Page 54 of What A Croc
“It’s not happeningyet,” Jackson’s emphasis on the last word had my head jerking up, and he was giving me that mysterious little grin of his again. Widening my eyes, I pursed my lips at him and tilted my head to the side, silently questioning him.
Julianna spit her carrot on Wyatt’s plate, breaking the weird as fuck vibe in the air, and we all laughed. I was feeling the same way about my carrots too.
Taking a deep breath, I exhaled noisily. “We’re…we…ah…”
Well, fuck, this was harder than I thought it would be. Which was saying a lot, because I hadn’t thought it would be easy.
“We’re having a baby,” Jackson jumped in, saving me, and all eyes at the table focused on him. “Robert and I are expecting a baby. In November. It was a surprise, but a happy one. And we hope you will all be just as happy for us.”
Silence hung over the table, thick and uncomfortable, and Wyatt wouldn’t meet my eyes. Just stared down at his plate, saying nothing. Aiden was pretty much doing thesame thing, using his fork to push around what was left of his dinner.
Finally, Becks broke the silence with his deep voice. “Congratulations, both of you. A baby is always wonderful news.”
“Is it?” Wyatt croaked, his voice breaking on the words, and my heart hammered in my chest.
Aiden scraped his fork across his plate, making me wince at the screeching noise it made. “Wait, does this mean I’m going to be a big brother?”
“Yes, it does,” Jackson answered him gently. “How do you feel about that?”
Aiden grinned broadly and fist pumped the air. “Yes! I’ve always wanted a brother or sister!”
Jackson grinned back at him, “I know.”
I’d been worried that we should tell Aiden by himself, not sure if he would understand or even be happy for us, but Jackson felt telling our families together would be a good thing. Glancing at my son, who was staring down at his plate, face set in a stony mask of I wasn’t quite sure what, I cringed. The look of shock and anger on Wyatt’s face had all my old insecurities bubbling straight up to the surface.
“Wyatt, I’m sorry–” I covered his hand with mine, but he jerked it away like he had touched a hot flame.
He pushed away from the table so fast, his chair scraped across the floor noisily. Handing Julianna over to Becks, he tersely said, “I need some air.”
The front door slammed after him, making me flinch.
Becks settled the baby on his lap, kissing the top of her dark curls. “It’s not that he’s not happy for you. We both are. I think it was just a shock for him.”
Holding up a hand to stop him, I shook my head. “I know why he’s upset.”
I truly did think I understood some of what Wyatt was feeling. But I had also had time to think about a lot of things since finding out I was pregnant. One being I deserved this chance at happiness with Jackson. If that included having a baby, even at my age, I was determined to enjoy it and make this experience different from the last time.
Pushing my chair back, I placed my napkin on the table. “Excuse me.”
“Maybe give him a minute,” Becks suggested, but I waved him off.
“I’ve been giving people minutes my entire life,” I declared, “and frankly, I’m over it.”
Finding Wyatt seated on one of the rocking chairs Jackson had on the front porch, his long legs stretched out in front of him, I stood and waited for my sullen adult child to acknowledge my presence.
Finally giving up with an annoyed huff of air, I stepped over his legs and took a seat on the matching rocker next to his. Honestly, I had thought the five-year-old was going to be the hard sell, not the twenty-six-year-old.
Pushing a foot against the concrete of the porch, I took solace in the gentle back and forth motion of the chair. After a minute of it soothing me, I quietly said, “I understand why you’re angry. At least I think I do.”
Wyatt said nothing, just tilted his head a little, staring out into the darkness of the night and Jackson’s front yard. “I’m not mad,” he mumbled.
Raising one brow at him, I silently called him on his bullshit.
“Fine, okay!” He tossed his hands in the air. “I was angry, for a minute. For just a second I thought oh fuck, no. Because I used to pray that I wouldn’t have a sibling. Do you want to know why?”
Swallowing hard, I nodded, even though I wasn’t at all sure I did want to know.
“Because I used to think if there were ever two people on the planet who shouldn’t have ever had kids, it was you and mother.”
