by Jayne Rylon
A baby would change everything.
Again.
5
Kate tapped her fingers on the steering wheel of her car. She’d never driven this far by herself before, especially without Mike knowing what she was up to. He would probably be pissed, but she’d been careful. Plus, the rest of the crew were well aware of where she was going and when to expect her call telling them that she’d arrived safely.
Besides, he’d get over it when she informed him of her big, and still unbelievable, news.
She rested her hand low on her stomach. As the miles rolled away, she took the chance to really think about everything for the first time. With Morgan and Joe in Middletown for at least the entire summer, and probably longer, she was going to have to figure out how to be pregnant on her own.
Sure, the rest of the crew would be there, but neither Kayla nor Devon had ever wanted kids and they couldn’t understand what she was about to go through the same way Morgan always had. Both of the other times she’d done this, Morgan had been pregnant too. They’d been inseparable since elementary school and, somehow, going through this without the support of her best friend seemed nearly impossible. Especially now that she was older and things were riskier.
Phone calls and video chats could only do so much when you needed a hug.
Speaking of, she could sure use one of those. Thankfully, she realized with a slow blink, she was only about twenty miles away from Hot Rods. The past several hours had flown by as she reflected on her fears, the blossoming joy and hope that she was almost afraid to embrace, and the anticipation of letting Mike in on her secret.
Kate turned into the parking lot beside the Hot Rods garage. She turned off the car, then sat there, staring through the trees at the clearing that hadn’t been there last time she’d visited. The land had already been leveled and the outline of a multistory structure rose up from the forest.
Wow, that was going to be a hell of an upgrade for the Hot Rods gang.
No wonder Joe was freaking out about getting it right. This was an even bigger opportunity for him than she’d fully realized.
Hopefully she’d done the right thing by coming there and interrupting. The familiar whir of power tools from both the garage beside her and the site out back calmed her. But she obviously sat there a little too long. Someone must have noticed, because a familiar form materialized on the path out of the woods.
Despite the mottled shade falling on him, she knew it was Mike right away. His determined, long-legged strides, the way he whipped his hardhat off and stowed it under his arm, and his favorite red work shirt tucked into sexy-as-hell ripped jeans—yep, she would recognize her husband anywhere.
“Kate?” Mike shouted as he raced toward her car. She hadn’t even climbed out or stretched her legs when he came bounding to meet her. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah.” She smiled. He steadied her as she unfolded herself, then stood and held her arms out for the reassuring embrace she so desperately needed right then. “Things are…great, actually. I mean, I think they are.”
But would he agree?
“Where are Abby and Landry?” Mike asked, peering into the empty backseat of the car. “Did you bring them too?”
“No. Dave and Kayla have them at the resort. They’re making an adventure out of this week, staying in that tree house cabin you guys built at Bare Natural after being inspired by Kason’s place last year.” Kate smiled, remembering how excited the kids had been about the sudden turn of events. Hell, the way their eyes had lit up, she and Mike should have taken them out there sooner for a family getaway. It was probably the only thing that could have gotten Abby to forgive her for not bringing her to see Nathan sooner than the weekend, when they were all set to meet up again. “I thought it would be better if I came alone.”
“Why?” Mike drew her close. “Not that I’m not excited to see you. I’m thrilled. I just figured if you decided to join me, you’d have the kids with you. It must have been impossible to keep Abby from visiting Nathan. Unless this isn’t just about missing me or wanting to visit with Morgan and Joe a little longer this week…is it?”
“Those are great things, too. They are. But they’re not why I came.” Kate swallowed hard, trying to figure out some magazine-worthy way to divulge her motivation for the trip. But that took planning and effort and damn she was tired…and nervous.
“What’s wrong?” Mike held her shoulders and extended his arms so he could peer into her eyes.
“Nothing, I promise. Do you need to go back up to the site? Maybe we can talk about this later, in private?” Kate lifted her chin as more people began to stream out of the woods, from the Hot Rods garage, and from the adorable cabin where Joe’s uncle Tom lived. Pretty soon they were going to be swarmed by well-meaning friends.
