Page 110 of Deceived Wrath

I get the call from Kieran around ten a.m. on Wednesday morning, letting me know that Riley has given birth to a healthy baby girl last night, who they’ve decided to name Aubrey.

Apparently, Riley is desperate for all of us to meet the newest addition to the Sullivan family as soon as possible. So, Scout and I are heading over to the hospital to meet her.

I’m still not fully comfortable with the big family events, but I’m trying. Not just for me but for Scout too. I could see it on his face how much he enjoyed having everyone over for dinner the other night, and at the first mention of his new cousin, he ran straight upstairs to get a bunch of things from his room to bring to the hospital.

“Scout, hurry up!” I call up the stairs.

“I want to show my dinosaur book to Aubrey!” Scout yells back.

I fight the urge to yell that Aubrey is barely twenty-four hours old and that she doesn’t care about dinosaurs, but it’s sweet that Scout is so excited to meet Aubrey.

Fiona is laughing in the kitchen, but when I glance her way, she quickly turns her back on me and continues tidying up the breakfast things.

“We’ll be back in a few hours.”

“Don’t worry, I won't be sitting around doing nothing while you’re gone.” She doesn’t even look at me.

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop from smiling.

Clearly, she’s still mad after my little outburst last night.

I know I should feel bad, but how can I pass on an opportunity to bait her?

“I’ll be checking the cameras to make sure.”

Fiona spins around, almost dropping the glass of water she’s holding, as she stares at me, eyes wide.

“Cameras?”

Fiona’s eyes narrow, as if she’s trying to figure out whether I’m joking or not.

I fight a smile as Scout comes barreling down the stairs, and we head out the door. “Have a good morning.”

Kieran stares down at the bundle in his arms. “It’s strange how three out of the four of us now have kids. God help us when Brennan decides to procreate.”

Scout looks up at me. “What does procreate mean?”

“You can deal with that,” I mutter to my brother, and Riley laughs.

Kieran places Aubrey back in the crib beside the bed so Scout can see her. “You’ve got quite the backpack full of supplies there, Scout.”

Sneaky bastard is hoping to change the subject.

“I brought some things to show Aubrey.” He places his backpack on the end of the bed and dumps out most of the contents.

“Sorry,” I mouth at Riley, but she seems thrilled that Scout is so excited.

“So… Ciara mentioned how nice Fiona was when she stopped by earlier,” Riley comments as Scout starts lining up his toy cars on the bed by Riley’s feet.

“She’s great!” Scout exclaims.

“Inside voice, buddy. We don’t want to deafen your new cousin,” I remind him.

“Oh… Sorry.” He glances nervously at Kieran.

He winks at Scout. “She’ll have to get used to the noise eventually.”

“So, Fiona?” Riley presses. “Ciara also mentioned that there was some serious chemistry between you two.”