Chapter 2
Rather than crowding the newest arrival in the foyer, I wait until Molly and Jamie make their way into the great room. Molly is holding Hazel, and Jamie is carrying Henry’s car seat which is covered with a soft pale-blue baby blanket.
Aiden and Luke are right on Jamie’s heels.
“Can I hold him, Uncle Jamie?” Luke asks. “Please?”
“Sure,” Jamie says. “Just let me set him down and get him out of his car seat.”
“Now we have three boys and five girls,” Aiden announces proudly. “The boys are catching up.” He addresses the room at large. “If anyone else is planning to have a baby, please make sure it’s a boy.” That statement is followed by a number of quiet chuckles.
Jamie sets the baby’s car seat on the floor and instructs Luke and Aiden to sit on the sofa if they want to hold the baby. The two boys obey promptly, both of them eager to hold their newest cousin.
Jamie crouches down in front of the car seat and unbuckles the baby. He carefully removes the baby’s fluffy blue sleeper and cradles the eight-week old in his arms. There’s something so magical about a new baby.
Henry is dressed in a light blue cotton sleeper. Even though his head is covered with a matching knit hat, strands of auburn hair—the same shade as Jamie’s—are visible.
“Are you ready?” Jamie asks the boys as he rises to his feet.
Luke holds out his arms. “I’m ready, Uncle Jamie! I’m right here, right in front of you.” It’s sweet how Luke does his best to accommodate Jamie’s blindness.
“Molly?” Jamie says quietly.
Molly steps forward, and they exchange kids. Jamie places their new son in the crook of Molly’s free arm, and he takes Hazel from her. Molly steps forward and lays Henry in Luke’s waiting arms. She discreetly hovers close by in case she’s needed.
“Be very gentle with him, sweetie,” I say.
“I will, Mama,” Luke promises. “I’ll be really careful, like when I held Sissy when she was tiny.”
Luke gazes down at the little face staring up at him. “Mama, I want a brother. Can we have another baby?”
Everyone in the room laughs at that.
“What’s this about wanting a brother?” Shane asks as he walks into the room. When he sees Luke is holding his new little cousin, he grins. “Ah, I see. Well, you’ll have to ask your mother about that.”
More laughter.
After Luke has had a turn holding Henry, Molly transfers the baby to Aiden’s waiting arms.
“I want a baby brother, too,” Aiden says as he glances hopefully at his parents, who are seated on another sofa, each of them holding one of the twin girls.
“You’ll have to ask your dad about that,” Annie says as she smiles up at Jake.
Jake leans in and kisses her cheek. “I guess we’ll just have to see, won’t we?”
“Oh, I forgot!” Luke chimes in. “Aunt Annie’s going to have another baby. I sure hope it’s a boy.”
The entire room goes silent, and Annie and Jake freeze. I watch as Annie’s cheeks flush deeply.
Oh, dear.
When the silence goes on a little too long, Luke looks around at all the dumbstruck adults, his eyes widening in realization. “Oh, I forgot. That’s a secret. We’re not supposed to tell anyone. Sorry!”
“Well,” Jake says as he finally regains the ability to speak. “I guess the cat is out of the bag.” He puts his arm around Annie and draws her close. “We are expecting. Annie is two months along. We weren’t quite ready to announce it yet, but I guess that’s a moot point now.”
Luke looks over at me and Shane, who took a seat beside me. Shane’s now got Ava standing on his thighs.
“Am I in trouble?” Luke asks us.
When the room breaks out in laughter, Luke smiles in relief.
Bridget walks over to Annie and leans down to hug her. She hugs Jake as well. “I’m so happy for you both.”
“Please let it be a boy!” Aiden says.
Elly walks into the great room. “Lunch is ready. I set the food out on the buffet in the dining room so you can all fill your own plates. I set up a kids’ table in the kitchen, and we have enough seats and high chairs for all the grandkids.
Bridget and Ingrid will help me with the kids, so the rest of you can have a relaxing meal in the dining room. ”
Molly takes Henry back.
Aiden pauses to ask, “Daddy, after lunch, can I go outside and play in the snow?”
Jake frowns as he glances out the big wall of windows at the back of the great room, at the snow that is still falling heavily. “We’ll have to see, buddy. It’s really coming down out there.”
“But you said we could!”
“I said we could if the weather cooperates. Right now, it doesn’t seem to be doing that.”
Luke says as he slides off the sofa. “I want to play in the snow, too.”
“Maybe,” Shane says. “If the snow stops.”
While Elly, along with help from the grandmas, takes the kids to the kitchen to eat lunch, the rest of us gather in the dining room to sit around a long table designed to accommodate a huge family.
