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"I hate you!" I want real coffee.
Mags buysevery gender-neutral baby item she can find in the one store we have in this small town. Everything is absolutely gorgeous, but when the cashier gives her the total, I want to throw up.
"Mags, that's too much." I stare at her as she hands over her credit card.
"Shut up."
"Seriously, this—" I try again, but she cuts me off.
"Kingsley Monroe, if you don't stop, I will also buy that gigantic, life-size giraffe you stared at for seven minutes." The girl behind the counter snickers, and I want the earth to swallow me whole. I'm not good at accepting gifts. I'm used to earning everything I have.
We haul the nine bags—NINE—to my Jeep, and Mags deposits them in the back.
"Let's go have lunch with Kiwi," she declares as she lifts the last one in.
"He's with Zeke today." Kiwi texted that the guys were all playing flag football in the park this morning, and he was going to watch.
"So?"
"They're Wes's friends." I fling my hands up. She can't be that dense.
"And Kiwi is your brother from another mother. Fuck 'em." That is the end of the conversation, and I know it. She'll drag me there by my hair if I put up any more of a fight.
Mags drives us to the park the guys are at. It takes less than ten minutes, but I can't help fidget with my Du Hoc the entire way.
She eyes me carefully. "We'll have to chat about your little tic when the baby is here. It's not safe."
"When did you become the mother hen?" I grumble, sheathing the blade against my urge to keep it out.
"Until you have a clear head, and you and asswipe sort out your differences, I'm your voice of reason. We also need to buy outlet covers and—"
"You want us to stay at your place?" I gape at her, my mouth hanging open.
Mags keeps glancing over while she maneuvers the Jeep into the parking lot. "I'm trying not to be insulted here. It is your place as much as it is mine."
I bark out a laugh. "You need to get your potty mouth under control then."
"Consider it done." She blows me a kiss, and my heart skips a beat. I am home. Now I hope Gray won't have anything to say against it.
The park actually goes better than expected. Kiwi and I lounge on a blanket, bundled up in coats with another blanket on our legs—April in Montana and all. As long as the sun is out, the temperature feels nice, but one cloud covering the sun, and it's freezing.
At one point, Zeke jogs over and drops down next to me. "It's good to see you, King."
His sincerity makes a lump form in my throat, and I croak, "You, too."
After a moment, he says, "Sheats will pull the stick out of his ass sooner or later." Before I can answer, he jumps back up and joins the game again.
Kiwi wraps his arm around my shoulder, and I lean into him, hiding in the crook of his neck. "Why is everyone so nice to me?"
A chuckle rumbles in his chest. "I'm not even dignifying that with an answer, Roe-Roe."
Buzz,buzz.
I'm sitting on my bed, sorting through everything Mags bought today. Every single item is more than I could've ever hoped to provide for my baby. I had prepared myself for thrift-shop bargains because, let's be real, a decent roof over our heads (in a safe neighborhood) and food are more important than a onesie Nugget would grow out of in a week. And I was okay with that. You can find great items in thrift stores.
Buzz, buzz.
Eyeing my phone on the nightstand, I contemplate what to do. It seems too far away. Being out all day after not enough sleep has taken its toll. I'm dead on my feet—or ass since I'm parked in the middle of the mattress.
