Wyatt herded her sisters onto the rug like a true oldest sibling, while Lily finally flopped next to me, criss-cross applesauce and ready to listen.
Travis settled Mira in his lap, who immediately tried to wriggle away and go after Wyatt’s hair.
I took a breath, glancing at Travis, who gave me a small nod.
“So…” I started, smiling. “You guys remember how Aunt Kylie’s belly was really big yesterday?”
“Because she had a baby in it,” Bennett said knowingly, arms crossed like she was giving us a quiz.
“Exactly,” I said, grinning. “Well, this morning, your baby brother was born.”
The room went still for half a second—and then chaos erupted.
“HE’S HERE?!” Wyatt jumped to her feet, nearly knocking Mira over in her excitement. “WHAT’S HIS NAME?! DO WE GET TO SEE HIM?!”
“I WANT TO HOLD HIM FIRST!” Finnley shouted, bouncing up and down.
“Did he come out of her belly right now?” Elliott asked, wide-eyed.
Bennett just sat there, quiet, smiling so softly I almost teared up. She whispered, “That’s so nice,” and my heart swelled.
“Yes,” Travis said, holding up his phone. “Jason sent a picture. Want to see?”
The girls swarmed him, crowding around the screen. I watched as their little faces lit up, all at once—genuine awe, curiosity, and pure, unfiltered joy.
“He’s so small!” Lily squealed, tugging my sleeve. “Smaller than Baylor?”
“Even smaller than Baylor,” I said with a nod.
Mira yawned dramatically and flopped sideways into Travis’s lap, completely over the conversation, while Baylor had settled in against my chest, content for now.
“That makes eight of you,” I said, looking at the room full of messy-haired girls. “Eight cousins. And he’s lucky to have all of you.”
“We have to make a welcome sign,” Wyatt said, already plotting. “And balloons. And a crown. No, a cape. Baby Hero.”
“Maybe we start with breakfast,” Travis said with a tired smile, standing up with Mira now chewing on his shirt collar.
As the girls scrambled into planning mode, and the house buzzed with new excitement, I leaned back with Baylor still warm and sleepy in my arms.
A new baby. More love. More noise. More everything.
And somehow… my heart had room for it all.
Baylor was strapped to my chest, snug in the soft carrier Kylie had found in a closet—still with the tags on. He was warm and floppy, his cheek smushed against my shirt as he slept, completely unaware of the absolute zoo around him.
Mira was on Travis’s hip, chewing on the tail end of a spoon she’d swiped from the counter. She had puff crumbs in her curls and one sock halfway off her foot. Lily and all the girls were in the living room, clustered around the TV in a pile of blankets and mismatched pajamas, completely transfixed by Bluey.
It was oddly quiet for once.
Travis stood next to me at the stove, flipping pancakes while I scrambled eggs, grateful for an easy breakfast—easy being relative with three kids and four nieces.
“Want to add cheese to the eggs?” he asked, glancing at me over Mira’s little head.
“Always,” I said, stirring.
YOU ARE READING
Invisible String
FanfictionWe always thought it would be easy - or at least, easier than this. Starting a family was the next chapter we were so ready for. After years of tour buses, locker rooms, sold-out stadiums, and quiet nights tangled up on the couch, we finally looked...
