As they headed for the kitchen, there was another knock on the door, and Jude turned to answer it, welcoming Annie and Benji into the house.
“Hey, you two,” Annie said, greeting them with a smile. “How are you doing?”
“I’m good,” Julian said, then turned to Kiara.
“I’m doing good too, and so is baby boy.”
“No name yet?” Annie asked.
“Not yet,” Kiara replied. “We honestly haven’t really talked it over, but I have some ideas.”
Julian didn’t have much of a preference about the name. Considering Kiara was doing all the work of growing the baby, he kind of thought maybe she had more of a right to choose the name. Plus, he didn’t even remember their time together that had led to the pregnancy. This whole thing felt more like her show, and he was just along for the ride.
“Are you taking any suggestions?” Annie asked.
“People are welcome to offer suggestions, but I can’t guarantee we’ll take them,” Kiara said.
“Hey!” Angela came from the kitchen, approaching them with her arms open wide. She first hugged Kiara, then Annie. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
“It smells delicious,” Kiara said. “And I’m hungry.”
Angela laid a hand on Kiara’s belly, then bent over, her head close to the bump. “Hey there, little guy. Are you making Mommy hungry?”
Kiara chuckled, and for a moment, Julian was stuck on the wordMommy. Kiara was Mommy, and he was going to be Daddy. It was a stunning thought.
“Let’s go sit down,” Angela said, gesturing to the large table that was set with enough places for all of them.
“Can I help you with anything?” Kiara asked.
“Nope. Jude’s going to help me,” Angela said, reaching out to take her husband’s hand. “He’s been my assistant all day, and he’s done a great job.”
She beamed up at him, and a small smile crossed Jude’s face before he leaned over and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “She’s been a pretty good boss.”
Julian had a hard time believing Jude would let anyone boss him around, but there was something between the married couple that brought out a softness in the man. A side of Jude that Julian wasn’t sure he’d ever seen.
As Jude and Angela went to the kitchen, the rest of them made their way to the table. Julian pulled out a chair for Kiara. She gave him a curious look as she sat down and allowed him to help her scoot the chair closer to the table.
Julian had been taught how to treat a woman, but he realized that Kiara hadn’t been exposed to that type of treatment, especially from him. However, as the mother of his child, she deserved the best treatment he could offer her.
“It smells good,” Benji said as he sat down on the chair across the table from Julian. “And I’m hungry too.”
Jude came to the table with a large casserole dish, steam rising from its surface. After he’d set it on the table, he returned to the kitchen. Over the next few minutes, the couple carried in the rest of the meal.
After pouring them drinks—the options being water and juice—Jude and Angela sat down, each of them taking a seat at opposite ends of the table.
“Let’s pray,” Jude said, surprising Julian for a moment. He’d known Jude and Angela were both Christians, but sometimes he forgot that.
As he listened to his brother-in-law pray, Julian was reminded of Elijah and the many conversations they’d had about Elijah’s faith and what it meant to him.
Once the prayer was over, Angela said, “I made baked chicken with spinach dip and mozzarella cheese, roasted parmesan potatoes, honey-glazed carrots, and a Caesar salad.”
Also on the table were buns, which Julian suspected Angela had made herself.
Unlike the multi-course meals they often got at the main house, all the food was served at once. Julian found that he liked the more casual meal, and everything was delicious.
“This tastes great, Angie,” Kiara said. “Did you make the spinach dip yourself?”
Angela nodded. “I found a recipe for it. We had something similar when we were on our honeymoon, and I loved it so much that I decided I wanted to recreate it once we got home.”
