Page 35 of Reindeer Flames
"Eating a balanced diet?"
"Um …" Gold, Laurie, and I had been testing new recipes for weeks now, trying to find Santa 30's next favorite cookie, though so far, nothing had beaten the snickerdoodle recipe he'd requested while we were in Denmark.
"My brother raves about your cookies." Cuthbert flashed an apologetic smile. "I'm prescribing vitamins, but daily vegetables make strong shells and happy babies."
"I'll do better, I promise." Preparing for the worst, I asked, "How many eggs, do you think?"
Cuthbert shook his head. "Hard to tell."
Hart placed his hand on my belly. "You don't know?"
"Their hearts don't beat until the shell is completely formed," Cuthbert said, "and then it's impossible to hear through it."
"I don't need to hear their heartbeats," Hart said. "My reindeer says there are two."
"Two?" I groused at my dragon. "All you said was 'dragon and not dragon.' That could mean anything!"
"One dragon,"he confirmed."One not dragon."
It took all my willpower not to roll my eyes at my mate and our kind birthing assistant. "My dragon agrees. Two."
"Wonderful," Cuthbert said. "The shells will continue to thicken over the next few weeks. Have you already thought about nesting?"
"Is it safe to have two nests, one at work and one at home?"
Cuthbert nodded. "I know several fathers who have done so. Where were you planning to lay the eggs?"
I sighed. "I'd hoped you would know of somewhere nearby."
"Most of my clients lay their eggs at home. Do you have a back yard large enough for you to shift?"
"Not yet," Hart said, "but we're moving into a house on Candy Cane Lane in a few days."
"It's big enough for my dragon, but the bushes aren't tall enough to escape prying eyes." I didn't want to scar our new neighbors for life.
Cuthbert nodded. "That's the reason I became a birthing assistant. My ancestors helped the Santas build the dome over the North Pole. I can hide you from the neighborhood."
"That sounds wonderful."
"That should ease some of your worries. Let's check your heart rate again. I bet it's gone down."
After he confirmed that yes, my pulse was back in normal range for an expecting dragon, I signed the paperwork giving him permission to come onto our property and to build a privacy dome over our back yard when it was time to lay our eggs. Then, he emailed me a list of links to discount nesting materials and insulated egg carriers for traveling between work and home.
I spent the entire ride home filling online shopping carts. By the time we arrived back at my apartment, I felt as tired as Hart looked, but in a good way. I knew where and approximately when I would lay my eggs. My dragon was still apprehensive about the move, but we were both excited to welcome our eggs into the world.
CHAPTER 18
HART
Between the two of us,we had enough furniture to fill the living room, den, and two bedrooms of our new house. The other rooms were bare by comparison, but not for long. We'd ordered furniture from Santa 30's craftspeople. It took a few months for their schedules to pick up, especially while the children enjoyed the toys Santa delivered. In the meantime, they were some of the most talented woodworkers at Christmas Village, and Santa offered their services at a discount when he dropped by our house on the first Monday of the new year. I was already well into vacation mode, having not shaved for a week.
"A beard suits you," Santa said. "Why do you shave it off when we start drills?"
I shrugged. "Superstition."
Santa winked. "That cousin of yours teased you about it."
He was right. Bopp had teased me when my beard first grew in. His had been patchy, and he couldn't grow much beyond a goatee and pencil mustache."With all that hair on your face, you'll be too heavy to fly,"he'd told me, and I'd listened to him.
