Charlotte’s gaze fastened on me. “Madison? Are you…?”
“Yep. Almost two months along now.”
Charlotte burst into tears, holding her free arm open for me to lean down into a hug. “I’m so happy for you. I don’t mean to cry. I think the breastfeeding hormones might be worse than the pregnancy ones when it comes to that.”
“Cry all you need to. I don’t mind. Ava did too when she found out.”
Charlotte sniffled, mopping her cheeks with a tissue. “I can’t believe how much everything has changed for you. I hoped for it, but…” She lost herself to a fresh surge of tears.
“I should have listened to you a lot sooner.” I puffed out a breath. “I guess I’m as stubborn as fate, so things had to happen the way they did.”
“I might know a little bit about being stubborn,” Charlotte said with a laugh. “If you need anything, or have any questions, please don’t hesitate. You kept a lot back to spare me stress, but we’re friends. Iwantyou to give me the stress. I’m not here only for the fair weather, I’m here for the storms, too, like I know you would be for me.”
That got my tears going, too. We were both sniffling away, telling each other how much we appreciated the friendship, when Dylan appeared at the door with smoothies and already cut up steak dinners.
“Talk about service.” I chuckled as Dylan set the plates down within reach for both of us.
“Not like she can easily handle a knife and fork when there’s a baby on the titty.” Dylan beamed. “Gotta help our girl where we can, and since you’re hanging onto a baby, too, inside and out,you get treated to the same service. Congrats by the way. Your guys are terrible at keeping secrets.”
“Thank you. And that’s okay, I already told Charlotte and they had permission to tell you today.”
“Good to know. Eat up, ladies. I’ll bring up dessert in a bit.” Dylan left us in peace and I settled onto another of the rocking chairs after pulling it closer to Charlotte’s.
“You’ve got a whole paradise out here.”
A person might never guess Las Vegas was so close with how wild it was outside her windows.
“It’s honestly everything I ever dreamed of. A house on a ranch, kids everywhere, a pack who loves me. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Fate did an amazing job.”
“I was terrified at first, when fate ripped the rug out from under me.”
“Me, too.” Charlotte speared a bite of steak with her fork, chewing thoughtfully.
I went for the loaded baked potato first, my stomach rumbling now that it knew food was incoming. “This is delish.”
“Dylan has gotten really into barbecuing,” Charlotte explained. “I’m not complaining, though.”
“I wouldn’t either.”
When Emilia started fussing, we traded babies. I got in some practice burping DJ while Emilia ate. Marcelo was still adorably sleeping each time I looked in on him. They were so cute I could hardly stand it.
“We’re happy to babysit anytime,” I told Charlotte. “I know it’ll be a while yet before you’re ready to leave them, but the pack could probably use some practice.”
“I’ll definitely take you up on it. Are you all planning on parenting classes?”
“Honestly, I haven’t looked into it yet. I figured I would learn from the best,” I said, gesturing to her and holding my breathwhen DJ combined a burp and spit up. I tossed the burp cloth into their laundry hamper and cradled the baby close while I wiped his little face. “My dude, that was gross.”
“Just wait.” Charlotte laughed again. “That’s probably the lightest of the horrors you’ll get to experience.”
“I would ask for details, but then I wouldn’t be able to eat my steak.”
“Good choice.” Instead of listing the horrors, Charlotte talked to me about the earliest days with her babies, what I could expect, and how bonded scent matches could help alleviate pregnancy symptoms. I listened, already planning nursery options in my head.
I had my pack, but having Charlotte too made me feel a lot better about the journey I was on. I had spent so much of my life denying the things I truly wanted, and once that leash was off, I had grabbed all of it at once. Thankfully, it had worked out.
“We’re going to have so many babies in the family,” Charlotte commented. “Ava is due right away, and yours will be here before we hit any first birthdays. I’m so excited! I had a hard time making mom friends back in New York. Ava’s been a godsend, and now I have you, too.”
“Thanks for laying the groundwork so I don’t have to flounder in that department. I definitely need to get to know Ava better. Maybe Tyler will move and it won’t be weird to visit her.”
