Page 15 of A Clutch for Hutch
“I hope you can, too.”
We stayed to have a family dinner and visit with Erwin that night then drove back to the desert to pick up life where we left it. I had a big opportunity here, and I planned to make the mostof it. Father’s change of heart was a big deal, and I was going to prove him right and be a success. Make him even prouder of me.
It was very nice to be accepted for who I was, and I couldn’t wait to use my new access to a dragon for accuracy in my stories.
Chapter Fourteen
Hutch
When I first found out I was pregnant, I wasn’t sure if I was going to have a clutch or if my pregnancy would be similar to that of a rabbit shifter. It didn’t really matter either way—there was beauty in a nest and eggs, but there was also beauty in being able to feel your child kick within you. And as long as we had healthy young, I didn’t care how they came here.
I had asked the midwife, the first time I met with them, what they thought, and they just shrugged. “Every pregnancy is different,” they had said. And while that was true, I had wanted a real answer, and I did get one the day I woke up and needed blankets. Lots and lots of blankets.
We were in the desert. There was no snow coming and no subzero weather to be worried about. But you wouldn’t know that by the way my dragon and I needed those blankets.
I dragged my mate out of bed, telling him that we needed to go shopping, and because he was amazing, he didn’t question me—instead getting ready to go without question. We drove to the largest shopping area within a two-hour radius and hit store after store after store looking for the exact blankets I wanted. Because, obviously, it couldn’t just be any blanket. It had to be the perfect one.
And I found them. They were called weighted blankets, but they were only three pounds. Still, there was something so satisfying about that little bit of extra weight, and the cloth on them was soft—nearly a flannel. Wasn’t sure what they actually called it, the writing on the package wasn’t in English. It didn’t matter. We filled our carts with all of them.
The cashier asked if we were setting up a dorm or something like that, and I said, “No, I just like them.” And off we went.
“Feeling better now, mate?” Dirk shut the trunk, which was full of blankets.
“Yes and no.”
“You know what this means, right?” He put his hand on my growing middle. “That there are some eggs in there.”
“Maybe just one.” I looked down at my belly. “Fine…at least two.” It was quite huge for the time of pregnancy; there was no denying that.
“So, what else do we need to get? You’re not making your nest just out of blankets, are you?”
I shrugged, not really knowing the answer. “I suppose maybe pillows.”
“Did you see anything more today?”
“No.” If only it were that easy.
My stomach gurgled embarrassingly loud.
“Let’s go eat.” He kissed my cheek. “Then we’ll decide on what to do next.”
He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the Pancake House, which was in the middle of the parking lot of the shopping plaza. The place was packed, and we grabbed a table in the back. My mate ordered crepes, and I ordered eggs and hash browns. It’s hardly what you would normally buy when going to a pancake place, but they both sounded absolutely delicious…and they were. I ate every single bite and half my mate’s crepes.
“Baby’s getting hungry.” He pushed the plate toward me so I didn’t feel bad about taking a bite here or there.
“Apparently.” I chuckled. Once upon a time, I was embarrassed by how much I ate. Now, I didn’t care. If our clutch needed food, they were getting it.
“Let’s go closer to home.” Dirk grabbed the bill.
“Maybe the thrift store?”
He nodded. “We need a new lamp. So, even if they don’t have anything for your nest, maybe they’ll have one.”
We’d become regulars there, both of us loving the variety they had. It was never the same store twice, almost as if it was a treasure hunt. We walked in, were greeted by the owner who now knew me by name, and we wandered around. My mate did find a lamp, and I found some huge floor cushions, a couple of old quilts, a double-wide papasan that somehow still had a cushion that looked brand new, along with a couple of books that looked like they would be perfect to read to our little ones. Overall, it was a productive trip.
We went home, the papasan strapped to our roof. I unloaded the blankets, and my mate carried in the papasan. It was time to clean everything. We spent the day doing laundry and scrubbing things outside. It was a lot of work, but it felt so rewarding knowing we were creating something for our little ones.
At one point, I’d wondered if it would be difficult for me to pick where to put our nest…would my dragon just know, or would it be a guessing game? I’d heard of more than one dragon who built a nest, decided the room was awful, and then built it somewhere else. I didn’t want to be that dragon. I wanted to be successful the very first time.
