AllFreeNovel
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I stop just before the front door. “Just in time, I think. She looked so frightened.” Unusually for me, my throat tightens as emotion washes over me.
Kip balances his box on one arm and reaches out to hold my shoulder. “Don’t worry, bro. She’ll be all right. She’s got all of us taking care of her now.”
I clear my throat. “Yeah. Thanks.”
“Two babies,” Damon says, shaking his head. “You need all the help you can get.”
I give a short laugh and open the door, and they follow me in.
We deposit our boxes by the others, and then Kip says, “Oh, hello!”
I turn to see Catie standing there. She’s towel-dried her hair but it’s still damp—I’ll have to buy her a hairdryer if she doesn’t have one, as I don’t own one. It looks glorious, tumbling around her shoulders in tiger-orange waves. She’s wearing the tee and track pants I left her, and the light-blue sweater over the top. The sleeves hang over her hands, and her shoulders are hunched, slightly defensive. But she’s smiling. She looks shy and incredibly beautiful.
At that moment,Here, There, and Everywherestarts playing, and I turn to caramel inside.
“Hey,” she says. “Thanks so much, guys.”
“No worries,” Kip says. “Glad we could help.” He tosses her keys onto the table. “Revolver,” he comments, glancing at the record player. “Nice.”
“Catie’s choice,” I reply.
“Ha! Dad’s going to love you,” he says to her, and she blushes.
“Go on,” Damon says to him. “Give it to her.”
Kip glances at him, then at me with a wry smile. “We got you a present.” He goes over to the box he just brought in, opens it up, and retrieves a parcel wrapped in blue paper with rattles on it. Coming back, he hands it to Catie. She stares at it as if he’s offered her a gold bar.
“Go on,” I say to her. “Open it.”
She takes it and turns it over, then peels off the sellotape, unfolds the paper, and takes out the items.
They’re four tiny onesies. Two are black with the All Blacks’ logo of a silver fern in the corner. On the front, they both say, ‘Bros for life.’ On the back, one has ‘Twin 01’ and the other has ‘Twin 02’.
“So you can tell them apart,” Kip says with a grin. “I chose those.”
“And those were my choice,” Damon states as Catie looks at the other two onesies, one of which is red, and the other blue. One says ‘Buy One’. The other says ‘Get One Free’.
Catie stares at them for a moment. Then she presses her fingers to her mouth, and her eyes glass over.
Kip looks at me and pulls an ‘eek’ face. “Too soon?”
I smile. “No. The timing’s just right.” I pull her into my arms, and she buries her face in my shoulder.
“Aw,” Kip says. “Come on, Damon. Let’s leave them to it.”
“You sure you won’t stay for a drink?” I ask. “Don’t mind her, she cries at anything at the moment.” Against my shoulder, she gives a short laugh.
He grins. “No, we’re good. Are you still going to Mum and Dad’s tomorrow?”
“Probably. I’ll text you.”
“All right. See you later.” He holds out a hand and we clasp, bro style, and Damon does the same.
“Thank you,” Catie says, moving back and wiping under her eyes.
Kip blows her a kiss, Damon waves, and then they go out, closing the door behind them.
She looks at the onesies in her hands. “They’re so small.”
