Cal shuddered. "It's not something any of us is likely to forget."
To avoid the construction rubble, they'd set up the picnic area near Rachel's garden, which was in bloom from the rosebushes they'd planted, and now Kristy called in through the side window. "Rachel, come out here. You have to see Rosie's new trick."
"I'll be right there." She patted Cal's back. "We can finish this later."
The cat followed as Rachel waddled toward the door. Rachel had her weight thrown back on her heels and her big belly leading. Gabe felt a surge of primitive male pride knowing he'd done that to her. In another month, the baby would be born, and none of them could wait.
The moment Rachel disappeared, Cal and Ethan collapsed on the couch they'd moved to four separate locations. Gabe took pity and brought them each a beer. Then he settled in the armchair he suspected he'd have to wrestle back to its original position as soon as his brothers left and lifted his own bottle. "Here's to the three luckiest men on earth."
His brothers smiled, and, for a while, they just sat there sipping their beers and thinking about how lucky they really were. Cal had finished his first year of medical school at UNC, and he and Jane were enjoying living in Chapel Hill. The architects had completed the plans for the renovation that would turn the mausoleum into a spacious contemporary. It would be their permanent home when Cal finished his residency and came back to join their father's practice.
Ethan seemed to have finally found peace in his role as a minister, although he griped about the series of church secretaries he'd gone through in a futile attempt to replace Kristy, who refused to leave her job teaching preschool to come back to work for him. And Rachel…
Chip dashed in, followed by Sammy, his year-old black Lab. Sammy dashed over to Gabe, while Chip ran to Cal. "Rosie's a pain."
"What'd she do now, pal?" Cal gave Gabe's son a quick hug. From the back of the house, the wheel on the hamster cage squeaked.
"Crashed my fort right after I got it built."
"You don't have to put up with that," Cal said. "Tell her no. Or build your fort out front where she can't get to you."
Chip regarded him with reproach. "She was helping, and she didn't mean to."
Cal rolled his eyes. "One of these days you and your Uncle Cal are going to have to have a long talk about dealing with women."
Chip wandered over to Gabe, crawled up on his lap, and settled in. At six, he'd started to shoot up, and, before long, his feet would brush the floor, but he still liked being in Gabe's lap. Chip's beloved Lab collapsed across Gabe's foot. "You know what I think's gonna happen, Dad?"
Gabe brushed the top of his head with a kiss. "What's that, son?"
Chip gave a sigh of resignation. "I think when me and Rosie grow up, we're gonna prob'ly get married, just like you and Mom did."
The men didn't laugh at his pronouncement. All of them had come to respect the mysterious bond that had formed between the two children, even though none of them quite understood it.
"Sometimes a man's got to do what a man's got to do," Cal observed.
Chip nodded. "That's what I was thinking."
They did laugh then.
A huge Rosie-howl came from the side yard. Sammy lifted his head from Gabe's foot, and Chip sighed. "I better go. She's got Grandma and Grandpa wrapped around her little finger."
The men waited until Chip and his dog had disappeared, then grinned at each other. Cal shook his head. "That boy is spooky. Six going on thirty."
Ethan smiled. "I just hope the three new ones turn out half as terrific as those two."
Gabe glanced through the back window. Shadow, a collie mix he'd adopted a few months ago, lay patiently on the ground and let Rosie climb on him. Chip approached his parents. His Grandpa Bonner felt his bicep, while his grandmother reached over and ruffled his hair.
He was glad to have his parents back from South America, not only for his own sake, but for Chip's. The Bonner family had taken his son right to its collective heart, along with his mother. Chip also had friends now, and he'd done well in kindergarten. Gabe was so proud of him.
Jane, looking healthy, if a little green, came back through the living room. Tasha, an older cat Gabe had rescued from the shelter, waddled after her. Jane was nearing the end of her second month of pregnancy and was delirious with happiness when she wasn't throwing up.
Cal started to rise, but she waved him back down. "I'm fine. Visit with your brothers."
They exchanged smiles, and Cal patted her rear.
Gabe thought about how much he loved doing that. Not patting Jane's rear, of course, but Rachel's. Being able to pat a woman's rear whenever you wanted was one of the best things about being married, although nobody ever told you that.
"I spoke with Carol Dennis yesterday," Ethan said.
Gabe and Cal exchanged grim looks. The memory of the day Bobby Dennis had jeopardized their children's lives was something they'd never forget. Nor would Ethan and Kristy. They were still beating themselves up for having left the children alone in the car, even though nobody blamed them for it.
It had taken six months for Bobby to recover from his injuries, but the car accident had turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the kid. He'd been clean and sober for the past year, and he and Carol had gotten the counseling they so desperately needed.
Gabe suspected their relationship would always be difficult, but, according to Ethan, they were finally communicating. Bobby had also stopped blaming Rachel for his problems, which was a good thing, because if Gabe had still believed the kid was a threat to her, he'd have run him out of town, counseling or not.
"Carol said Bobby's planning on starting college in August. He actually finished high school with some decent grades."
Cal shook his head. "I still can't believe the way Rachel kept visiting him in the hospital. That woman's got more heart than sense. You know what people are saying about that, don't you? That if Rachel hadn't visited him, he wouldn't-"
Gabe groaned. "Don't say it."
"That reminds me." Ethan glanced out the window at Kristy, who was holding Rosie's hand against her belly so she could feel the baby move. He smiled, then returned his attention to the discussion at hand. "I'm going to need some help from you with Rachel. Brenda Meers is taking a long time recovering from her pneumonia, and I want Rachel to visit her."
"Here we go again." Cal stretched out his legs and looked amused.
Gabe thought he and Ethan had an understanding about this, and he regarded his brother with exasperation. "Eth, I told you last time that I'm not getting in the middle of this. You're Rachel's pastor, and you'll have to talk to her yourself."
The men sipped their beer and thought about how tough that might be.
"How long do you think she's going to keep fighting this thing?" Cal finally asked.
"I'd give her another forty years," Gabe replied.
Ethan held up his hand. "I'm not the bad guy here. I don't know whether she heals people or not, but the fact is, a lot of them seem to get better after she sits with them for a while."
The injured animals got better, too. Gabe was always making excuses to get her to handle the ones under his care. He didn't understand how it happened. He only knew that they seemed to heal faster after she'd touched them.
"A faith healer in denial." Since Cal wasn't the one who had to deal with Rachel, he continued to look amused. "Nobody in this town has a bad word to say against her since Emily's miracle. And when Bobby Dennis recovered from that spinal injury after the doctors said he'd be paralyzed…"
"People love her," Ethan observed. "It's ironic. G. Dwayne told everybody he could heal, but he couldn't. Rachel insists she can't, and she can."
"We don't know that for a fact," Gabe pointed out. "It could all be coincidence. Just do what you've done before, Eth. Tell Rachel that Brenda's sick and could use some cheering up. As long as you don't mention healing, you know she won't turn you down."