Page 16 of A Clutch for Hutch
“What do you think about having our nest in the screened-in porch?” my mate asked.
I looked at him. My dragon had been pushing me to do the same, but I felt guilty…almost like I was leaving them outside. But if both my mate and my dragon agreed, that was a me problem and not an actual problem.
We set up the papasan, and then I took the cushions off one of our couches and set them around it, followed by the floor cushions. Then I wrapped them with blankets, wrapped up the papasan cushion with one as well.
“It actually looks like a real nest.” My mate smiled at our contraption.
“It kind of does, if a nest is made out of pink polka-dots and yellow stripes.”
It was safe to say our blankets didn’t match, but they didn’t need to.
“I figure we could sleep around them, on the cushions, and give them the nest to be good and safe in—‘nest’ being what I now call the papasan chair. What do you think?”
“I think it’s perfect.” He wrapped his arm around me from the back and rested his chin on my shoulder. “And what happens if there’s more than three? Will they all fit?”
“More than three? Do you think there’s three babies in here?”
He rubbed my belly softly. “Nah. I think there’s four.”
Please don’t let there be four.
Chapter Fifteen
Dirk
The nest was a thing of beauty. When my mate picked all those blankets and pillows and the type of chair I hadn’t seen except in movies from the 1970s, I had a vague idea of what he was up to or thought I did. But it wasn’t until he had it all put together that I could see the whole picture. I was in way over my head, but my mate had this.
Thank all the gods and goddesses.
“How are you this morning?” Hutch came strolling or rather waddling into the kitchen where I was nursing a cup of the decaf we were both drinking these days. The midwife had suggested that it was better for my mate, and I didn’t think it was fair for him to be the only one stuck with the less-than coffee. “And what’s for breakfast?”
I stood up and kissed him. “Anything you like, and I’m great. How are you?” I bent to kiss his huge belly. “And our four eggs?”
“Please don’t say that. Having that many dragon hatchlings at once is not for the faint of heart. They are five times more mischievous than the average shifter.”
“I’m sorry. Surely it won’t be that many. How about French toast and bacon?”
“Perfect.” He pulled himself up to sit on a kitchen stool. “I’m starving but also tired and feeling a little edgy. I suppose that’s normal for pregnancy.”
“Your guess is as good as mine. We can check with the midwife, though. Maybe there’s something we can do to make you feel better?”
“As I recall, there’s nothing to do but wait for the eggs to be ready to come out and hope they don’t get as big as watermelons and stay inside me forever.” His sigh came from deep inside.
“I don’t think that’s a possibility.” I set strips of bacon to fry and started on the French toast, trying not to be obvious about breaking the eggs. It had begun to upset him lately, but the protein was so good for him. “Maybe we should drive over to see the midwife, or ask them to stop by just to confirm everything is on track.”
“Oh no,” he protested. “I’m being silly. It’s just that the eggs are taking up a lot of space in there, and it’s making me cranky. Thank you for making me breakfast.”
“You’re very welcome,” I said. “It’s the least I can do for the omega carrying my four…er, three or maybe two eggs.”
“Don’t help me,” he groaned. “There’s probably enough eggs in there to have our own baseball team and we’ll set records.”
I finished cooking and served my mate his breakfast. “There you go. Now you eat every bite and be strong.”
He picked up his fork then set it back down. “I’m not really hungry. I’m sorry.”
“Mate, you’re coping with other people sharing your body, and they’re tucked into big hard eggs. I’ll put this away for later, but if you would rather have something else, I can do that, too. How about a smoothie? I have some bananas and strawberries in the freezer.”
“A smoothie sounds good.” He pushed around a piece of bacon on his plate while I got out the blender and ingredients. “Wait, no. Even that doesn’t sound appealing.”
