A Future for Three by Rachel Clark

both their pregnancies, and he wouldn't change anything of the past eight months.
    Finally realizing they loved each other had been miracle enough. That they'd been blessed so quickly with the family they all wanted was a gift he would never take for granted. He slipped his key into the front door, a goofy smile spreading across his face when he heard the laughter coming from the kitchen.
    "How are my favorite ladies?" He walked into the room, frowned at Emma standing at the sink peeling vegetables, and then walked over to kiss Casey. He didn't quite make it all the way to her mouth before he saw the state of her ankles. "Babe." He knelt beside her legs, his voice seizing in his throat. Her soft hand touched his face.
    "I'm okay, Jase, just overdid it a little today."
    "Oh, Casey," he said, carefully trying to conceal his need to order her to look after herself better. Giving Casey, or Emma, for that matter, a direct order never, ever went down well. "Maybe you should think about taking leave earlier than you were planning." He really did not want to look at the fury that would be written all over her face. Ever since she'd worked through the emotions of the holdup eight months ago, she'd taken a little more time for herself, but she still pushed herself just a little harder than she should, especially now that she was nearly eight-months pregnant.
    "Today was my last day."
    He sought her eyes, relief flooding through him when he realized that she wasn't messing with him.
    "I'd rather stay home and have a healthy baby."
    He lifted her into his arms and sat her on his lap before he captured her lips in a very thorough kiss. "Thank you, babe. It'll make it so much easier to worry about you both if you're together." He meant it exactly the way it came out, so the bark of laughter caught him by surprise.
    "The way we've been arguing lately, are you sure having both of us home, all day, together, is going to lessen your worries?"
    He turned to Emma's cheeky smile. She stood at the sink, her sassy stance lost behind the growing bulge where their twins grew. He watched as she waddled toward them and pressed a kiss to the mouth of the woman held securely in his arms. Yes, it would lessen his worries. No matter how many arguments they had, it was obvious that they loved each other just as much as he loved them.
    Emma placed her warm hand against his cheek, kissed him softly, and stepped back.
    "Why don't you two go lie down for a while? Dinner won't be for at least another hour."
    Jason stood, lifting Casey high against his chest. Even eight-months pregnant, she was a lightweight. "Good idea. I've been dreaming of getting you naked all day."
    "Ah, yes, so you can admire my lovely swollen ankles."
    He laughed again, happiness filling him as he carried Casey into their bedroom. A quick glance around suggested that Emma had probably been pushing herself too hard as well. The room was spotlessly clean, not a thing out of place. Nesting instinct, she called it. Jason shook his head in defeat. What a fucking joke. If Emma kept this up, her ankles would be just as swollen as Casey's.
    He lowered Casey to the edge of the bed, and carefully helped her to undress. She wore a simple maternity dress, and when he lifted it, he saw the angry red lines gracing her hips and buttocks.
    "Casey," he said quietly as he knelt beside her and ran a gentle hand over several of the stretch marks.
    "Yeah, ugly, aren't they?"
    "I'm sorry, babe. I had no idea pregnancy would be so rough for you." He dropped his head for a moment, unsure how to say what he wanted, no, needed , to say. Her voice sounded so sad. The marks didn't detract in any way from her beauty, but if he'd been able to do something so that she could've prevented them, he would've moved heaven and earth.
    He shuffled over so that he knelt in front of her and then smoothed his hand over the small lump at the top of her belly that the doctor had said was most likely the baby's knee. He lifted his