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“Dad,” Parker said, and Kelli looked at the screen too. Julian lifted his head and smiled at his son.
“Heya, buddy. How’s school?”
“Boring,” Parker said. He threw a look to Kelli. “But I like my percussion class.”
“That’s great.” Julian looked at Kelli, and the weight of this video call settled on her.
She’d called it, and the words she needed to say suddenly fled her mind.
“What’s up, Kel?” Julian asked.
She looked over to Parker, and then back to Julian. “I have something to tell you both,” she said. “I’d have done it when Parker got home, but you didn’t come with him.”
Julian’s gaze hardened, and Kelli didn’t mean to criticize him. She looked down at her hands.
“I’m pregnant,” she said. “Shad and I are going to have a baby in the middle of March.” She wasn’t sure why she wanted to tell them together. She didn’t have to tell Julian at all.
“That’s great, Kelli,” Julian said.
She lifted her eyes to meet his through the video chat. Her eyebrows went up as she tried to truly judge his reaction. They had worked so hard to get Parker, and it had been the trial of her life—at the time. His too, she’d thought.
“Thank you,” she said. She looked over to Parker. “So you’ll be a big brother.” She smiled and tousled his hair.
He let her, which reminded her that Parker was still her little boy. He didn’t seem excited or upset, and Kelli wasn’t sure if she liked his lack of a reaction.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
His brow furrowed then. “Yeah,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “You’re going to be a lot older than your brother or sister.”
“Yeah,” he said. Then he brightened. “Can I help you and Shad pick out the name?”
Kelli hadn’t been expecting that question at all, and she blinked as Julian chuckled from Jersey. “I—maybe,” she said.
Kelli didn’t know what else to say. Neither Julian nor Parker found it all that significant that she was pregnant, and to Kelli, it was literally the second biggest miracle of her life. Parker being the first.
“Okay,” she said, not sure why her chest stung. This was her ex. She didn’t need his approval or congratulations.
“Thanks for jumping on Julian.”
“Can I talk to Dad for a few minutes?” Parker asked.
Kelli looked at her son and saw him growing up right before her eyes. It was like a slow-motion movie, and she saw the first twelve years of his life in only a few seconds.
She reached over and pushed his hair to the side. “Yeah, sure,” she said fondly. “You look so old, buddy.” She gave him a smile, which he returned.
She slid from the barstool and left her son to chat with her ex-husband. Gladness spread through her that they had a relationship. She wanted that for them, and she was also glad Parker had Shad here full-time to help her parent him properly. He also had the influence of Jean and Reuben, whom he loved. And Kristen. Robin, Alice, Eloise, AJ, Laurel, Kelli’s mother, and even Clara would take Parker anytime Kelli needed them to. She had friends at Whole Soul would would as well.
It truly did take a lot of people to raise a child, and Kelli’s chest constricted as she thought about all the supportive people she had in her life. She wasn’t alone, and she never wanted to feel like she was again.
She went past the steps and out the front door to the garden patio that sat in front of the twinhome where she and Shad lived with Parker.
Shad sat at the metal table, the shade from the umbrella keeping him safe from the sun and cool at the same time. He looked up as she closed the door behind her. “Hey.” He got to his feet. “How did it go?”
Kelli nodded. “Good enough.”
“Why do you look like you’re going to cry then?” He wore compassion and concern in his face and he took her into his arms.
