The adults chatted while the children played until about 7:00 PM. The Singletons needed to go home to put Logan to bed.

Noah really didn't want to leave. He hid behind Violet, as if this would prevent his parents from seeing him, and buried his face in her long brown hair. "I wanna stay here! Go home without me!"

Jennica and Cameron exchanged a glance and barely suppressed their laughter. "Come on, sweetie. We'll come back tomorrow."

He peeked out, skepticism evident on his face. "Promise?"

"Promise," Jennica assured him. "The sooner we go home, the sooner we can come back."

This convinced him. He gave Violet and Kaleb big hugs before toddling to his mother and reaching for her hand, even though she was holding the baby.

"Can you hold Daddy's hand? Mommy has the baby."

"Mommy always has the baby," he pouted. "I want Mommy."

"I'll take him, Jen," Cameron offered, extending his hands for Logan so Jennica could attend to Noah.

Jennica called, "See you tomorrow!" over her shoulder as she led Noah away. Keeley returned the farewell and began clearing the plates before Aaron stopped her. He wanted to help, of course.

Instead, she told the twins it was time for a bath. Her husband insisted on helping with this task to prevent her from straining herself. The only bedtime duty Keeley managed was reading the children's chosen books and singing them lullabies.

Putting them to bed became much more difficult after they got their own rooms. Sometimes she missed the simpler days of a single bedtime routine. Aaron would read to one child, but she always sang the lullabies because he was tone-deaf.

The first time she had a bad cold and lost her voice when the twins were about two, he attempted lullaby duty; the results were disastrous. The children cried and took even longer to settle. After that, Keeley recorded several lullabies on her phone for future use.

Once the children were asleep, Keeley went to the TV room and put on an episode of her favorite cooking competition show. Dinah curled up in her lap as she watched.

Molly had died about four months prior at the age of fifteen. Keeley had been devastated by the loss of her long-time companion; the twins were inconsolable as well. Keeley had wanted a new kitten to fill the void, but Aaron disagreed.

He reasoned that Dinah was quite old and likely wouldn't live much longer. She deserved a peaceful end to her life. They could get two kittens after Dinah passed away.

Keeley couldn't argue with his logic. Aaron loved his cat and wanted her to be comfortable in her old age. He would be as heartbroken as she had been when Dinah eventually died.

Aaron joined her on the couch and put his arm around her wearily. "You'd think those two would be tired after all that playing, but no. They want to stay up even longer."

That was the quintessential energy level of young children. She had been devastated when they declared themselves "too big" for naps a couple of years ago. Naptime had been her only respite as a stay-at-home mom.

Keeley loved her children deeply, but sometimes she needed a break from motherhood. Like right now. The couple of hours after bedtime were often the best part of her day.

Things would be even more chaotic once Oliver was born. She needed to savor this time.

"Just wait until the baby is born; we'll be even more tired," she predicted grimly.

Aaron sighed. "We need to keep reminding ourselves that we're the ones who wanted a large family. We made our bed, and now we have to lie in it."

This was true. They had wanted four children so Oliver would have a sibling closer to his age. There would be a significant age gap between him and the twins.

He was quiet for a while, enjoying the relative peace and quiet of their time together (technically three, including the sleeping cat). When he spoke again, his voice was laced with anxiety.

"I know you have your final checkup scheduled for the 16th, but could you reschedule it? I really don't want you going out that day. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Keeley turned to him, seeing the desperation in his eyes. "Aaron, I already tried, remember? It's the only day Dr. Chapman can see me, and she wants me to come in that week. I'll be fine. No one is trying to harm me."

Alistair might not accept her, but he hadn't attempted anything underhanded. Probably because he knew it was futile. He had been thoroughly defeated.

When he did attend shareholder meetings these days, he was mostly silent and wore a sour expression. At least, that's what Aaron said. Keeley trusted his judgment that his father was no longer a threat.

So why was he so worried? Did he truly believe the universe had reunited them only to tear them apart again on the same day?

Keeley used to believe the force that caused their rebirth was cruel, but she had come to appreciate the goodness of her life and this second chance with Aaron. Since it had worked so hard to bring them together, she didn't think it would separate them again.

But Aaron didn't share her optimism. He had lost her before and would rather die than lose her again, especially now that they were happy. Ever since she had become friendly with him again after Jennica and Cameron's wedding, he had been expecting something bad to happen. The promotional material for NovelFire.net has been removed.