AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes,” she confirmed the unspoken question. “And you can keep that piece of information to yourself. No one but Luca and Shaw knows.”
“I know,” Jagger called over from his place on one of the couches. “Shaw told me last night.”
“I guessed yesterday,” Mila commented from the floor where she was distracting Ireland with some blocks, while Israel scribbled in a coloring book. “But I didn’t call her on it because it was already a stressful day. You can’t have two sets of twins and not recognize the signs in another expectant mother. Now that we all know, how are you feeling, Vi?”
“Overwhelmed,” she muttered. “Things feel more intense this time because there are two—”
“More twins!” Lyric whooped. “We’re going to corner the market on multiples.”
“Luca might still be able to, but not you, mister,” Mila said, wagging her finger. “You got snipped already. Vi, are you going to make Luca get a vasectomy? Or do you still want more kids?”
“I… Um…” She glanced at me, unprepared for how to answer my sister-in-law. “I guess it depends on how things go this time. I’ll have to have a C-section again, so I guess we’ll have to discuss how safe it would be to have more kids. My doctor said that three pregnancies by C-section was the safe limit, but it also depends on scar tissue.”
“What if they are both girls?” Jagger asked. “Do you want to try for a boy?”
“Do you?” I countered. “If Shaw has another girl, will you keep trying until you get a boy?”
“If that’s what Shaw wants,” he answered with a shrug. “If not, then I’ll get snipped like Lyric. Since she’s the one who has to be pregnant, I can take one for the team and protect us from future pregnancies if she’s done after this one.”
Mila snorted. “Lyric didn’t have a choice. I scheduled his procedure and told him afterward. I didn’t even wait to see if we were having a girl or not. Two sets of twins and I was done.”
“Girl, you had all four of those big-headed babies naturally,” Shaw commented. “Of course you were done. You should have been given a medal or something.”
Listening to Shaw and Mila talking while Vi sat on my lap was a good distraction. It took my mind off what could be happening to my mom right then, if she was in pain or feeling sick. Lyric seemed to relax a little too as he laughed at something Mila said in response to Shaw’s praise. Violet snickered and then urged me to take a drink of my coffee.
The moment we were on the ground again, however, all the tension returned, and I didn’t know if I was coming or going.
“Shaw and Jagger are taking the kids to the mansion,” Violet said as the pilot and flight attendant opened the door. “Do you want Love Bug to come with us or go with them?”
“I’m going with Daddy,” our daughter spoke up.
“Love Bug—”
“I’m going with you, Daddy!” she said, stomping her foot.
“Princess, I don’t want you to be scared,” I tried to explain.
She frowned. “I’m not scared of anything.”
“But you might be this time,” I argued. “Gammy isn’t feeling well, and there might be things that make you afraid.”
“Daddy, I’m not scared of anything. You protect me.”
I stood there, staring down at my kid, torn between wanting to protect her from what she might see at the hospital and needing to keep her close. How selfish was it that I drew strength from my daughter and her mother? When they were beside me, I could take on anything without fear. If she was there, I wouldn’t lose my shit. I wouldn’t start bawling like a baby or shout at my mom again for how she’d acted the day before.
Violet tossed her purse strap over her shoulder. “Shaw, Love is going with us. Brady will help you with the twins, and Mrs. Briggs knows to expect you.”
“If any of my monsters give you a problem, just call my dad,” Mila instructed. “All they have to do is hear his voice and they start behaving.”
“Will do,” Shaw said as she helped wrangle the kids off the plane, with Lyric helping Jagger pack the van that would take them to Santa Monica.
Picking up Love Bug, I took Vi’s hand, and we followed them down the stairs. The other van had a driver, and Rodger was waiting for us. Brady helped the first driver to load our cases into the back of the one going to the mansion. By the time I had Love Bug safely strapped into her booster seat, Lyric had climbed in beside Mila in the back row. I pulled Vi onto my lap, and Rodger shut the door.
“How is she?” my brother asked the guard who was like our aunt’s shadow anytime she was out of the house. He and Marcus worked tirelessly to keep the most powerful, and possibly most hated, woman in the music world safe.
“Your dad was feeding her soup when I left,” Rodger said from the front seat. “From everything I’ve overheard and been told directly, she’s doing remarkable, considering the size of the mass removed. The doctor was telling everyone earlier that she’s most likely going to be home in about three or four days.”
Lyric and I grabbed each other’s forearms across the back of the seat, the relief so intense it was good that we were both sitting down because I was sure we would have passed out if we’d been standing. Vi covered our hands with both of hers, grounding us like she always had when we were younger. Like she still did every minute of the day when I had her close. Without her and our little girl, I didn’t think I would have made it through the flight without having a full meltdown.
