“And the baby?”
“Perfectly healthy,” Morrison said, still grinning. “About three weeks along, based on the ultrasound. The due date is approximately late April.”
“April,” my mom repeated, her eyes getting misty. “A spring baby.”
“Aries or Taurus,” I said. “Depending on the exact date.”
“Either way, very strong-willed,” my dad added, appearing on my other side. “Just like their parents.”
“Woody,” my mom said, “we’re going to be grandparents again!”
“I know!” My dad was beaming. “This is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!”
“Again?” Fitz asked.
“Our son, Dimiter, has a son, Orion, with his wife, Henley,” my mom explained. “And our daughter, Phoebe, who’s married to Priest, a brother in the Sons of Hell Motorcycle Club, had Tad through a surrogate. Our oldest, Freyja—she’s the one married to Duncan; he’s in the Irish Mob,” my mom added proudly. “They are due soon.”
“So this will be grandchild number four.” My dad smiled.
Gabriel looked at Fitz and mouthed,Biker club?
Fitz shrugged, mouthing,Irish Mob?
“And the first one who’ll be raised by a man who faints at good news,” Hayden added, ignoring the questions on everyone else’s faces.
“Hayden!” I gasped.
“What? I’m just stating facts.”
“You’re being mean.”
“I’m beingaccurate.”
Julien made a small sound. Not quite a groan, not quite a sigh, and everyone immediately fell silent.
We all stared at him.
He didn’t move.
“False alarm,” Nathan groaned.
“Damn,” Hayden muttered. “I wanted to see his face when he woke up.”
“You’ll see it eventually,” Quinton said. “And it’s going to bespectacular.”
“Do you think he’ll cry?” Winnie asked.
“Julien doesn’t cry,” Gabriel said.
“He might now,” Fitz said. “This is a lot.”
“He’s going to panic,” Hayden predicted. “Full spiral. Probably try to create a spreadsheet for the baby’s entire life before it’s even born.”
“Oh God,” Nathan said. “He’s going to make aschedule.”
“Feeding times, sleeping times, developmental milestones.”
“Color-coded by trimester.”
