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“For…being you. For caring. For sharing a part of me that no one else has ever shared. I’m going to go take a shower. I’ll meet you downstairs.” As I left the room, he was standing there, watching me, eyes glittering.
Once I was clean and dressed, I headed down the stairs. Menolly would be up soon, and I wanted to find out if Chase had discovered anything new. I also wanted to examine the talisman that Trillian and Smoky had brought back with them, because in twenty-four hours, give or take an hour, I’d be ferreting an undercover path into the Aleksais Psychic Network and I’d damned well better be able to bluff my way through. Plus, we still had to attend to the zombie panic that was spreading through the city.
I found everybody gathered in the living room. Another fifteen minutes until sunset, and Menolly would be up then. It seemed easiest to wait till she was awake to discuss what we were going to do.
Trillian, Smoky, and Bruce were examining the blueprints to Iris and Bruce’s house, going over their plans for the next day. Nerissa and Rozurial were folding laundry with Hanna, and Vanzir was looking up something on the computer. Shamas was apparently still at work. Delilah played with Maggie, and Iris was in the kitchen.
Smelling cookies in the air, I wandered in to give her a hand. “Hey, Little Mama. How are you doing?”
Iris was about to take two pans of cookies out of the oven, and I took the oven mitt from her and shooed her away from the stove. She was almost four months pregnant by now. As she backed away, I did a double take. Her boobs were definitely starting to grow.
She noticed my look and grinned. “Yes, Bruce is a very happy leprechaun. But I’m going to need new bras very soon. Twins seem to speed up the…enhancement.” As she dropped into the rocking chair with a grateful sigh and put her feet up, I also noticed the dark circles under her eyes.
I took the cookies out of the oven and set them on the hot pads, then used the spatula to loosen them and place them on the racks. Peanut butter chocolate chip. Delilah was going to be overjoyed.
“You aren’t sleeping, are you? How’s the morning sickness?”
“The morning sickness has died down a little, but I get tired a lot easier now. I take more naps. And no, I’m not sleeping all that great.” She stared at her hands. “I can’t seem to sleep deep, or stay asleep.”
“What seems to be the problem? Does Bruce snore?”
“No, he doesn’t snore.” She paused, then laughed. “At least, not much. No, I think…”
“What is it?” I could tell she didn’t want to talk about it, but I had the feeling that it was important. “Tell me, or I’ll tell Menolly you’re hiding something.” I didn’t like using blackmail, but I sure as hell wasn’t above it when necessary.
Iris sat forward and stopped rocking. “You wouldn’t dare.”
I leaned down and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Try me.”
She grumbled, and then with an irritated shrug she leaned back again. “Okay, but don’t you make a big deal about this.”
“Just tell me what’s going on. The more you dance around this, the more I’m going to worry. And I do not need to worry any more than I already do.” I knelt by her side. “Tell me.”
“If I do, you have to promise me—”
“No promises. Tell me.”
“Oh, all right. I can’t sleep because of the damned trailer. It’s the most uncomfortable piece of crap I’ve ever lived in. It reminds me of a big tin can.” To my horror, she burst into tears, and I recognized them as hormone-enhanced.
“I hate it—I hear every noise at night and it keeps me awake. Now that I’m pregnant, it seems like I can’t control anything happening to my body. I can’t wait till my house is built, but to be honest, I miss living with the rest of you! I feel like I’ve been exiled, and I know I did it to myself.”
As her expression crumbled, I gathered her in my arms and let her cry against my shoulder. “Oh honey, oh, Iris. I’m so sorry. If you want, we can make up the parlor for you now that Douglas and Marion moved out.”
Iris sniffed, then sat back, a sad smile on her face. “You are so sweet, but no. We’ve got a perfectly usable trailer and we’ve paid for the rental already.”
I shook my head. “The month is almost over. Move back in here. It will only be another month until the house is ready. Sure, we’re crowded, but aren’t we always? No problem with that! Bruce is rich, he’s not going to care about one month’s trailer rental—”
The kitchen bookshelf opened, along with the steel door behind it as Menolly appeared. She grinned. “Before you even try to cover your tracks, Iris, I overheard what you two were talking about. Camille is right. You and Bruce will sleep in the parlor until your house is done. The trailer can go back tomorrow. No arguments or I’ll get pissed and you really don’t want me pissed at you.”
Iris blushed, then ducked her head. “If you’re sure it won’t be too much trouble…”
“Go tell Bruce right now, so the guys can bring in some of your clothes for the night.” Menolly waved her off and, smiling, our house sprite took off for the living room. After Iris was gone, she laughed. “Hormones. Gotta love them. That’s one thing I’ll never have to worry about.” But her voice was wistful.
I stared at her. “You want children?” My biological clock had never gone off, though I’d half-promised to think about kids with the guys, if Smoky could find a way around the fact that we were from different species. But if I had a child with him, I’d have to have one with Trillian first, because he was my alpha. If we ever did end up parents, I had the sinking feeling I’d be the mother of three. And I really wasn’t keen on the idea. At least not right now. But we had a long, long time to decide, and I wasn’t about to let anybody rush me into it.
Menolly shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess…I wish I had the chance to make a choice. But Dredge killed any options I might have.”
“Nerissa can have a baby. You guys could still parent.” I began putting fresh dough on the cookie sheets and slid them into the oven. Menolly picked up the tray of warm cookies and followed me out of the kitchen.
