Chasing Abby(54)

“Mom?” Senia finally lets go and we look down to find Izzy looking up at us. “Did she like it?”
Eight-year-old Izzy reminds me of a tiny version of Jimi, with her wide gray eyes and long light-brown hair that curls at the ends. Her older sister, Sia, is thirteen and looks almost exactly like Senia, but she’s a bit less outgoing. And I can tell she’s a total daddy’s girl when I see Tristan take her aside so they can have a private discussion.
Izzy pretends to gaze at the fire as I examine the drawing she gave me. “Thank you, Izzy. I love it so much.”
She glances at me and flashes me a shy smile as she shrugs. Then Claire comes over to see the drawing and I’m tempted to try and hide it, but I can’t.
“Let me see,” she says, holding out her hand.
I hand her the drawing and she blinks her eyes to keep the tears from falling. It’s clearly a drawing of me with blonde hair and a broken heart drawn on my chest. Standing behind me are a blonde woman and a man with dark hair and tattoos all over his arms. The weird thing is that I could put this up in my bedroom at home and say it’s a drawing of me with my mom and Caleb, but it’s clearly a picture of me with Chris and Claire.
Claire looks up at me and smiles. “Izzy is an angel.” She comes up behind Izzy and wraps her arms around her shoulders as she plants a smacking kiss on her cheek. “Beautiful drawing, baby.”
“Hey, how about me?” Ryder says. “I’m an angel, too.” He sticks his index fingers in his dimples as he grins.
Claire lets go of Izzy and shakes her head. “If you’re an angel, we’re all going to heaven.”
Ryder pumps his fist in the air. “Yeah!”
Joel rises from his chair and grabs a few beers out of the cooler. He holds one out to Claire as she takes a seat next to Chris again.
She glances at Chris before she shakes her head. “No, thank you.”
“Come on, pumpkin. Let loose. This is a time to celebrate.”
She chuckles, her gaze fixed on her hands where they lie in her lap. “I’m fine. Thank you, Joel.”
Joel shrugs as he heads back to his chair. “More for me.”
Claire continues to stare at her hands, looking very uncomfortable. I turn to Jackie and she’s staring at Claire with that same wide-eyed expression she had when she saw me in the kitchen.
“Claire Brooklyn Knight, do you have something you want to tell us?”
Claire looks up at Jackie, appearing as if she just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar, as my Nana Bea would say. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, don’t you play coy with me, young lady. Are you two keeping something from me… again?”
Claire turns to Chris and he raises his eyebrows, as if he can’t believe what’s happening. “Jesus, Mom. Can we have a bonfire without—” Jackie casts a vicious glare in his direction. “Claire’s pregnant.”
“Chris!” Claire yelps.
“What? She was giving me the look. You know I hate the look.”
Claire smacks his knee, then she leans forward and buries her face in her hands.
“Is it true, Mom?” Ryder shouts at her over the sound of the crackling fire.
Claire is silent for a moment, then she sits up straight and looks straight at Jackie. “Yes, it’s true. We just found out a week ago, so it’s still very early. We were going to keep it a secret until I was in the second trimester, but yes, it’s true. I’m pregnant. Again.”
“Jeez, Mom. Five kids?” Junior calls out across the fire pit with a chuckle.
“Six!” Caleb says, raising his hand, and everyone laughs. “In-laws count, right?”
“Are you two married?” Chris roars.