“Well, lucky for us you ain’t losin’ me.”
“It just finally all…hit me.” He looked at Dewi. “Andyou.” He reached out andboopedher nose with his finger, something he hadn’t done since she was a kid. “You’re going to be the death of me yet. Thank god your baby’s half Ken’s, because maybe she’ll get at least half of his common sense and better judgement and sense of self-preservation.”
Dewi smiled. “I don’t know if I should feel insulted or not.”
“Yes,” Duncan said with a smile.
Beck pulled himself together, hugging everyone, saving Dewi, then Duncan for last. “I am sorry,” Beck said. “I just…” He sucked in another long breath and slowly blew it out. “Feels like my brain short-circuited for a moment.”
Duncan smiled. “It happens at least once to all new fathers who aren’t sociopaths, usually during the first pregnancy. Hey, Badger.” Duncan waited until Badger turned and looked at him. “Lemon. Meringue. Pie.”
Badger’s face went blank before he howled with laughter, so long and hard that he had to lean over to catch his breath. Between gasps he pointed at Duncan and wheezed, “You… feckin’…twat!”
Dewi knew Beck’s look of confusion had to mirror hers. “What?”
But Duncan’s placid smile remained unmoved. “Never mind.” He turned back to Beck. “Suffice it to say new-father-terror-induced meltdowns are common. And as Ken reminded me that day we met, we’repack. And no matter what, we always will be.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Dewi
Ken and Dewifinally headed home an hour later. She felt exhausted but she knew she couldn’t go to sleep that night without talking to Ken first.
A serious discussion.
Dewi sank onto the end of their bed and looked up at Ken. “Are you upset with me about today?”
He didn’t answer, at first. “Define upset?”
She stared at him, waiting, knowing she couldn’t deflect, or let him deflect, either.
“Am I concerned?” he finally said. “Yes. Am I happy? No. Am I frustrated that you didn’t immediately call me when you guys realized you didn’t have the right baby? Absofuckinglutely.” He stared down at her. “Sometimes, it feels like you’re actively trying to box me into a corner where I have to be an asshole and put my foot down, and I’m not that guy. I don’twantto be that guy, either. If you activelywantme to be that guy,tellme so we can negotiate it, and I’ll be happy to play along. But if you organically want me to be that guy, all the time, it won’t happen. If this is going to be a recurring problem then we need to figure out an equitable solution that’s going to work for both of us. I have no problem being playfully pushy with you when it comes to sexytime, but I don’t want to keep having these kinds of conflicts with you just because I refuse to be an asshole to you.”
“I really am sorry,” she said. “I didn’t expect any of that to happen. If it wasn’t for the fact it was about two babies I wouldn’t have done it, I swear. But I was afraid if we lost him we’d then be bogged down for days or maybe even weeks trying to track down the right people. I couldn’t risk it. You can ask Joaquin. Before the guy took off running, I’dliterallyjust told Joaquin I wanted to do it fast, quietly, and get out of there. In and out. Easy-peasy. Almost like I jinxed it by saying that,” she added in a mutter.
He sat next to her. “I know. I realize that. That’s why I’m tryingreallyhard to be understanding, Dewi. It’s your job, and Igetit. But any time you cut me out of the loop like this it makes it harder for me not feel like maybe you don’t trust me.”
“What do you mean? I trust you!”
“Then why didn’t you immediately tell me what happened with the wrong baby? Of anybody, I should have been your first call.”
“I—” Her mouth snapped shut.
He sadly nodded. “Exactly. You worried I’d put my foot down and demand that you hold until we could send reinforcements to you.”
She finally nodded. “Maybe,” she softly said.
He curled his fingers around her hand. “I wouldn’t have, sweetheart. This wasn’t a missing dog—it was a missingbaby. Despite my personal concerns, absolutely I would have deferred to you to take whatever actions you deemed necessary.”
She leaned against him. “You’re right. I should have trusted you. I promise I’ll try harder not to be like that.” She sighed. “Do I get brownie points for not woodchipping the guy, though?”
Ken snorted, draping an arm around her and pulling her close. “You do, baby.” he nuzzled the top of her head. “And making Henry punch himself in the balls was a nice touch. Classy.”
“Effective,” she said. “Maybe he’ll render himself sterile. Or at least not wanting to fuck around for a while.” A thought hit her. “Hey, did you know the phrase is ‘easy peasy lemon squeezy’?”
He cocked his head at her. “What?”
She felt her cheeks heat. “Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.”
