“How is pregnant-zilla?” Jake had seen his sister once in the last week, and that had been enough. Pregnancy hormones were not becoming her right now.
Jonny gulped a mouthful of coffee down. “You pretty much summed her up in one word. I’m seriously debating having the snip.”
“What’s Rayah said about that?”
Jonny shook his head. “I haven’t mentioned it.”
Jake squinted. He wasn’t the world’s most experienced person with relationships, having never had one that lasted more than a few weeks at best, but he was pretty sure that a vasectomy was something you discussed with your wife before getting one. “If you have it done, and don’t tell her, she’ll chop you up and put you in a curry when she finds out.” And that was one of the less painful options.
Jonny nodded. “I know. I won’t. I’m just not sure I can go through another pregnancy if she’s going to be the same again.”
“Does Ray want more kids?”
Jonny stared at Jake as if he was looking at a two-year-old asking if he could have more sugar.
“She says she wants a netball team.” Jonny downed the rest of the coffee. “That includes the three we already have. You know what I mean.”
Jake did. Jonny had three children from his previous marriage, his first wife killed in a car accident when the youngest, Sadie Grace, was just a tiny baby.
“How many are on a netball team?” Jake’s knowledge was limited to football, rugby and cricket. “Is it seven or nine?”
“I was hoping it was four.” Jonny rubbed his face. “I’m hoping we have a boy. If we have a girl she might be like…”
“Sadie Grace.” Jake finished his sentence. Sadie was well known throughout Severton. She was seven and ruled the world, causing havoc in order to get her own way, a trait that she’d caught from spending too much time with Rayah. Rayah may not have been Sadie’s biological mother, but there was no doubt they had a bond that enabled either of them to induce mayhem. “You might have two Sadie Graces.”
“Or a daughter who’s even more diabolic than Sadie. I don’t think Severton can cope with that, let alone me. Or the boys.”
Jake nodded in sympathy. “You could live between two houses? I can rent you one of the outbuildings. Maybe you and the boys could stay there most of the time. Other people have done it.”
Jonny shook his head. “I honestly don’t think I’d be allowed. Not right now. Maybe after Rayah’s eaten the rest of her pregnancy hormones.” He topped his coffee up again. “But we do have a problem with the rest of the funding for the helicopter.”
The helicopter was something Severton Search and Rescue had been fundraising for a while. There were times when being on foot or climbing just wasn’t going to be good enough, and although they could borrow one from the rescue service based over the peaks, there was the chance it wouldn’t be available. They needed their own for the area, along with someone who could fly it.
“So we do a fundraiser. Severton’s on the map, Jonny, we can hold something here that’ll blow people’s minds and raise the funds we need.” Jake grinned. This was his catnip – organising something that got everyone involved, a little showboating thrown in for good measure. “Gran will have some ideas too.” Gran was part of Severton’s coven, a group of women in their eighties who hadn’t grown up yet and enjoyed at least looking at male bodies. And making gin.
Jake wondered how many towns could boast ladies in their eighties who’d set up their own gin distillery and were making a killing.
“She will. I’m going to set up a meeting for those who want to help out so we can get something co-ordinated.” Jonny stood up; his mug completely drained. “How’s your new neighbour, by the way?”
Jake shrugged. “Salty.” He’d only seen her once since she’d slapped him. Then she’d been trying to get off her drive, only his jeep had been in the way. He’d moved itveryslowly.
“Rayah said she was really nice.”
“And you accept Rayah’s opinion when she’s clearly been made delusional by your spawn?” Or at any other time. As her brother, Jake felt he was allowed to judge his sister, but clearly Jonny had married her for a reason.
“It’s always my fault. I’ve learned that the past few weeks.” He picked up his coat from the back of his chair. “Thanks for the coffee. It might keep me going for a day or two.”
Jake grinned. “Rayah will calm down, you know.”
“I know. And you know I’ll look after her.”
That was a certainty. Jonny had been looking after Rayah since they were kids, and however tough he was finding this now was irrelevant. Jake was pretty sure that Jonny thought that Rayah was a goddess – most of the time.
“I know. Still fucking weird that you married my sister though.”
Jonny just laughed, leaving without saying another word, although Jake was pretty sure he could hear him laughing even when he got in his car.
Datingin a small town was not the easiest thing to do. Severton had a population of about four hundred, and Jake was pretty sure half of those were because someone had counted his alpacas by mistake. The high school served a few of the surrounding towns too, so as a teenager there had been girls he hadn’t known from being three, who were better to go out with than the ones he remembered from nursery. He’d played around at university, where he studied agricultural management and how to make a woman orgasm in less than three minutes, both of which he’d excelled at. But as an adult, dating in Severton was limited. The women who stayed for a weekend or drank in the bars at the weekend were always up for some fun, the odd one-night stand, or even two nights, but sometimes Jake did like to take someone for a meal and make a bit of an effort.
