Page 119 of Born into Madness
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I told her I wanted to surprise you, but that I needed to get Chort used to the idea first.” I scratch Chort’s head and tell him he’s a good boy. “He was a little hesitant at first, but when he realized Maude wasn’t a snack, he warmed up to her pretty quickly. I think he likes having a friend.”
Maude’s tricolored little body is adorable as she squirms around in Cyn’s lap, but it’s my wife who has all my attention right now. The look on her face is one of pure joy, and I’m going to make it my life’s mission to make sure she always looks like this. I don’t ever want her upset or worrying about anything. I just want her to be happy. It’s such a strange feeling to love someone like this, to not be able to imagine living the rest of my life without her.
I watch her as she keeps playing with our dogs, and then smile when she gets all teary-eyed at seeing Maude’s much smaller pink dog bed positioned next to Chort’s black one. I’d bought her the bed thinking she’d actually use it, but when she gets tired, she crawls onto Chort’s instead and cuddles up right in the middle. Chort looks back at me with awhat the helllook on his face, but then he just grunts and curls up around her. Cyn snaps a quick picture.
“They’re so cute,” she says, and watching her excitement and love for our dogs has me finding my voice. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I can’t bring myself to wait a second longer.
“When were you planning on telling me?” I ask.
She turns to look at me, green eyes wide with surprise, but then I see something flash across her face that leaves me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. It’s not fear exactly, but it’s a hesitancy, a worry that I might not like what she’s about to say.
Unable to bear the distance between us, I step closer and cup her face. “Krovinka,” I start to say and then stop. My voice is thick with emotion, a sensation that’s so foreign to me it takes asecond for me to realize what’s going on. “Did you really think I’d be upset?” I finally manage to ask.
“How did you know?”
I raise a brow at her and then kiss her forehead. “I know what day you start your period, Cyn, and you’re a week late.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she whispers.
“Why didn’t you?”
“I don’t know.” She puts her hands on top of mine and then turns her head to kiss one of my palms. “I wasn’t sure what you’d think. I was afraid maybe you wouldn’t be happy, but I should’ve told you. I’m sorry.”
“Was it because you don’t think I’ll be a good dad?” I ask, voicing my deepest fear.
Her eyes jump to mine. “No, Sasha, god no,” she quickly says. “I swear that never even entered my mind. I know what kind of father you’re going to be.” A huge smile lights up her face when she says, “You’re going to be such a good dad, just like the kind I always wished I had. You’re going to love this baby so much and protect them better than anyone else ever could. They’ll be so lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one,” I tell her before picking her up and carrying her up the stairs. Now that I know for sure she’s pregnant, I’m desperate to get her naked. She laughs at my excitement and wraps her arms around my neck while she kisses me.
“I don’t want to quit school,” she says.
“I would never ask you to. You’re going to be an amazing vet tech, and we’ll make this work. You know my mom and sisters will love to babysit anytime we need them to. We can make this work,krovinka. I promise.”
She nods, looking relieved, and I hate that she worried about any of this for even a second.
“We are going to need to make some changes around here, though,” I say as I set her down.
“We are?”
I start undoing the delicate buttons that run along the side of her dress while I say, “We are. We need a bedroom with a door, because I think we can both agree that having a child walk in while I’m doing what I love to do to you would be a nightmare that would require loads of therapy to get through.”
Her horrified look has me reaching out to soften the line between her furrowed brows. “I would never let that happen,” I say with a laugh. “We also need to build a nursery, and I need to take the dummies down.”
“But you love them. What about your training?”
I can’t help but grin. “My sweet little wife, so worried I won’t be able to practice with my knife.”
“It’s important,” she insists, making me smile even bigger. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”
I finish undoing the last button and then part the fabric enough for me to kiss her bare shoulder. “I can have a room built off the house, something with a lock that no child can pick.” I give her a soft bite. “Not even one of mine.”
“Were you a lock-picker?” she asks.
“I was, but I’m really hoping this baby turns out more like you than me.”
Her fingers run through my hair as she pulls me closer and kisses me. “I hope they’re like you in many ways.”
