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“I’ll go for a jog, make some dinner, hang out in the pool with Cam. No big deal. Life goes on.” Considering this time last year, I had no intention of having more kids, I’d really jumped in with both feet on this baby train with Eric. More like a rollercoaster, with all the ups and downs I’d felt every month. How did I get so invested so quickly?
My whole body jolted when my timer went off, and I snatched the test up and looked at the little display window. I gasped. I blinked. I blinked again.Are there two lines?
“Oh my gods…” I whispered, the stick wavering so badly in my hand that I wondered if I was misreading the test. I quickly set it down on the counter so I could look again. Now that it was steady, I could very clearly see the result. “Pregnant,” I choked out. “I’m preg—”
I spun around in a circle, lost about what to do next. My heart was fluttering like a hummingbird trapped in my ribcage. I needed to tell someone, but Eric was at the high school for a practice.Why the hell did I wait until Eric wasn’t home?!I knew logically it was because I had intended to bear the brunt of the disappointment by myself, but now I needed to celebrate!
I whipped open the bathroom door and shouted into the hallway, “Cam! I’m pregnant!”
There was a clatter that sounded like he’d dropped his game remote, then he leaped over the back of the couch and ran to me, his eyes and mouth wide. “Are you for real?! I’m gonna be a big brother!” He raised his arms in a giant V for victory then did a little dance right there in the hallway. “Should I call Eric and tell him to come home?”
“No, no! It’s not an emergency, but…” I trailed off, an idea blooming. “We probably have a couple hours until he comes home. We should find a special way to surprise him.”
“Ooh, yeah.” He thought about it for a second, then said, “Nothing is more special than cake.”
I laughed, hugging him close. “Yes, cake. You’re right. Will you help me?” I wanted to make sure he felt included in every step.
Cam decided on his favorite chocolate cake recipe, and while he got that in the oven, I made a big batch of icing and struggled to get it the brightest, sunniest yellow I could get. While it was baking, Cam decided to play in the pool for a bit, so I sat on one of the pool loungers and started browsing online for cute cake designs. There was no shortage to choose from, like a baby bottle or little footprints, or even putting an actual soother on it. I wasn’t sure I was skilled enough to make anything too fancy, but I knew Eric would love it all the same.
When the cake was done in the oven, I set it out on a rack to wait for it to be cool enough to decorate without melting the icing. Just as I sat back down in my chair, my phone buzzed with a text.
Eric:Got done early here, so I should be home in ten minutes.
“Shit!” I hissed. Ten minutes wasn’t enough time to ice a cake! I needed to stall.
Me:Hey, sweetie, could you please swing by the store on the way home and grab some milk? And maybe eggs and one of those roast chickens in the deli?
Eric:Sure, no problem. Love you, babe.
“Crisis mode!” I yelped at Cam. “He’s early!”
He hopped out of the pool and started cleaning up, while I booked it to the kitchen. The cake was still very much too warm, but there was nothing to be done about it. I slapped on that sunny yellow icing as fast as I could, and it immediately began to melt right off, forming a sunny puddle around the cake. “Oh well,” I said.
“I hear a car!” Cam shouted, running in from the backyard, dripping water from his swimsuit across the floor.
“Double shit,” I muttered under my breath. “Was that even twenty minutes?” I grabbed a piping bag and tried to write out “BABY” across the top in big block letters.
Cam was swiping a towel along the floor, while still dripping behind him. “Don’t worry about the puddles, just go get dressed.” He took off down the hall with the wet slap of feet, while I tried to fix my disaster of a cake. My hands weren’t any steadier than they’d been when I held the pregnancy test. I looked down at the cake with a discerning eye and winced. It wasn’t pretty, but it would have to do.
The front door opened, and my heart was pounding with excitement. I couldn’t wait to see Eric’s reaction. My grin was wide, cheeks warm, as I ran to meet him.
“Knock, knock,” someone said, and I frowned, slowing to a jog. That wasn’t Eric. Beck peeked in through the front door. “Everyone decent?”
“Of course we’re decent. It’s the middle of the day, and the front door was unlocked. Were you expecting an orgy?” I grumbled, hardly thrilled to see my brother right now. “What are you doing here?”
He made a face at me. “Well, hello to you too, grumpy pants.”
“I’m not grumpy; you just aren’t who I was expecting. What do you need?” I tried to play it casual, but I was talking too fast, and there was sweat beading along my hairline and dampening my shirt. I kept one ear open for Eric’s car in the driveway. I needed to get Beck out of here fast.
Beck’s eyes scanned me head to toe, before narrowing in suspicion. “Seriously, what is up with you? You’re acting all squirrelly.”
“Nothing is up with me!” I snapped. “Would you just get to the explaining already?”
He pursed his lips, and for a second, I thought he wouldn’t let it go. Then he finally relented. “I got a phone call this morning from a colleague. He’s supposed to be a keynote speaker at a vet symposium in Nashville this weekend, but something came up and he can’t make it, so he asked if I would fill in. I was just wondering if you could take Pepper for the weekend. I know it’s last minute, but I need to leave—”
“Yep. Sure. We’d love to. Is that all?” I was already nudging him toward the door.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I wasn’t welcome.”
