by Mignon Mykel
“How is she?”
“She’s okay.”
“Still not telling anyone?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. But Mom knows now, so who knows how long it will stay under wraps.”
“I’m really excited for you guys,” she said quietly with a big grin on her face.
I couldn’t stop a mirroring grin if I tried. “I’m pretty excited too.”
“Oh, before I forget. I have the gifts you had sent.”
“Did you wrap them?”
She lifted a brow. “Are you serious? No. I did not wrap them.”
“Well, I’m not waking Asher to wrap them.”
Avery just laughed and tapped my chest. “Better go get your scissors.”
I let Asher sleep through dinner and thankfully no one asked questions. After, I made a Wal-Mart run with Asher’s “acceptable foods” list in mind.
Unfortunately, Jonny decided to tag along.
“How’s the knee?”
“Good. I’ll be back on the ice soon.”
“Good.” He was quiet a moment but I should have known that wasn’t the end of his conversation. “What’s really up with Asher?” he asked as we walked down the aisle. Growing up in a family this size, I knew better than most that nothing ever stayed quiet. Everyone was in everyone else’s business all the damn time.
In my shopping basket, was juice, popsicles, saltines, and broth. Mom had me picking up cream of chicken, too, for cheesy potatoes, and I knew that if Asher caught sight of the insides of that can, she’d be spending tomorrow’s dinner in the bathroom too.
“Stomach bug,” I said, reading the back of a broth can as we moved toward produce. She probably wouldn’t tolerate it, but I was going to try to get bananas in her, too.
“Try again.”
“Swear. Stomach bug.”
“Look me in the eye, baby brother, and tell me that again.”
I didn’t bother looking at him; I could hear the damn grin on his face.
“So, congratulations?”
I grabbed a bunch of bananas that were yellow, but more on the green side than brown. “How the fuck do you people figure this out?” If there was one thing I think everyone was thankful for, it was that Jonny never got Jenna pregnant, so the guy didn’t exactly have firsthand knowledge.
“Because Sydney’s been pregnant five times, and I practically live with them.”
“You, mom… Asher’s going to kill me when she finds out you all know.”
“You should know better than to bring your pregnant girlfriend to the house while she’s puking every twenty minutes.” He didn’t know the half of it.
“Yeah, well, it hasn’t been exactly easy,” I mumbled, as I moved along toward self-checkout.
“You giving her back her ring?”
“I think we have enough on our plate for the time being. But after,” I said honestly, dropping the basket on the metal pullout and starting to scan my items.
“Everything okay with you guys?” Jonny’s question was laced with concern and I nodded.
“Yeah, it is. I think we’re actually better right now than we were.” I typed in the code for the bananas before bagging them. “But between my knee and her being pregnant, we just have a lot going on at the moment.” I dropped the basket into the stack on the ground. “We’re meeting with her and Ace’s therapist before heading back home.”
“That’s probably good.” Jonny stood with his arms crossed over his chest, watching me as I pulled my wallet from my back pocket and sifting out my bank card.
“How are things with you? You dating yet?” I asked, as I put the card in the chip reader. These things took so damn long to read, and I needed the conversation off me and Ash.
Goodness knew, the conversation would be all about us in two days’ time.
Because Asher hadn’t been back to Wisconsin since her revelation during the holiday party, she decided she wanted to sit with Trinity while we were up here. When she asked if I would go with her, I was floored.
After a moment of pause, I’d quickly agreed, knowing that her offering it was our last hurdle. She was tearing down the last wall.
“Nah, not yet. I’m looking into buying a house up near the lake house for off-season, but I don’t know that it’ll happen for a while yet.”
I re-pocketed my wallet, looking at my brother quickly before grabbing the bag. “Why up north? Why not San Diego?” Jonny was still in the same seaside condo he and Cael lived in before Sydney came in the picture.
Jonny chuckled. “Because Wisconsin is home.”
It was a simple answer, but I begged to differ.
For me, home was Asher. Everything clicked when I was with her.
The self-check attendant wished us a Merry Christmas as we passed, and we were on our way. Thankfully, conversation turned to hockey.
I could talk hockey.
Soon, we made it back to the house, where the kids were still running rampant.
Brandon was on the couch with his iPad, playing a hockey game with the volume too high. Brody was chasing Brooks, and Ella was carrying Brae around, all while their four parents sat around the kitchen table, playing cards.
“Isn’t it bedtime?” Jonny asked, scooping up Brooks. He shot up like a weed this year, and at four, was probably taller than his brothers had been at that age.
“No! Never!” Brooks squealed.
“You should control your children,” I told Caleb, grinning, as I walked past and dropped my bag on the kitchen counter. Mom came over to grab the cream of chicken can as I lined up everything else, putting it all away.
Not having Bri around was still hard, but as a family, we were dealing. I was sure it was still hard for Caleb and Sydney, on their own family level, but this Christmas wasn’t nearly as difficult as last.
Fuck, now that Asher was pregnant, I couldn’t imagine losing one of the babies.
Which further meant I was watching her like a hawk the rest of this pregnancy. If that meant she was admitted to the hospital and under supervised bed rest, I was absolutely game with it.
