Page 20 of Autumn After

“So much,” I said. I wished I could form better words to describe the absolute happiness that thrummed through me.

After we ate, he dragged me through the different areas to a section with natural paints. Instead of carving pumpkins, which would make them decompose faster, we could paint them. In theory, they would survive longer, but whether that was true or not, it was a lot less messy. Plus, the paint was all natural, so itwas still safe to let the pumpkins rot in the forest and return to nature, or feed them to the livestock.

“I don’t know how to paint,” I admitted, looking at the sample pumpkins. They were all very impressive, and I found them a bit intimidating.

“No one’s watching.” He picked up a stencil and taped it onto a pumpkin. “We can use the sponge method. It’s foolproof.”

We dipped a sponge in paint and patted it over the stencil. The brown paint went exactly where it needed to, creating a cute little design. It wasn’t as fancy as some of the art pieces around us, but it looked good, and it was fun. We made two pumpkins—one for each side of his stoop. One was a Jack-o’-lantern face, and the other was a cute cat face.

After we set them aside to dry, Cedric got called away. As one of the committee members he was a go-to person to deal with any last-minute items. There weren’t many of them, since they had done such a great job organizing. Still, a few things cropped up. It was just as well—I needed a break. The exhaustion from all the baking was really starting to hit, and my stomach wasn’t feeling the best. I probably shouldn’t have had coffee on an empty stomach, but it was too late now.

I decided to check the baked goods table and then lie down for a bit. There wasn’t much time left before the festival picked back up, but I needed a moment. Tonight there would be a big grill-out with hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and other barbeque goodness. Anyone who hadn’t been baking with us had been preparing side dishes for the dinner hour. Then, while everyonewas enjoying their meals, they did the pumpkin-launching contest. They had a catapult and big targets in the open field that people would try to hit.

Fern met me halfway. “Hey, I’ve got something for you.”

“For me?”

“Yeah, but it’s not here. Come with me.”

If it had been anyone else, I might have found that odd, but Fern was Fern, so I followed her, wondering what silly surprise she had in store for me. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take, everything around me was so busy and exciting. It was a lot to take in. I would probably sleep for a week after this.

What I wasn’t expecting was to see a pregnancy test sitting on her bathroom counter.

“I think you need this,” she blurted out.

“You think I need that? You think I’m pregnant?”

“Well, yeah,” she said. “You’re exhausted, you’ve puked a few times, and you’re a little off balance.”

“Being off balance is a pregnancy sign?” That wasn’t a symptom I’d heard of, that was for sure. But then again, I didn’t know a lot about pregnancy. “It’s been a busy day. And it was all the sugar, that’s why I got sick.” I had been a little overzealous about taste-testing the frosting, and I’d paid for it.

“It wasn’t just the sugar,” she replied, though she didn’t sound entirely sure.

“I’m just tired because I’ve been working hard, and my stomach hurts because I’m sleep-deprived,” I argued. “It’s nothing.” Each excuse I came up with sounded more and more far-fetched. Cedric was my mate, and if I understood all that as well as I thought, it meant we’d be very likely to have children together. But so soon?

“Just take the test or I’m giving it to my brother.”

“He’s definitely not pregnant.”

Fern’s stink-eye was strong.

“Fine, but you’ll see.” I went into the bathroom and took the test, fully expecting it to come up negative. But when one line turned into two, I was hit with a wave of both excitement and guilt. This was a moment I should have spent with Cedric, not his sister. If I’d thought there was even a glimmer of a chance it would be positive, I would’ve made sure he was here.

It was too soon. Then again, what did I know about half-shifter pregnancies. Oh goodness, was I carrying a wolf pup? I would have to ask the pack doctor how it would all work. I wasn’t the only human to mate a wolf, just the first one in this pack.

Fatherhood wasn’t something I’d spent a whole lot of time thinking about. The past two years I’d dedicated to putting my food truck business together and not much else. I’d never beenvery alpha-crazy. I just assumed I’d meet someone someday and we’d have children.

I guess that’s exactly what happened. The timeline was just a lot quicker than I anticipated. And also, he was a wolf.

I smiled to myself and capped the test and slipped it into my pocket, washing my hands before rushing out.

“Thanks, Fern.” I kissed her cheek and headed toward the door.

“Does that mean it’s positive?”

“If it was, would I tell you first?”

“That means it is!” she squealed, clapping her hands in excitement. “Go! Go tell him! And let me know how it goes! And let me be there when you tell the parents, please, please, please!”

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