Page 40 of Claim Me

“Your girl might be a fucking weirdo.”

Tack immediately shakes his head. “No. She’s going to be really cute.”

“When can I find out if my baby is a girl or a boy?” I ask, ignoring how they torment each other. “Siobhan said it’s too early to go to the doctor.”

“You’ve got to wait for a few months,” Tack says, being helpful now that he’s riled up Bear. “We just found out with our girl, and there’s a chance she has a wiener hiding somewhere. We’ll have another ultrasound closer to the end.”

“We had our last ultrasound a few weeks ago,” Bear mutters. “The doctor thinks Natasha will need a C-section.”

“How come?” Tack asks, wearing a smirk like he knows the answer.

Bear grumbles under his breath as he goes to the fridge to get a tea refill. I hear him bitch about Tack and doctors and how his daughter isn’t a giant.

“Why are you making him grouchy?” I ask Tack.

“A few days ago, Bear texted me a picture of a ginger baby with devil horns.”

“Don’t do that with me,” I tell Tack and then glance at Bear who only controls his temper on account of the boy dozing in his arms. “I don’t want pictures of my baby looking weird or jokes about how my baby isn’t any good. Don’t encourage me to worry about ugly shit.”

When the men stare at me, I figure we’re getting into another staring constant. Instead, Tack nods and looks at Bear.

“Your daughter might be big, but she’s healthy.”

“And your daughter might have red hair, but she’ll be beautiful.”

“You can’t tell on the ultrasounds about hair color, right?” I ask.

“No, but the red hair gene is strong in the Knutsen family,” Tack says. “I’ll be a little disappointed if my kid isn’t a ginger.”

“It’s weird to think how we’ll all have babies in a year,” Bear says and shakes his head.

Bear’s words cut through the dark cloud I wrap around my life. I hadn’t been sure about coming here today and having everyone judge me for wanting Siobhan. I felt like putting everything out in the open would end things between her and me. Instead, talking openly about my feelings with my best friends makes everything real in a new way.

SIOBHAN

I follow the kids into the primary bedroom where Natasha rests on her side with her blonde hair spread out around her. She smiles at me before cuddling with the kids who climb onto the bed and talk over each other. They’re very proud of Bear for being a good cat daddy.

“He has a big heart,” Jacinda says.

Natasha smiles. “Yes, and he loves you.”

The kids look at me to see if I heard how Bear loves them. I climb onto the bed and smoosh them between their mom and me.

“I love you, too. Where’s my applause?”

The kids imitate Natasha’s clapping before deciding they want to sit on the end of the bed to talk about cats.

“They watched a bunch of cat videos this morning,” Natasha explains when I frown at how amazed the children are behaving about two cats they’ve known for months. “They realize cats can do more than sleep and chase each other. It’s blown their minds.”

Smiling, I whisper, “Indigo slept over last night.”

“How did that go?”

“He’s a quiet sleeper if that’s what you’re asking. No snoring.”

“Well, that’s the important thing. But what about chemistry? Weren’t you worried you might not be able to view him as a man rather than a foster brother?”

“Indigo’s very sexy. He’s also passionate.”

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