“Don’t worry, Iris, you’ll grow into that head just like Keller did,” I mumbled, pulling her little stocking cap on gently. “I can’t say I would have complained if your head was a little smaller, but hey, we got through it, didn’t we?”
My labor had gone fast. I’d been almost fully dilated by the time my parents had gotten me to the hospital, but I’d pushed for hours before she finally slid into the world. I’d lost my mind halfway through it, and my face heated as I remembered the things I’d shouted at my poor family when I’d reached my breaking point.
I would have thought that I’d be embarrassed that my dad and Bram stayed in the room while I was giving birth, but I’d been oddly okay with it. The room had been freaking packed. Mom, Ani, and Aunt Ellie had been in the thick of things, but Dad and Bram had stayed in the room…near my head. I don’t think they wanted to see my downstairs any more than I’d wanted them to.
They just hadn’t wanted to leave me, no matter how messy things got. I couldn’t fault them for that, though I think Bram would have dealt with things much better if he’d stayed in the waiting room. At times, I’d thought he was going to burst out of his clothes like the Hulk and tear the room apart.
I smiled as I picked Iris up and shuffled over to her car seat. I’d planned on using Gunner’s old infant seat, but that plan had been obviously nixed since it was still in the garage in California. My breath hitched.
I missed Sage, Keller, Gavin, and Gunner more than I’d ever thought possible. It didn’t feel like I’d only seen them the afternoon before. It felt like I hadn’t seen them in weeks. Maybe it was the distance between us. It wasn’t as if I could just drive to them, especially with the little bean I was currently buckling into her seat.
“Hey, sis. You almost ready to go?” Bram asked as he walked into our room.
“What are you doing here? I thought Mom was picking me up,” I said with a wide smile. My brother looked like he hadn’t slept or showered since the night before, his beard and hair wild around his face like a mountain man.
“Yeah, well, I thought it would be better if I got you guys. How’s my girl?”
“She’s just fine. They had to poke and prod at her earlier—which she was pissed about—but after a little food, she passed out. It reminded me of Dad.”
Bram scoffed. “She’s too pretty to remind anyone of that wrinkly old man.”
“Don’t let him hear you say that!”
“I’ll deny it,” he replied with a smile, lifting Iris’s seat. “All set?”
“Yep. Let me grab my bag.”
“I’ll get it,” he argued, pulling it from my hands and slinging it over his shoulder. “You’re moving like an old woman. I’m guessing you’re, ah, sore.” His face reddened, and I laughed.
“Yep. Sore is one word for it.”
“I’d imagine stitches, ah—”
“Let’s just leave it at that, shall we?” I cut in, chuckling.
“Yep. Let’s go. I brought my truck; I figured that way we could see her while we drive. Plus, you know, it’s big as a tank.”
“Mom’s car would have worked fine,” I snorted. “But the truck works, too.”
The drive back to my parents felt like it took forever, especially when Iris began to scream about twenty minutes from home.
“What’s wrong?” Bram yelled frantically over the noise.
“I think she’s just hungry,” I called back, between shushing noises. “Just keep going. We’re almost there, and then I can feed her.”
Iris’s face turned beet red, and the screaming continued. By the time we reached the long driveway to the house, Bram and I were wound so tightly it felt like both of us would snap at the slightest provocation.
The minute he stopped the car, I was unbuckling Iris from her seat and pulling her against my chest.
“Shhh. Good grief, sis, you’re going to lose your voice at this rate,” I said quietly into her ear while she sobbed.
“I’ll get the stuff. You just take her inside,” Bram said, opening my door and helping me out of the truck.
“Thanks for picking me up, brother.”
“Of course.”
I smiled at the sight of the front porch. There were pink and purple balloons tied to every single post and even the railings of the porch swing.
My mom was standing in the doorway with an odd look on her face, but I didn’t pause as I moved toward her. I needed to change Iris and get a nipple in her mouth, pronto.
“Katiebear—”
“Talk while we walk, Ma. She’s been screaming for the last twenty minutes.”
“You have a visitor—” she began as I stopped short at the entry to the living room.
My heart began to race and I smiled gleefully. “Are the kids here?” I asked, looking between Shane and my dad, who seemed to be facing off across the room from each other. “Where are they?”