“Joe can handle that stuff.” Mike waved her off. “Whether he doubts it or not, he has things under control. And I don’t care who hears our dirty laundry. If something’s messed up, tell me so I can fix it.”
If he only knew that he’d already taken care of her a little too well.
“Well, look who’s here!” Uncle Tom boomed as he and his wife, Ms. Brown—who would always be Ms. Brown to them all despite having married Tom—joined them. His son, Eli, ambled out onto the blacktop, wiping grease on a rag tucked into the waistband of his jumpsuit. Alanso and Sally were, as usual, close behind him.
“Kate!” Ms. Brown reached her first, enveloping her in a warm hug that brought tears to Kate’s eyes. Yup, pregnancy hormones…check! “This is a lovely surprise. Did Mike know you were coming?”
“Ummm, nope.” Kate bit her lower lip and tried not to wring her hands.
“So what’s the special occasion?” Tom asked as he piled on to Ms. Brown, enveloping them both in his strong, reassuring hold. Kate could have stayed there forever. She understood why Joe was drawn to this place and these people and the possibility of a true family, even if it wasn’t exactly the one he’d been born into. Tom and Ms. Brown had become parental figures for them all. She squeezed them back, and if they noticed her trembling in their grasp, they didn’t rat her out and only held her tighter.
“That’s a very good question.” Mike swept his gaze over Kate from her eyes to the tips of her sneakers as if he could find a clue written on her somewhere.
Kate almost seized the chance then, but before she could, not only Eli, Alanso, and Sally appeared, but also Joe, then Sabra and Holden chasing their twin sons, who were shouting, “Is Landry here? Can he play with us?”
Soon Kate was taking turns hugging what seemed like a million people, and yet she felt guilty because her husband was staring at her in concern, trying to wait for her to finish greeting them all, though he wasn’t exactly the patient-type.
“Shouldn’t you be a bit happier to see your wife, buddy?” Roman teased with a light elbow to Mike’s ribs. “If Carver drove five hundred miles to see me, I’d be a bit more excited. Especially since she left the kids at home, you know what I mean?”
“Shit, sorry. I’m thrilled to see you,” Mike promised her, then frowned before addressing Roman. “I’m still trying to pry whatever my wife came here to tell me out of her.”
“Oh shit, we’re interrupting.” Carver, Roman’s husband, grabbed his arm and tugged, walking a few steps backward toward the garage.
“No, no. It’s okay.” Kate blinked. But was it? Suddenly it seemed like she’d made a terrible decision. What if Mike didn’t want the baby? What if she embarrassed him by dropping this bomb in front of all the people they cared about? It got harder to breathe.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, stepping closer and extending his hand toward her.
“Yeah,” she replied reflexively. Except she wasn’t.
Surrounded by so many people—their warmth and the pressure of their attention on her—she overheated. The world tipped and Kate’s eyes blurred. She probably should have drunk some more water on the drive, but she hadn’t w
anted to stop to pee too often and delay getting there until after dark. If it hadn’t been for her husband, she might have crashed to the ground.
But he proved again that he would never let her fall. She sagged, ending up plastered against his chest.
The crowd around them went silent, pretty much a miracle.
She drew several deep breaths until the world stopped turning too fast and she could find her footing again.
“What the hell is going on, Kate?” Mike was going to lose his shit if she didn’t find some way to convince him she was okay.
So she opted for the truth. Looking at the concerned and familiar faces surrounding them, she didn’t mind sharing the moment with everyone. They were family, in the broadest sense of the word. Hopefully Mike wouldn’t care either. “I wanted to think of some clever way to tell you but, uh, I’m sort of pregnant.”
“What?” Mike blinked at her.
“Sort of?” Uncle Tom unleashed a giant belly laugh at that. “It’s been a while since I heard those words directed at me, but as far as I remember, it’s not a sort of condition.”
