by Sadie Grubor
"Loreley wasn’t necessarily raised to be ‘friends’ with my family. None the less, my wife took Loreley in when no one else would, without question. Loreley was truly a great friend to my wife and loved her very much. For that, I am thankful to her and proud to say that my wife was her best friend."
Aidan sat back down next to me. I immediately kissed him.
"Thank you." I whispered against his lips. For the remainder of the service he wrapped his arm over my shoulders and placed his hand on the active bundle of baby inside of me.
Another two weeks had passed and we still had yet to hear anything about Loreley’s son. We had sent investigators back to her aunt’s house, but there was no one there and, by the looks of it, hadn’t been there for a while. I felt defeated, only find solace in the fact that Gideon couldn’t get his hands on him anymore.
During a small family gathering, a celebration for Elora and James who were were expecting their second child, Jay interrupted an active conversation.
"Dixon will not be in there this time." James chuckled. "Been there and done that, not happening." Elora laughed and patted his leg.
"Excuse me, Mr. Iverson?" Everyone turned to see Jay standing in the doorway.
"Come on in, Jay." Liam was inviting him to sit with us.
"Thank you, sir, but I’m afraid we have a visitor." Jay’s eyes shifted to me and then back to Aidan.
I stood up and headed toward the door, Aidan quick on my heels.
"Who is it, Jay?" Aidan asked.
Stopping in the foyer in front of a small plump gray haired woman, I smiled. Less than a second later, I noticed the baby that she was holding. Taking a sharp intake of breath, I felt realization consume me.
"Mrs. Iverson?" I nodded. "I’m Beth. Loreley’s aunt." I nodded and felt the tears slip over my cheeks. She turned to Aidan. "Mr. Iverson, I presume?" She nodded to him.
"Y-yes…" I knew that he was as focused as I was on the little boy in her arms.
"May I?" I breathed out and motioned toward the boy. She nodded and handed him to me. Once he was in my arms, I sunk to the floor, cradling him and crying. Aidan wrapped his arms around us as he sat behind me.
"Oh, Aidan! It’s him…it’s Cole." I cried out, relieved and happy.
I looked up to Loreley’s aunt.
"Thank you for letting us know that he was okay." I sobbed out. "I was terrified that something happened…" she cut me off with a couple of large envelopes.
Aidan reached up and took them. He stood up and then helped me to stand while still holding Cole.
"She left these for you both. There is also a letter for Cole…" she looked nervous, "I’ve been reading it to him every night before bed." I watched tears slip down her face.
"You must be exhausted from traveling. I’m so sorry!" I exclaimed. "Please come." I grabbed her hand and pulled her with me to the living room.
Everyone turned when we walked in and Aidan helped Beth to a seat.
Viola was on her feet and in front of me immediately.
"Is this him?" She breathed out. I nodded and heard Elora and Anne both gasp.
"But…how..?"
"Loreley left instructions for me, if something were to happen to her." Beth said in a thick German accent and wiped her face. Liam immediately handed her a white handkerchief from his pocket. "Thank you." She whispered.
Viola took Cole into her arms and snuggled him while Aidan and I sat with Beth. She told us about the first moment that a very pregnant Loreley arrived home and then the last night she saw her. She had woken up to a note and a lot of envelopes. Cole was in the large bed next to her but Loreley was gone.
She had wanted to be at the funeral, but was afraid that someone may try to take Cole. So she opted to go on vacation for a while before coming here.
Aidan started to pull out the documents within the envelopes. All of the documentation necessary for Cole was enclosed, along with an envelope addressed to me. I opened it, finding Lorely’s perfect script.
Dearest friend,
If you are receiving this letter then it means that things went the way I feared they would. Please, never let him forget how much I loved and still love him. He will forever be the best thing that ever happened to me.
I want you to take care of my beautiful boy, Lilli. I am sorry to ask so much of you, but I know that you will love him as if he were your own. You are the kindest and most caring person that I have ever had in my life. For that, I thank you!
