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There may have been steam coming out of her ears, and he had a passing thought that her reaction might not be good for the babies. Then he reminded himself that the word was babies and not baby, and he lost his mind all over again. “I planned to tell you in a sparkly card, but you got pregnant and ruined it.”
“You can’t adopt an elephant.”
“If you can have twins, I can have an elephant.” And he needed to check on it to make sure the girls hadn’t turned it into a princess with pink freaking bows.
“Will you listen to yourself?” Abby strode behind him, the heels of her peekaboo nude pumps tapping on the wooden floor. “The twins are yours too. It takes two to make babies. And you should have worn a damn condom when I told you to.”
Flynn slammed through the back door and out into the garden, where Katy had let the twins and the elephant into the yard. It had pink ribbons tied around its trunk, and a Disney blanket with Dumbo on it draped over its back. It was embarrassing—for Flynn and the elephant.
“I keep telling them the elephant’s a boy, but they don’t care,” Katy said.
“It’s a real elephant,” Abby said behind him.
Flynn rolled his eyes. What had she been expecting? No. Don’t think the word expecting. Don’t think about twins. Don’t think about yet more kids painting his animals.
“Fergus! What the hell?”
“Don’t curse at the children,” Abby snapped. “Oh.” She covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.
Because, painted on the side of the elephant, in wobbly letters, was the word Elifart.
“You were supposed to take his paints,” Flynn said to Katy.
“He threatened to paint me, and I decided you weren’t paying me enough money to deal with that.”
Two ostriches ran past the fence, both wearing sparkly blue bows. Behind Flynn, a three-legged turtle made its way to the rabbit compound, where giant bunnies munched their way through a ton of lettuce. A donkey brayed in the distance before chasing two miniature horses. And the goat was eating the laundry from the line.
He felt Abby’s arm snake around his waist, and he tugged her under his shoulder. If they could cope with this, they could cope with anything. “We can do two more,” he told her.
“Never doubted it,” she said.
“Two more what?” The twins said at the same time.
And Flynn and Abby burst out laughing, which became a little hysterical when a sheep strolled past with a chicken on its back.
A Glossary of Characters
Lake Benson: Retired English SAS soldier. He has blond hair, blue eyes, and a lip twitch that passes for a smile. He’s known for his shoulder muscles and his taciturn nature. He grew up in a commune with hippy-dippy parents and rebelled by joining the establishment. He's closest to his youngest sister, Rainne, and he’s married to Kirsty. He is the owner and founder of Benson Security—a reputable international security firm.
Kirsty Benson (nee Campbell): Now married to Lake Benson. She’s an ex-lingerie model who runs her own lingerie shop and designs lingerie. She has scars down half her body from a car wreck. Her mum is Margaret Campbell, and her best friend is Caroline McInnes.
Josh McInnes: American singer who croons like Sinatra. He’s married to Caroline, and they have a baby girl. He owns Invertary Castle, where he’s now based. His best friend and manager is Mitch Harris.
Caroline McInnes (nee Patterson): Was the town’s librarian until she met Josh. Now, as well as being a full-time mum, she’s on the town’s unofficial council, the restoration society, and the Christmas market committee.
Jena Donaldson (nee Morgan): Ex-go-go dancer from Atlantic City. She’s accident prone, which hasn’t stopped her taking up a new career as a DIY expert in Invertary. She’s married to Matt Donaldson.
Matt Donaldson: Invertary’s only cop. He has twin younger sisters—Claire and Megan—and he’s cousin to Flynn and Harry Boyle.
Claire Dayton (nee Donaldson): Matt’s younger sister who, along with her twin, Megan, has caused chaos in Invertary for years. She’s a kindergarten teacher, has a fondness for dyeing sheep luminous pink, and is married to Grunt.
Grunt (Samuel Dayton): Grunt got his nickname thanks to his taciturn ways. He’s a huge ex-marine who terrifies the living daylights out of everyone but melts when he’s
around his wife, Claire. He came to Scotland from America on a security job and stayed when he fell for Claire. His best friend, Joe Barone, came with him.
Flynn Boyle: Cousin to Megan, Claire, and Matt. Older brother of Harry. Flynn was a professional football player until an injury ruined his career and sent him home to Invertary. He’s married to Abby, has a stepdaughter, Katy, and twin girls on the way. He’s also a soft touch for unwanted animals and is studying to be a vet.
Abby Boyle (nee McKenzie): The widowed mother of Katy. Abby moved from England with her husband only to be left raising their baby and running a business on her own when he died of a brain tumor. She’s now married to Flynn and pregnant with twins.