“I can’t wait for the day you have kids,” Cael told me, not even looking up from his hand. “I predict girls. All girls. With piercings, and tattoos, and enough boyfriends to make you go prematurely gray.”
“I don’t think the tattoos and piercings part was much of a threat, Cael,” McKenna laughed. “You do know your brother, right? The kid who has his nipple pierced?”
“Had,” I corrected.
McKenna grinned over at me. “Whatever. The point still stands.”
True. They didn’t know about other, more intimate, piercing…
And if the twins were girls? Or if one was a girl? You better believe I was going to be okay with her expressing herself however she needed to. I wasn’t about to suppress anyone’s spirit, not when I knew secondhand how hard it could be to get that freedom back. I believed one hundred percent that Asher was finally the person she was supposed to be, but fuck, the road wasn’t the smoothest.
“Speaking of kids…” Sydney, my sweet, sweet sister-in-law said, staring in my direction.
“Chief, play your hand.”
Sydney kept her eyes on me, lifting a brow.
“Yeah, I’m going to bed now,” I deflected, pointing over my shoulder. “See you all in the morning.”
I woke up slowly to the sound of crinkling paper. Opening my eyes slowly, the first thing that registered was the dimness in the room, followed by the fact I was still sleeping in the confines of my bulky sweatshirt.
That, and I didn’t feel queasy.
Victory.
I sat up and pushed my fallen ponytail out of my face, and saw Porter sitting on the floor with wrapping paper and gifts surrounding him.
“What time is it?” I asked.
He lifted his head, startled I think. “Did I wake you up?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Oh. Okay. Good.” He pulled on the paper, trying to get the side to meet th
e other, even though he cut it a bit too shy. “It’s ten.”
My eyes widened. “I slept all evening! I’m sorry.”
This earned me a raised brow and an almost-glare. “You needed it. No one cared.”
“Do you want me to finish that?” Really, I wanted to finish it. Porter, from what I gathered upon quick inspection, was doing an alright job wrapping our gifts, but…
They needed a little bit of work.
“You should be resting.”
“Porter.”
“Asher.”
“Don’t mother hen me.”
He grinned up at me with that. “You are out of luck, baby. I’m going to be all up in your business for the next, what, six months?”
“Joy.” I grinned wide though.
Porter slapped a large piece of tape on the box. “How are you feeling though? I went to the store and bought some things.”
“Good right now, actually.”
“You want something? We should get something in you.” Porter stood, leaving the partially wrapped gift on the floor. “Broth? Popsicles? Banana?”
I couldn’t help but grin at his attentiveness. “You’re a hoot, you know that?”
“What are you eating, beautiful?”
“How about you just come here and lay with me?”
“How about you eat something first, and then I’ll hold you all night?”
“You drive a hard bargain.”
“Yeah well, price you have to pay.”
“Fine. Maybe just broth, and I’ll finish the gifts while you grab it?”
He looked down at the presents. “They’re terrible, aren’t they?”
Laughing, I moved out of the bed. “They’re fine. But I bet I could get them finished by the time you get back up here.”
“What are we betting?” His grin was cocky.
“Just go, while I have an appetite,” I answered with my own grin. He stepped over and kissed me once, his hand going to my back and pulling me near. Just when it was getting good though, he stepped back.
“Hold that thought.” He winked and slipped out of the room.
Damn man. Now I was feeling a little bit needy too, and that wasn’t a feeling I’d had much of the last two weeks, not since the nausea peaked.
I moved to sit on the floor, wrapping the last of the presents. Ryleigh and Noah put in place a spending limit this year, stating that couples counted as one person—making Jonny the lucky one who got a gift all on his own. For his siblings and their significant others, we bought his and hers Yeti mugs. Porter and I went over the spending limit, just a little, but I would claim coupons as the answer.
Always claim coupons and deals, I thought with a grin.
I grabbed Mykaela and Ryan’s, and began to wrap the pair, thinking about how ironic it was Ryan was back in my life. I hadn’t truly known him when I was living in his house, and honestly, I didn’t see much of him now, but I decided I liked the guy. For all my fears at seventeen that he was possibly like his father…I was wrong.
I finished wrapping the mugs and the last of the kids’ gifts—including a nearly impossible doll in a non-box, so I wasn’t surprised that he left that for last—just as Porter stepped back in the room.
“Damn, you’re fast,” he said, closing the door behind him.
“I’m good.”
“You have to teach me. Or better yet, you just can’t let me wrap anymore.” He brought a bowl over and set it on the nightstand.
“Smell okay?” he asked.
I inhaled deeply and when there wasn’t any tinge of illness, I nodded. “Yeah.”
“I brought saltines, too,” he said. “For substance.” He pulled a baggie of them out of his hoodie pocket. “Maybe tomorrow, we can move on to mashed potatoes. Exciting, right?”
“Thrilling.” I stacked the gifts by the wall, and settled back into bed, bringing the bowl up and spooning broth into my mouth. I took a moment to assess my stomach before continuing.
“Good?” I knew he meant my stomach, and not if the broth was tasty.
I nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”
Porter watched me eat, handing me one saltine at a time, until I decided I had enough. After, as he moved to turn off the light, I pulled off my hoodie and settled in for the night. He joined me, pulling my body into him as he spooned me from behind.
“So, about that bet….”
I shook my head against the pillow, closing my eyes as I smiled. “Go to sleep, Porter.”
Presents were opened, and now I leaned against the couch as Asher sat in front of me. I had my arms wrapped around her as we all watched the kids play with their goods.
It was a great Christmas.
I turned my head to press a kiss in front of Asher’s ear, and she drew her shoulders up slightly before settling back into me. Grinning, I flicked my tongue out and against her tragus ring.
“Porter!” she yelled, trying to pull away.
Chuckling, I held her tighter.
Today had been good. She kept down breakfast and seemed to be feeling better. God, I could only hope we were through that part of her pregnancy.
I could do without it.
I slipped my hands into her hoodie pocket so I could feel the gentle swell of her belly.
“So, we have an announcement,” McKenna said from her perch on the couch. Parker came into the room from the kitchen, sitting down beside her. When the attention was turned toward her, she continued, “We’re expecting a baby in August! It’s early, but I couldn’t keep it in.”
Congratulations went around the room, as well as some side-eye action going on toward me and Ash.
She reached up and slid her hand onto the back of my head, pulling my face down so she could whisper in my ear. “I don’t want to steal her thunder but…maybe before we leave tomorrow, we can tell them?”
“Beautiful, most of them already know,” I admitted quietly.
She pulled away just enough, her brows up. “Did you…?”
I shook my head. “No, but the guessing was pretty heavy.”
With a harrumph, Asher settled back into my chest. “Well, fine then.”
I chuckled slightly and whispered to her, “We can confirm tomorrow. And that we still win, because you’re super woman, and have more than one baking.”
I accomplished what I set out to do, and Asher giggled quietly, shaking her head. “Not everything’s a competition.”
“Oh, but it is.”
I was nervous.
Much more nervous than I had been an hour ago when Porter and I announced we were expecting twins. Last night, Porter told me that Ryleigh had suspected it after the first afternoon, and that Jonny cornered him at the grocery store. He also suspected that Sydney guessed. So, while the three of them, at the very least, knew I was pregnant, the fact I was pregnant with twins was a big surprise.
Thankfully my stomach had been feeling better, because between all the jostling around with hugs and the girls jumping around, I could have easily lost the breakfast I’d managed to keep down.
Now though, Porter and I sat in Trinity’s office. I held on to Porter’s hand tightly, and I knew that Trinity noted it—maybe not in her pad, but definitely in her memory bank.
“How have you been, Asher?” Trinity asked kindly.
“Good. Better. I’ve been better. Than I was.” Porter squeezed my hand, and I took a calming breath before glancing over at him. He gave me a quick wink and I settled back into the couch.
“And who is this you have with you?”
Trinity knew who he was.
I told her when I scheduled the appointment.
But I knew what this question was; I knew she wanted to hear how I’d answer.
Who was Porter to me, though? I could joke about it, but ‘baby daddy’ was highly inappropriate. He was more than my boyfriend, but we hadn’t even brought up the fact I no longer wore his ring, so he wasn’t technically my fiancé anymore.
I pulled my lips in before settling on, “He
’s my significant other.”
Trinity nodded, but remained quiet.
“He’s my rock,” I added quietly, unable to look over at him. “Even though I’ve hurt him, and tried to push him away, he’s still there. Here.”
Now Trinity smiled, albeit small, but I think she liked that answer.
“And you’re comfortable with him being here? Talking about what’s happened?”
I nodded, this time glancing over at him, not at all surprised to see he was watching me. “He knows everything.” The words were for Trinity, but they were a direct promise to Porter.
He knew everything.
His green eyes dropped to my lips quickly before settling back on my eyes, and I gave him a small smile. He may not have returned the gesture, but I could see it in his eyes. I could see the acceptance, the wonder, the love, in their glass-green depths.
This was a man who wasn’t leaving me.
And I was done leaving him.
I was proud of her. As the hour session went on, and Trinity started asking deeply personal questions, I was proud of Asher and her answers, proud to see her holding her chin high.
She pushed through life, and she succeeded.
She pushed through the session, the absolute picture of strength.
She said I was her rock, but she was my hero.
I was so fucking proud of the woman she’d become.
And honored that I got to be the one she chose to share her life with.
Even when she opened the last door to her past for Trinity, when she admitted the way her body reacted back then, she held her chin high. I could hear the shame trying to push through her words, but she persevered, her hand holding mine tightly, as if I was anchoring her.
Afterward, she gave Trinity a hug and I could see as she fought back tears.
“If you need anything, Asher, please do call me,” Trinity said, holding Asher’s shoulders.
“Thank you. I will.” Asher pulled her in for another hug before reaching for my hand. We walked out to the rental and before opening the door for her, I wrapped Asher in my arms, for a hug of my own.
Her arms wound around me as mine locked around her shoulders. I dropped my head and whispered, “I’m proud of you, beautiful.” She needed the words. There was no sense keeping them locked in my head.