Invisible Strings

Chapter Forty-Four

Gwen's POV:

"Brantley wants everyone to meet here so that they can tell us what he and Delaney found out at the doctor." said Becky, sinking back into the rocking chair that she had been sitting in before her phone had rang. When it had, she'd taken the phone into the house to be able to hear since all four kids were playing on the porch swing, laughing and being loud like kids typically are.

Her words called on that intuition that a mother develops as soon as she finds out she's pregnant. You know the one I'm talking about. The one that convinces you that you might be pregnant before you even take a pregnancy test. The one that tells you when something isn't right with your child. The one that tells you when things are about to change. The one that tells you without even having to know the details that your child is dealing with something big. That intuition didn't always have to be a bad thing either since it often told you that your child had good things going on in their life as well. It had been that same intuition that told me when things were getting rocky between her and Alex and it had been the same thing that told me that her moving back to Jefferson was going to be the best thing that ever happened to her and my grandkids.It had never let me down and so I knew that if it was hinting on something, I knew that it would be right.

"Do you think they found out that she is pregnant with more than one?" Asked Becky when I didn't immediately respond to her previous statement. Her words pulled me from my thoughts and back to reality. She knew of Delaney's condition since I'd called her and we'd talked.

"Instinctually, I know that that's what this is." I said. "But something tells me that there is more to it."

"What do you think it is?" she asked. I could tell from the glint in her eyes and the smirk on her face that she was of the same thinking that I was.

"I think you know." I said, not wanting to utter the words and jinx what I thought I knew was about to come. But just because I didn't want to jinx it didn't mean that I wasn't about to burst with the need to say what my gut told me to be true. When I looked over at Becky, the smirk that had been on her face seconds ago doubled in size, confirming that she really was on the same page as me, that we were riding the same train of thought.

She kept her voice as low as possible so that the kids didn't hear what she said next. "Since Delaney came back to town and those two started hanging out, I've been thinking that it won't be long before wedding bells start chiming. There is just his spark between them, a force that has pulled them together. I don't know how to explain it but something is just... more between those two."

Before I could respond, the sounds of gravel crunching under the tires of a vehicle pulled my attention to the driveway. Delaney's SUV came up the driveway with her fathers work truck and what I assumed was some of Brantley's family following closely behind. Almost immediately, the kids recognized the vehicle and took off at a run for their parents. When Barrett and Braylin had tried to run to the car before it was stopped, I watched as Chloe and Colton each stopped them, making sure they didn't hurt and it made my heart swell with pride. If I was right in my thinking about what was to come for Brantley and Delaney, I knew that Chloe and Colton would make a great big brother and sister to those two and the baby that Delaney was carrying.

My heart swelled with pride and love when I watched Brantley round the hood of the truck and walk around to Delaney's door, opening it for her and helping her climb down. I watched as she immediately went into his side. But the tears that formed in my eyes made it hard for me to see when I watched all four kids engulf them and Delaney and Brantley cocoon their arms around them.

Those tears only began to fall faster when I noticed the way that Brantley looked at my daughter. All I had ever wanted for her was to be happy, to know what it meant to be loved completely and love someone deeply. Knowing that she has finally found that, knowing that she has a man in her life now that would never hurt her, did my heart so much good.