Unexpected Inheritance

26

Ben, completely unfazed, smirked. "I'll make sure you at least have on slippers."

She smacked him with the magazine.

Tuck, halfway to the door, snorted. "You walked right into that one."

Ben chuckled, rubbing his arm where the magazine hit. "Worth it."

Miranda sighed, dropping onto the couch. "I cannot believe this is my life."

Ben sat beside her, draping an arm over the back of the couch. "Beautiful house, successful clinic, great kids, another one on the way. Sounds like a pretty good life to me."

Miranda side-eyed him. "You forgot 'annoying husband.'"

He leaned in, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Handsome husband."

Meadow climbed onto Miranda's lap. Miranda sighed again but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips.

"Barefoot and pregnant," she muttered.

Ben grinned. "In slippers."

The months passed in a steady rhythm. Miranda worked tirelessly at the clinic, balancing patients, paperwork, and the ever-growing weight of pregnancy. Ben left his job at the firehouse, stepping into a new role as her right-hand man at the clinic. He handled whatever needed doing—lifting, organizing, even calming nervous patients. It wasn't the same kind of adrenaline rush he was used to, but he liked it. It kept him close to Miranda, close to their growing family.

Meadow, meanwhile, made the clinic her personal playground. She darted through the halls, chattering with patients, offering her stuffed animals to women in the waiting room, and attempting to "help" wherever she could. It wasn't unusual to find her in a spare exam room, pretending to take her stuffed bear's blood pressure while humming a song she made up on the spot.

At night, when the long days finally settled, Ben kept up the ritual he had started with Meadow—talking to Miranda's belly. Except this time, he had a little partner.

Meadow would crawl up beside Miranda, resting her small hands on the roundness of her mother's stomach. "Hi, baby," she'd say in the same gentle voice she heard Ben use. "It's me, Me—ow."

Ben, lying beside them, grinned. "Meadow," he corrected softly.

She turned to him with a serious look. "Me—ow."

Miranda chuckled, rubbing her belly. "The baby knows who you are, sweet girl."

Meadow beamed, then pressed her cheek to Miranda's stomach. "Come out soon," she whispered.

Ben shook his head with a chuckle. "Not too soon, little lady. We still got some time."

But Meadow didn't seem convinced. "Baby wanna play."

Ben pressed a kiss to Miranda's belly. "Yeah, well, baby's got some growing to do first."

As Miranda's pregnancy progressed, the town's old wives' tales made a grand return. It was as if the moment she started showing, every older woman in town—and a few of the men—felt the need to share their wisdom, whether she wanted to hear it or not.

At the farmer's market, Mrs. Davis eyed Miranda's belly and smirked. "That baby is sittin' low. Bet you anything it's a boy."

Miranda sighed. "Right,."

At the clinic, an elderly patient, Ms. Maude, eyed her "You've been craving sweets, haven't you?"

Miranda, dreaming of sipping on a strawberry milkshake, paused. "...Maybe."

Ms. Maude nodded "Then it's a girl. Sweet cravings mean girls, salty means boys."

Ben, passing by, overheard and grinned. "What if she's been craving both?"