Page 107 of Where We Call Home

Penny: Theo, can you please describe in DEEP DETAIL how each of the guys looked dancing to my humps?

Aspen: I can’t believe we missed it!!!

Penny: I’ve had RAUNCHY dreams about it

Theo: a girl doesn’t kiss and tell…

Theo: just know, it was HOT

Penny: GASP!! ID TELL YOU

Aspen: SECRETS ARENT FUN THEO

*Penny changed the group chat to ‘GIRL CODE VIOLATION’*

“Ireally don’t want a baby shower,” I groaned, folding a blue-printed onesie and adding it to the pile.

Sprawled out on my bed, I worked through the stack of baby clothes I’d collected so far. With the baby going to be here within the month, there was still so much to prepare. The mountain of stuff I already had felt overwhelming. I’d been chipping away at it since the beginning, trying to stay ahead of the chaos, but Penny’s latest suggestion was not helping.

“Come on, Theo, pleeease!” Penny begged, dragging out the last syllable as she clasped her hands dramatically.

“I’ve been planning this for ages!” Aspen chimed in from our three-way FaceTime call.

“Seriously?” I deadpanned into the camera. I hated being the center of attention, and outside of my two best friends, I didn’t have anyone I wanted to invite. Socializing with a bunch of near-strangers wasn’t exactly my idea of fun.

“Well, okay, maybe a couple of weeks,” Aspen admitted, glancing away. She was clearly at work—her background was unmistakably the Farmstand shelves.

I finished folding the clothes the baby wouldn’t fit into for a while and placed them in a labeled bin, sorting everything by size and season.

My plan was simple: store it all in the basement and retrieve each tote as needed. Rhodes was down there now, spending his day off reorganizing to make space for them. What kind of man cleans his basement on his day off? A good one.Mygood one.

“I really don’t want anything big and elaborate. The gender reveal was plenty, and while I loved it, it completely wiped me out.”

Penny leaned back in her chair, nodding. “Fine, fine, I get it. Nothing big, but I still—” she paused, her eyes going wide as someone walked into her office. She waved them off with a sharp nod toward the door.

“Who was that?” Aspen asked.

“No one,” Penny dismissed the question with a shrug. “Anyway, I still want to do something for you. You deserve it.”

For a moment, I wavered. Letting my friends have their fun was tempting, though the thought of hosting and entertaining made me feel instantly drained. I decided to stick to what felt right for me.

“I appreciate it, but really, I’m okay.” I smiled softly, setting a folded onesie aside for good measure. “Maybe we could just have a small get-together? No gifts, just the three of us and maybe the guys hanging out.”

Aspen’s face lit up. “I could bake some goodies!”

“I’ll bring the fun,” Penny added, grinning.

“Rhodes might be up for cooking something,” I said, making a mental note to ask him later.

“Speaking of Rhodes,” Aspen said with a sly smile, “how are things going?”

“Ooh, ooh, did he like the pictures?” Penny wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

I burst out laughing. “Yes, he did. He keeps it in his truck, actually. So... I guess you could say things are going great.” My cheeks warmed, and despite myself, a grin spread across my face. Just thinking about him made me feel giddy and warm all over.

“Hot!” Penny sighed dramatically, leaning back in her chair until she nearly disappeared from the screen. “That is every girl’s dream.”

When she sat back up, her attention was caught again by something off camera.

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