Cassidy laughs and touches Jake’s arm. “We’ll need to childproof more than just Jake’s vocabulary, I suppose.”
“That’s really cool of you.” So great that everyone’s pitching in to prepare for our babies. Even Jake seems to soften with his wife’s palm stroking his arm.
“Guess I do want to be there in the delivery room,” he mutters. “I gut fish for a living. How gross can it be?”
Hazel strides through again, looking a little bit pale. As I pick up my beer, an urge to protect her sweeps through me. “Probably shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves here. Seems like it should be up to the person giving birth who gets to be there watching.”
“Amen,” says Cassidy, bumping my can with her glass. “Good point, Luke.”
“Sure thing.” I may as well lay my cards on the table. “I’m open to being there. In the delivery room, I mean? I want to be supportive however I can.”
“Um, thanks.” Cass cocks her head. “That’s…something to consider.”
“No sweat.” Is it really so unusual for a father to witness the birth of his daughters? “I’m not squeamish at all, so I could cut the cord, catch the placenta—whatever needs doing, I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Jake tunes in at that moment. “Huh?”
He’s looking at me like the thought of a dad being there for the birth never crossed his mind. I know I should clear this with Hazel, but come on.
“My sister said skin-to-skin contact is really vital in those first hours after birth.” Ignoring the glare Jake shoots me, I keep going. “She had Cooper take off his shirt and hold their newborn against his chest as part of the bonding process. Maybe that sounds weird to some people—” like Jake Spencer-King, given the way his eyes narrow, “but I want to experience it all. I’ll gladly strip down to my skivvies in the delivery room to help welcome new little souls to the world.”
Jake sets down his glass with a thunk. “What the actual fucking fuck?”
“Jake—” Lucy starts, but she’s shifting uncomfortably.
Everyone is, come to think of it. Even Harper takes longer than normal to chime in.
“Swearing makes me want to do weird things in public,” she mumbles. “Like taking off my clothes in other people’s hospital rooms.”
Why are they being so uptight about this? “It’s not like I haven’t seen her naked. I mean?—”
“Oh my God, Luke.” Hazel sucks in a breath at the door from the kitchen. She’s staring in horror, and I get the strange sense this is one of those times I’ve misread the moment completely. “Please,” she hisses. “Shut the fuck up.”
Lucy’s eyes widen. She’s so stunned by her buttoned-up cousin’s curse that she doesn’t seem to know what to say. Harper lets out a squeak of bewilderment.
“Hearing Hazel say bad words has me really confused.” Harper wrinkles her nose and scans the table. “It gives me the urge to smash plates.”
Noah’s beside her, silent up until now. Staring me down, he picks up his dinner plate.
“Be my guest, kid.” He hands her the plate, then points at my chest. “You,” he says, frowning. “Did you knock up my cousin?
Swallowing hard, I glance over at Hazel. Her complexion has gone from pale white to green. Her helpless shrug leaves me no choice, so I turn back to Noah and utter the words I last spoke in a courtroom.
“Guilty as charged, your honor,” I say to a symphony of audible gasps. “Guilty as charged.”
“Goodnight, you two.” Lucy laughs as she files toward the door. “Thanks for the most memorable family dinner we’ve had in a long time.”
“Uh, you’re welcome.” I’m conscious of Hazel beside me, doing her best to keep her chin held high.
Erika swoops in and puts a stop to that. “You bitch,” she hisses, laughing as she yanks Hazel in for a hug. “I knew it. I fucking knew you had the hots for him.”
Lucy looks at me and smiles. “To be fair, we thought it was a crush. The pregnancy was a huge surprise.”
“A good surprise,” Peter puts in.
“Absolutely.” Lucy gives me a hug, stretching on tiptoe to whisper in my ear. “Take care of her, okay? She’ll act like she doesn’t need it, but she does.”
“I will.” I swallow a lump in my throat. “And I’ll email you that slaw recipe.”