Ms. Brown smacked him lightly with the back of her hand. “Tommy. Shush.”
“Oh my God, that’s amazing news.” Sally, who was also pregnant, sniffled then crushed Kate between her and Mike. “Congratulations, you two!”
And yet, Mike still stood there, frozen. “A…a baby? Like a miniature person. That kind of baby.”
Kate nodded a few times quickly, but not enough that she’d get dizzy again.
“You’re having a baby?” Mike asked as he brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes so that he could look directly into them.
“We’re having a baby,” she answered.
“Hang out here a while and your kid can be besties with Eli’s.” Holden grinned. “Might as well share baby shit and sitters while you’re at it. We have no shortage of those around here, you know.”
Stay? In Middletown? Kate peeked over Mike’s shoulder at the construction site and the future Joe and now Mike too for a little while at least, were building here. It was only supposed to be temporary but…
Then again, what if Mike didn’t even want another child? Maybe she should have waited and told him once they were alone, but she couldn’t hold the secret in even one more second when she’d remembered how tiny their children had looked in his big, strong, capable hands. And how much he loved them.
Kate’s breath froze in her lungs. What if he didn’t want this? New beginnings at their age could be terrifying. Look at what Joe and Morgan had gone through to reach for theirs. And that had been progress, not going back to where they’d been over ten years ago.
Mike took one more ragged breath and then he was there, his hands cupping her face as he smiled, slow and wide until all she could see was pure, unadulterated bliss. The same sort she’d felt since she realized that what she’d been denying was true. They were doing this again, whether they’d planned to or not.
He murmured, “I love you.”
But instead of kissing her like she expected, Mike sank to his knees. His hands cradled her hips this time while his thumbs brushed over her belly. “And I love you. How can I love someone I didn’t even know existed until a moment ago? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to meet you, little baby.”
Then he buried his face in her shirt as if he couldn’t stand to be even an inch away from the life growing inside her.
It wasn’t until he rose and she saw the tears dampening his cheeks that she totally lost her shit, practically trying to climb him. With his arms banded around her, everything in her world was perfect. She had no idea where they would go from there, but as long as they were together, and they had their children, they would be just fine.
“Now that’s a hell of a surprise,” Joe teased as he put one hand each on Mike and Kate.
Holden and Sabra, Roman and Carver, Uncle Tom and Ms. Brown, and all the rest of the Hot Rods piled on for an epic group hug. Kate wished the rest of the Powertools were there to share the moment with them, but the next best thing was having their Hot Rods cousins join in the celebrations.
“Wow, this is incredible.” Mike looked as dazed as she’d felt when she’d finally accepted what the entire box of tests Devon had bought her had said. “I don’t even know how this happened. I mean, we’re careful and…”
“Oh, I know how it happened.” Kaige, another one of the mechanics, grinned before thrusting the wrench in his hand through the circle of his thumb and forefinger.
“What does that mean?” one of Holden’s sons asked.
“Nothing!” Sabra shot Kaige a glare, then smiled sweetly. “Uncle Kaige will explain it to you and Ambrose someday, won’t you?”
When Kaige considered educating his daughter about the birds and the bees, his smirk vanished. “In about fifty years, sure.”
Everyone laughed at that, Kate included.
“Man, I can’t wait to see Morgan’s face when you tell her. She’s going to be so happy for you.” Joe clapped Mike on the shoulder.
Kate saw the moment it dawned on him, just as it had her…
“But we’re going to be here at least all summer.” Joe looked from his cousin, Eli, who was about to be a first-time dad, then to Mike and back—panic, dread, obligation, all of it warring with joy and excitement in his warm eyes, causing them to crinkle at the corners.
“It’s okay,” Kate hurried to reassure him. “Look at what you’re doing here—Eli needs you. You were right to come. This is obviously a huge opportunity for you and Morgan too.”
