Chapter 15 #2
Well, he knew Mhairi liked him. And Jason liked him well enough, but he wasn’t sure about Mom and Dad, who Devon was still calling Mr. and Mrs. McCallum, not even Fiona and Archie.
Still Devon was standing there waiting. His baby bump barely showing, a pan of homemade Parker House rolls in his hands.
“Is this okay?”
God, the man was sensitive. “It’s fine. I’m just juggling presents so I can unlock the door or ring the bell.”
Devon nodded, and he saw that pan of rolls begin to tremble as Devon’s fingers tightened. Then he lowered his voice, “If you want, I can tell them I’m on call.”
“What? No, of course not.” He wasn’t ashamed of Devon. He’d just been having so much fun goofing off, eating cinnamon rolls and drinking hot cocoa, and watching cartoons. They’d even made love. It had been the perfect morning.
Then they’d gone to Raven’s family, and it was another perfect moment. No familial stress on either side.
So this was like…was it gonna suck? “I’m not worried about you, baby. Not one bit. I love you.” Laird rang the bell with his elbow.
“I love you too.” Devon’s words sounded as Mom opened the door, little Savannah in her arms, kicking and wiggling in a bright red Christmas dress and a pair of white tights.
“Well, I’m very glad to hear that. Come on in, guys!” Mom chuckled as she opened the door wider. “Merry Christmas. You’re just in time.”
“Merry Christmas, Mrs. McCallum. The house looks amazing.”
Every time Devon went over, he said the same thing to his mother. “Happy whatever, Mrs. McCallum. The house looks amazing, Mrs. McCallum.”
“Merry Christmas!” Laird winked at her and then took a bunch of presents to the tree.
Mhairi was sitting with her husband and Dad. Mhairi and Dad were watching football, while Jason was doing a jigsaw puzzle on a large card table.
Mhairi glanced up and grinned. “You made it! Just in time for family pictures, which is great because if Savannah doesn’t get that dress off soon, she’s gonna have a conniption.” Mhairi stood, gave him a hug, and then gave Devon a hug of his own. “How are you doing? I can see your baby bump.”
“Mhairi, don’t be rude. We don’t discuss other people’s bodies,” Mom said, and Mhairi rolled her eyes.
“Mom, he’s had his entire hand in my body delivering a baby. I can talk about his baby bump.”
Laird cracked up, and so did Dad. Jason just stood there with huge eyes. Devon held on to his little bag of knitting that he brought everywhere he went so that he didn’t have idle hands.
Mom’s mouth opened and closed like she was a big fish. Then she just handed Mhairi the baby, turned her back, and left the room.
“Wow.” Laird looked at his sister. “Has she been like that all day?”
“Menopause. It sucks. She’s gone from screaming to crying to screaming to crying at least eighty-seven times. It’s miserable.”
“Milk thistle,” Devon murmured. “It’ll help a lot.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ll tell her when she’s talking to me again.” Mhairi snorted. “Come on in, Devon, and sit down. We don’t stand on ceremony, you know that.”
“Devon!” Dad came over to hug him and then wrapped an arm around Devon, steering him toward the couch. “Would you like something to drink?”
“I would love something if you have Sprite or maybe milk?”
Dad nodded easily. “We have both. Which would you prefer?”
Relief painted Devon’s futures. “I would love the milk if you don’t mind. I think it will help feed the baby whatever it is they’re craving.”
“Excellent! I’ll be right back.” Dad wandered off. Presumably to check on Mom more than anything. And Laird got Devon settled on the couch with a little blanket over his knees. Devon had been feeling the cold a lot.
Mhairi put little Savannah down on the sofa, snapped a bunch of pictures with her phone, and then stripped the stiff, velvet dress off the baby, replacing it with a soft, fuzzy outfit.
“So, how is it going with all of that?” Mhairi waved her hand in front of her belly, grinning at Devon.
Devon pulled out his knitting, his needles starting to clack together as he worked the yarn without even looking down at it. “Good, it’s going good,” he muttered. His cheeks were pink, and he kept shooting glances at Laird.
Laird understood. Devon wanted to know when they were going to tell his parents. He just wanted everybody to be back in the same room before he did.
So when Mom came in with Dad and sat down, her lips no longer pursed into a hard line. Laird went to sit on the couch next to Devon and wait for him to set his knitting aside so they could join fingers.
And he cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s eyes. “So, we have an announcement to make.”
“Well, it can’t be that you’re pregnant. We already know about the baby.”
“Mhairi!” Mom glared at his sister.
“You do already know about the baby.” He winked at his sister. “This is about us getting married, which we’ve decided we’re going to do as soon as we can. I proposed today.” He squeezed Devon’s hand and got a gentle smile in return.
Mom squealed like she’d been stuck with the carving knife for the Christmas bird, whatever bird she had made. Sometimes it was a duck, sometimes a turkey, sometimes a goose. “Oh, congratulations, baby boy, and Devon, congratulations. I’m so pleased.”
Devon’s eyes went wide like he was stunned. “Thank you.”
Jason grinned over at Devon. “Well, congratulations. You are now going to be part of this weird family. There’s going to be lots of tartan involved. Also, Mom there, she makes the best fudge on earth. You’re going to love that part.”
Devon chuckled softly. “I love fudge. I’m not very good at making it. I never can quite get it to set.”
“There’s a trick to everything.” Mom winked. “But when I have my great fudge-making day, you’re welcome to come.”
“I would love to, assuming I’m not on call. I absolutely would love to.”
“That brings me to the second part of my announcement.” Everybody looked at Laird again, and he held Devon’s hand tight.
“I’m going to go back to school to become a physical therapist. I’ll work as an EMT until Devon is done with his parental leave.
