Chapter Eight
Pam Westmoreland got everyone’s attention when she took the mic. “Will the honorees please join me?”
Aidan assisted Jillian as they joined Pam on stage.
Earlier, Pam had thanked the couple for entrusting her and Dillon with such valuable information and allowing them to present it in this festive forum to everyone, including not only family but also friends and fellow medical colleagues.
She then thanked everyone who helped, especially Iris, who had come in early to assist.
She told them there would be several “boy or girl” activities.
The first one was to determine if Dr. Aidan Westmoreland, the cardiologist, could guess the sex of their baby from the sound of the heartbeat.
A grinning Aidan told the crowd that, although he would play along, such a thing was not possible since there was no scientific evidence linking fetal heart rate to gender.
Thanks to the art department, led by the production designer from Pam’s acting school, when the curtain was pulled open, it revealed a set that had taken on the appearance of a doctor’s office.
Aidan was given his white coat to wear, and Jill was placed on an examination table.
Trinity, another doctor in the Westmoreland family, played the role of assistant and connected Jill to the medical equipment to listen to the baby’s heartbeat.
With the use of an actual fetal Doppler, the sound of the heartbeat was amplified through the various speakers around the huge ballroom.
Everyone was quiet at the sound of the baby’s heartbeat. Using a fetoscope, Aidan listened and was about to jokingly predict what he thought the sex of the baby was, when suddenly, he went still, then exclaimed, “Holy cow!”
Pam, holding back a smile, asked, “Aidan? What’s wrong?”
Instead of answering, he held up his hand to halt the conversation as he listened attentively to the heartbeat again. Iris could tell the audience had become curious. More than likely, they were wondering whether Aidan had, after all, determined the baby’s gender.
Moments passed when, finally, Aidan placed the fetoscope aside to glance at his wife, who had a huge grin on her face. “You knew?” he asked her in a shocked voice.
Everyone was now wondering what Jill was supposed to know. With tears in her eyes, she nodded to his question and watched as Aidan gently pulled her into his arms for a kiss.
Moments later, Dillon tapped him on the shoulder to end the kiss. “Will you tell everyone what Jill knew that has you so happy?” he asked, handing Aidan the mic. It was evident from the looks on Dillon’s and Pam’s faces that they already knew the answer.
A smiling Aidan, with his arms wrapped lovingly around his wife, said excitedly, “As I explained, there was no way I could predict the gender of our child. However, as a cardiologist, I detected two heartbeats. That means we’re having twins!”
Everyone in the room cheered and clapped for the couple.
When the noise died down, a happy Jill leaned closer into the mic to say. “I only found out a couple of weeks ago and decided to surprise Aidan here today.” The couple kissed again, but this time Dillon didn’t interrupt them.
A grinning Pam then said into the mic. “Now that we know Aidan and Jill are having twins, the big question is, will they be two boys, two girls, or one of each? It’s time for them and us to find out. We will have a quick intermission while we do a set change. Please take this time to mingle.”
* * *
The moment Iris left the stage for the acting school’s art department and production designer to set up for the next segment, she saw Matt strolling over to her. “So, what do you think?” she asked when he reached her.
“I’ve never attended one of these before, but I must say I’m enjoying myself. And they’re having twins! But then it appears multiple births run in this family.”
She grinned. “True. There are numerous sets of twins in the Westmoreland family. In addition to that, there are four sets of Westmoreland triplets, and two of those belong to Bane. Then there are Quade’s triplets and Uncle Corey’s.
And according to some family members, a Westmoreland living in the New England area gave birth to quadruplets several years ago.
They are convinced that group of Westmorelands is a descendant of Raphel and Reginald Westmoreland’s oldest brother from their father’s first marriage. ”
“Have they approached those particular Westmorelands about their connection?”
“Not yet. Quade’s father James, who they consider the genealogist in the family, is pretty sure about it, but wants to do more research, so when they do approach them, they will have all the records in order they need to support their claim.”
