She threw her arms around my neck. “I love the crap out of you.” Then her lips connected with mine.
I dove in and kissed her lights out. This woman was my world, my life, my heart, and my soul. Whatever fate had in store for us, we would persevere. We always did.
I tugged her bottom lip as I broke the kiss. “You’re going to be even more beautiful pregnant.” At that thought, Mr. Steel came alive.
“And you’re going to be relentless, making sure you dote on me every day.”
I moved stray hairs off her face. “Fuck yeah.”
“So what now?” she asked.
“You have a season to finish. Although I am concerned you might pass out again.”
“I’m not obligated to tell the team I’m pregnant, but they do need to know,” she said. “I’ll make sure I eat right and stay hydrated.”
I gave her a cheeky grin. “I’m going to be a dad. My mom is going to go nuts.”
The color drained from her. “Call me superstitious, but let’s not say anything just yet. I want to find out how far along I am, and I want to make sure nothing jinxes this.”
I wasn’t sure I could contain my excitement. My parents knew me too well, and they would know I was keeping some big news from them. “I’ll try.”
“Kade Maxwell, you can’t even tell your brothers. And I suggest we wait until I have my first ultrasound.”
She had a point about jinxes. I couldn’t get Mom’s hopes up only to shatter them if something did happen or if the blood results were a false positive.
Wait! False positive?
“What’s wrong?” Lacey asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I remembered Mom sharing with me how her pregnancy test had been a false positive when she and Dad were trying to conceive before she’d gotten pregnant with my sister. The family had gotten excited only to be let down when she’d found out she wasn’t pregnant.
“What if the media gets ahold of the news? If you tell the team, it’s going to leak out.”
She sucked in her bottom lip. “True. I’ll hold off then on telling the team too. I only have a month left of the season anyway.”
I was going to be a dad. Lacey was going to be a mom.
In that moment, I couldn’t ask for anything else.
Chapter 14
Lacey
The last month of the season had dragged by. I’d been plagued with morning sickness every darn day. I felt as though I might puke up the baby at times. Different smells affected me too. I couldn’t stand the aroma of coffee, and for some reason, I wanted to puke for hours when Kade drank his coffee in the morning. Other scents like pizza made me hurl, and I loved pizza.
The good news was that by the time I’d shown up for the games, the morning sickness was gone. But I didn’t need to worry about the games anymore since the season had ended a week ago.
I sat on the exam table, waiting for the doctor to come in.
Kade paced the room. He’d been anxious since he found out the great news. I knew he was trying not to spill his guts to his parents. We’d had dinner with them last Sunday, and his mom had kept asking him what was wrong.
Kade’s response had been, “Just a lot on my mind with the club.”
His answer wasn’t exactly a lie. The club had been plagued with two robberies in the last month. At first, Kade had thought Marcus was the culprit, but Marcus had sworn it wasn’t him. Kade hadn’t believed him and, to this day, still didn’t. Marcus was turning out to be quite the rebellious kid in the family. But that wasn’t my concern.
I swung my legs back and forth. “You’re going to make yourself sick. Any headaches?”
Kade came to an abrupt stop. “No. But if we don’t get this appointment over with, I might just explode.” His voice was even, and his features were pinched tight.
“Come here, big guy.” I held out my hands.
He lowered his shoulders, sighing. “I’m sorry. There’s so much going on, and I’ll be better once I see the fetus and once I can share the news with my parents. My mom is worried, and I hate that I’m the one she’s worried about.”
If I knew his mom, she’d probably figured out that I was pregnant. Women had a way of connecting the dots. Not to mention, I’d hardly eaten when we had dinner with them last week.
I hooked my fingers inside the waist of my husband’s jeans. “You know you’ll be a nervous wreck until I deliver.” Between his excitement and nerves, he probably wouldn’t sleep for the next eight months. Hell, he hadn’t for the last month.
“I just want everything to be okay with the baby.”
“And it will be,” I said with loads of confidence. “Are you afraid there isn’t a baby growing inside me?” He’d shared with me how his mom had had a false positive on one of her pregnancies.
He kissed my forehead. “Not at all.” He cupped my breasts. “These babies tell me you are. They’re getting huge.” He grinned like an ass.
I poked his hard abs. “Easy. The doctor will be in shortly.”
He bent down and kissed each breast.
He was right. My boobs had grown and were painful, as though someone had pumped them with fluid to the point they were about to burst.
“After we have the ultrasound today, I need to tell Tara,” I said. “Then the Sea Dogs.” With the season over, it was a good time to share the news, especially since I wouldn’t be returning for spring training. They needed to know well in advance anyway.
A knock on the door resonated before Dr. Gardner came in wearing his white lab coat over black dress slacks. He was a handsome older man with salt-and-pepper hair. “Are you two ready?”
A blond nurse glided in behind Dr. Gardner and headed straight for the ultrasound machine.
Nodding, Kade stepped away so Dr. Gardner could get started.
After listening to my heart and lungs, Dr. Gardner wrapped his stethoscope around his neck. “Everything sounds fine. Let’s check on the baby.”
