Branna

by L. A. Casey

  “I could be wrong,” I said hesitantly. “She’s probably coming down with somethin’, or it could be ‘er teethin’, but it sounds like she is... self-weanin’.”

  “No.” My sister laughed. “She’s only four months old.”

  I tilted my head. “So?”

  “So babies don’t self-wean until they’re a lot older.”

  I furrowed my brows. “What eejit told you that? Babies can self-wean at any time; it’s just more common when they’re older. All babies are different, and they don’t follow a schedule. Besides, if your supply is low, she’s probably gettin’ annoyed with sucklin’ and not gettin’ much milk.”

  My sister stared at me then gasped. “Oh, my God. Branna.”

  I reached out and placed my hands on her arm at the same time Dominic placed his hands on her shoulders.

  “She might not be weanin’; it might just be her teeth comin’ through that’s knockin’ ‘er off ‘er routine, but just in case it is happenin’, take a deep breath because this is totally normal. While it’s not what you expected, this happens to many mammies. You can try ‘er on a bottle and see how she takes it if you like?”

  “I don’t have any powdered milk; I’ve only ever breastfed—”

  “I’ll go to the store and get a box of the formula,” Dominic cut Bronagh off. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

  I told Dominic which brand to get then he took off jogging out of the bedroom. Almost instantly, my sister burst into tears as she stared down at her daughter, who was still fussing and pushing away from her breast. Eventually, Georgie abandoned feeding and just leaned against Bronagh and began to chew on her fingers, not interested in Bronagh’s breast at all.

  “I’m a horrible mother,” Bronagh cried, her eyes filled with despair. “I can’t even feed me own baby!”

  “Hey, hey,” I said softly and leaned over, hugging my sister. “This isn’t you. This is all Georgie. She’s eatin’ some solid food for you now, and that can put her off wantin’ milk, too. We always knew she was goin’ to be an independent little madam, right?”

  “Yeah, but when she was older.” My sister sniffled. “Not now.”

  I frowned as she continued.

  “I know I complain about nursin’, but I don’t mean it. I just get so tired sometimes.”

  “Bronagh,” I said softly. “Every breastfeedin’ mother goes through this at some point.”

  “I know,” she cried. “I just didn’t want it to be now.”

  I said nothing more; I simply comforted my sister. Nothing I said or did would make her feel better. She would have to come to terms with it on her own, and she would, in time. An hour after we realised why Georgie was acting up, she drank half of her formula bottle that Dominic bought in the supermarket and ate more than half a small bowl of pureed carrots. She loved her solid food, and having a full tummy brightened her up. She began talking in her baby language.

  Loudly.

  Bronagh said it was the first time in two weeks that she drank her fill of milk, had solid food on top of it, and didn’t fight her on it, nor did she heave like she did when she breastfed. I saw it in my sister’s eyes the moment she fully realised that Georgie was, quite possibly, self-weaning, and I could see that it cut her in two.

  “She’s you all over,” I said to Bronagh to take her mind off it. “A big mouth.”

  Dominic tittered while my sister smiled lightly.

  “Who’s me favourite girl in the whole world?” I asked Georgie, who was now lying on my bed with me hovering over her.

  “If you don’t say me,” my sister cut in, “I’m goin’ to be extremely hurt.”

  Georgie laughed up at me, clapped her hands together, and kicked her chubby legs, which made me smile wide. She was in much better form now that she was fed.

  “Tell Mammy to go away,” I crooned.

  Bronagh grumbled to herself, and whatever she said made Dominic snicker.

  “I know,” I said to my niece when she began talking in her own little language and blowing spit bubbles. “Tell me all about it... no way, did she really say that... oh, my God... what did you do... no, you didn’t!”

  The more I spoke to Georgie, the louder and more excited she became.

  “What is my wife doing?”

  My body went on high alert upon hearing his voice. My skin became hypersensitive, my breath caught, my nipples hardened, and yes, my clit pulsed to life. My reaction was that of a teenage boy who first discovered his right hand. I could only put half of it down to my new pregnancy hormones because the other half was purely my being a red-blooded woman turned on by everything about Ryder Slater.

