Page 106 of Sometimes You Fall

“What the fuck are bumpy bumps?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. I heard Willow talking about some book thing and she kept saying it over and over again, and I guess it just sort of stuck in my head.”

“Well, I’d go over all the bumpy bumps for Scottie, but right now they feel like the kind of hills you go up and down on a fucking roller coaster.”

Penn clasps me on the shoulder. “Just be patient. You guys have a lot going on right now and she’s hormonal, which doesn’t help.”

“Don’t talk about her hormones, okay?” I say a little too defensively.

“Not trying to offend, but you have to remember that her pregnancy is an additional dimension you’re navigating on top of your relationship.”

After we got home from Kentucky, I talked to the guys about the developments between us without going into too much detail, but Dallas and Penn both agreed that I did the right thing just letting things progress naturally. But after we found out we’re having a daughter, my patience has failed to exist anymore. Hence why I’m shopping for baby shit before Scottie has the baby shower because I can’t fucking wait anymore. Regardless of how things work between us, I’m going to need a room for my daughter in my house, so I want to be prepared.

As we round the corner at the end of a new aisle, the sight before us makes me, Dallas, and Penn all stop in our tracks.

Parker is staring at the display of breast pumps, taking each one and bringing it up to his own nipples, as if trying them on for size.

“What the fuck did we just walk in on?” Dallas grumbles.

Penn blows out a breath. “I swear, he must have been adopted.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I speak loud enough for Parker to hear. “Watching you right now makes me question how people trust you to operate on animals.”

Parker’s head spins to face us as he drops the breast pump, the sound of it hitting the floor echoing around us. Scrambling to pick it up, he says, “Uh, I think the animals are starting to have an influence on me.” Parker sets the breast pump down and stares at it with a look of concern on his face. “This place is having a weird effect on me too, so I think it’s time for me to go.”

“Yeah, I think trying to milk yourself is a surefire mark of insanity,” Penn mutters as Parker flips him off and Dallas snickers beside him. Parker heads for the door and doesn’t look back as he exits the shop, leaving the three of us alone again.

“Okay, we need to focus. I need to get enough stuff to start putting together this room.” I look around the shop until I find the store associate restocking one of the shelves and head right over to her, assuming that Penn and Dallas are right behind me. But five minutes later, I hear the telltale sound of walkie talkies going off in one of the aisles.

“We need diaper cream and wipes, stat!”

“10-4. Roger that!”

A tube of diaper cream goes flying past my face, landing in Penn’s arms as he catches it like a running back in the NFL, cheering as he races around the store.

I take my phone out of my pocket, send an S.O.S text to my sister, and wonder why the fuck I didn’t just ask for her help with this in the first place.

Fifteen minutes later, I’m standing at the counter, prepared to drop almost a grand on furniture and necessities for my kid when my sister breezes through the entrance of the store, her long hair thrown up ina clip and her apron still tied around her waist. She must have come straight from the bakery.

“Is everything okay? Your text said it was an emergency.”

“Yeah, I’m okay, but I need your opinion on this stuff,” I say, gesturing to the mountain of boxes, bags, and containers stacked next to the counter. The attendant helping me is more than pleased with my purchase, seeing as how she probably works on commission.

Astrid gives me a confused look. “What are you doing?”

“I’m buying shit for my daughter’s nursery,” I say matter-of-factly. “I want to surprise Scottie, and asked the boys to come with me, but turns out that was a big fucking mistake.”

Dallas comes around the corner, muttering into one of the baby monitors again. “Uh oh. Momma Bear number one is here. I repeat, Momma Bear number one is here.”

Penn runs from the back of the store and stops dead in his tracks as he meets Astrid’s icy glare. “Oh. Hi, babe.”

“What the hell are you two doing?” With her arms crossed over her chest, she glares at both of them. “This is your idea of helping?”

Dallas and Penn both hang their heads in shame, and I’m not going to lie, the sight is making me fucking tickled pink.

But then she turns to face me. “And you thought that these two children would be better assistance than your sister, who is already a mother and happens to know the mother of your child pretty darn well?”

“Uh…”

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