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He stopped and stared at the sight in front of him. Violet was already up and sitting at the large dining table with two little girls who had to be Zoey and Rafe’s children. They had dark hair like their father’s but with their mother’s green eyes that were so familiar to him. They were smaller than Violet, younger probably too though by how much he didn’t know kids well enough to say, but clearly they had all become fast friends, talking and laughing as they colored and traded crayons, completely oblivious to the rest of the world.
It was Violet that glanced up, as if she sensed his presence and his heart skipped a beat when she smiled. He hadn’t seen too many of those since he’d come into Violet’s life and the sight of it eased something inside of him that had been worried coming here was the wrong decision for them both.
“Morning Vi. You okay?” He raised an eyebrow but she only nodded quickly.
“Morning.”
“Uncle Zander!” A squeal went up from the table and suddenly one of the dark haired little beauties was jumping down and running over to stand at his feet. “Hi. You’re Violet’s uncle.”
“Yes. I am.”
“Does that mean you’re my uncle?”
Zander blinked, surprised by the question. He shot a look towards Zoey where she was standing in the kitchen, cooking what smelled like bacon on the stove. She only hid a smirk behind a glass of water as she took a sip and he shrugged, knowing there was nothing else he could do but answer.
“Yeah, I guess it does.”
“Oh, wow. A new uncle. That’s so cool.” The girl’s eyes had gone wide. “I’m named after my Uncle Gabriel. Did you know that?”
“I didn’t.” Zander told her but she hadn’t waited for an answer, rushing on.
“I’m Gabriella but you can call me Gabby. That’s my sister Mikayla but we call her Mickey. She’s named after our Uncle Michael.”
The other little girl waved but continued her coloring.
“Wow, those are pretty names.” Zander offered but the girl, Gabby, was already turning to face Zoey. “Mom, if he’s our new uncle does that mean the new baby is going to be named after him?”
Zander felt his own eyes go wide and he looked to Zoey again. She only chuckled and put her water down. She used a fork to turn the bacon she was frying and sighed.
“How about we let Uncle Zander get to know us a little better before we ask if we can use his name for the baby?”
“Okay. If you say so.” Gabby huffed and turned back to him, “We have other uncles too so you might not get this baby named after you but there’s always next time. Sorry.”
“Gabby. Stop tormenting your uncle and go finish coloring your picture.” Zoey pointed the fork at her daughter who rolled her eyes but headed back towards the table and the other girls.
Zander moved towards the kitchen area where Zoey was cooking and leaned against the bar, eying her curiously, “You’re pregnant?”
“Yeah.” She smiled and touched her stomach with her free hand but Zander couldn’t see even the hint of a bump. She seemed to read his mind and chuckled. “It’s still early but Gabby has a bit of an eavesdropping problem and heard Rafe and I talking about it. It’s hard to keep anything to yourself when you have a precocious six-year-old that is as talkative as her name suggests.”
The love Zoey had for her daughter was evident in the warmth that radiated from her when she spoke. Zander watched as she turned and poured a cup of coffee and then slid the mug over to him. He took it, noting the way she cared for her family and now, even him.
“Thanks. I needed this.”
“I thought you would.” Zoey turned back to her frying pan, “I can’t have any with the pregnancy but I made some just in case.”
“I appreciate it.” Zander took a long sip of the steaming liquid and nearly sighed with pleasure. It was good, better than good even. He was so used to drinking the lukewarm black sludge they made at the worksites that real coffee felt like a decadent luxury. He cleared his throat and motioned to Zoey’s still flat as could be stomach, “So, three kids huh?”
“For now, that’s what they tell me.” Zoey didn’t turn back to face him and he was glad because his eyebrows automatically went up.
“You want more than three? Are you trying for a boy or something?”
Zoey shrugged, “Not at all, I’ve just found that in this life what we want and what we end up with aren’t always the same thing. I may not know what life has in store for me but whatever it is, it will be a blessing.”
“So you’re happy if it’s a boy or a girl then?” He didn’t understand enough about parenting to know if that was okay to ask but Zoey only smiled.
“I’m more concerned about if there’s more than one in there this time.” She caught the shocked expression he didn’t try to hide and laughed softly, “Twins run in Rafe’s family. That’s what I meant.”
Zander glanced back at the girls who were intensely focused on their coloring books and then back at Zoey, “Are they…?”
