Page 11 of The Baby Clause
“You talk in your sleep.”
Yeah… that, I only did it when I was exhausted or drunk. Then I’d have full conversations with the people I was dreaming about and these days, the main star of those dreams was Mason.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed Jere, I found it cute and… fucking hot that you wanted me to fuck you against every surface here. There is nothing I’d like to do more, but we have other things we need to get done today, and unfortunately breakfast doesn’t make itself. So how about we revisit that thought later and I make us some waffles?”
“Yes, please, to both.” Seriously, could he be any more wonderful? Oh, hell, I was getting that Déjà vu feeling again. Am I still asleep dreaming all this? I sucked my lip between my teeth and bit down. Fuck, that hurt, so no. Ugh, blood tasted so nasty.
“Leave me here… I’ll only slow you down…”
“We’re not climbing a mountain Jere, we’ve moved a little snow so I can turn the truck around and we can head into town to drop off the test kits.”
“That would have been fine if you hadn’t fed me enough waffles to put me in a food coma.”
“I didn’t feed them to you, I just made them. You didn’t need to eat so much.”
“I did. They were too yummy to resist.”
“Oh, I know, I was watching you. You looked like you were about to come and the noises you made were…”
I was more than aware of the noises I’d made, and what effect they’d had on him, but I couldn’t help myself. And while I was still drowsy and content from the best brunch I'd ever eaten, Mason approached me holding a syringe. I was too full to run away. He looked a mix between a mad scientist, a crazed hillbilly and a vampire. It wasn’t the prick I was hoping for today, but so be it. Getting blood drawn wasn’t fun, but at least I didn’t make a big song and dance out of it. The kit was surprisingly okay with it, but Mason, dear god… what a baby. Seriously, at one point, I thought I was going to have to cuff him to the chair with his own handcuffs. Then he almost passed out. Who would have thought the tough and grumpy sheriff was afraid of needles?
It had finally stopped snowing sometime during the night. The plan was for Mason to drop the samples off at the lab. Then we’d head to the general store for more groceries. I wasn’t sure where it was all going, although the crumbs on Mason’s shirt would explain the missing cookies. I wanted to make something nice for dinner tonight and maybe grab a nice bottle of wine. First, we had to figure out how to get the baby carrier set up in the truck. Clearly it was designed to be used by an engineer from NASA or a Nuclear physicist. Because I’m sure defusing a bomb in 30 seconds would be easier, and less stressful than two grown alphas trying to figure out how the hell that thing worked. If the kit needed therapy to get over the trauma, then Mason was paying. All we had to do then was… move a bit more snow. Then we could finally head out there, the three of us. Was this freaking me out? Oh yes, but I was starting to get cabin fever and the kit couldn’t be left alone… Here we were all heading into town, like a little family.
The town looked nice, all decorated with lights and ribbons. Many of the shops and stores had festive window displays I wouldn’t mind taking a look at. My fingers were itching to design something. The kit looked cute, all bundled up, those little stockings my brother had sent, fit his little feet perfectly. Mason carefully drove down the main street, deftly avoiding all the skiers who clopped about in their heavy boots.
There were more people out and about than I’d expected. I pulled my trapper hat down further, hiding a little more of my face. I was feeling twitchy and unsettled, like everyone we passed was looking at us. My fox was restless too. He wanted to run and hide; he didn’t like crowds and liked attention even less.
“I just need to pull in here and drop the samples off, then we can head to the store. Okay? Jere, babe, are you okay?”
Was I okay, ugh, not sure, yes, no… sort of?
“In and out, I’ll be right back.” Mason was using that tone again, the one that suggested that if he spoke above a whisper, I’d shatter into a million pieces. Unable to move my lips, I nodded my head. I didn’t get like this often, but it was one of the reasons why I preferred to live out of town. It was silly, but the crowds intimidated me, made me feel hemmed in, trapped, suffocated. I didn’t realize I was gasping for air, till Mason pulled my door open, placed both hands on the side of my face, and kissed me. With his mouth against mine, I had no choice but to breathe through my nose. My hands came to rest on his arms as slowly my breathing returned to normal. The panic attacks and hyperventilating were a symptom of my anxiety and that was due to my struggle with self-acceptance and identity. I thought I was over it, or at least had it under control, but at times like these, when I was stressed, it reminded me I still had a way to go.
“I’m here. Everything’s fine.” Mason’s soft, gravelly voice cut through the white noise, grounding me. Yeah, he was here finally, my white knight.
Mason
Life is more than a little complicated right now. We didn’t have all the parts to figure out what the bigger picture was. But I bet my life that Martha did. I could see now why Jerry lived the way he did. Yesterday when I’d found him with the Pup attached to his hand, he was on the verge of losing his shit. That has happened a few times. But to see him come apart like that moments ago scared the ever-fucking-life out of me. The noises he’d made struggling to pull air into his lungs sent a shiver down my spine.
“I’m here, everything’s fine, shh, it’s okay, no one’s going to bother you with me around, and you know I always keep my word.” Jerry’s blue eyes glistened with unshed tears; fuck, he really was killing me with those eyes. My heart slammed against my ribs hard enough to bruise. I pulled his head into my shoulder and held him to me, willing him to cling to my strength.
“Are you feeling better?” I spoke softly into his ear, nudging the side of his chin with my own. Again, I’d not bothered shaving this morning, but it had reached the point where it felt soft to the touch rather than scratchy like sandpaper.
“Umhmm.”
“We have one last stop, then we can head home.” I wasn’t going to ponder why I called his cabin home or that I’d called him babe.
“Let's go to Momma K’s and see what we can find for dinner?” I gave him one more kiss on the cheek before climbing behind the wheel. I took his hand in mine and drove one-handed. Something that the ‘me’ of a week ago would have thought was unimaginable.
The Pup or Pip had been so quiet I’d almost forgotten he was there. But he only looked at me with curious eyes while I unhooked his carrier as Jerry held the door open.
“Mase, what are you in the mood for?” Jere’s question sounded innocent enough, but the playful undertone I detected suggested it was so much more. All in good time, my pretty… And he was pretty, with his thick brown hair and stunning eyes.
“Hi Martha, did you get many wonderful presents yesterday?” Jerry asked as he held the door for me.
“I can see that you did. What’s his name?” Martha had gone into grandma mode, cooing and making terrifying faces at the pup.
At the same time, both Jerry answered with different replies.