  I couldn’t be blamed for it because my husband was hot.

  “She’s in a very intense discussion with Georgie,” Dominic answered his brother. “You know... girl talk.”

  Ryder’s chuckle sent a shiver up my spine.

  “I’m not familiar with girl talk; I try to avoid it at all costs.”

  I snorted. “Please, we girl talk all the time. You just don’t realise it’s girl talk.”

  Dominic laughed at his brother but shut up when Bronagh said, “I don’t know why you’re laughin’. We girl talk all the time, and we watch Teen Mom together.”

  That was kind of Alec’s fault. He got Kane and Dominic hooked on it after he realised one of the stars of the show was now a porn star of some kind. Of course, they all watched the porn video before the show itself, and now they just judge everyone and their parenting skills on the show. Only one of them was a father, but they all talked shit anyway.

  “Quiet, woman,” Dominic grumbled to my sister.

  I snaked my hands under Georgie’s armpits then lifted her up against my chest. I loved that she was much sturdier now. She was over four months old and was well and truly out of the newborn phase. She was awake more than she was asleep, she was loud—so bloody loud—and she liked her tummy time and watching cartoons on the television. All of that was only when I was babysitting her, though, so I could only imagine what she was like when she was at home with her parents. Everything about her would surely amplify.

  “I’m gonna miss you,” I said and gave her kisses all over her face, making her scream with laughter as she tried to ‘eat’ my face when it neared her mouth.

  I knew Ryder was at my back before I turned around—I felt how close he was to me.

  “Bee, quick,” he began, “take the child before my wife changes her mind and bails on our honeymoon.”

  “Maybe I should leave Georgie with ‘er, if that’s the case.”

  Ryder growled at my sister while I chuckled.

  “I’m fine,” I assured him when I straightened up and turned around. “I’m just not lookin’ forward to not seein’ this puddin’ for two weeks.”

  Ryder’s expression softened, and he switched his gaze from me to our niece. He lifted his arms, held his hands out to Georgie, and she almost instantly leaned in his direction. She didn’t raise her hands to go to anyone yet, but I had a feeling that would change over the coming weeks. The child had all of her uncles under her thumb, just as Jax did. All of the Slater brothers were big, bad, and took no bullshit... but if you put a baby in front of them, they became the biggest suckers known to man.

  “I’m going to miss her too,” Ryder said and kissed her chubby cheek.

  Georgie rested her head on his shoulder as she used her hand to play with the ring on his necklace.

  It was his wedding ring. He had to put it on a chain because he lost the bloody thing more times than I could count since we got married just three weeks ago. He wasn’t used to wearing anything on his fingers, so when he took it off to wash his hands, he would sometimes forget to put it back on. Usually, it was in our bathroom or in our kitchen, but recently, he took it off in a public restroom to wash his hands and walked out without putting it back on. Luckily, he realised the second he left the restroom and ran back for it. That very day, he bought a long necklace and put the ring on it. He said he pre
ferred it on the necklace because it was closer to his heart.

  He was a charmer if I’d ever met one.

  “Georgie,” I said, gaining my niece’s attention. “I love you.”

  She smiled at me, and it made us laugh because her bare gums showed... or her almost bare gums.

  “I can see the tooth you mentioned, Bee,” I said as I lifted my hand and placed my pinkie finger in Georgie’s mouth so I could feel it.

  “Branna, don’t!”

  “Ow!” I cried and snatched my hand away. “She bit me!”

  Georgie laughed and so did Ryder and Dominic.

  “I tried to warn you,” my sister winced. “She bites everythin’ now. Every. Thing.”

  I rubbed my thumb over my throbbing finger.

  “That’s the last time I put me fingers near your mouth,” I said to Georgie and playfully narrowed my eyes.

  “She’ll learn not to put her fingers near your mouth either,” Dominic mused.

  I looked at him. “Why not?”

  “Your surname is now Slater, but you’re a Murphy at heart, and Murphy girls bite.”

