She just knew that her sisters were rolling their eyes behind the closed doors.
“I’m coming in. Stand back,” Gwenn said.
“What did I say about treating this like a mission?” Bree said the moment Gwenn pushed the bathroom door open.
“Fuck that. This is a mission. You might not know it, but getting us all ready to be a mom and aunts is one hell of a mission,” Gwenn said.
“Don’t jump to conclusions. You don’t know if—”
Bree whirled around when Gwenn reached behind Bree to pick up the two sticks. She waved the sticks in front of Bree’s face.
“See!”
One white stick read ‘pregnant’ and the other showed a definite blue cross. Her heart skipped a beat and her chest tightened.
“I think I need to lay down,” Bree whispered. She wiped the new sheen of sweat from her forehead.
“Come, let’s get you back into bed.” Kera placed her arm around Bree’s shoulders and guided her back into the bedroom.
“Can you give us a moment, Gwenn?” Kera asked.
Their youngest sister nodded. “I’ll be in the kitchen, making us brunch.” At Bree’s scowl, Gwenn winced and said, “I’ll just make something for Kera then. Sorry.”
Bree settled in under the covers. She couldn’t believe there was a baby growing inside of her. A small child. With Declan’s DNA. Would the baby look like him?
Kera sat down upon the covers next to Bree and patted her thigh. “I’m sorry, Bree. I’ve been so busy with making things work at the hospital… this comes a bit out of left field. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
“I know you’re still finding your way in the ER. And I’m so proud of you, sis. I would never resent you for it. You know that.”
Bree sighed and pulled on a loose thread on top of her cover. “You must wonder what I’ve been up to…”
Kera giggled, and Bree jerked her head in her sister’s direction. Kera’s green eyes sparkled.
“Oh, I know all about the birds and the bees, sis. I’m pretty sure what you’ve been up to.” Kera winked.
Bree shifted on the bed and crossed her arms. “I mean with whom.”
“I have my suspicions. I’ll just let you talk whenever you’re ready.” Kera raked her hand through her strands of russet hair.
The person sitting next to Bree wasn’t her sister Kera. No, this was the professional field medic turned EMT talking. And because Kera reacted so cautiously, with an almost occupational distance, Bree blurted, “It’s Dec’s.”
Kera gave Bree a watery smile. “Oh, sis. I know this is far from an ideal situation. But I’m happy he’s the baby’s father.” Bree had a fluttery, empty feeling in her stomach. True, the good news is that Craig couldn’t be the father since they never had sex. That would have been even worse.
“I don’t know, Ker. We’re not even together, like… we’ve talked about seeing how things would go. And I made him promise to keep things a secret because I still wasn’t sure about him. About us.”
She pressed her trembling lips together.
“I’m screwed,” Bree said as she rested her head against the headrest.
“Yep. In a few months' time we’ll all see the proof of that.” Gwenn snickered. She stepped back into the bedroom and Bree glared at her sister.
Gwenn dipped her chin. “Sorry, I know I’m not helping. But this is how I cope with stressful situations.”
Bree waved her hands in the air and said, “It must have been all shits and giggles in Afghanistan, then.”
“Stop it. Both of you.” Kera said, and she narrowed her eyes.
“Let’s stop this bickering and think about your baby. Of course, Dec is also a factor in this. But since you’re just finding out, today is all about you and what you make of this huge bomb that fell into your lap.”