Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
O ver the past two weeks, I hadn’t seen or heard from Bud. I was hopeful this meant he was finally going to stay out of my life, but I was afraid to get my hopes up too much. I knew him too well. He was like a toddler. If he was quiet, then he was up to no good.
I just needed to figure out what that meant.
In the meantime, Matt had hardly left my side. It was like he anticipated my every need before I even knew I needed it. The few times that he was gone, he was either working at the pub or being strangely secretive about some mysterious outings. I asked him about it, but he simply said it was a surprise.
I hated surprises.
So, I stood outside of my apartment waiting for him to pick me up. It was mid-August, and I was fourteen weeks pregnant and hot as the dickens. A heatwave was passing through Mayflower, and I was not a fan.
I glanced at my watch. It was still morning. I’d already had breakfast, but my stomach was rumbling again. These babies were always hungry, but what did I expect, given who their father was?
Matt pulled up next to the curb in a massive pickup truck. Before I could even touch the door handle, he hopped out and jogged around the hood to open the door.
“You’re late.” I leveled a stare at him.
It must be nature’s way to prepare a woman for motherhood by making her have to go to the bathroom all night long. Being sleep deprived, hungry, and hot all at the same time was making me cranky as a mama bear, and I didn’t even have any cubs yet.
“Aye, lass, but when ye see what’s inside, ye’ll forgive me.” He held out his hand and I slid mine into his as I stepped onto the foot running board. My sandal had barely touched the step when he gave my bottom a boost with his other hand.
I let out a little yelp, and he boomed a big hearty laugh of delight then closed the door with a resounding thud. The man was like a grizzly bear. He ran around the hood once more and slid into the driver’s side with ease then held up a bag for me.
“What’s that?” I eyed him curiously.
“A morning snack.” He winked, and just like that, I forgave him.
The aroma wafting out of the bag had me salivating. I snatched the bag from him and peeked inside. Warm bagels with cream cheese, a cup of fruit, and herbal tea. I looked up at him with misty eyes as I sighed the words, “Have I told you lately that I love you?”
He blinked, his lips parting slightly.
My heart skipped a beat and I quickly added, “The babes love you, I mean.” I laughed a little too hyena-ishly.
He chuckled. “Now that we’ve clarified that, are ye ready to find out what yer surprise is, lass?”
“At this point I would say yes to anything,” I answered, before biting into my heavenly delight and moaning my appreciation.
“Music to me ears.” He slid the gearshift into drive, and off we went.
Fifteen minutes later, on the outskirts of town, we pulled into the driveway of an adorable ranch. It was a dove gray with white trim and a lovely front porch. Matt cut the engine and hopped out of the truck, jogging around to open my door before I could even wipe my hands after my delicious snack. He placed his big hands on both sides of my waist and easily lifted me down, no running boards necessary.
“Thank you, but I’m not entirely helpless you know.” I sighed.
“Sorry,” he said with a grin. “Force of habit.”
I rolled my eyes. “So, whose house are we at anyway?” I fanned my cheeks from the early morning heat already. It was going to be a hot one.
“Ours.” Matt nodded once, looking very similar to when he’d proposed. No question, just stating a face as if it were set in stone.
My hand stopped moving, and my heart started to pound. “Excuse me?” Living with McShamrock was not an option.
“I have another proposition for ye.” His eyes sparkled.
I dropped my arm to my side, letting my walls slide back into place to guard my heart. “Matt…”
He held up his hands. “It’s not what ye think. Just hear me out, lass. Please? For the sake of the wee babes.”
“The babes card? Really?”
He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a desperate man.”
He was sure something. I blew out a breath and crossed my arms while I still could. “Like I have a choice to do anything else. It’s not like I’m going anywhere at the moment. No wonder you kept this a secret.”
He ignored my response and dove right into his explanation. “Yer apartment is going to get a lot more difficult to climb those stairs when ye are in yer last trimester. Not to mention carrying two infant carriers up and down stairs plus diaper bags and strollers is going to be exhausting.”
He had a point. I used to be able to jog up my stairs no problem, but lately, I was so winded by the time I reached the top. “I’m listening.”
“So, I found this house fer rent. It’s perfect. All on one floor, not too far from town, and it’s four bedrooms. Plenty of room fer us all.”
