Page 81 of A Baby for the Firefighter
“Nope.” He kissed my hair. “She just assumed. I wouldn't tell anyone without your permission.”
“You better not!” Although I knew he wanted to. It was really unfair of me to keep this under such a tight lid, wasn't it? I sighed. Sooner or later we would have to let the cat out of the bag, but I'd rather that moment be later than sooner. “I'm sorry,” I said. “I know you really want to tell your coworkers.” Dean still went to do his job at the fire department two times a week. He also had nightmares two times a week, but he insisted he was fine, he would get over it. I only hoped that was true. He was stubborn as well as patient. But at least he told me about his problems now, even if there wasn't much I could do to help.
“Don't worry about it.” He tightened his grip on me a bit and I took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. I could hardly believe now that it had scared me once, when all it made me feel these days was comfort and safety—and an ever present under-current of arousal. There was no better smell in the world. Not anywhere. “I care a lot more about making you happy then I care about telling my coworkers,” Dean tried to reassure me. “I can wait a little while longer.”
“Thank you.” I didn't like to make him wait, but rumors spread like wildfire in this place. If he told anyone at the department, it would be all over town the next day. And it wouldn't take long to reach my parents after that.
“What do you say we just watch a few episodes of anime on Netflix and forget about all this?” Dean asked.
“That sounds perfect!You’reperfect!”
Dean chuckled. “I’m at your service.”
“Does that mean I get another sandwich?”
“Depends. Do you want it to have pickles and ham again?”
“Nah, just ham this time.” I paused to think about it for a moment. “Ham and mustard.”
“Ugh. You’re disgusting,” Dean said lightly.
I boxed him with my elbow. “It’s your child demanding these things! So get to it!”
“Right.” He broke away from me and walked into the kitchen to do my bidding. I watched him, smiling. He really was perfect, and I knew he would stick by me whatever my parents said.
So why was I still afraid to tell them?
35
Griffin
When the dayof the play finally arrived, we met my parents in front of the school. Eli was already inside and so was Shane, as the two of them had needed to drop their kids off early and Eli had also wanted to make sure that there were no issues with the costumes. But this meant that Dean and I were alone with my parents.
I'd put on my most baggy clothing for this night, but yeah, I was seventeen weeks along, and I definitely had the belly to show for it. Still, I hoped I had managed to obscure it well enough that there wouldn't be questions.
Tomorrow. I'll tell them tomorrow. Just not tonight, please.
I wanted this to be a fun night. Dean took my hand and squeezed it as we greeted my parents. He knew how important it was to me that this evening go well. It would be the first time in ten years that my family had fun as a family.
“Hello Griff, Dean. So good to see you.” My mother hugged me, and I put my arms around her back tentatively. Was she feeling my belly underneath the clothes? She seemed to still for a moment, but then she broke away without saying anything. She did look at me a bit oddly, though.
But maybe that was all in my mind?
“I'm glad that you could come,” Dean said, distracting me. “I'm sure the play is going to be a lot of fun.”
“Yeah,” I chimed in. “I've seen the costumes, and they're adorable.”
“Eli made them, didn't he?” my mother asked. Then she turned to my father. “Isn't that great?”
My father made himself smile. “Yes, great.” He hadn't brought his crutches tonight, which was nice to see. Looked like he was really getting better, and soon enough, that fire would be nothing more than a dark spot in our memories. A dark spot that had brought us back together, though. I didn't know whether to be grateful or not.
“Shall we go inside?” Dean asked.
“Yeah, let's,” I said before anyone could say anything else and keep us standing here talking. The light would be low inside the auditorium. I kind of counted on that to obscure my belly for a little longer.
“Alright then,” my mother agreed and we entered the school, which was already filling up with parents and siblings of all ages. I spotted Eli, Matt, and Shane sitting in the front row, waving at us. “Over here!” Eli called out.
I exhaled as I flopped in the seat next to him. “Going well so far?” Eli whispered as our parents sat down.
