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I looked at Ford over my shoulder. “Would a grandchild count as an extra special gift?”
Trance’s eyes lit with understanding about two seconds before Viddy looked at her son and shouted, “You got your mortal enemy pregnant?!”
We all burst out laughing.
Then Viddy and I started to cry and hug again.
Once everyone was done celebrating, Trance looked at me seriously and said, “I was going to keep the pick of the litter and train her. But she’s yours if you’re serious. Your gift is way better than mine anyway.”
Ford sighed from beside me.
“Maybe we should focus on a baby first, then a dog.”
Ford actually had a dog before me, and I knew he was still grieving over her. Lulu, his dog, who had been the runt of the litter from one of his dad’s K-9s, had a heart deformity. One morning, he’d woken up, and she’d passed during the night.
It’d been traumatic, and I knew it had to be the reason he was being so hesitant to get another dog.
I whipped my head around and pointed my finger at him.
“I’ve been trying to get a dog from him for years, Mazda. Now I finally have a good enough trade for him to bargain with, and you want me to say no? You can shut your filthy mouth!”
There was a moment of stunned silence for a few seconds, then Viddy and Trance both burst out laughing.
“Mazda?” Trance laughed. “I like that one.”Chapter 19
When your mom said get you a man that can cook, she did not mean meth. Just FYI.
-Ashe’s secret thoughts
Ashe
My mother spent the entire first hour that we were at the club party telling everyone and their brother that I was pregnant.
I looked at Ford accusingly over the length of Silas’ back yard, glaring at him and his beer.
“What are you glaring at?” Zach asked, coming to sit next to me.
“I’m glaring at Ford over there who hasn’t gotten patted on the belly once. Or been given parenting or birth advice once,” I said. “And now he’s drinking a beer and I can’t have one.”
Zach chuckled and looped his arm around my neck.
Ford, who I hadn’t thought was paying attention, stiffened.
“Oh, look. He’s actually paying attention to me,” I said as I leaned my head against Zach’s shoulder.
Zach chuckled and curled his arm tighter, pressing a kiss to my head.
If this were any other man doing this, Ford would’ve bitten his head off. But with Zach being the third of our trio, he would forever trust the man with my life.
“He was paying attention to you the entire time,” Zach confessed. “When Banner came to the rescue earlier? That was Ford sending him your way. He knew that you were getting tired of dealing with all the excitement, so he sent in reinforcements. You notice how Banner talked to you for like a minute then left?”
I sighed. “I love him, Zach.”
Zach shrugged and caused my head to bounce on his shoulder. “I’m honestly surprised that y’all didn’t figure it out sooner. It’s been a long time coming.”
“Everybody knew?” I asked for clarification.
“Everyone,” he confirmed, moving closer to the table so that his legs were pressed against the side. Close, but not actually touching.
I sighed and leaned into him, closing my eyes. “I’m exhausted.”
Zach leaned back against the wall that the table I was sitting on was leaning against, taking me with him.
“Then take a nap,” he said. “I’m kind of tired of dealing with everyone’s shit anyway. Maybe with you over here sleeping, they’ll leave me alone.”
I snickered. “Why is everyone hounding you?”
He didn’t answer for so long that I thought he wasn’t going to.
So I closed my eyes and started to drift off to sleep.
Just as I was about to slip under, he said, “They see that I’m struggling, I guess. But they can’t fix what’s wrong with me. I don’t think anyone can.”
I sighed and pressed farther into him.
“Love you, Zach.”
He gripped me just a bit tighter. “Love you, too, Soot.”
I would’ve pinched him if I had the energy.
***
Ford
“You’re in the doghouse, man,” Zach said as I finally came up to him about thirty minutes after my girl fell asleep in his arms.
I looked at Zach and grinned.
“I saved her,” I countered.
“You let her get eaten alive,” he chuckled.
I sighed.
“I was getting eaten alive, too,” I argued. “And she didn’t save me from her dad.”
Zach grinned.
“Torren needed to get his say in, and everyone knew to leave him be. Even his daughter,” Zach countered, gesturing for me to sit. “I need to transfer her over. My arm’s killing me.”
I sat down on his opposite side and pulled Ashe into my arms.
She came willingly, practically crawling into my lap.
“You didn’t get nearly as much shit from Torren as I expected,” Zach confessed, rubbing his arm as he tried to work out a kink.
