Page 33 of Having the Dragon's Baby

“Chamomile, lots of chamomile,” the healer replied with a laugh. “I’m just like you. The bigger the news, the more immovable my poker face is.”

“I do have a good poker face,” Rachel answered. “The tears are coming now,” she added as they rolled down her cheeks, fat and hot. Rachel cried steadily as happiness and excitement overwhelmed her.

“I have a couple more things I want to check, and then you need to find Marcus,” the healer told Rachel. “I also want you to come back here in the tenth or eleventh week. We are going to check the baby’s heartbeat and growth. If nature provides the right picture angle, and you are receptive to knowing it, we’ll see what gender your baby is going to be at that time as well.”

“What are the most important things I should know right now?” Rachel asked.

“Find Marcus before you tell anyone else. Tell him face-to-face,” the healer added. “Tell no one until you tell Marcus. You know how rumors and news travel. They fly.”

“I believe you. I know you are right,” Rachel answered.

They discussed a few other things regarding vitamins and how not to be frightened of strange cravings. Rachel was more reassured after her appointment with the healer, and she was ready to tell Marcus.

Searching for Marcus was easy but not simple. He was a man with consistent habits. She started with his daily and weekly haunts. She found him at the second stop.

Marcus was in the training facility, sparring with Vincent. Crazy hard sparring. The two warriors were banging each other up.

Rachel surprised herself at how composed she was. Every time she saw Marcus, no matter how short or long the break from seeing his glorious self, she would have butterflies in her stomach at the very sight of him. Sometimes, just the thought of him would do it too.

The butterflies were hitting hard when she waved him over.

“You are impeccable with your timing, darling,” he told her. His smile was big, his face shiny with sweat.

“We are impeccable,” Rachel fired back. “First, tell me why you think we are impeccable.”

“You’re right on time. Vincent and I are just about done here. I was thinking I would head to the store and grab some things for an impromptu cookout. I was going to call you to come with me, which is why your timing is impeccable.”

“Great minds think alike,” she answered back. “I am here to steal you away. Gearing up for a cookout is the perfect activity for some Marcus-and-me time.”

Rachel waited while Marcus showered.

They returned to the house, switched to one vehicle, and headed to the farmer’s market.

Marcus parked under a huge sycamore that had plenty of shade. He turned the engine off and faced Rachel with the biggest of smiles. “What is it?” he asked. “You’ve been holding something in since the moment I saw you at the training facility.”

Rachel wasn’t surprised Marcus could tell she’d been keeping a secret. Beneath a sycamore was as good a place as any for this conversation. She squared herself in the seat so she would be facing him directly.

“We’ve got a new arrival coming, Marcus. I found out today. The healer was loving, supportive, and very encouraging.”

Marcus didn’t say a word. He reached forward with long, muscled arms and pulled her into a hug. Marcus was a triple threat of heat. His arms were warm the way a fire was warm. She felt his hot breath on her neck. His tears were a deluge of heat running down her shoulder, back, and into her shirt.

“This is what it is all about,” he said. His words were muffled by her neck and her head. She sensed the waves of gratitude pushing each syllable and each word. “This is right where I have been wanting my life to go. Thank you, thank you,” he added.

FOURTEEN

MARCUS

Marcus was having a tough time focusing. They bought a lot of groceries. The SUV was full enough to feed an army of dragons. He couldn’t remember any part of the drive back to the house. What fragments he remembered of the shopping part felt like faded dreams that originally belonged to someone else.

I’m a mess. I’m so happy that it has turned me into a mess, Marcus thought to himself. He knew he had a stupid grin on his face right then.

There was only one scene in his mind that made sense. A bright, clear scene. A scene he would never forget. Sitting in the SUV beneath a huge sycamore tree. He and Rachel were about to go into the farmer’s market and load up. He had wanted lots of food for an impromptu cookout. Rachel turned toward him in her car seat, facing him.

They were pregnant. Rachel dropped the best possible gift she could give him beneath the sycamore tree. There was a new arrival coming in about seven months and three weeks.

“Okay. We drove home. We parked. Now you have been sitting here like a statue in the driver’s seat,” Rachel told him. “I am just curious if you are doing okay. Normally, as soon as we arrive home, you jump out, unload the SUV, and do things. Staring straight ahead like a zombie, this is a new one for you.”

“What’s that?” Marcus asked. It was just dawning on him that they really were back home, parked in the long driveway, and he really was still sitting in the car with his hands on the wheel like he was driving.

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