Oh, God. A homemade gift after he all but threw her out of his life. Shit, shit, shit. He closed his eyes tight, body awash with heat from head to toe. Boiling. Then he heard her gasp, and his eyes popped open.
She had removed the bubble wrap and was pulling out the glass jar. Absently he noticed the other four occupants in the room had circled closer— like Great Whites scenting blood. Raven eyed the tulip jar with its rubber seal and clamps.
“Oh my.” River or Rowen whispered behind him.
“Bran, is this starter?” Raven set the jar gently on her desk. The tiny white bubbles looked like Elmer’s glue.
He cleared his throat. Feeling the tips of his ears heat. “Yes. I, ah, called the chef from that... last dinner. Damn it,” he noticed her flinch, “I’m sorry, Raven, I shouldn’t have brought that up. It’s only, you and your sisters loved his bread, and... I wanted to use his exact technique. Everyone’s method seems to vary, so I thought... it doesn’t matter. I should not have called...”
Raven interrupted. “Tell me about it.”
Taking a deep breath, Bran went through the process. Bread flour and water to start. Sealed jar. The rubber band around the base to gauge its growth. Feeding it every day by taking half the starter out and feeding in new flour water.
“So, you feed it daily?”
“Oh, yes. You have to if you want a strong starter. It can be very temperamental. Eventually, you can keep the starter in the fridge and only feed it every few days to a week. The more you bake with it, the more you feed it.”
Her sisters were next to Raven’s sides now, touching the jar gently as if it were a priceless artifact.
“Rave, it’s a wonderful gift.”
“It looks as good as Nan’s. Maybe better.” River grudgingly admitted.
Bran was watching Raven. She seemed to be contemplating the world as she touched the lid. Then her eyes met his. “Thank you, Bran. It is the best gift I’ve ever been given.” She dabbed at her eyes and cleared her tear-clogged throat. “I have a gift for you too.”
Bran saw the sisters stiffen. “You do? Did you know I was coming in today?” Of course, she hadn’t— moron.
Raven swallowed and licked her lips nervously. He glanced at his dad and brother. They seemed perplexed too.
“No, I didn’t know you would be here today. I’ve had this gift for about five months.”
Bran stood up. His nervous energy, paired with Raven’s anxiousness, wouldn’t allow him to be still. “Five months?”
Then she was standing, and he was falling back. Strong arms caught him, preventing him from falling flat on his ass, keeping hold until he had his legs under him.
Oh, God. My God. She was pregnant. “We’re having a baby,” he finally choked out.
Cupping her hands lightly on either side of... their child, she said, “Yes.”
He was walking around the desk before his brain even registered the movement. Her sisters peeled away. When he stood in front of her, tears squeezed from his own eyes. He reached for her, hands close, fingers about to graze her shoulders, “May I hug you?”
“Please.”
And then she was in his arms, crying softly into his chest, their child between them. He shuddered. He almost hadn’t had this moment.
“Oh God, Raven. I love you so much. Please tell me you’ll let me be a part of your life again. Our child’s?”
Raven rubbed her face against his chest once more before leaning back so she could look up at him. He slid his hands down her back to support her hips. The sleek, tight-fitting dress allowed him to feel her body as though it were bare.
“I would never have kept you from this child whether we were together or not. When I found out, we were already in Switzerland.” She looked away from his face. “I didn’t imagine you would believe it was yours.”
Bran touched the side of her cheek, bringing her eyes back to his. “I was a fool. Worse than a fool. I will never doubt you again. I can only hope that you can one day forgive me, and...” He trailed off. Not wanting to go too fast with asking her to love him.
Now she was the one moving his eyes back to meet hers. “I love you, Bran. I never stopped, and though I’m naïve about relationships with men, I’m not inexperienced with how a family loves. You hurt me. Badly. I won’t deny it. But love is also about forgiveness, and I do, Ihave, forgiven you.”
“I hated to even dream that you might still love me.” He took a small step back so he could see the baby bump. “I want to touch our baby.” At her nodded assent, Bran placed his large hands about her belly.
Raven laughed,“Your hands are so much bigger than mine. My bump doesn’t look near as big.”