  “That’s true.” Bronagh chirped. “Georgie is a Slater, but she’s a Murphy, too. She’ll be every bit like us.”

  “Heaven help me,” Dominic said teasingly.

  I snickered. “Oh, give over. We’re harmless.”

  “When you’re sleeping,” Ryder commented.

  I gasped. “How dare you!”

  “My mistake.” My husband smirked. “You still have some bite in you even when you sleep. I’ve the marks to prove it.”

  “It’s your own fault for wakin’ me up for sex; you know that never ends well for you.”

  “Bullshit.” Ryder laughed. “Nine times out of ten, I get what I wake you up for.”

  I cocked a brow. “But there’s still a chance it can go very wrong.”

  “It’s worth the risk.”

  I tried not to smile but epically failed.

  “You’re both so cute that it’s actually makin’ me feel sick.”

  I looked at my sister. “Maybe you’re just pregnant again.”

  Bronagh hissed. “Don’t jinx me!”

  “What’s wrong with you being pregnant again?” Dominic asked, his tone displeased at his fiancée’s obvious hiss of anger.

  “Georgie is only four months old,” my sister said in duh tone.

  “So? Jax is ten months old, and Aideen isn’t far off her due date with her second baby,” Dominic countered.

  “Aideen is a machine,” Bronagh deadpanned. “I’m not.”

  “I want another baby, though,” he said, no trace of humour in his tone.

  I shared a look with Ryder who shook his head at me, silently telling me not to get involved. I mentally grunted because I was still learning to keep my nose out of my sister’s relationship especially when an argument occurred in my presence.

  “You can’t make a baby here,” I said, hoping to break the tension. “We’re still present.”

  Dominic’s lips twitched, indicating he’d heard me, but he didn’t look away from Bronagh as he awaited her response. She was gnawing on her lower lip, her nervousness showing.

  “But I’ve only got six pounds to go to get back to me pre-pregnancy weight.”

  If I heard about her weight or her diet one more time, I was going to kick her. It was all she talked about, and if it was grinding my gears, I could only imagine how much it peeved Dominic.

  “Babe, come on. You had Georgie four months ago, and you already have the body of wet dreams,” he said and pulled her against his chest. “You know I want five kids, at least, and you were the one who said you wanted them to be close in age.”

  Bronagh narrowed her eyes. “Don’t use me own words against me, Fuckface.”

  I playfully gasped as I reached over and covered Georgie’s ears. “Language!”

  Dominic grinned at Bronagh when she cringed as she looked at me and said, “Sorry.”

  I looked down at my niece when I removed my hands and said, “Your Mammy has a sailor’s mouth.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Dominic said then grunted when I guessed Bronagh socked him one in the stomach.

  “Four more,” he rasped. “That was the deal.”

  “You made a deal on how many kids you were both havin’?” I asked on a snicker.

  “We talked about it midway through me pregnancy with Georgie,” Bronagh said with a grunt. “Dominic and the brothers have this weird thing about the number five. There are five of them, so they each want five kids.”

  I remembered Keela calling Alec and asking him about that a couple of years ago, and he mentioned the same thing, but I thought it was just a joke.

  “Well, I’m not havin’ five kids,” I firmly stated. “I’m thirty-three and don’t plan on spendin’ the rest of me thirties pregnant.”

  My sister instantly looked at Ryder.

  “You’ve gone and done it now,” she said then grinned at me when I glared at her.

  “Why not, Bran?” Ryder asked me, stepping between me and my sister to force my focus on him.

  I shrugged. “‘Cause it’s a lot of kids.”

  “Yeah,” Ryder agreed. “It is, but it’s a good number.”

  For him maybe.

  “We’re both thirty-three, if I have four more after this one, it’ll take years to pop them all out. That’s not addin’ in the time it would take to get pregnant. We got lucky on this baby, but it doesn’t always work out like that. Sometimes tryin’ can take a long time.”

  Especially the older you get.

  “Branna, we aren’t old,” Ryder said with a shake of his head. “We’re in our early thirties. Since when is that old?”