Loreley
Included with the letter was legal documentation giving Aidan and I custody of Cole. Loreley’s death meant that we were legally Cole’s parents. I sat open mouthed, words a thing of the past.
"It’s what she wanted." I felt Beth’s hand lightly touch mine.
I looked up at her. "What about you? Won’t you miss him?"
She nodded and sniffed.
"Of course, but he belongs here." She half smiled. "Look…" she motioned her head and we looked over to where Cole was sitting on Viola’s lap and grabbing Liam’s fingers, "this is his family and he needs it. I’m honored that you will be a part of his life and clearly Loreley believes that you should be his mother."
We immediately set up a playpen in the twin’s room for Cole. Once he was fast asleep, we placed him in there with them. We made Beth comfortable in a guest room after we convinced her to stay the night. I had intentions of convincing her to stay with us, but one step at a time.
Aidan and I stood in the doorway of the twin’s room, which now also held our newest son, Cole. Aidan’s arms were around me and his hands were resting on my round bump. My hands were on his.
"Are you sure you are okay with all of this?" He sounded worried.
I nodded. "The only thing that could make this better is if Loreley were still alive."
He kissed me between my neck and shoulder. "I love you, Lillian Iverson."
Beth wouldn’t accept my offer to stay with us, insisting that she had a house she need to get back to and take care of. I was able to convince her to stay for a week, however, to help Cole get adjusted to living in our home.
The twins were fascinated with Cole. He would sit on the floor in their large room playing and they would watch him carefully. Cole was only crawling, so when he would crawl around the twins would follow behind him and hand him things that he was reaching for. With a large smile he would accept the toy from them.
Livy was already very mothering to him. If he would cry she was right there to hug him or hand him his pacifier. If neither of those worked, she would yell for ‘Imbly’, the twin’s version of Kimberly’s name, or for me.
Just as he had for Livy, Walsh became Cole’s protector. He guarded both of them like he was in charge of keeping them safe. When Cole would reach for something that wasn’t allowed, he would look at him sharply but kindly and say ‘no, no’.
The three of them were quite a little trio to watch. Now, I had to start thinking about the fourth child that would be arriving in a couple of months. I struggled on deciding whether or not we should keep Cole in the same room with the twins, separate him with the new baby, or put him in a room by himself. I wasn’t sure which option would be best.
The new baby would be waking up during the night and the other children no longer did. Since Cole was already familiar with his new crib, room, and the twins being there, perhaps the best option would be to separate the new baby into its own room and leave the three in the nursery together.
Then there was the discussion that I needed to have with Kimberly. I wanted to hire a second person to help her with the children, even if it were just a part time position. I knew she would try to argue that she could handle it, but we had not planned on four children under the age of five in the house at one time.
"Kimberly, you have been our savior with the twins and Cole. I just…I don’t want you to become overwhelmed. That being said, I feel that we should hire another person to assist you with the children." I looked at her nervously.
"
Lilli, I can handle those babies. Don’t worry about me." She waved off my concern.
"I have to worry about it, you will have four young children to deal with." I sighed. "I can’t expect you to take care of them all daily without any assistance. I’ve already placed a call to the agency and would like for you to meet the applicants with me. Please?"
She nodded and smiled. "I would gladly meet with them, but I still think that…"
I cut her off. "You have your own child to worry about, as well. I really think that some help is necessary." I patted her knee.
We concluded our conversation and headed to check on the children, who should have been waking from their naps.
Hours later, I was resting in bed. Being almost eight months pregnant had me exhausted by three o’clock each day. I lay in bed thinking about Aidan, the twins, Loreley, Gideon, Cole, and the new little one that had yet to make his or her appearance into our world.
Rubbing my stomach, I thought back on the day that I found out that I was pregnant. I knew that I had felt tired and nauseated, but my birth control shot was only a month passed its renewal appointment. I was sure that it would take a couple of months to conceive like the doctor had said it would. We had expected months of ‘practicing’, my body decided differently.
