.

not just because it was one of the little gestures of affection Claire had taught them the night before but because it felt right, good. Holding the baby was like getting grounded. Even amid the noise and confusion, everything they were going through made sense when Evan held one of the babies.

      “Claire is very much on top of things,” he continued. “She seems to have the entire sequence of events down. When a contract comes in, she knows how to schedule inventory, labor and delivery, and then how to put each contract into the accounting system so it gets billed.”

      “That’s a relief,” Chas said as he successfully caught Taylor, who was crawling away as if drag racing with Annie. Unfortunately, he just missed Annie, who eluded him by scrambling around the leg of the coffee table.

      Today the girls wore ruffly yellow dresses with a row of very happy daisies across the front hem. Annie, who was now playing peekaboo with Chas around the leg of the table, was so cute Evan was momentarily taken aback. Sometimes when he looked at the kids and realized they were his to raise, he felt the overwhelming sensation that he was in the middle of a miracle.