  “Since I started havin’ to dye me hair every three feckin’ months to hide me grey hairs!”

  I still felt sick about that. My roots weren’t growing out as dark brown anymore; they were growing out a lighter brown and grey. I was only thirty-three, and my pigment was fading. It broke my damn heart.

  “Mate, really?” Bronagh winced from behind Ryder. “That sucks.”

  I threw my hands up in the air.

  “See!” I stated. “Bronagh knows the importance of hair and what goin’ grey means.”

  It meant I was getting old.

  “People can get grey hairs from anything, not just growing old,” Dominic commented. “I’d put it down to stress in your case. You’ve been through a hell of a lot over the last year and a half, and you have a hectic job.”

  I leaned to my right and narrowed my eyes.

  “Butt out, Slater.”

  He clamped his mouth shut, but the corners of his lips turned up in a grin. I looked back at Ryder then quickly down at Georgie when she started to sing a song of sorts.

  I beamed at her. “You have a lovely singin’ voice, me love.”

  “We’re not done with this conversation,” Ryder said, amused that I was point-blank ignoring him. “We have two whole weeks to straighten this out, and you can’t hide from me where we’re going.”

  My heart jumped.

  “Promises, promises,” I teased.

  Ryder growled, and it made me grin.

  Oh, yeah, this was going to be a fun honeymoon.

  “Bad news, Sweetness.”

  My heart stopped at Ryder’s words. A terrifying flashback of being in my kitchen many years ago and him telling me Bronagh had been abducted played in my mind, and a sick feeling of dread swirled in my abdomen.

  “What is it?” I nervously asked as I gripped the handle of my suitcase.

  I was in the middle of wheeling it out to the hallway to leave it next to the front door of our house.

  “We can’t leave until tomorrow.” He frowned, his shoulders sagging. “Heavy rain is due this evening, and I don’t want to take the risk with you in the car.”

  My physical reaction mirrored Ryder’s. My shoulders slumped in disappointment, and my face fell, but my heart practically deflated with relief. I was g
utted that we had to wait one more day for our getaway, but bad news from one of the brothers usually meant one of them telling me my sister or one of my friends were in serious danger, so this piece of news was easier to digest, but I couldn’t tell Ryder that.

  “It’s fine,” I assured him when he frowned deeper at my reaction. “It’s only one night, right?”

  He quickly nodded. “The storm breaks during the night, so we can leave in the a.m.”

  I looked down at my big suitcase next to Ryder’s small duffle bag and said, “Well, at least we’re already packed.”

  I looked back at my husband and smiled up at him when he stepped forward and pressed his body against mine. My pulse spiked when his hands went straight to my behind. I startled when Ryder captured my lips in a surprise kiss. I lifted my arms and placed my hands on his shoulders, digging my nails into his skin. He hissed, and it gave me the opportunity to snag his lower lip with my teeth. I gently bit down then sucked on it. I hummed when I felt his body shudder.

  “Need you,” he rasped.

  He needed me.

  I released his lip. “You’ve got me, honey.”

  Ryder backed me up against the wall in the hallway, and it made me giggle.

  “In the hall?” I asked then groaned when his lips went to my neck, and he zeroed in on my sweet spot. “But Damien—”

  “Is over at Dominic’s,” my husband cut me off, his breathing laboured.

  Where Dominic was, Damien wasn’t far away.

  I hummed. “You dirty man.”

  I heard Ryder’s zipper being lowered, and I felt his rushed movements as he pushed down his jeans, quickly following suit with my leggings and underwear as he shoved them down to my knees. He carefully turned me until my back pressed against his front. His excitement and obvious hunger for me caused heat to spread between my thighs almost instantly.

  “You’ve got me fumbling like a prepubescent boy,” he growled, and slapped my bare arse.

  I looked over my shoulder and grinned. “You’re all man, baby.”

  “You bet your sweet ass I am.”

  He disappeared as he dropped to his knees behind me, and that movement was the only indication I got to what he was doing a second before I felt his tongue plunge into my exposed cunt.