Kane(22)

I took the pamphlets she held out to me-which had a sticker with my name, address and patient number on it-and thanked her.

"My pleasure. Congratulations."

I smiled for the umpteenth time and thanked her.

Ten minutes later I found myself back in my car. Keela and I didn't  speak when we got inside. We were silent for a few minutes until I said  what I was thinking.

"I'm keepin' her."

Keela smiled. "Her?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, feels right sayin' her."

Keela reached over and gave my hand a squeeze. "Our family just got bigger."

My eyes welled up. "I'm really havin' a baby! I'm goin' to be a mammy!"

"Oh, my God!"

I burst into laughter and began crying at the same time. I reached over  and hugged Keela as tightly as I could. This was huge for me. Huge. I  was having a baby. A real baby.

Holy fuck.

The entire journey home we talked about the baby, my being pregnant and  how everyone would react. It was only when we walked into Branna's house  that we shut our mouths.

"Where have you two been?" Alec asked us as we walked into the kitchen.

Keela and I shared a look then looked around the room and found Alec,  Ryder, Nico, Branna, and Bronagh staring at us. It was very late, past  eleven pm, and it was weird that they were all sitting around the table  together.

What was going on here?

"The garage to get sweets and petrol for me car," I replied.

Alec cocked an eyebrow. "For three and a half hours?"

Were we gone that long?

"We went on a drive after it... Havin' some best friend time... you know?"

Alec didn't believe me when I spoke. I could tell by the frown that he gave me.

"What's goin' on here?" Keela asked as she sat down next to Alec.

I chose to remain standing.

"We're bein' questioned," Bronagh said, rolling her eyes.

"Questioned?" I asked. "About what?"

Bronagh sighed, "Dominic wants to know-"

"I want to know which fucking one of you is pregnant!"

Oh... Crap.





"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, pretending I didn't hear Nico's question.

He glared at me, his eyes burning holes into me. "I said, which one of  you is pregnant? No bullshit, each of you better answer the question."

Bronagh held up her hands. "You know it's not me. You made me drink two litres of water then piss on ten bloody tests."

I snorted, but then quickly covered my face when Nico snapped his head in my direction and gave me a warning look.

When he was sure I wasn't going to make another sound¸ he refocused and  said, "Bronagh's right-she's not pregnant. Alannah isn't here because  she swore it wasn't her so Branna, Keela, and Aideen that leaves you  three."

Branna sighed. "It's not me either. Ryder knows this."

Nico looked at Ryder who nodded his head in confirmation.

"Okay, the sisters are off the list, which leaves you two."

Keela and myself.

Fuck.

"This is stupid," I mumbled.

"Why is it stupid?" Bronagh asked.

I shrugged. "I feel like whoever says they're pregnant is goin' to be interrogated or somethin'."

Bronagh frowned. "That won't happen."

I nodded at Nico. "Tell that to Drill Bit Taylor then."

Bronagh looked at Nico. "You do need to back off; you're comin' on a little too strong."

"Me?" Nico snapped. "I'm trying to find out who is pregnant. I wanna  know if I'm going to be an uncle or not. So come on Keela, is it you?"

Oh, damn.

"Bronagh's right, you know," Branna intervened. "It's not up to you to  find out who is pregnant. She'll tell us when she is ready. Your  pressure won't help matters."

"Ah-ha!" Alec suddenly shouted. "At least we know it's a she."

I couldn't help but laugh at his stupid but brilliant sense of humour.

"Please Bran, you're just saying that because you know it's not your  sister. If Bee didn't take a test yet, you'd demand she find out just so  you'd know," Ryder quipped ignoring Alec's joke completely.

Branna turned her head and locked her gaze onto her fiancé. "Not if she wasn't comfortable with doin' it of her own accord."

"Yeah, right," Ryder snorted.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Branna snapped.

"Why are you shouting at him?" Nico demanded of Branna. "He's right."

"Are you serious?" Bronagh screeched. "He is wrong!"

The four of them engaged in a battle of words then and it hurt my head.  Each person tried to shout louder than the person they were talking to  and it grated on my already shot nerves.

