Free Treasured Legacies (A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery) by Terri Reid

his voice
slightly rough with emotion.
    Mary snuggled closer. “Excellent idea.”

 
    Sometime later Mary lay next to Bradley, her head nestled in
the crook of his shoulder and his arms wrapped around her.   “Well, this was a great day,” she sighed
contentedly.
    He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Yes it
was,” he answered. “I still can’t believe it. A baby.”
    She smiled softly and slipped her hand down over her still
flat abdomen. “I know how you feel,” she replied. “I can’t believe it either.”
    “When do you want to tell your family?” he asked.
    “I really think I want to wait until we’re sure,” she
replied. “After the first trimester.   Is that okay with you?”
    “Yes, that sounds fine.   You know, I’ve been thinking that the baby ought to have an amazing and
distinct name,” Bradley said. “Perhaps a family name.”
    “That’s a great idea,” she said. “I love the idea of a
family name.   Any ones come to mind?”
    “Well, I have a great aunt Berengaria, she’s named after a thirteenth
century queen,” he suggested.
    “Berengaria?” Mary asked, not quite believing her ears.
    “Yes, Great Aunt Beren,” he replied.
    “Okay, well, that’s one name we can cross off the list,” Mary stated.
    “We could call her Gari,” he suggested.
    “Let me think about that,” she said, and then before less than two
seconds passed added. “No.”
    “Okay, well, if we have a boy, I have a great-great uncle Eustace,” he
said.
    Mary rolled over to her side and gently placed her hand on Bradley’s
lips. “So, what you are trying to tell me is that if we choose a family name,
we’re using my family.”
    She could feel the rumble of laughter in his chest, although he tried
to keep a straight face.   “Okay, you try
to do better than Eustace and Berengaria,” he challenged.
    “Oh, well, that’s easy,” she replied with a twinkle in her eyes.
“There’s my cousin, Drizella , a lovely girl who lives
in County Cork.”
    “Didn’t she try to kill a bunch of Dalmatian puppies?” he asked.
    “That was Cruella ,” Mary pointed out. “Not Drizella .”
    “Oh, well, that’s much better,” he said. “And for a
boy?”
    “Well, I have a great-great uncle Porick ,”
she suggested.
    Bradley shook his head. “Like bacon?”
    “That’s pork, not Por -ick,” she explained.
    “But when he’s little and tells someone his name, it’s going to sound
like we named him after the other white meat, right?”
    “Okay, maybe,” Mary agreed with a sigh, rolling back and snuggling
against him. “This is going to be harder than I thought.”
    “Yeah, and maybe we stay away from family names,” Bradley suggested,
“For the sake of the baby.”
    Mary giggled. “I agree.”

Chapter Fifteen
    Mary opened her eyes and waited, doing a mental inventory of her
physical status.   Stomach feels fine ,
she decided, no lightheadedness, no nausea and I
really have to go to the bathroom. I think I’m good.
    Slipping out from beneath the blankets, she hurried to the bathroom,
optimistic that her bout with morning sickness was over.   But once she was on her feet for a few
minutes, her stomach clenched and she bent over the toilet.
    Twenty minutes later she was showered, dressed and heading towards the
staircase.   She was actually feeling
hungry.   This was going to be a great
day. She placed her foot on the first step and stopped.   What was that smell?
    “Hey, good morning sunshine,” Mike said, appearing next to her. “Taking
it a little easy this morning?”
    She smiled wanly at him and nodded. “Yes, I’m, uh…”
    The scent of the food drifted upward and she caught a full whiff. Green peppers and onions?   Her stomach spun and she clapped a hand over her mouth, dashing back down
the hall to her bedroom.  
    “Hey, what’s wrong?” Mike asked, chasing after her. “Are you okay?”
    “ Mmmph ,” she muttered, racing through her
room to the bathroom.