Page 28 of Twisted Fate

He’d never felt so big and ungainly as he had the moment he’d held Zoe for the first time. Her sisters were small too, but Zoe had been the smallest, the most fragile of them all and he’d learned quickly how to be as gentle as he could possibly be. It was all overwhelming at first, but he’d learned, and he was an expert now at not only telling them apart but picking up even the smallest change in each girl.

“She is, and a happy girl too.” The nurse replied before she took the papers from Keily. “I guess that’s all. We’ve all said our goodbyes to Zoe, all of us that have taken care of her over the last few weeks, and we all wish you the best. It’s been a pleasure.”

“Thanks.” Keily and Logan said together, only Keily had tears in her eyes.

“Shall we go home?” Logan asked and Keily nodded. Logan put Zoe in her car seat and picked up Zara in her own seat. Keily latched an arm under Zinnia’s seat and they finally left the hospital together, all of them.

“I can’t believe it’s finally over with,” Keily said as she buckled Zinnia’s seat in and got in her own seat. “I thought this day would never come.”

“It was hard, but you’ve done well and so have the girls. We can relax a little now, I hope.” Logan laughed before he went on. “Not that there’s any time to relax but we can breathe easier, I think, knowing they’re all well enough to be home.”

“I know what you mean,” Keily reassured him. “It’s going to be controlled chaos, I think.”

“We’re used to that,” Logan said and for some reason that night she’d soothed him back to sleep after the nightmare woke him up came back to him. He hadn’t had that awful dream since that night and he wondered if Keily had healed him. She’d given him a new purpose in life, brought him the three most wonderful gifts he’d ever been able to call his own, and the nightmare was over.

Now, he just had to convince her to stay.

“You’ve got it under control,” Logan added and meant it. She was efficient but so loving with the babies. He’d never seen so much love on her face as he had when she was with the girls. Keily was a good mother and he was glad for that.

“You and Avery help a lot with that, you know?” She countered, her smoky gray eyes on him, full of pride. “You are surprisingly helpful.”

“Because I’m a man? That’s sexist, Keily.” He sniffed imperiously as he pulled into the driveway but spoiled it all with a laugh. “No, you’re right, I’m more hands-on than I thought I’d be. I’ve always heard women say how they fell in love the minute they saw their babies, but I didn’t know it happened to men too.”

“I guess it doesn’t always happen that way, for men or women. Our girls are lucky you’re their dad.” She climbed out once he’d turned the car off, and had her handbag, the diaper bag, and another bag slung over one shoulder while she wrestled with the seatbelt to get Zinnia out.

Zinnia was the most cheerful of all the girls, while Zara was quiet, serious, often looking at him with such serious scrutiny that it made him laugh. She seemed to be judging him and finding fault with him most of the time, poor girl. But she would cuddle up with him when he tried to soothe her, the few times she’d fuss, and always smiled at some point, as if to take away the sting of her judgment.

Zoe was a mixture of the other two girls, cheerful and full of smiles most of the time, she would sometimes slip into Zara mode when she was tired or cranky. Still smaller than her sisters, Zoe would probably always worry them the most, but she was catching up, so maybe there wouldn’t always be this dread in the back of his mind that something was about to go wrong. Or maybe not, he decided as he managed to get Zara and Zoe out of the car and up to the nursery. He was a father now, a real one, and he somehow doubted that dread would ever leave him.

“We’re all home, Avery,” Logan called out and the nanny he’d hired burst out of her room with a face wreathed in smiles.

“Oh, I’m so excited to meet Zoe.” She said with an Irish lilt in her voice.

Avery was the newest edition to his staff; one he’d hired the minute he figured out they needed help with all three girls. He’d called a staffing agency and looked through files until he found the right woman to help them. In her 50s, Avery was a tall, plump woman with soft hands and laughing eyes that could be firm when they needed to be and soft when that was called for. He’d interviewed her the day after the girls were born and found her to be perfect for the job.

Keily had protested having a nanny at first but soon came to agree, they needed help. Neither one of them knew anything about taking care of babies and Avery came armed with knowledge that Keily had kept asking Violet for. She’d eventually seen that calling Violet every five minutes was going to make her a nuisance, so she’d given in to the idea.

Avery headed straight for Zoe and took her out of the car seat with wide, gentle hands. “Oh, aren’t you a pretty little thing?”

Logan smiled as Avery cooed over the little girl and took Zara out of her seat. Zara laughed with delight and kicked her feet as her daddy put her up against his chest. “And how are you, my little angel?”

She laughed as an answer before he realized all her kicking and giggling had led to a dirty diaper. He was an experienced diaper changer now and had her changed and buttoned back up in no time. He looked around to see Keily was feeding Zinnia which meant it would soon be Zara and Zoe’s turn.

Zoe, unlike her sisters, had never managed to latch on properly so she was bottle-fed milk that Keily pumped for her. Feeding the girls was something Keily had been passionate about, and that hadn’t changed. They were getting more and more formula as time went on, but Keily was logical enough to admit that she couldn’t keep up with feeding all three of them.

Zoe started to fuss, and Avery moved to prepare a bottle for her. The nursery was set up to handle anything the girls might need, except for a washer and dryer. There was even a small kitchen to one end of the large room filled with three rocking chairs, three changing tables, three cribs, and three of everything else Logan thought the girls might want or need.

It was only later that day, after the girls were in bed for the night and Keily had changed into a set of pink pajamas, that he finally looked at Keily with anything more than concern over how she was feeling. She’d lost a large portion of the baby weight she’d picked up, her eyes were no longer outlined in dark smudges, and she looked happy. She had no makeup on, her hair was in a messy bun, and her socks didn’t match, but she’d never looked more beautiful.

To him, she was a goddess, a woman who’d given life to three of the most beautiful girls on the planet and was more than capable of taking care of them. He’d only supplied the help because he didn’t want her to struggle and they both needed the knowledge Avery came armed with.

“How are you feeling?” He asked and sat down on the small couch in her bedroom. Their relationship had relaxed enough after she came home from the hospital that he’d walk into her room, as long as her door was open, without knocking. If the door was closed, he’d knock or leave her alone. She did the same with him.

“I’m tired, but happy, Logan.” She sighed and leaned back against her headboard; the book she’d been reading forgotten. “It’s so nice, knowing they’re all home now.”

“It’s wonderful, really.” He agreed and sat back, ready for a long talk, if she was willing.

“What’s up, Logan?” She looked at him quizzically, her eyebrows arched together. “Is everything okay?”