I was about two months late when I realized all of my symptoms. Since my doctor had told me that my periods would become slightly erratic until it found a natural rhythm, I didn’t think anything of it, at first. Once I started putting two and two together, I called the office and made an appointment for blood work.
Of course I had kept Aidan in the loop about it all, but that didn’t mean I was any less surprised when he showed up in late afternoon from work with a plastic white bag.
"Hey." I smiled as I put my book down.
Aidan walked to me quickly and kissed me passionately. When he pulled back there was a large smile on his face.
"I missed you, too." I giggled.
"Here." He handed me a large bottle of water.
"Um…thanks?" I said, confused.
Then he shoved the white plastic bag into my lap. "What in the world is in..?" I opened the bag and couldn’t finish my sentence.
"I couldn’t wait." I looked up to his bright white teeth gleaming from behind his lips as he opened the bottle of water.
"Aidan, my appointment is in two days. You couldn’t wait—?"
He was already shaking his head. "No, so get to the bathroom." He reached into the bag and pulled out one pregnancy test box.
"How many did you buy?" I laughed.
"There were so many." He chuckled. "I just grabbed the five most expensive." He shrugged.
"Okay, well this one." I held up the box, "is an ovulation test kit, so we don’t need that one." I laughed.
"You have four tests now, get to it." He pulled me to stand up off the lounge chair.
"These are all double packs" I looked at him like he was insane. "I am not taking eight tests." I headed toward the bathroom.
"You’ll take as many as you can pee on!" He laughed out as he caught up to me.
"Are you going to watch?" I asked sarcastically.
"If you’d let me—"
"Ewww! No!" I shut bathroom door in his face and heard him laugh.
"Hurry up!"
"Quit pressuring me or I won’t be able to!" I shouted back as I began the first test.
After opening the door, he shoved in three more opened tests and the bottle of water. I laughed at him. "You’re such a loser."
"But you love this loser!" He shouted back as I finished the other three tests. "And…"
I opened the bathroom door and looked at him, waiting for him to finish. "And, what?"
"And, you are having my baby!" He practically shouted and jumped with his fist in the air.
"Seriously, did you just fist pump the air?" I laughed and leaned against the doorframe for support.
He grabbed me around my waist and lifted me up off my feet, spinning us in a circle.
"I love you, Lillian Iverson, so fucking much!"
"Aidan, I’m going to puke if you don’t stop spinning." I covered my mouth.
"Oh, shit! Sorry!" He sat me down on the lounge chair.
Once he had grabbed all four tests, he settled on the floor, his back against the lounge chair, between my knees, with my legs over his shoulder. As his head rested on my right thigh I ran my fingers through his hair and he sighed.
"All four are positive." He practically sang the words.
"I think the one that says pregnant across it would have sufficed without the other ones." I giggled.
He quickly turned around to face me while his knees were on the carpet. "I like to be thorough." He grinned as he leaned in and grabbed my t-shirt.
Pulling me toward him, his lips crashed to mine and my fingers immediately found his soft locks. He moaned into my mouth and pulled me to the edge of the chair.
I could feel his arousal right at my center as he pressed his hips into me. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he pulled my shirt over my head.
He growled. "I absolutely love when you aren’t wearing a bra."
His right hand cupped my breast, teasing my hardening nipple. I gasped as he took my nipple into his mouth. Fisting his hair, he moved to the other breast.
"Oh God." I moaned as he sucked at me and pressed between my legs.
Fingernails grazed the skin on my hips as he looped his fingers into the elastic waist of my shorts and started to pull them from my body.
"Fuck…I love it even more when you aren’t wearing underwear!" He growled before tossing my shorts to the floor and burying his face between my thighs.
"Oh…Uh…Hah…" I moaned and panted out as his tongue circled my throbbing nub. One slide down and back up had me bucking my hips and pressing into his face for more.