The word “baby” sent a shiver up my spine. I still wasn’t used to the idea that I was pregnant. In that moment, I wished my mom and sister were there. I blinked several times so I wouldn’t start bawling. Julie and Mom would’ve been ecstatic if they were alive. Mom would’ve already had a list of names written out. Julie would’ve had the baby shower planned.
Kade came over. “Are you okay?”
I bobbed my head. “I will be. I was just thinking of Julie and Mom.”
He grasped my hand. “They’re here, baby.”
“If it’s a girl, we’re going to name her Julie. Right?” He and I had decided on that at our wedding.
“Of course,” he said.
The nurse, Brenda, turned on the ultrasound machine. A beep sounded when she did.
“Lacey,” Dr. Gardner said. “We’re going to do a transvaginal ultrasound. This will give us a more accurate picture of how far along you are.”
Brenda helped me position my feet in the stirrups. Then she handed Dr. Gardner the wand.
“I got it from here,” Dr. Gardner said to Brenda.
Without a word, she left the room.
My pulse quickened as Dr. Gardner started the procedure. “We won’t be able to determine the sex until your second trimester, and I doubt you’re that far along.”
Kade and I did want to know the sex of the baby. We wanted to prepare the baby’s room and get things ready.
Butterflies took flight as my gaze bounced around from the screen to Dr. Gardner to Kade.
Kade’s gaze was glued to the ultrasound machine.
Honestly, I couldn’t tell a darn thing on that screen. All I could make out was static and gray matter.
Every now and then, Dr. Gardner pressed a button on the machine.
“So,” I said to break the silence and calm my nerves. “How far along am I?”
Dr. Gardner’s focus was on the screen. “One second, Lacey.”
Maybe there wasn’t a baby inside me.
“What’s wrong?” Kade ask
ed, his eyebrows knitting together.
I held my breath.
Dr. Gardner pointed at the screen. “Well…” He sighed. “First, you’re definitely about three months along by the size of the fetus.” He drew an outline on the screen. “See?”
Relief coursed through me as my heart rate went from zero to a hundred. I was pregnant. So that was good news.
“But?” I asked. Please don’t give us bad news.
I could clearly make out a tiny speck on the screen but honestly couldn’t see anything more than that. I squeezed the life out of Kade’s hand, or maybe he was the one gripping my hand so hard.
I blew out a breath and eyed Kade. His mouth was open, fear leaping off of him. My chest rose and fell as I tried to stay calm.
Please let everything be okay with the baby.
I’d done a ton of research prior to my visit, and I’d learned that I would be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat at eight weeks, and the doctor had just told us I was three months along. So…
“Is there no heartbeat?” I asked. I hadn’t heard one yet.
The color drained from Kade’s tanned complexion.
Dr. Gardner fiddled with the machine, turning a knob. When he did, the boom, boom, boom resonated.
Kade and I sighed together.
OMG! This was real. Before that moment, I’d come to terms with being pregnant. I had all the symptoms, but hearing a heartbeat was… I didn’t know how to describe the feeling. It was intense and overwhelming. I couldn’t stop the tears.
Suddenly, butterflies fluttered in my stomach like they were having a party in my honor.
“Then what is it?” Kade asked, a deep crease forming in between his brows.
Dr. Gardner set his dark gaze on me then Kade. “Well, you’re going to be the proud parents of not one baby but three.”
Kade reared back.
I gasped.
Kade’s jaw hit the table. “There’s three!”
Dr. Gardner nodded then proceeded to show us all three fetuses. “You two are having triplets.”
What in the world? “Triplets?”
“They do run in my family,” Kade said as a matter of fact, like he’d been expecting us to have three babies at once.
I was happy to be pregnant, but now I was freaking out. “How in the world am I going to carry three babies in my belly?”
Kade chuckled. “My mom did it.”
So the heck what? I knew women carried more than one baby. But not me.
“The body is an amazing vessel,” Dr. Gardner said. “And you’re in great shape. So that bodes well for you too.”
I wanted to bop the doctor over the head. Who used the word “vessel” to describe the human body?
As Kade and Dr. Gardner talked, my mind drifted. No more flat stomach. No more toned body. No more anything for a while. Hell, I wouldn’t be able to pitch even if I wanted to, not with how big my belly was going to get with three growing humans inside me.
I was thankful baseball season was over.
Dr. Gardner finished the tests then asked us to meet him in his office. Once he was gone and I was on two feet, Kade picked me up and swung me around.
“I thought hearing you were pregnant was good news, but this tops everything.”
I hugged him back, relishing his excitement.
When he was done making me a bit dizzy, he asked, “You’re not happy?”
Of course he could sense my tension. “I am. But you realize I will be carrying not one, not two, but three babies.” I held up three fingers. Oh, if only men could have kids.
“I will be waiting on you hand and foot, Lace. I’ll make sure you don’t have to lift a thing.”
How could I not smile at that or at the way his copper eyes were dancing in delight?
In that moment, I felt like a tool. I shouldn’t have been complaining. We were starting our family off with a bang.
