Fortunately he was all three, and for some reason Alexei didn’t quite understand, he was utterly captivated by his outspoken sister.
“As others have pointed out, anything else we do will likely result in the governor finding another way to single out your family,” Nathan continued. “Did the elders in Ketchikan say anything that could be helpful?”
Alexei scowled. “The opposite. Even though there’s a rumor going around that the elders signed a treaty requiring them to move onto a reservation, the elders said they didn’t sign any such thing, and they didn’t plan to. They also said that Governor Caldwell himself paid them a visit, not one of his representatives, and he was very kind and accommodating, and they’re happy he’s the governor now.”
“Well, that’s entirely unhelpful.” Evelina stood from the table and ladled more borscht from the pot on the stove into her bowl. “And going to Ketchikan pulled you away from being in Sitka too. I’m sure it wasn’t an ideal time to leave.”
“It let me come here and visit you, so it could have been worse.” He swallowed another spoonful of soup. “How is it working using Juneau for our central warehouse?”
“Busy.” Evelina headed back to the table, where she set her bowl down. But before sitting, she reached out and gave Jonas’s shoulder a squeeze. “Fortunately we have a very capable warehouse manager who’s been able to keep us organized—when he’s not locking up drunkards for brawling, that is. But it’s a lot of paperwork, and some days I’m so tired that I...”
She shook her head, her cheeks turning pink. “Well, I think there might be another reason I’m so tired.” Her hand slid down to cover her belly. “We were going to tell you at Thanksgiving, but...”
“Go on, love.” Jonas reached out and settled his own hand over her flat belly. “Share our news.”
A bright smile filled Evelina’s face, and Alexei knew what she was going to say before she even opened her mouth.
“I’m pregnant.”
“You are? That’s wonderful!” Kate sprang up from the table and raced to her twin’s side. “When did you find out? How do you know? Do you want me to do an examination?” She reached out and laid a hand on Evelina’s forehead.
Evelina laughed. “What are you doing? Pregnancy doesn’t give women fevers.”
“I just...” Kate pulled her hand away, then threw her arms around Evelina’s neck and hugged her. “I’m so happy!”
“I am too.” Alexei scooted his chair back and stood, heading around the table toward Evelina. He waited until Kate was done with her hug before wrapping his sister in another embrace. “And you’re in good company, because Maggie’s pregnant too.”
“She is?” Evelina squealed, never mind that her mouth was right next to his ear and he winced at the noise.
She gave him another squeeze, then pushed away from him. “That’s amazing! Who would have thought we’d be pregnant at the same time? Our children can grow up together and be best friends. Now all we need is for Kate to?—”
“No.” Kate stepped away from them. “Nathan and I just got married at the end of May. We’re not ready to start having children.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.” Evelina made a swishing movement with her hand. “Of course you’re ready. Every house should be filled with the laughter of little ones, and Inessa and Ilya are both old enough now that they don’t count anymore. So that means we all need to start having babies.”
Alexei held up his hands. “You have no complaints from me. Yuri and I are both looking forward to being uncles.”
“Yuri will make an excellent uncle.” Evelina clapped her hands. “He’ll have so much fun with the little ones.”
Alexei scowled. “I’ll make a good uncle too.”
“Good, yes, but probably not as fun as Yuri.” Jonas sent him a wink.
“What about me?” Ilya asked. “Will I make a good uncle?”
“The very best.” Evelina sat back down at the table and sent their youngest sibling a wink. “I’m counting on you to take your little niece or nephew prospecting for gold.”
Ilya’s smile turned huge. “I can’t wait!”
Jonas cleared his throat. “Yes, but just to be clear, you can take your nieces and nephews prospecting in a few years, not right away.”
Alexei choked on his soup. He could just imagine Ilya settling Evelina’s newborn into a sling on his back and carrying him around the mountains on his first prospecting trip.
Kate was the last one to return to the table, and her eyes were narrowed on her two youngest siblings. “How come neither you nor Inessa seem very surprised by Evelina’s news.”
Inessa shrugged. “We were both there when Evelina figured it out last week.”
“You’ve known for a week?” Kate squeaked.