"Mmmmm…you taste so good." He groaned against me and I shivered at the vibrations. "I want to taste you cum, Lilli." He groaned out before delving back into his ministrations on me.
It felt like an undercurrent that was pulling me out to sea before crashing onto me in a large wave. When the wave burst through me, my thighs locked around Aidan’s head. There was no moving away for him as I rode out my orgasm against his face.
Panting heavily, I collapsed back onto the lounge. Aidan climbed up my body, licking his lips and nipping at my nipples before he attacked my collarbone and moved up my neck. Immediately I fisted his hair.
"You are so good at that…too good." I breathed out. I felt him chuckle silently against my neck.
"I want you." He whispered against my jaw that he was now lavishing attention on.
"You have me." I breathed back. He smiled his crooked grin and slid into me quick and hard. "Fuck..." I cried out as he pushed into me.
His hands snaked around to my back and pulled me to sit up on the edge of the chair again. I felt him cup my face as he kissed me deeply and thrust himself in and out of me.
I had to grab his shoulders for stability and he grabbed onto my hips. He moved in and out with a small circular motion that had my internal undercurrent pulling me back out to sea. Soon, all that I was aware of was his hard, thick shaft pulsating in and out of me in the most perfect rhythm as his mouth moved over the skin of my neck and shoulder. One bite on my shoulder and the wave crashed once again, sending me into oblivion.
"Oh…yes, baby…cum…that…uh…ahhhh…fuck!" He moaned with a few final, hard thrusts as he released into me and rode out his orgasmic high.
We collapsed there together in a sweating mess on the lounge chair, rearranging to get comfortable. Aidan was lying on his back with me pressed on top of him, my right thigh cover his hips and little Aidan. About fifteen minutes later, Jay knocked and stepped in too quickly for us to stop him.
"Oh shit!" Jay yelled and covered his eyes. Aidan grabbed for a throw blanket and covered us up. "I am so sorry…so sorry, sir!" He backed out of the room quickly, smacking his shoulder against the door as he left.
I was in hysterics. I had never heard Jay curse like that. It was absolutely hysterical.
"I don’t think he found that as funny as you did." Aidan chuckled out. I could feel my body shaking with his laughter as well as my own.
I shook my head, still unable to speak as I buried my face into Aidan’s chest, tears streaming down my face.
Pregnancy exhaustion had finally won out while reminiscing and pulled me into a restful slumber. I stretched when I felt kisses pressed against my face. Opening my eyes, I was met by two beautiful green orbs.
"How late is it?" I asked and sat up.
"I’m home early." He smiled and sat up with me. "It’s only just going on six."
"I’ve been asleep for almost three hours?" I looked at Aidan surprised at myself. "I should go check on…"
"Kimberly has them and they are all fine. Rest." He moved next to me, lying down.
"Kimberly shouldn’t have to take care of everything when I am home."
He shook his head. "You’re pregnant and need your rest, she knows that. Besides, she loves those kids almost as much as we do."
I smiled and nodded. Aidan buried his head into my hair and breathed deeply, his words still swirling in my head.
Yes, Aidan adored and loved the twins, they were his angels. However, Cole was a different story. I could sense a resistance in Aidan. I understood the struggle, but I couldn’t help but feel sad when I watched it in action. Cole still struggled with Aidan and I was sure it was because he could feel the same tension I could.
I had tried to help them bond multiple times, but it never works out the way that I would like. We only talked about it once and, after Aidan shrugged it off, I didn’t want to bring it back up to him again. I could only hope that someday it would happen on its own.
Two weeks later that moment finally arrived. Cole had picked up calling me ‘mumma’ from the twins and he used it frequently. We were all in the newly designed playroom, where all of the toys had been moved, when Aidan arrived home one Friday evening.
I was quite large but nowhere near the size I’d been with the twins. As I was trying to stand up to greet him, he rushed over to me.
