Chapter Twenty-Five
Miles
After our excursion in the woods, Jethro left to run some errands, and I got dinner started. Cooking was never a skill Father had encouraged me in but Julian was a keen cook and was teaching me. My repertoire wasn’t broad, but I was improving with each meal.
Jethro returned, and we ate, chatting about the plans for the clan. There was an idea I’d been thinking about but I wasn’t sure when was the best time to approach it.
“There’s going to be a lot of kids on the estate soon,” Jethro said, giving me the opening I’d been looking for.
“I wanted to talk to you about that, actually.”
“Oh?” He smiled at me and there was something under it that I didn’t quite understand.
“Did you know the previous clan had a crèche and preschool in the clan house? And one of the other buildings was a school?”
“I’d heard that, yes. Why, what were you thinking?” He was curious and seemed eager to hear what I had to say.
“Well, I’ve been looking at the numbers. We don’t really have enough to justify a school just yet but…” I hesitated.
“But…” Jethro prompted.
“Something for younger kids would be useful. We have the numbers and we have space. The only thing we don’t have is someone with the necessary qualifications.”
“A qualification isn’t essential to look after children of that age,” Jethro said. “So you could study part-time while you set things up. You’d probably need a second pair of hands anyway, so we could get someone already qualified in to help you.”
“You… you don’t mind?”
“If you weren’t going to suggest it, I would have.”
I put my fork down and just drank him in. It felt like a dream, to be here, to have this man as my Alpha.
He reached across the table and took my hand. “When I told you that you could be more, I meant it. If I could, I’d give you everything you wanted.”
“I’d like a baby.”
He grinned at me across the table, raising his eyebrows. “I’m working as hard as I can on that front.”
After dinner, he took me by the hand and led me to bed, proving just how hard he was willing to work to give me what I wanted.
Jethro kissing my bare shoulder was a lovely way to wake up. I moaned and his lips moved to my neck and then down between my shoulder blades.
His mouth left my skin, leaving me bereft, until he whispered in my ear.
“I have a present for you.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
Since we’d arrived at the clan house he’d given me a clarinet and a set of paints and brushes. I cherished them, but I cherished the time he gave to me more.
He reached over me to the bedside table, opening the drawer and pulling something out. He laid it next to me on the pillow. It was a thin white stick.
“It works best first thing in the morning.”
I turned to look at him and he leaned in, whispering an explanation into my ear.
Not ten minutes later, I was sitting at the end of the bed while Jethro paced back and forth in front of me. The white stick sat on the dresser. Three minutes. It seemed like an eternity to us, as it had once before.
“Do you really think-” I started to ask before falling silent again.
Jethro took a seat next to me, clasping my hand tightly.
“How long left?” I asked.
He checked his watch. “Thirty seconds. Do you want to count it down?”
“I can’t wait. What if it’s… but what if it’s not…”
I couldn’t finish a sentence.
“Well, we don’t have to wonder much longer.” He stood up and held out a hand. I took it and let him help me to my feet. My knees were trembling, my heart racing. It would mean so much, in so many ways.
We crossed to the dresser. The little window in the white stick was now adorned with a pink cross. I grabbed hold of Jethro as my knees went weak.
He laughed with joy and pulled me into his arms, kissing me soundly.
“I knew it. Oh Miles, are you happy?”
My hands were on his shoulders, my eyes looking up into his. “We’re having a baby.”
“We are. The first of many, not just for us, but for the clan. But are you happy?” he asked again.
“Very, very much.”
Tears escaped my eyes, running in little rivulets down my cheeks. “I love you. I don’t have the words to tell you how much.”
“You don’t need words because I feel it too.”
The joy of finding out we were expecting buoyed us through the next few days as we went to the doctor at the military base to have the pregnancy confirmed.
Doctor Hayes was a little abrupt but Jethro knew her and seemed to like her.
“Well, it’s early days. I’d say about seven weeks. Which would tally with when you bonded yes?”
“Yes,” Jethro confirmed, squeezing my hand.
“The South will want it confirmed by their own doctor. I’ll contact them. They’ll be here by the end of the week.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
“But what if…” I bit my lip to silence my fears. What if they did something to affect the pregnancy?
“I’ll be there the whole time,” Jethro said. “I won’t let them hurt you or the baby.”
“And I’ll be there to oversee every step of the way. No harm will come to you by their hands, I promise you that,” Doctor Hayes said, her eyes flashing with anger. “Please, try not to worry. It’s a formality. Every member of staff here is on your side. We’ll make it go as smoothly as we can.”
“Thank you, Doctor Hayes,” Jethro said.
“Yes, thank you,” I managed to stammer out.
Arm in arm, Jethro and I left. We’d walked from the clan house to the base, taking advantage of the warm day, and now we strolled back.
“We’re going to be together every step of the way,” Jethro assured me as we walked.
Except that we wouldn’t.
“They’re sending you away.”
“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that, actually.”
Jethro slowed to a stop and turned so we were face to face. Maybe they weren’t sending him away after all?
“Given that you’re expecting, they won’t let you travel overseas. So, instead, I’ll return home for one week in every four.”
“Really? That’s great.”
“There’s a downside to it.”
“What’s that?”
“I have to make up the time, so the total deployment will be five months instead of four. But, on the bright side, I’ll be here for the birth and for at least six months after.”
“Can’t they delay your deployment?” I didn’t want to be alone. Not yet.
He tugged me closer, wrapping his arms around me. “I wish. But this is the price I have to pay for what I did. The sooner I get it over with, the better. But don’t worry. You’ll be well looked after here. The clan will take care of you and the military will look after the medical side of things.”
One of his hands slipped between us, pressing against my stomach. There wasn’t anything to feel, not yet. But there would be.
“Jet?” someone called, and we broke apart as Blaise jogged toward us. Things would be okay. We’d spent a lifetime apart, we’d survive another sixteen weeks if it meant we couldn’t be parted for good.