Page 35 of Dare to Live
“They do run in my family,” Kade said as a matter of fact, like he’d been expecting us to have three babies at once.
I was happy to be pregnant, but now I was freaking out. “How in the world am I going to carry three babies in my belly?”
Kade chuckled. “My mom did it.”
So the heck what?I knew women carried more than one baby. But not me.
“The body is an amazing vessel,” Dr. Gardner said. “And you’re in great shape. So that bodes well for you too.”
I wanted to bop the doctor over the head. Who used the word “vessel” to describe the human body?
As Kade and Dr. Gardner talked, my mind drifted. No more flat stomach. No more toned body. No more anything for a while. Hell, I wouldn’t be able to pitch even if I wanted to, not with how big my belly was going to get with three growing humans inside me.
I was thankful baseball season was over.
Dr. Gardner finished the tests then asked us to meet him in his office. Once he was gone and I was on two feet, Kade picked me up and swung me around.
“I thought hearing you were pregnant was good news, but this tops everything.”
I hugged him back, relishing his excitement.
When he was done making me a bit dizzy, he asked, “You’re not happy?”
Of course he could sense my tension. “I am. But you realize I will be carrying not one, not two, but three babies.” I held up three fingers. Oh, if only men could have kids.
“I will be waiting on you hand and foot, Lace. I’ll make sure you don’t have to lift a thing.”
How could I not smile at that or at the way his copper eyes were dancing in delight?
In that moment, I felt like a tool. I shouldn’t have been complaining. We were starting our family off with a bang.
“I can’t wait to find out the sex,” he said with too much giddiness in his voice. “And I can’t wait to share the news with the family on Sunday.”
If he lasted that long.The man was bursting at the seams to shout to the world that he was going to be a father.
I giggled. “I’ve never seen you so happy before.” At our wedding, he had been on top of the world, but the spark in his eyes was brighter than ever. It was our family—our growing family.
Chapter 15
Kade
Oranges and golds colored the landscape around our house. Lacey and I were hosting our first family gathering with all my brothers and their significant others along with my two nieces and my parents.
I stood out on the deck, grilling steaks, watching how the family was happy and talking and relaxed. Man, I loved days like this when we were all together.
Smoke billowed out of the grill as I lifted the lid. The steaks were almost done, and I couldn’t wait to sit down at the table and share the good news. Fuck, I’d been dying to spill my guts for well over a month. Anytime I’d seen Mom, I wanted to tell her we were having a kid, especially when she’d asked if anything was bothering me.
My response had been, “There’s a lot going on at the club.”
We’d had two break-ins, and I would bet money that Marcus had had something to do with them, but he’d sworn up and down that he was nowhere near the club on the nights in question.
For some reason, a part of me believed him. When Kody had found him passed out on the stage and we’d threatened to call the cops, he’d been scared out of his fucking mind.
Still, Christine was close to sending him off to a military school. My dad had suggested the same academy my brothers had gone to after Kody and Kross had beaten Greg Sullivan into a coma. Whether Christine followed through on that or not wasn’t any of my business.
My sole focus and worry was Lacey and our three babies.
Shit.