“If you need to go home, we’ll figure this out.” Eli was quick to let Joe off the hook, but anyone who knew Joe knew he wasn’t capable of backing down from responsibility.
“No, no.” Joe ran his hands through his hair. “I’m not bailing on you. I just, wow. Mike isn’t going to be able to be away from home, so he’ll need to teach me everything he knows this week. And kids all around. It’s going to be a really fun year, huh?”
Uncle Tom came forward, putting one hand on Eli’s shoulder and the other on Joe’s. Then he took an extra step and surrounded both Mike and Kate in another of his famous bear hugs. “You two should take the rest of the afternoon off. Go celebrate. I’m sure you have a lot to talk about. The rest will work itself out. You’ll see.”
“That’s a good idea.” Joe nodded. “I think I can manage not to fuck shit up if you get out of here for a few hours.”
Mike huffed. “Cut that out. You don’t need me.”
But the reality was that in the crew, they all needed each other. Being separated was going to be harder than they’d imagined. They’d have to figure out a way to make it work.
Just thinking about it sapped the last of Kate’s strength. She had to find somewhere quiet to snuggle in her husband’s arms so she could figure out if he really was as happy as she was to be going on this adventure in parenthood with him, one more time.
Mike noticed and scooped her into his arms, not waiting for her to collapse again. He nodded to everyone and said, “I’ll see you all tomorrow, and you when you get off work tonight.”
He jerked his chin at Joe, who nodded.
That’s right! Kate remembered Mike was staying with Joe and Morgan as he deposited her in the passenger seat of her car and clicked her seatbelt into place. Then he jogged around to the driver’s side and moved the seat back what seemed like ten notches before joining her. She waved to everyone as they shouted congratulations and warm wishes.
Mike’s fingers entwined with hers. The heat and strength in his grasp drew the last of her nervous energy from her, and before she realized it, she’d closed her eyes. The pretty moss-colored light filtering through the canopy above as they wound through the woods toward Morgan and Joe’s rental house was the last thing she remembered before she dozed off.
6
“Is it true? Is it true?”
Mike was only half awake when someone, a woman from the feel of her soft body, piled on top of him and Kat
e where they’d been dozing after she’d made her announcement at Hot Rods. The revelation rushed back in to his awakening mind. A baby! They were having another baby. Whoa.
“Morgan?” Kate scrubbed her eyes and blinked up at her best friend, a wide smile spreading across her face as she hugged the other woman.
Mike stretched and looked up at Joe. He grinned at his wife, who’d wedged herself between Mike and Kate in bed. Hell, it wasn’t like they hadn’t slept together a hundred times in the past fourteen years or so. Joe rounded the carved four-poster and sat on the edge of the mattress behind Kate.
“Yeah, it’s me. So tell me.” Morgan put her hand on Kate’s stomach. “It’s not some kind of joke, right?”
“Nope.” Kate beamed, looking more gorgeous than ever. “I’m pregnant.”
Hearing the words from his wife stole Mike’s breath all over again. It seemed like some kind of dream. A nice one, though. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t look at Abby and see the woman she’d be in another few blinks of his eye. He missed having little ones around. A child who actually needed him and enjoyed the attention he paid to the adorable things they did. But now he’d have not only Eli’s kid and some of the others at Hot Rides to spoil when he saw them on occasion, but his own to raise day in and day out.
It was overwhelming to think of starting fresh, but also exciting.
Maybe Joe had been right to consider moving to Middletown and doing things differently than they had been for so long now. Sure, the years they’d been a crew had been awesome. So good that they hadn’t had any desire to shake things up. But they’d gotten stale. Things had become routine. Maybe they’d settled for good enough when they could have pushed for greatness.
If Mike was going to give his kid the life he wanted for him or her, he might have to think about what else needed to change and evolve. He should be setting an example for Abby, Landry, and now this new baby. Seeing the scale of the Hot Rods project and the additional challenges and prosperity an operation of that magnitude could bring, Mike was already buzzing with ideas for new opportunities.