“Wait…there is no us all .” My tummy fluttered, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t the babies as I hadn’t felt them move yet. “Besides, I don’t take charity, and like I’ve said before, I am more than capable of providing for myself and the babies.”
“Aye, lass, I’m not saying ye are not. Ye promised to hear me out, remember?” He looked me in the eyes with sparkling blue orbs I found hard to resist.
“Fine, go on.”
He shrugged. “That’s where me proposition comes in. I say we both rent out our apartments to friends or family members, while we move in here together and share the expenses fer one year. Then we can reevaluate at that time.”
An entire year of living together?
I didn’t know if I could resist him, let alone worrying about him resisting me. I cleared my throat. “I told you no romance.” My words sounded weak to my own ears.
“And there won’t be any,” he said far too easily.
Why was I annoyed when this was my idea?
“I’m talking about co-parenting,” he continued, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “It will be much easier fer us to help each other if we both live under the same roof, at least fer the first year. It’s twins we’re talking about, Tiffany. You can’t do that on yer own. No one can. And I’m more than willing to help. In fact, I want to. They’re my children too, and I don’t want to miss out, so please say yes, love.”
There went my heart again. He had no idea his simple terms of endearment melted my heart, but I knew that was just the way he talked. I took a deep breath and focused as I thought about everything he said. Once again, he was right. Middle of the night feedings. Diaper changes. Colic. Daytime baths. Pediatrician visits. Car rides….
Times two!!
Everything he said made sense.
I was lucky that he wanted to be so involved. It wasn’t always like that for a lot of new mothers. I knew nothing about babies, and two of them just seemed overwhelming. For the first time, I could kind of understand how my mother must have felt. Even with my father on board, they hadn’t been able to handle two babies.
What had I been thinking?
I hadn’t, plain and simple. I simply didn’t want my children to go through life feeling unwanted. I studied the man staring back at me with the utmost sincerity, and I really started to believe I didn’t have to do that alone.
I nodded slowly. “Okay.”
His eyes widened. “Yeah?”
I shook my head no , but said, “Yes.” I switched to nodding the more I thought about the whole idea of platonic cohabitation. “That makes sense. No romance, and there are plenty of bedrooms to co-parent and still have our own lives,” I said out loud, more for my benefit than his.
“Great!” He grinned wide and rubbed his large hands together. “I guess we’re doing this thing then.”
“I guess so…and sight unseen, no less.” I laughed, trying not to let it turn into hysteria. “There will be ground rules to cohabiting, you know. I have certain standards to maintain and definite deal breakers.”
“I would expect nothing less.” He winked.
I blinked. “Um, okay then. Maybe I should actually see where I’m going to be living for the next year. Lead the way, Mr. McGinnis.”
“Ye got it, lass.”
I followed Matt, watching the way his body moved, and realized I might be in trouble in the no romance department. But then another thought came to me. If we shared a house, that gave me several months to answer one burning question…
Is the father of my babies a member of the Children of the Clover?
That Friday night, I walked into Harmony’s apartment above her New Age shop for girls’ night. I was the last to arrive again, as usual. I’d never been very prompt, and especially now that I had pregnancy brain , my tardiness had gotten worse. There were times I couldn’t even remember what day it was.
“There’s our little mama,” Harm said.
I grunted. “I’m not so little anymore.” I bypassed the table and went straight to the couch, propping my feet up on her coffee table with a big sigh. “My clothes are getting too tight, and my feet are starting to swell. I’m only fifteen weeks, but with Big Foot as their father, I’m terrified to go full term.”
Zoe brought me a plate of cheese, crackers, pepperoni, fruit, celery, and blue cheese. She knew the chicken wings would give me heartburn, so she’d wisely skipped those. She handed me sparkling water in a fancy glass, and then joined me on the sofa. “Speaking of our favorite Irishman, how is it going with him helping you? I haven’t received any 911 calls from you, so I’m assuming well?”
“Helping?” I choked on my water. “That’s an understatement.” I set my plate of snacks down and wiped my mouth before adding, “The man bought us a house.”
“Wait, what?” Harm gaped at me, grabbing her beer and chicken wings as she made her way into her living room to sit in the recliner beside the couch. “You can’t drop a bomb like that and not give us the full detes, so spill it, babe.”
