Page 73 of Alpha's Redemption

“I think he’s just trying to hide his excitement for the three foot rubs he owes me,” Macey says, and Valen pulls a face.

“I am not touching those Neanderthal feet!”

“A deal is a deal. Oh, and I’ll let my toenails grow just for you before I claim my first one.”

Valen pales and looks like he’ll puke.

“Tell you what? I’ll take one foot rub off if you give Everly her jar of coffee.”

“Wipe all three and I will.”

“She can drink coffee, and no, I’ll get rid ofone,” Macey says, holding up one finger. He growls and scrunches his face up.

“Fine, and you better scrub those damn feet raw. And I’m wearing gloves,” he snarls when Doc leans down and whispers to me.

“Do they always fight like this?” he asks.

“No, this is their love language, and Macey will win,” I tell him. He laughs, finishing the scan.

ChapterThirty-One

Valen

Ten weeks later

Everly has been put on bed rest. She’s made it to thirty weeks and Doc already said there’s a high chance she won’t carry the pregnancy to term. He also told us at her last appointment that she’ll need to have a c-section. But with everything going on, we haven’t even started setting up the nursery.

Valarian and I stop by the hotel on the way to the baby store to pick up Macey and Zoe, who are coming to help pick out the baby stuff. Everly wanted to come, but she can barely walk a few yards without having to pee, and her feet are swollen. However, she doesn’t trust my ‘vanilla taste’, as she calls it, so the girls are coming to advise.

She insisted Valarian go to spend some time with me after we learned he’s received detention twice for hitting two boys at school and has been playing up. We spoke to him about it and all he said was the boy deserved it. He refuses to tell us what it was about, despite us trying to talk to him about it.

Though I’m glad the girls are coming because I know Valarian will have a meltdown when he learns the genders. We didn’t have the heart to tell him when we got home after the ultrasound. When we picked him up from school that day, he was holding balloons he’d painted blue, so today will be his revelation that he’s getting three sisters instead of brothers. I nervously chew my nails as I wait for Zoe and Macey to come out.

Zoe is first out of the hotel, skipping excitedly over just as I see Macey come out the side doors of the restaurant. Zoe spots her, and for a second, they stand there staring at each other. My brows furrow at the reason until they both start racing toward the car, shoving and pushing each other.

“Shotgun!” Macey screams.

“I called it first!” Zoe snarls, shoving her, only to be yanked back as she reaches for the door handle. Macey sticks her tongue out at her when Zoe falls on her butt. She hops in the car and I raise an eyebrow at her. Zoe huffs and climbs in the back with Valarian.

“You two are idiots. I can't believe you just fought over the front seat like damn children,” I tell them, shaking my head while they place their seatbelts on.

“I shotgun the front on the way home!”

“If you can get to it first, small fry,” Macey taunts.

“Enough. Zoe gets the front on the way back. Stop your bickering, or both of you will sit in the back,” I tell them. Geez, they’re like Everly’s annoying sisters.I need to keep my daughters away from these two crazies, I think to myself.

“Well, looks like I’ll be claiming that foot rub today,” Macey says.

“Macey gets the front seat on the way back,” I quickly declare. No way am I rubbing her feet.

“Ew! Dad won’t rub your feet,” Valarian says. Macey snickers.

“Your father has to. He lost a bet,” Macey tells him.

“What sort of bet?” Valerian asks, and Zoe answers.

“Oh, you’ll see soon,” Zoe says, messing his hair. “Are you excited about going baby shopping?”

---