Page 40 of Jack of All Trades

“I saw it on your face, my darling. Never worry about the Pengroves. I’ll plan for our travel soon. For now, we’ll find out more about your real kin.”

“What if they hate me too?”

“Perish the thought,” Rodney told him. “I will put such a spell on them if they so much as look at you wrong. Jack, regardless of your past and your family ties, real and adopted, you do have a family now, and it’s a fabulous family with a lot of money and influence! Oh, the grand wedding we’ll have!”

“W-wedding?”

Maltin growled, “Slow down, Rodney.”

“Oh, it’s inevitable, Malty! The white lilies and real Irish lace, Asian silks, pearls from the seven seas! I must plan!”

“Not yet! Can I at least ask him first?”

Jack leaned on him and whispered, “Not yet. Let’s…I don’t know, find out more. Please?”

“Anything you want, Jack.”

He sighed audibly and squeezed his hand. “I guess I should make an appointment with my doc. See if I have…a uterus. Where will the baby come out?”

“Babies,” Rodney said, pointing to the part of the page that states it. “Being very rare for two hellhound fated mates to find one another, nature compensates for this by giving the parents multiple births.”

“That could just mean…”

“No, dear,” Rodney said. “Look here. A litter. Literally a litter.”

Jack’s hand on his stomach pressed in a little. “Gosh…”

“Baby don’t worry right now. It says that it takes a few tries even to get pregnant. We’ll go to the doctor, and then we’ll go to your families. The former and the biological.”

“It’s a lot,” he said, and I noticed his voice was shaking.

Rodney slammed the book shut and placed it out of their reach on the coffee table, then went to the bar, poured them all a drink, and then thought better of it. “Perhaps, only for Maltin and myself?”

Jack nodded, unwilling to risk his…babies. Puppies, Litter. He felt queasy and didn’t know if it was fear, nerves, or morning sickness. “This is a lot.”

“Go up and lie on the bed for a while, baby. Rodney and I will order some food, and I’ll make the necessary appointment with my doctor.”

“I have a doctor.”

Rodney laughed and said, “Pish, posh, young man! I can’t imagine the roach-infested clinic you must use. Go to Maltin’s doctor. He was always a snob about his health.”

“Fuck off, Uncle Rodney,” Maltin told him as he helped Jack off the couch. “Go, sweetheart. I’ll fetch you when the food is here.”

Jack went up to the bedroom and lay on the bed, but his mind was spinning. He thought crazily that he could feel things in his stomach, like tiny creatures moving around in there. Crazy, he thought. Even if he was pregnant, it was much too early to feel anything.

Still, he lay with his hand on his belly, and he suddenly felt warm, thinking that little ones would grow there and they’d be his.

His. Unlike his family, who hated him for not having their powers, the children he bore would be his, and he’d watch them grow and never, ever place expectations on them. They would grow to be whatever they wanted and if they weren’thellhounds, then fine! They could be human or shifter turtles, for all he cared. Whatever they were, he’d love them so much it would make up for all the parents in the world who judged and disowned their own kids for not being what they wanted.

“I’ll love you, no matter what. If you’re in there, know that first. I’ll love you no matter what.”

Chapter Twelve

Without realizing it, hehad fallen asleep. Maltin was on the bed, kissing him awake as his eyes fluttered open. “Maltin. How long have I been sleeping?”

“A couple hours, my darling. Food is here. It took us this long to agree on what to order, so we ordered everything.”

“I’m starving.”

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