“Well, he didn’t buy the house exactly.” I took a bite of fruit as I rephrased what I wanted to say. “He rented it.”
“Oh, I thought you meant you two were moving in together.” Morticia laughed as she joined us with a diet cola and pizza and sat in another recliner on the other side of the couch. “Yeah, like that might happen over your dead body.”
Everyone laughed except me.
“Then I must be dying because it’s happening.” I sighed, but the only thing that died was their laughter. “I’m just not very good at articulating things lately.” I took a bite of cheese and crackers.
“But I thought you said you would only allow Matt to help you if there was no romance involved?” Zoe sipped her chardonnay, staring off in thought. “Moving in together sounds kind of romantic.”
“I know, that’s what I’m afraid of,” I admitted. “But he did have some good points. We’re going to have to start hosting our girls’ night in our shops because I can’t handle these stairs much longer. All of our homes, including Matt’s, are in upstairs apartments. The only ones who don’t live upstairs are Zoe and Chaz. So, Matt got the idea that if he rented a four-bedroom ranch, then we could each take one bedroom, leaving two to spare. That’s plenty of room, and it’s only for one year. Through the pregnancy and the first few months because there’s no way I can handle two babies by myself.”
“That actually makes sense.” Zoe nodded.
“Good for you for allowing Matt to help you.” Morti agreed. “You’re so independent, I know it’s hard for you to let someone in.”
“Not just someone…her baby daddy.” Harm wagged her eyebrows.
“And possible Children of the Clover member,” I added.
Harm’s eyes widened. “You’re still on that crazy train?”
“Children of the what?” Zoe asked.
“Yeah, I’m confused.” Morti scratched her head.
“You didn’t tell them?” I looked at Harm.
“Um, no, because the whole idea is crazy.” She held up her hands, always one to speak her mind and keep things real.
I knew she had her doubts, but I didn’t. “I found a book on this ancient cult in Harmony’s shop. I was drawn to the book because of the clover on the cover.
“Clover?” Zoe blinked. “That sounds a little too coincidental.”
“Right?” I set my feet down and scooted forward. “Basically, a long time ago, a group of men thought they were so fabulous, perfect specimens of the male gender. So much so that they tattooed their penises with a four-leaf clover and then spread their seed to special women. They especially felt that a woman who turned forty was superior in knowledge and still fertile. Then the babies became Children of the Clover, raised to carry on the legacy. Male babies were coveted the most for obvious reasons.”
Morti eyed the other two before looking back at me. “I have to say I’m with Harm. The cult sounds a little too crazy to be true. I’m sure it’s just some old legend. Probably where the legend of the tattooed clover penis sprouted from.”
“Oh, it sprouted all right. I saw it with my own eyes. Well, I saw something, anyway, but Matt won’t let me take another look.”
“Gee, I can’t imagine why.” Zoe laughed on a wince. “You don’t really believe this is true, do you?”
“I don’t know.” I threw my hands up in the air and flopped back on the cushions. “You guys make me feel like I’ve gone crazy. Who knows, maybe I have. All I know for certain is that I need to know for sure.”
“Well, living with Matt is a step in the right direction.” Harm snorted.
“My thoughts exactly.” I nodded with determination. “Now I just have to figure out how to make that happen without seeming like a sex-crazed maniac.”
“Good luck with that one,” Zoe said knowingly.
“What does that mean?” I eyed her curiously.
“It’s a pregnancy thing.” Zoe giggled. “Now that your morning sickness is gone, you’ll enter the horny phase, so a sex-crazed maniac isn’t too far off.”
My jaw unhinged.
Matt was already hard enough to resist. How the hell was I going to handle being horny while living with a gorgeous Thor lookalike? “Well, that’s just great. I already signed on the dotted line.”
“Something tells me good ole’ McShamrock doesn’t have a clue what he signed up for.” Harmony laughed.
“And this is why online dating is my preferred choice,” Morticia stated. “Cyber-sex is so much less stressful.”
“But far less enjoyable, babe,” Harmony countered.
“And it can’t give you a baby,” Zoe added gently.
“Or two.” I groaned.
Maybe Matt’s brilliant idea wasn’t so brilliant after all.