Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 70171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
And I did say our family.
After coming upon the wreck as he was heading my way to check on me since apparently, I ‘hadn’t checked in in a while,’ Downy had invited himself, his wife, his son and my sister to the already going to be full family dinner that we were meeting at.
Which led us to now, standing outside in front of the Blue Goose, staring at all the motorcycles and bikes in the parking lot.
After parking next to who I knew was Bayou, Piper’s brother-in-law, I got off and held my hand out for Piper.
She took it and squeezed.
“I won’t break.” She rolled her eyes. “You could’ve at least gone the speed limit.”
“You’re not riding on that bike again after tonight until you’ve delivered,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You’ll also not give me any shit about that.”
She rolled her eyes and then yanked me forward.
“Holy shit,” I said as I took the parking lot in. “Surely this isn’t all our family.”
Piper snorted and made her way inside, never letting go of my hand.
She hadn’t since I’d peeled myself up out of the chair that my ass had hit when we’d gotten the news.
The first thing I saw when we entered was a giant Blue Goose hanging from the ceiling.
The next thing I saw was Pru and Phoebe who were running toward us.
They skidded to a stop in front of both of us and moved their eyes from Piper to me and back. “So…what did you learn? Are you pregnant?”
I laughed then.
I couldn’t help myself.
Not because of what they said, but because of what I’d just learned about twenty minutes before.
“We’re going to announce it at the table but suffice it to say…yes.” She glanced at me nervously.
I wasn’t nervous anymore.
At least, I didn’t think that I was.
Not about the pregnancy, anyway.
What I was nervous about was the fact that we were still in the early stages, and I found myself irrationally excited about what was to come for us in the next nine months.
“Well…is being pregnant a good thing or a bad thing?” Pru asked, looking worried now. “You’re acting weird.”
I snorted.
Piper squeezed my hand.
“It’s a good thing. We’re both happy…just nervous,” she said. “Let’s go order. I’m absolutely starving.”
So, that was what everyone did. We sat down, ordered our food, said our hellos, drank a few drinks, and then Sam finally couldn’t take it anymore and said, “Out with it already, goddammit. You’re giving me angina.”
Piper squeezed her eyes shut.
She also squeezed my hand.
Did that mean that she wanted me to tell them?
I opened my mouth and let it all fly.
“Piper had an ultrasound today after her accident. She is indeed pregnant.”
Cheyenne started clapping her hands.
Sam’s eyes narrowed.
There was silence from my half of the family.
I looked over at them and found Downy staring at me with a frown.
“What aren’t you sharing?” he asked, catching on that there was something more going on here.
I cracked my neck.
“There’s not just one baby,” I admitted. “There’s three.”
Cheyenne gasped.
Aspen’s mouth fell open.
Downy started laughing.
Sam groaned.
And the rest of the family at the table started to cheer.
I was honestly unsure what I should do or say at this point.
I was still in shock.
Never in my life had I ever contemplated more than one child at a time.
Hell, it wasn’t until lately that I’d even contemplated children at all. Yet, here I was, sitting at a table with our family, telling them that I had three children on the way.
And I was actually excited about it.
Excited. About the fact that I was about to have three children.
Holy shit.
The reality of the situation hit me, and I couldn’t stop from looking at Piper and saying, “I suddenly just got really nervous.”
Piper’s eyes widened. “I’ve been nervous.”
I pulled her in by tugging on her hand until she was leaning into my chest, then placed a kiss to the side of her head before saying, “It’ll be okay.”
She shook her head. “I know it will.”
“That’s the best news ever!” I heard Lock say. “The one man on the entire force that nobody ever expected to settle down, marry, or have children. And now you’re having three.”
“Why didn’t they expect that?” Phoebe asked, leaning forward so she could see down the line of the table.
“Because he’s a dick to everyone,” Downy supplied. “Nobody thinks he can be nice to a girl long enough to talk her into his bed. Yet he’s managed to find a good one, one that actually loves him and doesn’t think he’s a dick, and now he’s having babies with her. Way to prove them wrong, Jonah.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”
“He’s not a dick,” Cheyenne said. “He’s been perfectly nice to me each and every time that I’ve met him.”
“He also just told the waiter that he should probably study the bar’s menu items so he’d know what was on tap and wouldn’t look stupid in front of his tables,” Bayou supplied helpfully. “Not that I didn’t agree with him. I just managed to keep it from coming out of my mouth. I like my food sans spit.”