Page 91 of Trusting the Fall
She gasps, clapping her little hands to my cheeks as I rush around the corner to the parking lot.
“Already?”
“Yep. Looks like they’re coming a little early.”
“I’m so happy.” I pop a kiss to her forehead. “She totally peed on my shoe, though.”
***
Twelve hours and nineteen minutes later, Atley Tristan and Alexis Margot came into the world.
My wife told me with absolute finality she was not doing that again.
Since it was well after visiting hours when the twins were born, we decided to wait until morning to tell our families the news. Especially since they had to spend the first night in NICU.
Lex met us at the hospital forty minutes after we were admitted, dropping off Claire’s bag and taking Sadie for a sleepover.
There was no shortage of cousins where she was going, particularly girls, so it didn’t take much convincing for Sadie to leave us with a kiss and a promise to call her when her siblings arrived.
Just after ten the next morning, the first stampede hurtled through the doors.
My mum and Claire’s mum, Margot, trample through, arms linked, and eyes set only on the babies as tears and gasps start. Dad rounds the bed and heads straight for Claire, a coffee tray and pastry box in hand.
“Congratulations, sweetheart.” He kisses her head, then pops the food on the table beside her. “We stopped at Sweet Escape on the way. Thought you might need some sustenance.”
“You’re a lifesaver.” Claire groans as Dad passes her one cup and then reaches over to pass me another.
He swivels the tray table over Claire before opening the box, overflowing with an assortment of fresh pastries.
“Liv says congratulations and she’ll text you later to see when they can visit.”
“Has Sadie met them yet?” Margot asks, as she stands, rocking Atley in her arms.
“No, Lex and Caleb will bring her after breakfast, though. So, they should be here soon,” I say.
“Have you heard from Tristan and the girls?” asks Mum.
“We called Thyra just before. Think she was going to try to get a flight out today or tomorrow,” Claire says before looking at my dad with a gleam in her eye. “You know how her boss can be, though.” She giggles.
“We’re here.” Tristan runs through the door, panting, before dropping his hands to his knees and breathing hard.
“What’s wrong with you?” Dad asks.
“Lucifer said the elevators would be quicker.” He rubs at his chest once he can stand up straight. “So I ran up the stairs to prove her wrong.”
He may have beaten his wife, but she’ll manage to find a way to have him admit he was wrong.
A brunette spitfire strolls through the door, arms crossed, eyebrow arched as she stares at my cousin.
“It’s not quicker if you run. Anything’s quicker when you run. You barely beat me, and you’re sweating and panting all over the place.” She marches right to him, barely reaching his shoulders, but what she lacks in height she makes up for in attitude. “Tell me, honey. Do you feel like a winner?”
Tristan smiles like a bumbling fool. “I got to see your pretty face when you walked in.”
“Yes. But if you had let me lead, you would have been staring at my pretty arse.”
With that, Tristan’s smile falls. “Damn.”
See, told you she’d find a way to prove him wrong. She smiles, then puckers her lips up for him to kiss before pivoting and taking in the babies.
