Page 48 of These Little Heirs
“It does, though, doesn’t it?” I chuckled. “How are you?”
“I shouldn’t have been surprised,” Teal frowned. “He didn’t want to talk to me and I kept pushing it but it was like I couldn’t stop myself. I didn’t know if he was okay or not. We went from talking nearly every day to him just disappearing and I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t. No one prepares you for friendship breakups and it sucks.”
“I hope he comes around,” I said, picking up another cracker.
“But you don’t think he will,” Teal sighed.
“I don’t,” I shook my head. “I still hope he does, though. Not just for you either. For his own sake. Imagine hating the only person who gives a real damn about how you feel and the person you’d normally talk to about it. That has to suck, mate.”
“I’m right here. He knows that. He’s the one who doesn’t want me.”
“I hope he comes around.” I said it again because I wasn’t sure what else to say about it. Even golden retrievers turn feral when their hearts are broken, I guess.
“Do you still want to do the ultrasound tonight or do you want to wait until the morning?” Teal asked.
“Are you asking because you’re tired or are you really asking if I want to wait for the others to be up?”
“But I’m not too tired to do it. Ultrasounds are easy,” Teal shrugged.
“You know I love them, right?” I said gently. “I really do but some things don’t need an audience.”
“Okay,” Teal nodded, and I let out a silent sigh of relief that he didn’t put up a fight about it.
“Are you okay with that?” I asked him.
“I am,” he nodded again. “They can see the print outs. I meant it when I said I’d help you enforce boundaries, mate. It’s different with them because Odie and Ambry were already some sort of bonded pair. You survived by being on your own.”
“Have you ever wanted to be part of a group and didn’t know if you could actually manage it?” I asked, stretching out as he moved the snack plates over to the dresser.
“I didn’t know that I could start the warehouse group, but I don’t think that’s what you mean. I’ve been around people I don’t fit in with before but when it comes to these guys, I’ve been one of them forever. You’re one of them by proxy – just however much you want to be.”
“However much it’ll all let me,” I shrugged.
“They’re not going anywhere. So, take your time,” Teal said, settling in on the bed and turning on his portable ultrasound machine.
“I’m glad they aren’t. You need them.”
“You need them too,” Teal said a second later with the wand pressed against my belly. “At least you will when these three are born.”
“Three?” I blinked. “Give me that thingy!”
He handed off the little machine with its even smaller monitor. I counted the jellybeans on the screen over and over.
One-two-three.
One-two-three.
Three-two-one.
Two-One-Three.
Yep. Baby One, Two, and Three were all there.
No matter how many times I counted them, nothing changed. I was having a litter. Somone call Medwin Moonscale and tell him to buy a catnip farm because we were all going to need it. Teal and I were having triplets!
“Yeah, you really have to stick around. I’m going to be so fat and make you carry me around and I’m going to eat people if they get in my way and my claws are going to get so damn long!”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said and leaned over to nuzzle into my neck. “That’s a promise.”
