When Colette released her, Jacks came to me and gave me a careful hug. Then, my melted heart and had no chance of ever recovering because she whispered to my belly, "Hi, baby! I'm your cousin. I can't wait to meet you."
I managed to hold back my urge to cry when she looked up at me and grinned, her two front teeth missing.
I smiled back at her and blinked rapidly when she scampered off into the house.
"Oh, my God, she didn't say something rude, did she?" Cam asked as she approached and saw my tears.
I sniffed and shook my head, unable to speak because I knew I would burst into tears if I tried. I waved a hand at Colette, who seemed to understand what I wanted.
"She said hi to her cousin and said she couldn't wait to meet her."
Cam's eyes welled up. "Well, shit. That was sweet."
"Cameron McClane, language," Colette corrected.
"Cameron Murphy now," Brody said as he approached our group. He leaned in and gave Colette a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You're beautiful as always, Colette. What did my wife do now and why are the three of you crying?"
Cam pinched Brody's side when he curled an arm around her shoulders, but he didn't even flinch. "It's your daughter's fault. She's too damn sweet and now the three of us are trying to shut down the waterworks."
"What'd she say now?" Brody asked, his expression worried.
"She said hi to the baby and told her she couldn't wait to meet her," I managed to choke out right before the tears started in earnest. "It was the sweetest thing ever."
It was at that moment my brothers decided to arrive.
I tried to get my tears under control as mass chaos descended on the front yard in the form of two rambunctious little boys, a surprisingly un-sullen teen girl, my four brothers, and Jacks, who came back outside when she heard the noise.
The two boys immediately joined forces with Jacks since they were all close in age and Corey, my thirteen-year-old niece and Robert's only child, waved at us before she followed them toward the backyard where the swing set and slide were set up just for the grandkids.
Letitia approached me and gave me a hug, ignoring my tears. She'd had two babies and she knew that the hormones were the real thing and could hit at any time. After saying hello to Colette, Cam, and Brody, she went back to the car and started unloading food and bags. D.J., the oblivious butthead, didn't help her but came toward me warily and gave me a quick hug.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his expression saying he was afraid of the answer even as he spoke the words.
"Brody's little girl is sweet and these aren't sad tears," I managed. "Now, go help your wife, dummy. She's got her hands full and you just walked off and left her."
He whirled around and cursed under his breath. "Oh, man, she's gonna be mad at me now."
"You deserve it," I muttered, but it wasn't loud enough for him to hear. Cam and Colette heard though and they both grinned.
"We'll help," Cam said, grabbing Brody's hand and following D.J.
I looked around and realized D.J. was the only one who'd brought his wife. Clayton had arrived with Robert, Corey, and Scott and he was solo. He also looked really sad.
They all came over and gave me hugs before drifting inside. Clayton was the last one.
"Hey," he greeted me with a tight hug. "So, a little girl, huh?"
I smiled and nodded. "Where's Danielle? Is she sick?"
He shook his head and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, then closed it. He looked so sad and defeated that I hugged him again.
"She couldn't come," he whispered in my ear as he held me. "She wanted to but we've been trying for a year now and nothing. She's scheduled to go in for tests in a couple of weeks and it's killing her wondering what's wrong and why she can't get pregnant."
My eyes welled up again. "I understand. You tell her that it's okay and I will absolutely not hold it against her."
He released me and nodded, blowing out a sigh. "I told her you would understand, but she was a mess when I left. I was going to call and tell y'all we couldn't make it but she was insistent that I come."
I nodded. "Um, I know you said she's having tests, but what about you?" I asked.
His face just shut down then and all he said was, "No."
I opened my mouth to ask him why not but he was already moving away from me. With a sigh, I followed him into the house.
"Clayton," I said.
"No, Lee." His voice was heavy and final.
"Yes, dammit!" I yelled, shoving his shoulder. "Don't you ignore me!"
The entire room went completely silent.
Clayton faced me, his eyes hot. "It's none of your business."
"Maybe not, but your wife is hurting and I know you are, too. Yet you refuse to acknowledge that the problem may not be hers. That's not going to help either of you."
"I'm not talking about this," Clayton said, disappearing into the kitchen.
I stared after him in frustration but didn't follow. He obviously wasn't going to listen to me.
D.J., trying to lighten the mood, said exactly the wrong thing, as usual. "Damn, J.J., don't knock her up again because she's just as crazy as Mom when she's pregnant."
He was lucky my mother was in the kitchen or his ears would have been ringing when she smacked him on the back of the head.
Robert, however, had to go and screw it all up even worse. "I don't think we have to worry about that. They're not even sleeping in the same bed."
The silence became total then. I don't even think anyone was breathing. I could feel all their eyes on me but no one spoke.
I lifted a hand and jabbed a finger in Robert's direction. "You shut the hell up, you asshole!"
There was a collective gasp from my brothers and Letitia because they knew what was coming.
That's right. I'd just lost my temper.
"I cannot believe that you two have the absolute fucking nerve to judge me when you haven't had the best past relationships either." I swung around toward D.J. "You are damn lucky you have Letitia and you take it for granted that she loves your thick skull as it is. And you," I said, looking at Robert again. "You made mistakes with Corey's mom and I never held it against you. Was I disappointed about your choices? Yes, but you're my brother and I love you so I never judged you. If I want to be careful in my relationship with the man I love, I'm allowed to do that without worrying about what your two cents will be! We went from a one-night stand, to friends, to married in three months. I didn't want him to feel trapped or obligated or anything else because I love him and it wouldn't be right for me to expect him to feel the same in such a short time!" The tears started then, tears of anger and frustration, and sadness, because I wasn't sure J.J. would ever feel the same about me that I did about him. "But you promised me that you wouldn't say anything about it and then you went and announced it in front of everyone, so thank you very much!" I shouted. For good measure, I grabbed one of the throw pillows from the couch and flung it at Robert's head.
Then, I left the room because I was so mad, I couldn't see straight.