“I can’t wait to find out the sex,” he said with too much giddiness in his voice. “And I can’t wait to share the news with the family on Sunday.”
If he lasted that long. The man was bursting at the seams to shout to the world that he was going to be a father.
I giggled. “I’ve never seen you so happy before.” At our wedding, he had been on top of the world, but the spark in his eyes was brighter than ever. It was our family—our growing family.
Chapter 15
Kade
Oranges and golds colored the landscape around our house. Lacey and I were hosting our first family gathering with all my brothers and their significant others along with my two nieces and my parents.
I stood out on the deck, grilling steaks, watching how the family was happy and talking and relaxed. Man, I loved days like this when we were all together.
Smoke billowed out of the grill as I lifted the lid. The steaks were almost done, and I couldn’t wait to sit down at the table and share the good news. Fuck, I’d been dying to spill my guts for well over a month. Anytime I’d seen Mom, I wanted to tell her we were having a kid, especially when she’d asked if anything was bothering me.
My response had been, “There’s a lot going on at the club.”
We’d had two break-ins, and I would bet money that Marcus had had something to do with them, but he’d sworn up and down that he was nowhere near the club on the nights in question.
For some reason, a part of me believed him. When Kody had found him passed out on the stage and we’d threatened to call the cops, he’d been scared out of his fucking mind.
Still, Christine was close to sending him off to a military school. My dad had suggested the same academy my brothers had gone to after Kody and Kross had beaten Greg Sullivan into a coma. Whether Christine followed through on that or not wasn’t any of my business.
My sole focus and worry was Lacey and our three babies.
Shit.
I was having trouble wrapping my mind around three babies. As happy as I was with triplets, part of me was wondering how we would manage three, particularly when Lacey returned to playing ball.
I shouldn’t worry. Mom was a stone’s throw from our house, and my aunt Christine was a few miles down the road. I was sure they had some great advice, especially Mom, who’d raised triplets.
Speaking of my brothers, Kelton waltzed out from the kitchen with his signature cocky grin plastered on his unshaven jaw. His blue eyes glistened in the afternoon sun. “Those steaks ready yet?”
I flipped the steaks over. “Nope. Too lazy to shave this weekend?” I teased.
He arched a brow. “You must be lazy too.” He circled his finger in the air around my face.
“Touché.”
We both chuckled.
Kelton scrutinized me as though I were on the witness stand. “You look different since the last time I saw you.”
It figured he could see right through me. He was officially a lawyer, albeit a freshman lawyer. He’d just about aced the bar exam and was working for a prestigious law firm in Boston.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “Getting laid more, I suspect, now that baseball season is over.”
Leave it to Kelton to always fit sex into the conversation.
I grinned as my gaze drifted past my brother and landed on Lacey, who was talking to my mom. She had her hair up in a messy bun. Her cheeks were pink and not from makeup. Her breasts… Well, those babies were growing at the speed of light, and with her slim, toned body, it was hard not to notice how big her tits were.
I mentally shook off any images of her naked. Kelton wasn’t wrong in the least. I couldn’t get enough of my gorgeous wife.
My mom reared back as she listened to Lacey. For a split second, my stomach did a somersault, wondering if my wife was spilling the beans to Mom before dinner. But as soon as that thought hit me, I chucked it. Lacey wanted me to tell my family. She was probably telling Mom something about baseball. We’d learned from Tara that another up-and-coming female was making news in the baseball arena, and Lacey was excited to meet h
er at some point.
Kelton snapped his fingers. “Dude, where did you go?”
I blinked. “Can I look at my wife?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Sure, but…” He studied me more.
I turned to check on the steaks, hoping he didn’t probe any further. I wasn’t sure I could contain myself. I’d been bursting to tell someone. I hadn’t even told my best bud, Hunter, and I told him everything. Sure, I shared a ton with my brothers, but I was afraid Kross would tell his wife Ruby, and Ruby couldn’t keep a secret to save her life. At least according to Kross she couldn’t.
Kelton’s girl, Lizzie, wanted kids so bad that I couldn’t imagine her keeping anything to herself. As far as Jessie, Kody’s girl, she was probably the only one I did trust with our news. After all, she worked as a nurse and was accustomed to keeping patient news to herself.
Despite all that, I wanted to see everyone’s face at one time when I told them we were having triplets.
“You’re hiding something.” Kelton’s voice drew me back to him.
I schooled my features into what I hoped was one of my blank expressions that Lacey despised.
“I know you, dude. I can see it in the way you’re holding in a fucking grin that I’m sure is the size of Massachusetts.” Then he regarded Lacey and swung his gaze back to me. “Holy shit!”
The fucker was putting the puzzle pieces together. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Kelton’s lawyer instincts in reading people were killer. The man could read the life of a stranger walking on the street. At times, I thought he had clairvoyant skills.
Smoke floated out and around the grill.
“Whatever it is you think you know, shut it,” I said in a harsh tone.
Dare to Embrace: The Maxwell Series Book 7 Page 8