“You just missed a call.”
He shrugs but reaches for his cell. We left both devices sitting on the kitchen counter when we took off for our hike.
Keegan scowls. “Christ Jesus, the family’s been blowing it up.”
I glance at mine and see I’ve missed several calls from Maggie, as well.
“My mother hasn’t felt well.” His face is lined with worry as he dials and puts the phone to his ear. “What’s going on, Maeve?”
He listens, and then his eyes narrow as he looks over at me. “Are they okay? How soon? Well, she doesn’t waste any time, does she? We’ll wrap things up here and head back. No, we should be there. We own the bloody place, Maeve, we’ll be back. See you soon.”
“Is your mom okay?”
“It’s Anastasia.” He sighs and looks at me with regret. “I’m sorry, love, but we’ll have to cut our trip short. The baby’s on its way, and it seems he or she wants to make a dramatic entrance. Stasia’s having some complications. Kane’s beside himself.”
“We need to get there,” I say immediately and hurry for the stairs. “I can be packed in five minutes.”
“Stop.”
I turn to find him just behind me. He drags his knuckles down my cheek.
“What is it?”
“Thank you.”
“For not being a bitch because your brother is about to be a father?”
He smiles. “Something like that.”
“You’re welcome. Now let’s get a move on.”
Chapter 10
~Keegan~
“You can go up without me. I’m not trying to keep you from them, I just have to get a gift before I go in there.”
I grin down at her as she fusses over some pink and blue blankets in the hospital gift shop.
“I can wait ten more minutes.”
“I just don’t know if I should get something for the baby or for Anastasia.”
“We can get something for both of them,” I suggest. “Get all of it, if you want.”
She sighs and bites her lower lip, concentrating way harder than I think is necessary, but I’m not a woman. They’re a mystery to me.
“Wait.” She turns to me with wide eyes. “Do we know if it’s a boy or a girl?”
“No, because we aren’t upstairs yet.”
“Well, crap.” She finally decides on a yellow giraffe blanket and a bigger, fluffier gray blanket for Stasia. “Okay, I’ll start here and shop for more later.”
“All right, let’s do this.”
I pay for the gifts, along with the gift bags to stuff them in for exactly six minutes, and earn a glare from Izzy.
“What?”
“I was supposed to buy them.”
“Can’t they be from us?”
“Oh, of course. I just didn’t want to assume that would be okay.”
I stop us in the hospital hallway and turn her to me. I tip up her chin. “You and I are an us, Isabella. I didn’t realize that wasn’t already implied, so I’m happy to make it clear right here and now.”
Her lips tip up into a grin. “Well, okay then. Let’s go meet a baby.”
I kiss her lips before taking her hand and leading her into an elevator and up to the labor and delivery part of the hospital.
It’s been a few hours since that call to Maeve at the cabin. From what I understand, Stasia has since had an emergency C-section, and both she and the baby are safe.
But they don’t want to tell me what the sex is until we get there.
“What room is she in?” Izzy asks.
“That one at the end of the hall.”
“How do you know?”
I grin at the laughter and chatter coming from the room. “Because I can hear them. We’re not a quiet lot, that’s for sure.”
Izzy and I fill the doorway, and I smile at the scene before me.
Anastasia is sitting up in the hospital bed, wearing a tired smile and an IV in one arm. Kane sits close by, one hand on her ankle as he talks with Anastasia’s brother, Archer, and his wife, Elena.
My mother rocks the new baby in the corner as my father stands next to her and smiles down at the wee one.
Maggie and Maeve are on their phones, most likely methodically calling all of the Montgomerys and O’Callaghans all over the bloody world.
“You’re here,” Stasia says. “Come in.”
“Is there room?” I ask, teasing her. “You’re awfully popular.”
I walk to her and kiss her cheek before circling the bed to hug my brother.
“Shawn and Lexi just left,” he says. “Amelia and Wyatt are on their way.”
“What about your parents?” I ask Stasia.
“They just went down to the cafeteria for some lunch.”
“So, it’s been a revolving door.”
“I just got off the phone with Will,” Maeve adds. “He and Meg will be here this evening. He can’t get out of practice since they have a game in a few days.”
I glance back at Izzy, who’s still hovering in the doorway.
“Come in, love. We don’t bite.”
“I should wait in the waiting room. I don’t want to overwhelm—”