He blinked at her. “That’s usually what happens, yeah.”
“Dad, it smells so gross. God. Please, no.” She gagged and ran from the room.
All right. So they were hitting that stage of pregnancy. He sighed, shoved the beef into a resealable bag, and tossed it into the freezer. His homemade burger plan would have to wait a month or maybe six. He gazed longingly at the mushrooms he’d picked up, decided it wasn’t worth risking those either, and stomped after his daughter.
“I’m going to Mac’s for takeout, do you want anything?”
From the other side of her closed bedroom door he heard a groan.
Knocking, he raised his voice a bit. “Bec? Can I come in?”
She opened it and gave him the saddest face he’d ever seen. “Can you get me some French fries?”
He frowned. “Yeah.”
“I can’t keep anything else down, Dad.”
“It’s fine. But you should call your midwife.”
“She has a name, you know. You keep calling her the midwife. I told you, I talked to Kerry last week about this, and she said it was normal.”
“Does she know you want French fries for dinner?”
“She told me to eat crackers. Fries are the same as crackers.”
“They are not.”
“Are they not, though?” She gave him a skeptical look.
He waited, but she wasn’t going to budge.
“I’m fine as long as you don’t cook any meat,” she said with a pout.
God help him. “All right. I’ll be back. Should I eat my burger at the diner or can I bring it home?”
She rolled her eyes. “You can bring it home. You just can’tcook itat home.”
“Good to know.”
By the time he pulled into the gravel parking lot, there was a text message from Becca, too.
Becca:And a milkshake! Vanilla. Kerry said I can drink milk, so don’t even start.
Becca: I love you.
Owen: You’re pushing it, kiddo.
Becca: la la la la love you.
The place was busy,so instead of standing by the counter, he turned and scanned the room. On any given day, there was a solid chance of an army buddy or a fellow first responder sitting in a booth.
Today was no different. Sprawled in a corner spot was his youngest brother, Adam, and a fellow ex-soldier, Stevie. Owen waved at them, then put in his takeout order with the waitress—including the milkshake for Becca and a slice of pecan pie for himself, because why the hell not—and pointed across the room. “I’ll be over there, holler when it’s ready.”
Adam and Stevie both had drinks, but no food yet. They all shook hands, and Adam gestured to the seat next to Stevie. “You want to join us?”
“I’m good. I’ve been sitting all day. Ryan Howard and I were at a leadership conference for the brigade. And I’m taking dinner home, anyway.”
“Sitting all day sounds good right about now,” Adam said. “We just finished a move.”
