Page 19 of Holly Jolly Rebel

“Theo and Elle: The Thunderdome,” he said, rolling with the sequel motif before turning serious. “You sure, Ellie?”

“I am. I can’t wait to take this ride with you, Kershaw.”

I suspected it might be the most thrilling one of all.

Nine

Theo

“I can’t believethere’s going to be another kid in this house.” Landon grabbed the maple syrup and poured a liberal dollop on his French toast. “Or that I won’t be the baby anymore.”

“Aw,” Hatch ruffled his brother’s hair. “You’ll always be the baby, kid. No new Kershaw can take your place. It might even be … a girl.”

Conor shuddered. “We’ve already got lady rep.”

Adeline threw a look of disgust his way. “I like the idea of evening the odds a bit. I vote for a girl.”

“Yes, let’s make that happen,” Aurora said with a wink at Elle.

“I’ll do what I can. In the meantime, can we try to keep this news under wraps for a while? At least for another month or so.”

I heard the thread of worry in my wife’s voice. Being a little older during this pregnancy was going to weigh on her. I reached for her hand and squeezed before addressing the rest of them.

“Lips zipped, fam. No one outside this room knows the score except for Jordan and probably Levi and—who else?”

“Violet was there,” Elle said. “So I’m guessing Bren’s in on it. But they won’t blab.” She squinted at each of her kids and Aurora in turn. “This would really help us out.”

Landon scrunched up his mouth. “Like we want people to know what happens behind closed doors. The old man knocking up our sainted mother for a fourth time? Absolutely disgraceful.”

“Ho ho—what’s that?”

Jason stood at the kitchen’s back door in a Santa hat and a reindeer sweater, with a fur-trimmed red velvet bag slung over his shoulders. He and the rest of the Isners, my father’s family, usually came over after lunch.

“You’re early,” I told him.

“And you’re going to be a dad? Again?” Dumping the bag on the floor, Jason burst out laughing. “That’s awesome.”

“You alone?” Elle asked as she hopped up to hug him.

“Yep. Thought I’d drop by early before the hordes descend and spend some quality time with my favorite people.”

Jason set Elle back and took a good look at her. “You okay? How are you feeling? Maybe you should sit down?”

“I’m fine! Did you bring that girl you were dating home with you?”

Baby bro grinned. God, he looked so like me. Heaven Help the ladies. “Ah, no. That was super casual.”

“It’s always casual with you.” Aurora stood to give him a pat on the cheek. “One day you’ll get struck by the thunderbolt of love. Just like your brother.”

“Sure. If I could find someone as awesome as my sis-in-law, I might go down that road. Congrats, Ellie. I couldn’t be happier for you.”

“Well, it’s been a whirlwind. Sit down, let me get you some coffee.”

I jumped up. “Ellie, sit. Jason, cop a squat. And Gran, what are you doing?”

“I was going to get Jason an almond milk cappuccino.”

Jason smirked. He had Aurora wrapped around his little finger. “She knows how I like it.”

---