Iris then grabbed glasses of wine from the tray of a passing waitress dressed in pink. She handed Matt one of the glasses.
“Thanks.” After taking a sip, he asked, “So what’s next?”
Their gazes met over the rim of his wineglass. Why did the look in his eyes remind her of last night before they kissed? A kiss she still couldn’t get out of her mind.
The memory of that kiss made her lose her train of thought. “What’s next?” she repeated, as if to make sure she understood what he had asked.
“Yes, what’s next with the gender reveal?”
Suddenly feeling thirsty, she raised the glass to her lips to take a sip of wine before saying, “I can’t tell you that. It’s a surprise you don’t want to miss.”
“Were you in on the planning?” he asked.
“Pretty much.”
“Then I definitely don’t want to miss anything you’re connected with, Iris.”
She didn’t want to read anything into what he’d said, but with the way he was looking at her, she couldn’t help doing so.
“Hello, Mom.”
Before Iris could gather her wits to greet her son, he extended his hand out to Matt. “Hello, Mr. Caulder. I met your daughter Deena yesterday when we went horseback riding, but you and I haven’t been introduced. I’m Garlan Michaels.”
She watched Matt smile as he accepted her son’s hand. “Garlan, it’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you.”
Garlan chuckled. “And I’m sure they all came from my mom. By the way, if you’re trying to get any scoop as to how this gender reveal party will turn out, don’t waste your time. Mom can keep a secret better than anyone I know.”
Now it was Matt’s time to chuckle. “I’m finding that out. I’ve asked her twice now and she hasn’t told me anything.”
At that moment, her two teenage godsons, Denver and Dade, joined them.
They gave Iris huge hugs. When Matt remarked that they favored Alisdare, they laughed, and Denver said it was because their father, Dillon, and Alisdare’s dad, Dare, looked so much alike.
They even warned him that if he saw their younger cousin Beau, who was Canyon Westmoreland’s son, he would think the three of them were brothers since Beau favored them as well.
Then they asked Matt how it felt to be Sid Roberts’s son.
He smiled. “It’s taking some getting used to.”
“Well, he’s a hero. I wish more people knew about him and how he worked to save horses. Most people only know him as a rodeo star,” Denver said.
Then the topic turned to horses, and Iris was surprised by how much Matt knew about them.
Garlan, as well as her godsons, had always had a fascination with them, and thanks to so many expert horsemen in the Westmoreland family, they’d learned to ride early.
When the two brothers left to go talk with their cousins from Australia, Garlan asked Matt if he’d ever gone skiing.
Matt told him he had, and that he enjoyed the sport. The topic then shifted back to horses.
Garlan finally left when Prince Ari got his attention. It was then that Iris asked Matt, “How do you know so much about horses?”
He smiled and took another sip of wine. “I’ve always been fascinated with them. My godparents, the Saxons, owned several, and I learned to ride right along with Dominic. In fact, they gave me my first horse as a birthday gift when I turned ten.”
He became solemn, as if remembering. “Come to think of it, my fascination goes back before then. I used to watch a lot of rodeo shows on television, and my mom even took me to a couple of rodeos.”
“To see your father perform?”
“I don’t know. She never mentioned his name. At the time, she knew I was a fan of Sid Roberts like every other kid my age.”
“Does a part of you regret she didn’t tell you he was your father?” she asked.
“No. My godmother explained that Mom knew of his love for the rodeo and refused to compete against it. Not even for me. A part of me believes it would have been nice knowing my father, just like I’m sure there are times Garlan wishes he’d known his.
However, you learn to accept that some things weren’t meant to be.
It was Mom’s decision to make, and I accept it. ”
He got quiet for a moment before saying, “According to what my mother shared with my godmother, Sid Roberts explained the reason he didn’t want to choose between marriage and the rodeo. It was because his father had been forced to do that very thing.”
“How did it turn out?”
“He chose the rodeo.”
“Over his wife and child?” Iris asked as if appalled.