“Put me down. I weigh a ton.” I don’t know why I even bothered. When he got like this, it was best to roll with it. He walked in the direction of our new minivan because, apparently, I was that dad.
“I need to shower. I’ve been mucking out stalls.”
He cussed under his breath as he changed directions. “Dammit, what kind of a mate am I? I should’ve been doing that!”
“You’re the amazing mate who was getting the barn ready for yet another animal because I felt bad for the little bugger.” If a fifteen hundred pound beast could be considered little.
“How long have you known?” He reached the screen door and finally set me down to move Daisy out of the way. It had become her new favorite place to sleep, and it was a pain in the ass.
A contraction began to build, this one definitely stronger than the last, or maybe it felt stronger because I was just standing and not working. In any case, it sucked.
“Shit. Forget the shower. Let’s get you to Doc’s.” He set the pig back down and went to scoop me up again, but I swatted his hands away.
“No. I need to get the animal grossness off me and you do too. Just call Doc. I’m sure he’ll come over.”
Jase huffed but he begrudgingly agreed, and by the time I stepped out of the shower, Doc was already waiting with Xander in tow.
Xander was technically old enough to be left on his own, and he could more than handle it, but Doc still took him most places with him.
And I got it.
Xander’s father was still in town and couldn’t be trusted to leave the kid alone. Although, at the rate he was drinking, I doubted he’d be a problem for long.
“I brought Xander,” Doc explained. “He offered to take care of the animals.”
Xander nodded like a little bobblehead. He loved animals, and if I were to guess, a job as a vet was in his future.
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Jase took him out back to show him what to do, or more accurately, make up shit for him to do, while Doc did a quick check of my progress.
“How far apart?” Doc asked as I stood there in my bathrobe. I knew it wasn’t worth putting any clothing on.
“Five minutes.” I still had plenty of time. I read all the books and way too much random stuff on the internet. It was part of the reason I kept working instead of heading in early. “I’ve still got time.”
Doc’s arm wrapped around my shoulders and he smiled. “You have time if your wee one isn’t a shifter. But since that’s probably not the case, time is not on your side.” He gave me a half squeeze. “So how about we get your room ready for this delivery?”
Time is not on your side. What the heck did that mean?
Five minutes later, when Jase came running in as I screamed in agony, I got my answer.
“Get. In. The. Shower.” I could barely force out the words as he came in, but the smell of the barn was almost too much for me to take. “Were you rolling around in the stalls?”
Jase looked at me then to Doc then to me again.
“Looks like your baby is a shifter and your mate’s senses are on overload, so you better get your ass in that shower or you’ll miss the birth of your son.”
Jase took off like a flash toward the bathroom.
I cried out in pain again, unable to ask Doc if I was going to be stuck with this horribly powerful sense of smell forever.
One contraction after another began rolling in. I didn’t even have time to catch my breath between them. Doc didn’t seem too concerned about it, but then again, he wasn’t the one who was about to evict a human.
“Jase, you might want to come out now,” he called as he grabbed a towel off the dresser. When did that get there?
He stood at the foot of the bed and carefully folded it up. “I’m just going to place this here.”
“I’m back.” Jase took my hand and kissed my cheek. “I cleaned myself raw.”
I doubted that, but I appreciated him not being pissed that I yelled at him like a weirdo. Although, he was the reason I was there in the first place.
Another contraction rolled through me hard and fast. The books lied. I couldn’t handle this. No one could.
“You’re just in time...” Doc smiled at us both. He was so freaking calm. “Next one is when it’s time to push, August. You’re doing great.”
“I’m so tired,” I whimpered, not sure I could last any longer.
Jase held my hand tightly. “You’ve got this, baby. You’re the strongest man I know.”
“Push!” Doc commanded just as the pressure began to build for my next contraction. This time, it hit me so hard I couldn’t even scream. The burning as I pushed was almost unbearable as both men told me to keep pushing, as if I had any other option.
I pushed until I heard a pop, or maybe it was a tear. I wasn’t sure what it was. Then my ears filled with the most glorious sound I’d ever heard before. The sound of crying.
My baby was crying. Our baby was crying.
“Congratulations.” Doc held the baby up with the umbilical cord still intact. The baby was covered in yuck, and yet it was still the most beautiful being I ever saw. Only it wasn’t a boy. “Looks like I was wrong.” Doc shrugged and set her on my chest. “You have a perfect baby girl. Do you have a name?”
“No. We have a boy’s name.” I spoke at the same time Jase did.
“Angeline.” He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “She’s an Angeline if I ever saw one.”
My eyes filled with tears at the sight of our beautiful baby girl and hearing my mate, my true love, instantly honoring my grams without a thought.
“She is Angeline,” Doc agreed. “I can see it in her eyes already.”
“Hello, sweet Angeline. I’m your daddy, and this is your father, and we’ve been waiting for you a long time.” I looked down at her face, overwhelmed by the love I felt for her. “This is Doc. He’s sort of your uncle, and pretty soon, you're going to meet your cousin Xander. You’re going to love him. He’s a bunny just like your father, and the two of them get in so much trouble together.”
“One time,” Jase clarified. “One time we ate your daddy’s flowers.”
Jase cut the cord, and Doc cleaned up Angeline before handing her back to me for her first meal.
“I’m going to give you guys a minute alone so I can let Xander know all is well. Then we’ll hang out in the kitchen and eat some cookies. Are there cookies?”
“It wouldn’t be Angeline’s home without them.” I made a point of always having them handy as my little tribute to Grams, as silly as it was.
“We have a baby.” Jase beamed down at us. “Thank you for making me a father and giving me something I never thought I would have—a family that loved me for me.”
“Thank you for coming into my life and helping me see that this is where I belonged...and for giving me our beautiful baby girl.”
“What should we do with our boy name?” he teased.
“Oh no… Nice try, mister. Next baby we have, you’re giving birth to.”
I was such a liar.
We had our son the following year, and another the year after that, and another daughter the year after that...because you know—bunnies.
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Some Bunny To Love: River’s Edge Shifters #1 Page 10