Page 43 of Hunny and the Bear

Tank’s eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched, but he remained silent, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Clearing her throat to cut the tense silence, Tabitha turned the machine on, grabbing a wand and a tube. “This is some gel I’ll put on your belly. It’s cold, but it’ll help me see what’s going on.”

Squirting the gel onto her stomach, Tabitha made quick work of pressing the end of the wand to Hunny’s skin, moving it around as they both stared at a black-and-white monitor. Hunny had no clue what she was looking at, but Tabitha whistled lowly after a few minutes.

“You’ve got your work cut out for you, Hunny.”

Well, that didn’t sound good at all. What kind of news was that?

“What does that mean?” Hunny sat up on her elbows, staring at Tank’s mom in dread. “It’s twins, isn’t it?”

Tabitha sent her an apologetic smile. “Triplets.”

There was a beat of silence as her brain struggled to catch up, the wand digging uncomfortably into her stomach. Hunny shook her head quickly. “Can you repeat that? I must have misheard you.”

Before Tabitha could answer, Tank was beside the bed, his hand resting on Hunny’s thigh as he stared in awe at the monitor. “Triplets? You’re sure?”

“Positive.” With a sweet smile, Tabitha pointed to three tiny dots on the screen. “You can see each one has its own gestational sac, which is good. It means health complications are less likely.”

“Oh. Great,” Hunny stated a bit frantically, unsure if she was going to vomit all over the floor or pass out. Both? “I thought maybe, worst-case scenario,maybetwins. But triplets?That’s three,” she whispered faintly, bile rising in her throat as her head swam. “That’s three, but I only have two hands. That’s not enough hands for three babies!” she exclaimed hysterically, her breathing becoming shallow as a chill swept down her spine.

Oh no, she was going to vomit.

She sat up quickly, swinging her legs over the side of the table. The room spun, and her nausea increased. She needed to get the hell out of here—

Suddenly, Tank cupped her face, his palms warm against her cold skin. He looked down at her, his deep brown eyes radiating a calmness she didn’t feel. “Breathe for me, baby,” he murmured, taking a deep breath and waiting for her to do the same.

Her vision flooded with tears, and she glanced at the sonogram monitor just over his shoulder. The image was gone. But that didn’t matter. It was burned into her brain for the rest of her life.

How could she raise three kits? She wasn’t even cut out to be a mother, and she couldn’t do this alone. Shecouldn’t.

Three?

Hunny gasped, her heart pounding in her ears; the world around her tilting on its axis.

Tank shook his head, tightening his hold on her face until she glanced at him. “Don’t look at anything but me. Breathe.”

“B-But I c-can’t breathe, I-I only havetwoh-hands,” Hunny blubbered nonsensically, tears sliding down her face unchecked as she began crying.

She felt every kind of pathetic, and somewhere in the recesses of her mind, a stronger version of herself was demanding she shut the hell up and pull herself together. She’d handled the death of her parents, being rejected twice, and enduring years of self-imposed isolation; she could handle this, too.

Unfortunately, that voice was drowned out as she cried harder, embarrassing herself for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. Could this day get any worse?

“I’ve got two hands, too, darlin’,” Tank pointed out with a small chuckle, wiping away some of her tears with the pads of his thumbs. “That’s four between us and more than enough for three kits.”

“I know how to count, Henry!” Hunny wailed miserably, her shoulders shaking. “But you don’t e-even like me. S-soon enough you won’t be here. It’ll just be me. It’s alwaysjustme. I’ll be alone again—”

“No, you won’t,” Tank growled, cupping the back of her neck. He forced her head back until she was looking up at him, dominance radiating from every inch of him as it poured over her, his influence demanding that she calm down.

And she did, sucking in a deep, trembling breath. Tears still ran unchecked down her face, but at least she didn’t feel like she’d pass out anymore. Or hurl everywhere.

“You won’t be alone,” Tank told her firmly, his eyes penetrating and possessive. “I’m here with you as long as you want me.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and sobbed, knowing that it likely wasn’t true. He was just trying to make her feel better.

Tank bit out a sharp curse and then picked her up from the table, holding her tightly to his chest as he ran a palm up and down her back soothingly. “You’re breaking my heart with your tears, Hunny.”

“At least now we’re even,” she mumbled in despair, only for her mouth to drop open in horror when she realized what she’d said.

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