“Bran,” Raven started, leaning heavily into her husband’s side from her own exhaustion, “Please stop at Spar grocery on the way home.”
“What are you needing, sweetheart? I can pick up anything first thing tomorrow.”
“I need women’s things, Bran. Please don’t make it a big deal.”
Patrick cringed at ‘women’s things’ and tried to tune out anything else his sister-in-law said. Since his brother wasn’t a moron, he answered with a simple, “No problem.”
Once they pulled into Spar, Raven insisted on taking only a guard into the store, not wanting to ‘inconvenience Bran.’ Something was definitely off with that woman tonight. Rounding off the weird, his father crouched in the corner of the vehicle like aHarry PotterDementor— sucking up the evening’s happiness. Obviously, he was furious to leave Rowan at the bar. Sucks to suck, as River would say.
Once they were home. Patrick nudged River, but she was stone-cold out. He hoisted her little body against his chest and walked to the elevator with the others. As Patrick stepped out on the second floor, Raven asked him to tell River that she needed her help with something in the morning.
“No problem, I can come too and make us all breakfast.”
Raven hesitated, clearly not expecting or wanting his offer. Weird.
“Thanks. Great idea,” Raven said, less than enthusiastic.
Patrick wondered if River wasn’t the only sister needing extra sleep.
* * *
River and Patrickwalked to Bran and Raven’s the following morning. Patrick loaded down with enough breakfast food for twenty. River grabbed the sack of eggs before they were all committed to scrambled.
“Sorry again about sleeping through most of the evening,” River laughed. “I must have needed it, though, because I feel amazing this morning.”
“Hey, you woke up for the best parts,” he nudged her side with the sausage and bacon.
“Ha!” River shook her head at Patrick as she lightly knocked on her sister’s door in case Daniel was sleeping. “It was hard to sleep through the extremely thorough disrobing you insisted on giving me.”
Repeating River’s words back from last night, he said, “You. Are. Welcome.” Right as Bran, holding a smiling Daniel, opened the door.
“Who’s so handsome this morning? Not you, Bran,” River teased. “Come see your auntie, sweet boy.” Bran exchanged the baby for the eggs, and he and Patrick put all the groceries on the kitchen counter.
“Thank God, Pat,” Bran looked over the bags. “I’m starving.”
“Do O’Faolains come any other way?” Raven asked as she walked in from the back, stopping by Bran to give him a kiss. “I see you’ve already gotten your hands on your nephew, Riv. Did you see his hair? Don’t you think it’s a tiny bit longer?”
River ran her fingers lightly over the white fluff. “Definitely. Such a pretty color, too, isn’t it, Daniel? Just like Daddy and Uncle Pat.”
“Come to my bedroom for a sec. I want to show you something.” As River followed her sister, Raven told the brothers they should invite Hugh and Rowan. “It looks like you brought your entire fridge, Pat.”
Raven walked right into her master bath. She leaned against the counter and held her arms out. “Hand me, Daniel, please.” Bemused by her sister’s mood, River did. Then Raven dug in a white, plastic Spar shopping bag that was sitting on the counter next to her, pulled out a box, and handed it to River with raised brows.
“Wha—” River couldn’t finish as her brain finally caught up to what her eyes were reading.First Response pregnancy test. “Tell me you are not pregnant again. So soon!”
“No dummy. I thinkyouare.”
And just like that, River felt her legs wobble. “Why would you think that?” River whispered.
“You’re tired all the time, and that issonot you. You pick at, more than actually eat, your food. Again, not you. You’ve lost weight. You and Patrick have sex like every hour. I mean, you might not be, but... You might.”
“I’m on birth control, and unlike you, I haven’t swapped my packs with one of my sisters.”
“When we got home last night, I did a little research on things that might have nulled your birth control,” Raven admitted.
“And? Did you find anything?”
“St. John’s Wort. Rowan got you some from the apothecary as soon as we returned to Dublin. It’s good for depression and sleeplessness— and apparently, not allowing birth control to... control.”
