Page 68 of Fighting For Light
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Cordelia is making dinner for us and her dad. I tried to help, but she told me to sit down despite my multiple protests. I’m not great at cooking, but I can make a few dishes. I’m not completely helpless like she might believe.
While she’s cooking, I research the list of things a baby needs. I’m ordering three different strollers because I don’t know which is better. I order the car seat for the truck and bottles I know nothing about, so I’m probably buying too many diapers that could fill a warehouse, and I can’t decide on cribs, so I buy four. One is for traveling, one that will fit in the RV, and two for the house. I guess one can go to Mom’s. Unless she doesn’t like any of them, then I’ll return all of them and take her to find the ones she wants. Babies need a lot of stuff, including a baby bath for the first months. I figured we could use the sink, but I was very wrong. Who knew? Well, except for the women who write blogs. I start to browse clothes but think again. That’s not my department. I should leave all of that to Cordi. I can handle the rest.
When we get back to my house, I’m baby-proofing it. I’ve been researching things I need to do, such as plug light sockets and replace sharp-cornered furniture. Not that I have much. I have a couch, a table, and a bed. Oh, I need to get a high chair. I scan through the recommended ones and decide we need a small one for the RV. We will need one for the house, too, so I ordered two more, one for Mom’s place. Hopefully, this will all be enough, but I’m sure there’s something I don’t know about.
Cordelia’s back is to me as she stirs a pot on the small stove. I wonder if she will like my house. Regardless, I have to redo my security system and make sure that there are contingencies for the contingencies. I need more guns, too, and probably another gun safe. I will do whatever it takes to ensure their safety.
33
Cordelia
It’s not like Ihaven’t seen Kai ride and jump thousands of times in practice or in competition, but now? Seeing myhusbandleap into the air with his machine is shocking. I’ve never known fear like I have at this moment, and it caught me off guard. It’s not like I just started loving him, so my feelings about him floating in the air with the potential to snap his neck haven’t changed, but…they have. I blink, unable to lift my camera to take pictures of his practice round.
This is a freestyle stop, but the stakes are higher, the jumps bigger, and the need to place with top scores is even more important. The team lost points overall in Dallas. The new team member is good, but we need infallible to get to where we were or better.
I take a deep breath and force my body to do its job, even though my brain makes me want to collapse out of fear. Or maybe pace back and forth, attempting not to puke. My hands and muscle memory take over. I’m not even sure they are good pictures.
He takes another jump and completes his practice round. I sigh and finish taking pictures of the other guys. Wandering into the team area, I find Kai leaning against his bike, typing away on his phone with his riding pants and shirt half-tucked. The picture of nonchalance. But now that I am well versed in his body and the secrets he keeps, he’s aware of every bit of his surroundings. He’s like a wolf, studying his prey and patiently waiting for its move.
That’s why I know when I take a step towards him, he will drop his phone and lift his eyes to watch me. I lift my foot, and sure enough, those dark depths meet mine. A shiver runs down my spine, and my hand flies to my belly. I swear the baby did a backflip in there. His eyes dip down to mine, and his brow lifts in question. I smile softly and close the distance between us.
“Hey, Mama, everything okay?” he asks, resting his large, warm hand on my belly. I lean into him, and his other hand comes to my hip. He kisses me a few times, and I hum. The baby flips again, making me gasp. “I felt that one,” he murmurs in my ear.
“I told you he does that every time he knows you’re close.”
He stills for a moment. “Everytime?“ he asks nervously.
I giggle and shake my head. “Nooo, notthen,“ I tell him.
He presses his lips on my cheek. “Thank God. I can’t start corrupting my kid before he’s even born.”
I gasp and lean back to look at him. He averts his eyes and clears his throat. I open my mouth to tell him it’s true; this kid is his as much as he is mine, but Kai slams his lips on mine before I have the chance, leaving me breathless.
“Don’t forget we have that Lamaze class this evening,” he says.
“Oh, thank you. I did forget.”
He shrugs and kneads his thumbs on my lower back, making me groan. It’s been bothering me lately, and I can’t exactly lie onmy back or stomach anymore. Everything in my body has felt out of sorts lately.
“Ready for tonight?” I ask him. He kisses my cheek and hugs me close. “This part is new,” I mutter into his neck.
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“I like this pregame ritual.”
He hums, rubbing his nose up the length of my neck. “I do, too, though I wonder if it’s a little too distracting,” he says. I smile, and his hand drops down, squeezing my butt that also feels like it grew an extra size.
He glances over my shoulder, and his hold on my backside loosens. I turn to find the rest of the team and my father walking toward us. I step back and give him space, trying to put my mind back into work mode instead of wondering where the best place to have a quickie would be.
Dad steps up as the guys gather. He gives them a pep talk, then smiles at me before walking away. He probably isn’t mad anymore, but I don’t know that he’s completely forgiven me yet. I hurt him, and it’s going to take some time for us to move past it. I’m hoping the moment he sees his grandson, that will all change.
I return to my post out by the pit with ramps and large hills formed out of dirt and focus on deep breaths to ignore the fear that flooded back into me the moment Kai stopped touching me.
The lights go dark, and the introductions start. The announcers call for our team, and the arena roars as they announce each rider. The lights come back on, and a moment later, Kai is called. He’s at one end of the larger ramp that curves almost straight up into the stadium ceiling. His helmeted head turns, and I know he’s staring. He sits there for a second, and the breath in my lungs freezes as time slows. Then he yanks the throttle and takes off.
He speeds up the hill, leaps into the air doing aheel-clicker, then lands perfectly. Afterward, he rounds the corner and takes off up a quarter pipe into anine o’clock nac.Perfect. I’ve been watching him land these perfectly, but it’s amazing every single time I watch.
