Dylan
I’ve looked everywhere for Emma but just fucking can’t find her.
Why does she do this to me? She knows I worry about her in her condition.
When I go outside, I see her on the grass just below the veranda.
I can’t get angry. But I do wish she’d tell me where she’s going.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” I call out to her and walk down the stairs. Emma looks up and smiles at me.
“You haven’t looked everywhere.”
If she weren’t pregnant and holding our first born, I’d smack her for her cheekiness and take her upstairs to the bedroom for a good fuck. Heck, what am I saying? I’d fuck her right here right now.
Of course, I can’t with the little fellow on her hips.
I reach out to take Oliver from her.
“Bbbbb, beabeabe.”
My eyes find Emma’s. “Is he saying bear?”
Emma chuckles. “That or bee. I’m not sure. But look who’s come to visit.”
Over by the forest are two bears, one larger and one a little smaller. Between them are two cubs.
Wow.
Boss has been busy.
“Can you believe he keeps coming to visit?”
“Look, Oliver, those bear cubs could become your friends.” I point to where the bears are, and my son claps his hands together. He’s bouncing up and down in my arms and yelling something I can’t understand.
“I think he wants you to take him to see the bears close up.”
I smile and meander toward the happy family. Boss is pretty tame, but I think his lady friend has other ideas about how close she’ll let a human come to her cubs.
I totally understand and don’t push the friendship at all.
Oliver seems happy for me to stop. He can see them a little better. The two little ones are tumbling over each other, biting into their ears and around their neck. They make a very contented picture.
“Soon, you’ll have a little brother or sister,” I tell Oliver, but he’s not listening.
“Look after your family, Boss,” I call to the big bear and head back to the cabin. I want to get Emma inside. She should rest.
“Come on, babe,” I walk past her. “Time for a cup of tea.”
“I’m fine, Dylan. Really I am.”
I peer at her. She’s still a little pale. Two days ago, she had a bit of a fall, some bleeding, and a dizzy spell. I took her straight down the mountain to the city hospital for a checkup.
The doctors assured me everything is fine, just a minor hiccup, but I don’t want to take any fucking chances.
“I’m going to have some tea, and I think Oliver might have one, too.”
I lift the little fellow high up over my head and listen to his squeals of delight.
“Okay. I’ll come in.”
She falls into step beside me, and I glance at her. I still can’t believe how fucking lucky I am to have her by my side.
We did have a rocky road at the start, but once she decided she was okay to live here in the mountains with me, life couldn’t be better.
“I got an email from Phoebe this morning,” she tells me but I’m only listening with half an ear. I don’t really care how the company is doing. I’ve put all that behind me.
Of course, Emma still has her hands in it a little bit. She’s been asked to stay on as a consultant and overseer. Most of the work can be done remotely, from our cabin. From time to time, she visits the office, but I think that might be more for a social outing than anything else.
“And?” I feign interest. It’s important to Emma, so it should be important to me. Relationships are about give and take. Seeing Emma gave up her city lifestyle for me, the least I can do is give by listening to tales of things that interest her.
“Record profits for the last six months.”
“That’s hardly surprising with you at the helm.”
I put Oliver in his little bouncer and make a pot of tea. This latest batch of leaves is my best yet.
“You’re just saying that.”
Emma comes up behind me and wraps her arms around my waist. Her bulge makes it a little difficult to get her arms all the way around.
“I’m not.”
I turn toward her and kiss her. It’s a long slow kiss. Oliver is screeching.
Emma pulls away. “Feeling left out, little one?”
As if to say yes, he’s bouncing wildly up and down.
“I’ll get him,” I tell Emma and push her gently toward the couch. “You sit down and put your feet up.”
Grumbling something akin to protests, Emma heads to the couch.
For a while, neither of us says anything.
“How’s the woodwork going?”
With Oliver on my left hip, I take the hot cup of tea in my right and bring it over to Emma.
Since her pregnancy, she’s got this golden glow around her all the time. She looks so fucking hot I can barely keep my hands off her.
“I finished the latest order, but since then I’ve got another five or so orders that have come in.”
She grins.
“Phoebe also sent me a report on the progress of the reforestation of our forest.”
It’s not really our forest, we just like to call it that because it joins our boundary. It’s the reason Emma and I ended up getting up together. I suppose, in a way, I should be fucking grateful to those dishonest pricks who ran the company I helped build up. If they hadn’t turned to illegal operations—
I stop mid-thought. No point going over old ground.
If they hadn’t tried to kill Emma, I would never have rescued her, and blah, blah, blah.
“Apparently, the trees are doing better than expected,” Emma continues and interrupts my thoughts.
I sit down next to her and pick up her feet. She doesn’t complain, and I massage them. There’s no swelling or anything, but I like to show my support.
It looks so uncomfortable, this whole pregnancy thing.
“And according to the national park ranger, the bear numbers are up, too. With all the illegal logging activity, the habitat of the bears was destroyed, making it easier for poachers to shoot them and thus reduce their numbers.”
She pauses to take a sip of her tea. I watch her close her eyes and enjoy the taste sensation.
“This is very good…” She looks at me. “What’s different?”
“Leaf type, drying type, you know. I’m playing around with different options.”
Emma nods. “Anyway, looks like a happy end for everyone. And you know what?”
I shake my head. It can be hard to keep up with her. She’s so full of enthusiasm.
“We’re a shining example that running a business with no regards to the environment whatsoever doesn’t pay off. The company back then, you know, when it did all that terrible stuff, it wasn’t even making as much profit as we’re making now.”
Time to shake my head again.
“And we continue to put money into sustainable projects around the world and buy parcels of land for conservation.”
“Wonders will never cease.”
“No need to be cynical,” she closes her eyes and leans her head back against the couch.
“You okay? And I wasn’t being cynical.”
Emma shakes her head. “Enjoying the foot rub. Do you want to do my neck next?”
“Anything for you, babe.”
I fucking mean it. I’ll do anything for this woman, the love of my life. If it weren’t for her, I’d be still living surrounded by darkness and feeling miserable.
“Speaking of increasing bear numbers, I hope the ranger knows if a poacher shows his or her face around here, there might be another tree accident,” I say to Emma.
Her head snaps around.
“Don’t even say or think it,” she warns me.
“Come on. You wouldn’t stand by as some crazed maniac with a gun shoots at Boss or his bear cubs would you?”
I can see the inner struggle written all over her face. “No.” she agrees eventually. “But I’m not a fan of violence, and I also don’t believe in treating violence with violence.”
My hands stop massaging, and I lean forward to give her a kiss.
“Let’s hope then that no poacher will come within a hundred miles of our mountain and our bears.”
Emma doesn’t say anything. She grabs my hand and puts it on her belly.
“Feel it?”
A fist or a foot is punching against her tummy. It feels unreal.
“You see,” Emma looks at me. “Your unborn child also doesn’t approve of violence.”
I’m too excited by the feel of the little person growing inside Emma’s tummy to disagree with her.
Fuck.
Life is simply amazing.
Emma and I have created this little creature growing in her tummy.
My eyes find Oliver, who’s happily back-bouncing in his bouncer. When I look at him, I also can’t believe we made him.
And here we are, waiting for a sibling.
I can’t wait for the newest edition to the family to come and join us.