Chains by Kristine Allen
“Name”—The Goo Goo Dolls
Well, so much for telling Nico first.
“Our babies are going to grow up together!” Korrie said, full of excitement and smiles once the shock wore off. The guys had all convened inside to grab beer while the women chattered out by the pool.
All the women were ready to plan a baby shower and gender reveal.
“Don’t you do them together?” I asked.
“Psh!” Kira waved off my question. “If we break it up into two, then we can have cake and shit twice.”
I laughed at her logic, despite my worry at what this would do to Chains. It made me feel like shit that everyone would know before him. That was one thing I zipped my lips on.
“So, umm, who’s the father?” Korrie asked in a whisper with a slight wince.
My gaze dropped to my still wet top as I plucked at the embroidered hem. “Umm, well, I would rather not say yet.”
Crickets.
“Uhhh, okay,” Korrie warily replied, breaking the awkward silence.
“The dad doesn’t know yet,” I hedged, then regretted my words. What if they put two and two together? Everyone knew Chains had been gone a while.
“Oh,” said Loralei.
“Are you okay with this? Did we make you uncomfortable being so excited?” Korrie asked, worry in her eyes.
I actually laughed.
“Yeah, I’m okay with it. At first, I was scared, but I’m happy. Is it crazy that I’m already in love?” I asked. My palms pressed protectively to the swell of my belly.
“Absolutely not! I was in love with little Parker before I knew if he was a he or she,” Kira replied.
“Same, girl. Trace and Angeline owned my heart from the second I knew their tiny hearts were beating,” Korrie added.
Loralei pressed a hand to her own rounded belly. “I’m completely in agreement.”
Kira started to giggle, and Parker laughed in her lap.
“What’s so funny?” asked Loralei as she cocked her head to the side, giving Kira a look as if she’d lost her damn mind.
When Kira had control of her laughter, she wiped the tears from under her eyes and kissed Parker’s silky dark hair. “Look at us. We’re a walking talking baby factory. Must be something in the water at the clubhouse.”
My eyes went wide and I started to choke on my own damn spit. I grabbed my cup of water and gulped some down.
Korrie stared at me. My heart flipped and skipped as I watched the wheels in her head spinning. When her eyes bugged, I inwardly braced myself.
“It’s Chains,” she whispered.
“What?” I asked, pretending I had no clue what she was talking about. Another drink of water was in order to occupy my mouth.
“It’s Chains. He’s the dad, isn’t he?” she asked in a dramatic whisper. Everyone froze, and three stunned gazes locked on me.
“I—Why would you even think that?” I stuttered.
Korrie scoffed. “Look, your brother may be blind, whether it’s intentional or he’s really that dense, but we’ve all seen the way you two looked at each other. That man was damn near eating you alive with his eyes before he left.”
Inhaling deeply, I slowly let it out before casting a worried glance over my shoulder. “I don’t want the guys to know until I have a chance to tell Chains,” I said, tone heavy with worry.
“Hey, this is the girls’ club. Mum’s the word,” said Korrie as she made a zipping motion over her lips. The others nodded in agreement.
“But don’t be surprised if they don’t figure it out, too.” Loralei arched a brow as she looked at me.
“Do you think he’s going to be anything but over the moon?” Kira asked rhetorically.
My shoulders lifted to my ears before dropping in a slump.
“How did Venom take it when you first told him?” I asked Loralei. Their pregnancy was an oopsie as well.
Her laughter pealed out. “You mean after he got mad and shit his pants?”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I said, staring down into my cup and rattling the ice cubes.
“Stop. Don’t worry about the maybes and what-ifs. Because I can promise you, if he’s a dick about it, I’ll string him up by his balls my-damn-self.” Korrie said before she pursed her lips and made a sassy snapping with her fingers.
“Damn straight. We’ve got your back either way, sister,” Loralei said.
My gaze rose to stare across the yard. My cup dropped from my hands, water and ice splashing across the concrete.
“Oh shit!” I mumbled as I questioned what I’d seen.
“Jasmine!” they all called at once.
“Did you see that?” I asked with tremor in my voice as I stood. Blinking rapidly, I thought I must be crazy. That was the only explanation.
I rushed to the back of the yard that was enclosed with a wrought iron fence. Scanning the wooded area behind the houses and down behind the neighboring yards, I didn’t see a thing. But there was no freaking way I’d imagined it.
“What the heck are you looking at?” my sister-in-law asked as she stopped next to me, holding my now wide-awake niece.
“Korrie, I swear to God there was a wolf at the fence staring at me.”
The guys searched the entire area. I hadn’t lost my mind, because they found a single print in the dirt at the edge of the trees. Then absolutely nothing. No other sign of it. Which was crazy, because the trees open to CRP land and there was nowhere a freaking wolf could’ve hidden.
When I went to bed that night, I dreamed a large, gray wolf ripped Nico’s throat out.
I woke up screaming and covered in sweat.