"Please, just stop."

Everyone ignored me apart from Alec and Keela who shot me a sympathetic  look. I shook my head and looked back to the four screeching cats who  were all but tearing at one another's throats. It made me feel sick that  they were fighting over me without knowing it.

I wanted to make it right.

"It's me," I sighed.

Keela looked at me with wide eyes, but she was the only one. I knew what  she was thinking from her alarmed look too. She was mentally telling me  to shut up because Kane needed to know first, but drastic times called  for drastic measures.

"It's me," I said a little louder, attracting Alec's attention, but none of his brothers.

Bloody hell.

"It's me!" I screamed. "I'm the one who is pregnant. Me!"

The silence that flooded the room was even louder than the shouting that  filled it only seconds ago. All eyes were trained on me and a few  mouths were agape.

Great.

"You're pregnant?" Bronagh asked, her eyes wide.

I nodded my head, but said nothing. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole at that moment.

"Really?" she asked as she slumped back into the kitchen chair she was sat on.

Again, I nodded my head.

"For who?" Branna asked, her face a picture of shock.

I lifted my hand to my neck and rubbed it. "Well, you see, that part... it's a little complicated."

Alec raised an eyebrow at me. "Why? Do you not know who he is?"

I felt my jaw drop open.

"Yes, I know who he is!" I angrily snapped. "I'm not a slut who opens her legs for every Tom, Dick, or Harry she meets, Alec!"

Keela shot daggers at Alec, who winced and gnawed on his lower lip. "My bad, Ado. I didn't mean it like that."

I didn't even want to know what way he did mean it.

I waved him off. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that he should have  known before all of you, but I couldn't take the arguin' anymore. The  way you talk to one another is not okay-you're couples, you shouldn't  behave like that with the person you love."         

     



 

Everyone frowned, even Keela and Alec who didn't even argue.

"Sorry, babe," Dominic said to Bronagh who apologised to him also.

"Sorry, Ry," Branna mumbled to Ryder.

"Me too," he replied, not looking at her.

I glared at the pair of them, but they avoided my burning gaze. They  couldn't even warm up to one another to apologise, or to even look at  one another? Pathetic.

Alec cleared his throat and it got my attention. "So, who is yo baby daddy?"

I pulled a face at his fake ghetto accent. "Please, don't phrase it like that."

He snorted.

"And I can't tell you until he gets here."

The sisters gasped. "He is comin' here? Tonight?"

Well, he lives here.

"Yeah, eventually," I murmured and glanced up at the clock.

Everyone was silent.

"Where is Kane?" Keela asked after a moment.

I tried not to tense up at the mention of his name.

"He went out about two hours ago," Nico said. "Not sure where though."

Keela nodded her head.

"How long have you known?" Alec asked me.

I counted on my fingers. "About three or more hours now. I took a test in your bathroom."

Bronagh blinked at me. "You didn't go to the garage with Keela, did you?"

I shook my head. "We went to the Coombe to confirm it. The nurse checked  me and the baby out, and everythin' looks great so far."

Keela let out a squeal. "We heard the heartbeat and even saw it flicker about on the monitor. It was just brilliant."

If Alec was annoyed with Keela for lying to him he didn't show it  because he threw an arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze.

"So you just found out today?" Branna questioned with a raised eyebrow.

I nodded.

"Then how come Ryder found a positive pregnancy test in our bathroom last week?" she asked, her gaze narrowed.

I scratched my neck. "I took that test because I had to know if I was  the pregnant one, but before I could look at the results Keela called me  about Kane. I've been puttin' it off since then-I've just been scared I  guess."

No one said anything, but I saw they understood where I was coming from, which relieved me greatly.

"Did you get scan pictures?" Bronagh asked, her voice high with excitement.

I smiled. "I did, but I'm goin' to show the father them first, since I  told you lot about the baby's existence before I told him."

Everyone huffed, but understood my decision.

"I'm puttin' the kettle on," Branna said and broke the silence that  coated the room. "Who wants a cuppa while we wait for the baby's father  to arrive?"