Family Matters Book 2

Book Two: Matters of the Heart

Cassie

“Mommy?”

“Hmm?” I mumble, prying my eyes open. There, in front of me, stands the cutest little girl, her face lit up with a huge grin. I glance at the window, noting the darkness outside.

I turn to the bedside clock, which reads five in the morning. “Ana, why are you up at this hour?” I whisper, careful not to disturb Xavier.

“It’s my birthday!” she exclaims in a loud whisper. I can’t help but giggle as Xavier stirs behind me, pulling me closer.

“Yes, sweetheart. I know.” I pat the bed in front of me and she hops in. She tugs Xavier’s arm around her and snuggles against me, grinning up at me.

“Did Daddy know you invited Nathan, my friend, to my party?” She whispers loudly again. Xavier burrows into my neck, whispering back just as loudly.

“Now I do,” he replies, lifting his head to give Ana a playful scowl. Ana’s eyes widen and she claps a hand over her mouth, giggling.

“Daddy! You weren’t supposed to hear that!” she tells him. She clambers over me to wedge herself between Xavier and me.

She wraps her arms around Xavier’s neck, looking into his eyes. “Are you mad at me?” She pouts. This girl sure knows how to play him!

“No, I’m not mad.” He sighs. I chuckle to myself, watching him melt under her pout. “Is he your boyfriend?” Ana quickly covers his mouth with her hands.

“Daddy! That’s a naughty word! Don’t say that!” she exclaims, horrified. Xavier looks at her, a mix of confusion and amusement on his face.

“What’s the naughty word?” I ask her. Ana turns to me, her hands still muffling Xavier’s mouth.

“Daddy said the ‘b’ word!” she exclaims, still shocked that Xavier would utter such a word.

“Boyfriend?” I ask her. Her eyes, I didn’t think it was possible, grow even wider. She quickly moves one hand to cover my mouth, the other still on Xavier’s.

“Mommy! No! No! No!” she protests, shaking her head. “You can’t say that word! Uncle Evan’s hair will fall out!”

“What?!” I mumble against her hand. “Why would his hair fall out?”

“Uncle Evan said that word is naughty and I can’t call any of my friends that or all his hair will fall out and I don’t want him to be bald, mommy, so please don’t say that word anymore.

“I promised him I wouldn’t call any of my friends that word.” She rambles on. Xavier and I can’t help but burst into laughter.

“Your brother is something else!” Xavier tells me. I just shake my head at him.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” I reassure her. “Uncle Evan’s hair won’t…” Xavier quickly covers my mouth with his hand. He turns to Ana and smiles.

“Uncle Evan’s hair won’t fall out just yet because we didn’t know about the naughty word. But now that we do, we promise not to use it for any of your friends either.”

She beams at him, and he plants a kiss on her forehead. “Why don’t you go brush your teeth and start picking out your outfit for the party?”

“I already know what I’m going to wear,” she declares proudly. “Auntie Donna helped me choose.” Xavier rolls his eyes and groans.

“She’s got you wearing a huge crown and a long cape, hasn’t she?” he asks.

“You’re funny, Daddy! She didn’t give me those to wear,” Ana giggles. Xavier breathes a sigh of relief.

“She handed me a tiny tiara because the larger one was too cumbersome, and I got a short cape because I couldn’t dash around with a lengthy one.” Xavier’s face was a picture of dismay as she responded to him, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Alright, sweetheart,” I say, sitting up in bed. I stretch my arms out to her, and she leaps into my embrace. “It’s a bit early, but why don’t you go brush your teeth and get ready for breakfast?”

“Okay, Mommy.” I bend down to plant a kiss on her forehead and give her a tight hug.

“Happy Birthday, my darling,” I whisper. Xavier leans in to kiss her, wrapping his arms around both of us.

“Happy birthday, princess,” he murmurs. “We love you.”

“I love you too, Mommy and Daddy!” She gives us one last squeeze before hopping off the bed and scampering out of the room. Xavier pulls me into his arms and kisses me passionately.

A soft sigh escapes my lips as he lifts me onto his lap, my legs straddling him. We break apart, and I nestle into his chest.

“I love you, Cass,” he murmurs, his breath warm against my hair. His arm is wrapped securely around my waist, his other hand gently stroking my back.

“I love you too, Xavier.” I press a kiss to his chest and hold him close. I can feel my heart pounding against my ribcage. I have news to share with him, and I’m both thrilled and anxious to tell him.

“I love our little family,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “I can’t imagine being any happier than I am right now.” I can feel his smile against my hair.

“What if our little family grew by one?” I ask softly. He stops stroking my back and lifts me to look into my eyes. His eyes are glistening, a wide smile spreading across his face.

