Janie sat down across the room from them, where she’d originally been sitting, her excitement at the idea of a grand-baby visibly deflated.
“I’m not saying that you can’t all be there, you just can’t be in the delivery room,” Brandt said.
“Since when has any of us been in the delivery room of any one of you, except for Angelle, and that was because no one but me knew her mother?!” Delilah said testily.
“I didn’t mean that no one could come to the hospital. I just meant no one in the delivery room,” Brandt said.
“Perhaps you should express yourself more clearly,” Delilah snapped.
“We don’t want to pressure you, or make you uncomfortable in any way. We just want to be a part of it. Your baby is going to be only the second of a new generation. We’re excited, too, and so very happy for you,” Everly said.
“Look, you want to know the reason we kept it quiet?” Brandt asked.
“I think you owe us that much,” Bane snapped, trying to ride the line between comforting his mate, and giving Brandt and Tempest the privacy they did rightly deserve. “I mean, I know you have your privacy and all, but you could have confided in mom and me.”
Brandt shared a look with Tempest who gave a slight nod. “The thing is, we weren’t sure it was a viable pregnancy, and we didn’t want to have more hearts than ours broken if anything went wrong.”
“Oh, my gosh!” Janie said, getting up and rushing over to hug them both, but especially Tempest. “That’s the kind of thing you need family around you the most for. You shouldn’t have to bear all that by yourself. Lean on us. That’s what we’re for.”
“Is there a problem?” Bam asked. “I can help if there is.”
“Me, too,” Daisy said.
“Not exactly, but the way Tempest heals is that she takes whatever she’s healing into herself, then her body, her magics, rid her system of it. They see whatever illness or injury she’s absorbed into herself as an invader and destroy it.”
“So you thought that the embryo…” Daisy said, realizing where they were going with it.
Tempest nodded. “Might be attacked by my own body. I wanted to wait until I knew for sure that everything would be okay. I was thinking the hardest thing to bear would be the pitying looks. And it would be so tough because it would have been my own body that did it. It’s so screwed up if you think about it.”
“Nonsense,” Delilah said, striding directly to her and placing her hands on her upper arms, while looking directly into her eyes. “It’s the way you’re made. And there is nothing screwed up or wrong about it. It’s just the way you are, and we love you. I completely understand, as do we all. And we will be there for you at any and all times, no matter what happens.”
“Absolutely!” Janie said.
“Without a doubt,” Everly said.
“Anything at all you need,” Daisy said.
“And we’ll guard the door and keep anybody you don’t want to see away,” Bane offered.
“Yep. We’re not all that damn good at consolation and nurturing, but we’re damn good at guarding,” Maverik said.
“That we are,” Kaid said.
“Except me. I’m good at making things better. I’ll be with the ladies helping you feel better,” Bam said.
“Thank you for understanding,” Tempest said.
“So, now what? Do you want us to pretend we don’t know, unless you bring it up? Because if you do, we can do that,” Delilah said.
“No, it’s out now. Just keep your fingers crossed, and send up a few prayers, or requests or whatever it is you believe might help to whoever it is you believe in.”
“Who do you pray to when you need a little extra favor in your life?” Janie asked.
Tempest smiled as though she was remembering her childhood. “I send a little prayerful request to my Aunt Lucitari, or my Uncle Lore, or my mother. If it’s about nature I send a request to my Uncle Terrus — he’s more focused on the Earth and all the wild creatures and such.”
She didn’t notice when everyone shared hesitant looks at one another, Delilah included.
“So, if your Uncle Terrus is more focused on things that have to do with the Earth and nature, what do the others focus on?” Delilah finally asked.
