His brows draw together. “Should you be working? Do you want to lie down?”
I have to laugh at the level of concern. “I’m okay, really. It’s normal. There are going to be a lot of days like this, so I have to power through. Small price to pay for pups, right?”
“I don’t like that you’re the one paying the whole price,” he grumbles, but I can tell his mind is eased somewhat. “So…when I got your text, I tried to make an appointment with Helena to confirm the pregnancy, but the clinic said the at-home tests were good enough, and we just need to schedule regular prenatals. They suggest a visit every seven to ten days since it’s an interspecies pregnancy, which can be more unpredictable. I was wondering if you want to schedule them? Or if you give me your work hours, I can schedule around them.”
Clashleigh is circling like a shark in my peripheral vision, so it’s hard for me to concentrate on what he’s saying. “Can we talk about it later? I’ll call you after my shift is over.”
“Oh. Sure. Of course.” His tail droops. “I didn’t mean to bother you.”
“I’m glad you came,” I insist. Itisa special day for us. I don’t know why I keep having this instinct to tamp down positive feelings and make it less than it is.
For some reason, I keep thinking I don’t deserve to be happy about being pregnant. But just because I married Richard twenty-one years ago doesn’t mean my mate bond with Ian is any less real. If this was my first baby, I’d be jumping for joy. Taking the day off work. Letting Ian fuss over me and reading the pregnancy book together.
I meet his eyes. “Thank you for checking up on me. That was very sweet and thoughtful of you.”
His tail gives a tentative wag as we share a smile. “Until later.”
The second he leaves, Ashleigh pounces. “Is that a friend of yours? That’s the second time you’ve been fraternizing with him on the floor. You know it’s against policy to socialize with non-customers while you’re clocked in.”
It’s his fourth visit, actually, but who’s counting.
“He is a customer. He bought a book every time, and you got the sales commissions,” I point out. “But if you want, I can tell himnotto come here to get books. I’m sure he can order them online or something.”
She frowns, and I can almost see the gears in her head turning. If she gets the pleasure of putting a report in my file, she also loses a paying customer. Oh, the conundrum. I have to bite back a laugh.
“Hm. Well, if it becomes an issue, I’ll have to write you up.”
“Got it.” I go back to setting up a table of illustrated hardback classics, and thankfully, she leaves me alone for the rest of my shift.
When I clock out and head for the parking lot, I find a bouquet of fall-colored flowers on the hood of my car. And when I get home, there’s a bag of groceries waiting on my porch: mint tea, ginger gummies, sour lollipops, crackers.
I guess Ian read the book.
Chapter 21
Ian
We talk on the phone. Sync our digital calendars, which feels weirdly intimate. Schedule the prenatal appointments through December, because her projected due date is right before the new year. The first one is next week, but it can’t come fast enough. I hate being away from her. She’s all I think about, whether I’m running logs through the splitter or staring at the ceiling waiting to fall asleep.
So the next time Julia is scheduled to work, I find myself at Dog-Eared Pages during story time,browsing the nonfiction and eavesdropping on Julia as she reads aloud to an audience of under-sixes.
I know they don’t have ears yet, but I like the idea that our pups are listening to her read, too.
“Can I help you find something?” the tight-ponytailed manager asks me, her lips drawn thin with a fake smile.
I suppress my huff of annoyance that she interrupted the story at the good part and fumble for an excuse to be loitering among the shelves near the children’s section. “Uh, yes. I’m looking for a baby-name book.”
“This is the astronomy section,” she says dryly, pointing at the sign above the shelves. She beckons me to follow her to another corner of the store, out of earshot of the reading area. The same area where she sold me the pregnancy book two days ago.
The manager runs her finger over a few of them to show me where they are on the shelf.The Geeky Orc’s Guide to Naming Offspring. The World’s 10,000 Best Baby Names.Name Your Whole Clutch in Five Easy Steps.
“Some sound species-specific, but don’t let the titles limit you. Browse for the one you click with, and then I can ring you up.”
Although I’m grumpy that she made me miss the end of story time, I have to admit that she’s beingvery helpful. “Thanks,” I say grudgingly, picking one up to flip through.
“Any time! Congrats on the new baby!” She pauses, a crafty look coming over her face. “If you don’t mind me asking, how do you know Julia?”
I’ve only witnessed a few interactions with this woman, and I already know she’s trouble. I’m not giving her any ammunition. “Oh, she helped me pick out some books to give as gifts a few weeks ago. Very helpful.”
