Laughing, Charlotte burped the baby, then handed her over to Catie to cuddle. The first time one of the family had handed her a baby, Catie had been sure she was about to pass out from terror. They were so tiny and fragile, babies. But she was an old hand at it now, had even once babysat the whole brood in tandem with Danny.

They’d fed Emmaline, Esme, and Connor, plus two other small members of the wider clan, far too much sugar and takeout, watched cartoons on repeat, and had a grand old time. The kids begged to be babysat by them again, so Catie figured she was doing a good job on the auntie front.

“Where’s Gabe?” Catie hadn’t spotted the eldest Bishop brother.

“We somehow forgot Sephie’s diaper bag—he’s gone back to grab it.” Charlotte laughed, her entire face aglow with love. “He’s also planning on making a ten-step checklist for leaving the house with a baby.”

“Ha! I can just see him doing that.” Gabriel Bishop didn’t own half the city by accident.

While Charlotte took the opportunity to pop off to the bathroom, Catie carried Seraphina over to Danny. “Look, she’s smiling at me. I’m the favorite.”

“You wish,” he said and scooped the baby out of her arms without missing a beat. “Hey there, angel. I think you grew an inch while I was gone. You’ll be a grown-up by the time of my birthday dinner next week.”

As he smiled at the baby, Catie examined him. He looked better already, joy suffusing his face. Good. Being with his family was helping, but she knew that was only a temporary fix. She’d have to get him alone to get to the root of this.

The front door opened, Gabriel wandering in with the diaper bag in one hand just as Charlotte returned from the bathroom. Intercepting her, Gabriel kissed her until she blushed and told him to “Behave,” though she had her hand pressed to his pectoral muscle and was kind of petting him.

Danny’s eyes met Catie’s at that moment, and things went topsy turvy in her stomach. She had never been more grateful for her sister than she was right then—because Ísa appeared and threaded her arm through Catie’s.

“Come on,” Ísa said, “you can help me keep an eye on the kids outside, make sure no one’s bleeding.”

“As if Emmaline would permit that,” Catie said but allowed herself to be kidnapped.

Once out on the back porch, they confirmed that all three—Esme, Emmaline, and Connor—were present and unbloodied. Two dogs, one belonging to Esme, the other to Emmaline, went from child to child in happy excitement at having their number one people all in one place. Both dogs were very gentle with little Connor and had been known to lie unmoving the times Catie’s nephew fell asleep on them.