“Are you sure?” he asks, his voice trembling with excitement.

“Yes, love. I’m sure,” I assure him. He crashes his lips onto mine and pulls me close. Suddenly, he flips us over so I’m lying on the bed and he’s hovering above me.

“Aaah!” I squeal, giggling. He kisses me again, first on my lips and then trailing kisses down to my belly.

“Hello there, little one.” He presses a kiss just above my belly button. “This is your daddy.” He continues to shower my belly with kisses as he talks to our unborn child.

“I can’t wait to hold you in my arms. You have two wonderful big sisters and a big brother who are going to be so excited to meet you. I love you, my little bean.”

“Little bean?” I giggle.

“Yes. I’ve seen enough ultrasounds of Selena and Isaiah to know that at this stage, our little one is about the size of a bean.”

He grins proudly. He makes his way back up to me and kisses me again. I could never tire of his kisses. “When do you want to tell everyone?”

“Maybe tomorrow?” I suggest.

“Why not today?” he asks, a hint of concern in his eyes.

“Today is Ana’s day. I don’t want to steal her thunder,” I explain. He nods and kisses me again. “Baby?”

“Hmmm?” he hums against my lips.

“We should lock the door.” I smirk. He quickly hops off the bed and locks our bedroom door. When he returns, we spend the next hour celebrating our new addition in bed...and the shower.

Xavier

Today is Ana’s birthday, and we’re throwing a party later with our family and friends. I can hardly believe she’s already six. It feels like just yesterday she was learning to say my name.

And now, she’s just finished kindergarten and will be starting first grade after the summer. She’s growing up so quickly. Too quickly for my liking.

She’s been buzzing with excitement about her birthday party all week, so I was mentally prepared for an early start today. I’m actually surprised she managed to sleep at all.

I heard her tiptoe into our room this morning, but I pretended to be asleep.

That is, until she mentioned that boy Nathan. Ugh! Why does she have to have boy friends at this age? Aren’t boys supposed to have cooties at this age?

When she spilled the beans about Evan’s hilarious advice on boyfriends, I nearly wet my pants laughing.

I’m sure Cassie will give him a piece of her mind for that, but I’m all for it if it means Ana won’t have a boyfriend till she’s an octogenarian.

I didn’t have much time to ponder on Ana’s future love life, because as soon as she left the room, Cassie dropped the bombshell—we were expecting our fourth child.

Holy shit! WE’RE HAVING A BABY! Oh, God! Another baby?! Please, let it be a boy this time.

I’m not sure I can handle another girl, and I’ll need some backup when Ana and Selena start dating.

After Cassie and I had our private celebration—actually, several celebrations—we woke up our other two little ones and headed downstairs to prepare breakfast.

Our parents were coming over to join us for breakfast and help us prep the house for the party.

According to my mom and Sadie, they needed a good four-hour head start to put up all the decorations and cook the food, so they wanted to get cracking right after breakfast. They take their party planning to heart.

As we’re all sitting down to breakfast, I notice Charlie keeps glancing between Cassie and Ana. I’m not the only one who’s noticed.

I caught my dad giving Charlie concerned looks. After breakfast, Cassie and our moms took the kids to the backyard to start prepping for the party.

My dad and Charlie retreated to the living room for a chat. I trailed behind them.

“What’s up?” I asked as we settled on the couch. My dad glanced at Charlie, who took a deep breath.

“There’s a situation, Xavier. I’m not sure what to make of it yet.” He sighed. “I’ve got my lawyer on it as we speak.”

I saw his eyes welling up, and he blinked back the tears threatening to spill. I felt a knot forming in my stomach.

“What situation?” I asked. I looked at my dad, and he wore the same expression as Charlie. “What’s so serious that you’ve already got your lawyers involved?”

Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. He held it for a few seconds before handing it to me. I opened the envelope, took out the letter, and started reading.

I read the first few lines, and my heart stopped. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. I got up and walked to the back window, watching Cassie and Ana laughing as they hung decorations in the yard.

I turned back to face my dad and Charlie, now fighting back my own tears.

“Xavier,” my dad said. “We don’t know if that’s legitimate or not. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“I should hear from my lawyers later today,” Charlie added, his voice shaky. “Whatever happens, Xavier, we’re going to fight this.”

I returned to the couch and sat down. My world was spinning. My dad sat next to me, placing his hand on my arm.

“Xavier? Say something, son,” he urged. I looked at my dad, stunned. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I looked back down at the paper, my eyes scanning the same phrases over and over:

“Notice to establish paternity”

“Challenging the adoption of Ana Montero”