a hand over her mouth.

Liam edges off the bed and moves closer to his twin. “Is it positive?”

Turning the white piece of plastic in his hands, he holds it up for us all to see. “Sure fucking is.”

Jessie gasps and Conor wraps her in his arms. “You’re sure, Mikey?” he asks with a frown.

“Yes I’m fucking sure. Two fucking lines. Pregnant!” he announces triumphantly.

“Yes, baby!” Liam fist pumps the air and then he wraps his arms around Jessie too, sandwiching her between him and Conor.

“I’m so fucking proud of you, angel,” Conor says before giving her a soft kiss on her head. She buries her face against his chest, her shoulders shaking like she’s sobbing.

Mikey wraps his arms around the three of them. “You’re fucking amazing, Red.”

I swallow as I watch the four of them together—five if you include the new baby—and wonder how the fuck I ever got so lucky as to share the most incredible woman in the world with my brothers.

Jessie’s head peeks out over Conor’s bicep, happy tears streaming down her cheeks as she smiles at me. What the fuck am I doing still sitting here? My wife is about to make me a dad again. I jump off the bed and run over to them.

Chapter3

Liam

6 MONTHS BEFORE CHRISTMAS

“This will be cold,” Dr. Wilcox says as she squeezes some jelly onto Jessie’s stomach. I squeeze her hand in mine and she smiles up at me, tears pricking at her eyes. This is her twelve week scan, the first time we’ll get to see our new baby and I know she’s as excited as fuck, but nervous as hell too. We all are.

She’s been as sick as a dog though and Mikey, who is the font of all pregnancy knowledge, assures me that morning sickness, while bad for our girl, is a good sign that all is well with the baby.

“Let’s see the jelly-bean, Doc,” Mikey says as he stands on the opposite side of the bed, bouncing on his toes. Shane puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder and squeezes.

“Almost there,” Dr. Wilcox says with a reassuring smile.

Jessie turns her head and stares at the monitor intently and a few seconds later a fuzzy image appears on the screen.

My beautiful wife sucks in a harsh breath. “Is everything okay?”

I squeeze her hand tighter, my eyes meeting Conor’s as he sits directly opposite me, with her other hand in his.

Dr. Wilcox remains quiet, her eyes fixed on the screen as she runs the machine over Jessie’s abdomen. It seems like we all hold our breath, frozen in anticipation.

“And there’s the heartbeat,” Dr. Wilcox says at last and I let out the air in my lungs while Jessie squeals with happiness. The doc turns up the sound and the sound of our baby’s racing heart fills the small room.

“And there’s only one this time?” Shane asks.

Dr. Wilcox laughs. “Just the one.”

“One perfect baby,” Jessie says softly.

Lifting her hand to my face, I kiss her knuckles. Another baby. I’m going to be a dad again. I can’t fucking wait.

Dr. Wilcox shows us the baby’s head and limbs as she takes plenty of pictures and when she’s done, she hands me some tissues and leaves the room.

My brothers smother our wife with kisses and well-deserved praise while I wipe the jelly from her stomach. When I’m done I press a kiss on her abdomen. “Can’t fucking wait to meet you, kid,” I whisper before I fix Jessie’s clothes in place for her.

She runs her fingers through my hair and when I look up she’s smiling down at me looking like the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. “Thank you.”

I kiss her stomach again and wad the tissue into a ball. “No problem.”

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