Page 80 of The Beta: Part Three
“I think it's almost baby time. I wish I had a bond with you like the others do. I've been leaning on Corso to tell me what he feels. He says you feel exhausted and tight.”
That's a fair assessment. I am exhausted. Even sleeping makes me tired. And I do feel tight. Inside and out. My skin is stretched so tight across my stomach and my breasts feel humongous. Even feeling the way I do, it's been really wonderful not losing myself to a heat cycle. “I'm sure it'll be obvious when it's baby time. What's everyone doing?”
“Devon is doing something in the garage, mostly distracting himself from worrying about you. Corso and Reid went to check things at the distillery. They think it's baby time, too. So, they're doing a run-through before they're unavailable. Alex is working in his room, Nathan, too. Kaleb is reading. He's finishing the book you started him on a couple weeks ago. It's adorable to see him nose-first in a love story. And Trent is making a mess in the kitchen.”
Warmth brings a smile to my face. Kaleb is finishing the book. I wonder how long it's going to take him to work out why I like it so much. “What is Trent trying to make, other than a mess? Do you know?”
“Bianca's soup.”
Oh my god. He's going to ruin my soup pot. “Can you reach my phone?” He hands it to me and I call Trent. “Please stop everything you're doing. I'll be right down to help.”
I hear water running, and the distinct sound of a metal ladle banging and scraping against the inside of my soup pot. “You don't have to come down. I've got this. I can follow directions. Besides, I can't stop now, there's bubbling.”
“I”m coming. I want to watch you cook.” What I don't say is that I want to come down there and knock him out with the ladle after I take it away from him for scraping the bottom of my pot.
The scene in the kitchen is....unfortunate. So unfortunate that I'm tempted to just walk away, but Trent really is pretty cute in an apron. “Where did you get an apron?”
“Nonna left it.” Corso's mother is the only one of our parents who has officially and regularly been using her grandparent title, so we have also been using it. Some of us more than others, apparently. But the apron with the contrasted ruching around the top is just adorable on him.
“You're adorable. If you put that metal ladle near my pot again I'm going to beat you to death with it. There's a wooden one in the drawer by the stove. It smells good, though. Do you need help with the potatoes?”
“Oh,” at least he has the decency to look sorry. “I didn't know there was a difference. Why do we have this one if we're not allowed to use it?”
“Fair point. I don't like how abrasive it is, but it's fine to use with the stock pots. What can I do to help.”
Trent huffs out a breath and tongues the inside of his cheek. “Just sit at the table and look pretty while I finish making this. I can cook; I'm very capable. You can be the taster.”
Giving up control of the kitchen takes a little effort, but I manage. I can let Trent cook in here, he's been cooking a lot more often since I've been so tired recently. They all have. I don't know why I'm so prickly about it right now. Jasper pulls out a chair for me and then goes to fill the tea kettle. As I'm sitting down I feel another of those pinches. I must make a face because Trent's eyebrows take over his face. “I'm fine.”
“You winced.”
I rub the stomach that has taken over everyone's lives and give Trent what I hope is a reassuring smile. “Growing pains. I'm alright.” He definitely doesn't believe me, but he doesn't argue with me and turns to stir the soup he's been working so hard on.
I watch Trent add the diced potatoes to another pot of boiling water before he starts chopping celery in tiny slivers. I should do this more often. Trent working in the kitchen, barefoot, in a pair of soft jeans and an apron is entirely too sexy.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, darlin. You're too tired and I'm too busy to do anything about it,” Trent says, his cocky smirk just makes him even more fun to look at.
Jasper brings over a cup of tea for each of us and we watch Trent finish adding things into the pot until the potatoes are finished. “Are you sure you're alright, Talia?” Jasper asks. “You look a little pale.”
“I'm just tired. I think I'm going to go back upstairs. Will you walk up with me? You don't have to stay, you can just tuck me in.”
“I'm staying with you. Are you finished with your tea? You barely drank half.”
I nod. I did well enough to drink as much as I did. I feel another pinch when I push up from the table, but nothing significant. If I say anything about it they'll never leave me alone. I take the tea mugs to the sink and follow Jasper to the door, stopping on the way to pull the bow on Trent's apron loose. I'm stepping up onto the bottom stair when I sneeze. Twice. Just two little sneezes is all it takes for my water to break and I'm standing there, one foot on the stair, looking down at the growing puddle on the floor. “Shit.”
Jasper whips around, his eyes huge, and joins me in staring at the water spreading across the floor. It isn't a lot, not the gush I had it built up to in my mind; but there's enough to thoroughly soak my leggings and socks. His eyes meet mine and I see him change right in front of me, even more than he already has. He goes from surprise, to fear, to an anchor in just a few seconds.
Then I sneeze again and I get the gush I imagined. “Shit.”
“Trent! It's time. Hurry. Call Obi. Get the others here, fast!” Jasper yells.
Yes, those are definitely things we need to do, but more importantly, “turn off the stove! Do that first!”
We decided that me walking up the stairs is a better decision than Trent carrying me. It only took a threat or two. Alex met us at the top of the stairs, his eyes and hair wild, phone to his ear, and Kaleb was in the hallway behind him. Devon, smudged in all the right places with engine grease, came skidding into Corso's room right after Jasper helped me peel off my poor leggings; nearly knocking Nathan over. Obi somehow developed the ability to teleport or fly because he got here quicker than Corso and Reid. And now everyone is in here breathing too loud. “I need noise. Music, talk radio, a ball game, something.”
Alex finds a classical guitar playlist and plays it loud enough to drown out the sound of all the breathing. Obi checks the monitor for the hundredth time, but I've got tough news for him. If he thinks I'm laying around waiting for contractions to get close together, he's sadly mistaken. I don't want to walk laps around the manor or anything, and the stairs are definitely out, but I'm not just laying here. I feel like I might start screaming if I have to lay here and be monitored another minute. “I'm taking this thing off. I need to move around. And you're all staring at me. We've got a while yet. The contractions are still about six minutes apart.”
“It's going to go faster than it normally would with just one, and you're already a little early. You don't have to keep the leads on, but I'd rather you stay near the nest and equipment if you can stand it. I don't want you to be too far away if something happens.” Obi really is terrified. If I thought Jamison could handle the situation, I'd invite him into the room to help Obi feel more at ease. Hopefully knowing that his alpha is just downstairs will help.