“I’ll hold him,” I offer to Molly as she sits with Henry in her arms. “So you can eat.”
She hands me the baby, who feels incredibly small and light in my arms. I’m used to carrying Ava, who’s a little over a year old now.
While I’m cuddling my new nephew, Shane fills a plate for me and brings it to the table. I eat with one hand, while I cradle Henry in my other arm.
Lia and Jonah are taking turns holding Hazel so Jamie can eat.
When everyone is finally seated, Calum raises his glass and makes a toast. “To family. To my beloved wife, Bridget, who has given me the world. And to all the people in this room who make all of our lives worthwhile.”
“Cheers!” everyone says as they tap their glasses and take a sip.
When I get a moment, I say to Annie and Jake, “Congratulations on the new baby. I’m really sorry about Luke spilling the beans. I honestly don’t know how he found out you were expecting because Shane and I didn’t know.”
Jake laughs. “Aiden must have told him. But the crazy thing is, we never told Aiden.”
“How did he find out?” I ask.
“According to Aiden,” Annie says, “he noticed I’ve been having morning sickness. After he witnessed me vomiting a few times—with Jake holding back my hair and rubbing my back—he said he remembered us doing the same thing back when I was pregnant with the girls.”
“He must have put two and two together,” Jake says, seemingly proud of his son and not the least bit annoyed. “What can I say? He’s very observant.”
“Any word on Hannah and Killian yet?” Sophie asks.
Shane checks an app on his phone. “It looks like their flight has left Denver. They should arrive at O’Hare in about ninety minutes, barring more bad weather.”
We eat and chat and pass Henry and Hazel around the table.
Before long, Aiden races out of the kitchen and into the dining room. “I’m done eating,” he announces. “Now can I go outside and play?”
“Not if it’s still snowing,” Jake says. “The last time I checked, it was coming down so hard I couldn’t see fifteen feet away.”
“Did you clear your dishes from the table?” Annie asks. “You know the rules.”
Aiden frowns. “No.”
“Then go back in the kitchen and help clean up,” Jake says. “Put your plate and silverware and cup on the counter next to the sink. And then ask Elly if there’s anything you can help with.”
Aiden frowns, clearly not thrilled with the program. “All right. After that, can I go outside?”
Jake sighs as he mutters something about Aiden having a one-track mind. He glances out the window at the snow still coming down so heavily we can’t even see the big red barn across the yard. “It’s not looking good right now, buddy. Maybe later.”
“Don’t worry, honey,” Annie says. “You’ll get a chance to play in the snow. Just be patient.”
Aiden doesn’t look happy, but he does as his parents asked him.
After we finish eating, Shane and I join the others in the kitchen to help with the clean-up. Luke managed to make a small mess at the table, and Ava’s high chair tray is a disaster. I help him clear his place and put the trash in the can.
My mom and Bridget are taking care of the dirty dishes.
“Where’s Elly?” I ask.
“She went outside to bring the horses in and feed them,” Mom says. “She wanted to get them tucked in for the night before it gets much darker.”
“It’s getting pretty bad out there,” Shane says. “I’ll go help her.”
“Can I go play with Aiden?” Luke asks as I’m washing Ava’s hands and face.
“Yes, you can.” As he races out of the room, I say, “Have fun and be good!”
* * *
Once the kitchen is tidied, Mom and Bridget and I return to the great room. Jake is loading some logs onto the fire. Lia and Jonah are adding more Christmas songs to the playlist.
I carry a sleepy Ava upstairs to our room to change her diaper and put her down for a nap.
Once she’s settled, I turn on the baby monitor and bring the receiver downstairs with me so I can hear when she wakes.
One of the inconveniences of this huge house is I can’t hear the kids upstairs when I’m downstairs.
I join Annie on one of the sofas. “How are you feeling?”
She pats her softly rounded belly. “I had a lot of morning sickness for a while, but it has tapered off. I’m tired a lot, though.
Chasing after the girls takes a lot out of me, and being pregnant makes everything a bit harder.
Jake has been a huge help. He’s cut back to working just four days a week so he can be home more to take care of the kids while I sneak in some much-needed naps. ”
Jake’s currently sitting on a rug in the center of the room playing with Everly and Emerly. With their dad’s help, the twins are making a tower out of brightly-colored wooden blocks, and when the tower topples over, the girls laugh hysterically.
“I’m surprised Aiden hasn’t gotten the train set out yet,” Annie says. “It’s one of his favorite toys.”
“Luke’s, too.” I glance around the room as I realize it’s pretty quiet. “Speaking of the boys… where are they?”
“Honey?” Annie asks Jake. “Did you see where the boys got off to?”
Jake looks around the room and frowns. “No.”