Page 21 of An Angel's Share
“I’ll try Evie, then.”
I snap my head back and cut my eyes at her. She’s playing dirty.
“Threats already, Rua. You are learning too fast.” My smile lights up my face at her antics.
Ushering her out of the shop. I hop into the driving seat and she gets in at the side of me. Her movements accommodate her size. I can see the baby moving and put my hands out.
“May I?” I gesture towards her tummy. She smiles and sits back as I lean down toward her belly.
“Hey, little one. It’s your papa.”
I hear her suck in a deep breath, but I carry on, not looking at her face.
“We can’t wait to meet you. I know we’ve not spoken before, but I’m here now, and I won’t leave you. I love you, baby.”
Gently rubbing circles on her tummy, I turn my head upwards to look at her face. Tears have started again, but I carry on with my speech. “I’m here for you and your mammy. I will do everything for you. I’m here to love and protect you.” I sit up, as she continues to stare at me, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“No one has ever talked to the baby. Only me. Why did you do that?”
Her voice is choked with emotion as her eyes glisten in the sunlight. I shrug. I don’t want to keep saying Evie’s name. Referencing my sister and family.
“It seemed the natural thing to do. To speak to him.”
How has no one taken any real interest in her or the baby? I don’t get it. I hold my hands on her stomach. Caressing her. Letting her pull her emotions back together.
After a few minutes I ask, “Are you ready?”
She nods and we set off back towards the house. We’re on the track cutting through the gardens, and you can’t see the house or the distillery from here. The gardens are in charge. Trees, greenery, plants, flowers, and shrubs surround us. It’s a mixture of formal and wild garden. Blended perfectly in this setting.
Aoife touches my leg. It’s so unexpected, I feel like a red hot poker stabbed me, and I practically jump.
“Can we do a detour? I want to go to a nice spot on the grounds.”
Her voice is more or less back to normal. But the register is lower, and it’s sexy as fuck. I nod and she directs me out towards the woods. Weaving in and out of tree-lined gardens and chugging uphill, the battery on the buggy screaming. I’m in a panic, worrying the thing may stop and I’ll have to try and push it. But she directs me to a clearing on slightly higher ground, the wind rasping through the trees ringing a small hillock.
She smiles and looks at me, her eyes shining, her cheeks rosy, her skin glowing in the afternoon sun. She nods her head towards the trees. “I love it when they sing.”
The sound starts up again as the wind blows through the top branches. She hops out as gracefully as she can and stands with her face towards the sky. “This is my favourite place to come. Peaceful, but I can talk all day, and they talk back.” She looks a bit unhinged.
“My sister talks to buildings, Marshall to horses, you talk to trees. Xan’s dad talks to fairy princes.” I’m shaking my head and smiling.
“Oh, I’d like to talk to the Fairy prince,” she says smiling.
I’m pulled in, the force of her smile dragging me forwards. Standing in front of her, I place my hands on herstomach. They seem to have been magnetised, and the central gravitational point is her bulging stomach.
“I’ll take you both. You can meet him. Xan’s dad, that is, not the Fairy prince.” I grin again, and decide to try and explain about my family. “I know I talk about my sister a lot, but when she was carrying the twins, she and Kell parted for a short time. Well, he collapsed in a heap of shit actually, but anyway. She used to play the babies his music, all the time. She said it was so when he came back to her, they would know his voice, and when they were born, they would feel comfortable with him.”
I watch her face. Does she believe in things like that? I can’t tell from her expression. She’s listening intently, so I continue. “They must have been on overload. Those babies were talked to, kissed, cuddled, before they even got here. I want this baby to know me. To know that I love him. To know that I will always be here for him. I want him to know my voice so he is comfortable with me.”
My hands are moving gently, and we are both swaying, as if the movement of the trees has infected us both. “I see you touching him all the time. Do you talk to him?”
“Why do you refer to the baby as him? It could be her. And yes, I do. All day everyday.”
“Just a feeling. But to be honest, it’s probably just a slip of the tongue. Evie has four boys and one girl, so, sorry about that. Boys seem to run in our family.”
Her face is open and honest, and I make a snap decision to trust her.
“Can I tell you something about Marshall and Evie? And it remain confidential?”