And then I’m going to go back to school this fall. ”
It was obvious no one had considered this when everybody sort of stared at him in amazement.
Then Dad broke the ice. “What will you do about a job while you’re in school?”
Devon smiled at his dad and then patted Laird’s leg gently.
“I’m more than capable of supporting the two of us while Laird is in school.
No problem. The house is paid off, and the business is going well.
This gives Laird a chance to be with the baby, and it gives the baby an opportunity to be with his father instead of being in daycare on a daily basis.
When Laird graduates and starts working as a physical therapist, I can take fewer hours at the birthing center, and we can consider adding to our family. ”
He loved how Devon sounded so damn confident. Like there was no doubt in his mind that Laird could do this.
And he felt ten feet tall and bulletproof all of a sudden. He could do this, and he and Devon would be together, a family, with their baby and their house, and he could hardly push back the emotions that overwhelmed him.
“Well, it sounds like you both have a plan, and I think it’s amazing.”
He blinked at Mom. “You what? I thought you didn’t want me to go back to school.”
Mom snorted. “No, of course not. I didn’t want you to go into a bunch of debt when you already had a good job, but now you have a fiancé that’s willing to support you in this. I think it’s stunning. I think you’d make an amazing physical therapist.”
Mhairi nodded. “And the hours would be so much nicer. It’s not like you don’t know an accountant.” She waved her hand.
Mom chuckled. “The important question is, are you wanting to get married in the winter? In the spring? Did you want to get married before the baby comes? Or after so he or she could be your ring bearer?”
Devon chuckled softly. “I think that I would like to be married before the baby comes. In fact, I would like to be married before I’m the size of a house. So that in the pictures, I look lovely.”
“You could have a Valentine’s Day wedding,” Dad suggested.
“Aw, that would be the day before Savannah’s birthday.” Mhairi grinned at him. “You could get married on Valentine’s Day, and then we could have the birthday party the next day.”
“Well, that is the day we met…” Laird chuckled. “But I would like to have at least a short honeymoon, and I would also like to be at our niece’s first birthday party. How do you feel about a New Year’s Eve wedding?”
Devon blinked at him. “As in next week?”
Laird nodded. “Yes. As in, next week. If we got married on New Year’s Eve, then we could file as married for taxes for both years.”
He heard Dad whisper, “Not romantic, son.”
Devon looked at him, shook his head, and then started to chuckle. “Oh, I do love you. I suppose we could get married on New Year’s Eve. Our anniversary would always be a celebration. Always.”
“Well then, if we only have a week, we have to think about this very quickly. We need cake, flowers, and something wonderful for Devon to wear…” Mom ticked things off on her fingers.
“Mom, this is Secret Springs.” Mhairi waved her hand around in the air, like she was waving a magic wand. “Things can happen very fast here if you ask the right people. I’ll talk to Mateo and Dan about a cake.”
“And I’ll take Devon shopping.” Mom beamed at Devon. “Laird, you have to make sure that your kilt and jacket and things are pressed and cleaned? You too, Dad.”
“I can talk to some people about the flowers,” Jason said. Jason knew everybody. “Just need to tell me what kind of things you like, Devon.”
Devon stared at everyone, his eyes a little bit misty. “You’re all amazing. Thank you so much for being willing to do this on short notice, and I know Raven will be willing to help too. He’s my business partner.”
“I love Raven.” Mhairi grinned at him. “He’s so Zen.”
Devon blinked, then made a humming sort of noise. “Still waters run deep, but yeah, he is.”
“Well, that’s settled then. We’ll start tomorrow getting a hold of everyone. But today is for presents, and food, and Christmassing.” Mom waved her hand in the air. “Someone else is going to have to hold Savannah so I can go work in the kitchen.”
“I got her.” Mhairi bounced the baby in her arms. “It’s probably about time for her to have some lunch anyway.” Mhairi grabbed a blanket and then went to sit with the baby on the couch.
“Need anything from me, babe?” Jason asked.
“Nope, I’m good to go. Unless you want to get some fudge for after. You know how it makes me feel weak and puny.” She giggled then, as if she couldn’t keep a straight face while saying that.
“You got it. That way you can try it too, Devon. I’m telling you, it’s the best thing ever.” Jason got up and headed for the kitchen.
“I have to tell you, son, I couldn’t be more pleased about this outcome.” Dad was a totally results kind of guy, and Laird felt like he was super happy.
“Thanks, Dad. I have to admit, I’m kind of over the moon myself.” He grabbed Devon’s hand and squeezed it gently.
“Well, you have a good one there. Hang on to him, okay? I’ll be right back. I’m gonna go get some presents to put under the tree for everybody.”
Dad left the room, and that just meant Mhairi was in there with them, and she wasn’t paying them any attention. So he looked at Devon, who still looked a little wet around the eyes. “Are you okay, baby?”
“I am. I just didn’t realize how much your parents were hesitating over us not having a plan.”
“They like to know where everything stands. It wasn’t that we weren’t getting married. It was just, they weren’t sure how permanent this was going to be, I guess. Now that they know, they can go all in.”
“I’m glad they feel that way. I didn’t want to be the problem child in this family.”
Laird chuckled. “No, no, that’s totally Mhairi.”
When he glanced over, his sister flipped him off, but otherwise she stayed out of it.
Laird leaned over and kissed Devon gently on the mouth, letting it linger enough to show Devon exactly how he felt. “Merry Christmas, baby. There’s no one I’d rather have right here with me.”
Devon reached up to stroke his cheek, meeting his gaze. His smile was so happy. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than with you. Thank you for this. I really feel like a part of something now.”
“It’s only going to get better.” He raised Devon’s hand to his mouth and kissed his knuckles. “That’s a promise.”
And everybody knew that wishes and promises made on Christmas always came true. Or at least that was what Laird had always been told.