“If the Goddess wills it, and if you would like it,” I replied, amazed that with all the discomfort, he was ready to talk about a third child.
Suddenly, he paused, holding up a shirt with a picture of two daddies cradling a little baby between them. No saying at all, just love. “I like this one.” He leaned in closer to me. “Have you noticed a lot of the other pregnant daddies are way bigger than me?”
“No because I never notice anyone but you, omega mine.”
He kissed me on the cheek. “Right answer.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Kelly
I woke up to a burning tightness in my lower back. Nothing new since I had a bear cub in my belly, but this time, there was something more powerful about it. Shrugging it off, I went to the bathroom and got ready for the morning. I could already smell French toast. My mate always cooked me breakfast when he wasn’t on a tight deadline.
“Good morning,” I said, side-hugging him. About the only way I could hug him with this beach ball in front of me.
“Good morning, mate. Strawberry cream cheese French toast on the way.”
“Gideon, I’m never going to lose this baby weight with you around.”
My bear chuckled. “So? Who cares. I’ll love you no matter what size you are. More for me to love.”
“I’m going to get Wyatt. I hear him talking to himself already.”
Gideon laughed. He had become the second father to Wyatt that anyone would have dreamed of, and my son loved him. He’d even called Gideon “Papa” a few times lately. Gideon didn’t encourage it but said he wanted the relationship to flow at Wyatt’s pace. He would be happy to be his papa forever, even if he was never called the name. “He was chattering away with his teddy bear earlier. He seemed happy, so I let him be.”
I went into Wyatt’s room and sure enough, he was talking to himself and his bear and maybe the sun the way he stared out his window.
“That’s a lot of talk for a Saturday morning, sweet fawn. Is there news I missed?”
Hardly any of what he said was understandable, but he knew what he was saying, and there was a lot of it. I reached into the crib to get him and gasped. I pulled Wyatt to my chest and looked down.
A puddle was beneath me.
“Kelly?” Gideon came in.
“I think…I think my water just broke,” I said.
Gideon, steady as a mountain, nodded. “I think you’re right. Let’s get you two out of here. We’ll get this cleaned up and I’ll call Quinn. Everything is going to be okay.”
Gideon, calm as could be, got Wyatt into his high chair for breakfast while I showered and changed. I overheard him calling Quinn.
This was it.
Our cub was on the way.
“Quinn is coming over. He wants to check you out.”
I stopped in my tracks and gripped the doorframe. “That’s good because I’m in labor. These contractions are…oooh. That’s a big one.”
Gideon rushed over and helped me to the couch. Wyatt was still eating away, but my little one turned to me, and I swore he sometimes knew what was happening to me. Our bond was solid. “We need to take Wyatt somewhere. Daycare is closed,” I said, already practicing my breaths.
“It might be a while before you give birth. Are you sure?”
I gripped Gideon’s hand. “I’m sure. This baby is coming before our son finishes his breakfast. Maybe Atlas can come sit with Quinn?”
We hadn’t planned for this. We’d set up a sitter for when I went into labor, but he wasn’t available this weekend. I had been sure I would be pregnant longer.
That was Fate for me. Always surprising me.