Page 17 of A Clutch for Hutch
“But you just said…”
“It did and now it doesn’t. I’m sorry!”
“You don’t have to apologize. You just need to avoid malnutrition. Maybe just a banana? They’re full of potassium I hear.” In the end, I got him to eat the banana and a few strawberries, along with a Colby jack cheese stick for protein. It wasn’t enough, but with those eggs inside him, his stomach couldn’t hold much.
After he ate, he went to lie down on the sofa, and I tucked a blanket over him. It was so hard to see him struggling, and although I didn’t want to go behind his back, I needed the midwife’s advice. So, once his eyes closed, I took the phone out into the nest room and dialed. The midwife’s mate answered and said they’d be home in a couple of hours, hopefully, So, that didn’t work.
Returning to the kitchen, I cleaned up the breakfast mess and filled a tall glass with ice and water for my mate. Keeping hydrated was especially important if he wasn’t eating enough. His eyes had bags under them and although he tried to be pleasant, my mate was far too uncomfortable to be his usual cheerful self.
“Alpha?” his voice came from under the blanket, thin and plaintive. “Alpha, I don’t feel right. Can you come and help me up?”
Oh no. I hoped the midwife would call back soon. Had I even asked to have her do that? I wasn’t sure.
So I did the one thing I could. I helped my mate to stand, assuming he’d want to go to the restroom, but he pulled me in the other direction. To the screened porch. Where the nest was.
“Omega, do you think…I mean…is it time?”
“I hope so because if not, my body has a weird sense of humor.” He doubled up, panting. “Can you call the midwife?”
“I did…I mean, yes.” I hadn’t told him about the first call, but I also hadn’t told the midwife about the nest thing. There was only one reason I could think of to be in here, unless he was planning to move things. But the pain on his face told me it was option A: the eggs were on the way. I called the midwife’s number and this time was transferred to the midwife’s private number. When I explained the situation, they said I had things well under control. They were at another delivery and would be there as soon as possible.
I turned to my omega, to tell him, but he’d already taken off his pants and was on his hands and knees next to the nest chair. “Oh gods, are they coming?”
He looked at me over his shoulder and gave me a side-eye. “They’d better be, or I’m having the weirdest set of spasms. Ohhh.” He panted. “Please catch them.”
From there, things moved fast. No sooner were the first words out of his mouth than his hole stretched wider than I’d have dreamed it could, and a blue egg squeezed out. I caught it and laid it in the nest, turning back just in time for a green one. A yellow, red, and orange followed, giving me barely enough time to get each settled before the next was out. I set each carefully next to the previous one, and when the last was nestled in the papasan chair, helped my omega to his feet. The eggs were sparkly as well as colorful, the most extraordinary thing I’d ever seen.
My mate was exhausted, and I tried to get him to bed, but he was not leaving those eggs alone, and I really hadn’t expected anything different. We were here for the long haul, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chapter Sixteen
Hutch
Five! We had five eggs. Five.
And every day that we got closer to them hatching, my anxiety grew. We were outnumbered, not only by numbers of people…two parents to five children, but we also had fewer hands than children. I had no idea how we were going to make this happen, and it was starting to really wear on me.
I tried not to let my mate see it, but that wasn’t fair either. He turned to me when he was stressed. He deserved the same respect back in return. So, when he came in what we now called the nest room after his shower, I spit it all out. “I’m scared about the eggs.”
“The midwife said they’d hatch anytime in the next two weeks. There’s no need to worry.” He sat behind me.
I leaned into him. “No, that’s not what I meant. They’re fine. If you put your hand on them, you can feel how safe and happy they are.” I found myself doing it often, especially as I read to them. “I just… I’m worried about when they get here, how we’re going to handle it. It’s not like your brother and his mate can really help. They have a clutch of their own.”
“What do you think about hiring someone?” My mate’s words were soft.
“Hiring someone?” I hadn’t considered it, but now that it was on the table, I was surprised I hadn’t.
“Yeah. Maybe someone could…like…be a manny and help us out.”
“I don’t want a stranger.” That sounded terrifying to me.
My phone rang, and when I looked down, it was Burns. “Want me to ignore this?” I hadn’t heard from him in a couple of weeks, but this conversation was important.
“Answer. He probably just wants to see the clutch.”
And sure enough, as soon as I answered, he asked me to turn the camera around so that he could see the babies.
“They are so adorable.”
