Chapter 40
SKY
My nose twitched, waking up before the rest of me. My eyes fluttered open to pale rays of morning light, but that smell…
I breathed in deeply, the mouthwatering scent of roasted turkey filling my lungs. For a while, I just lay there and basked in it, smiling to myself. Then I rolled out of bed and padded barefoot down the hall and into the kitchen.
Adam was standing at the counter, preparing homemade desserts. Three different pie crusts covered metal pie pans, awaiting their filling. My mouth watered just watching him.
“Smells so good,” I murmured.
Adam turned, his smile warm. “Happy Thanksgiving, love.”
I walked over and slid my hand into the back pocket of his fitted denim jeans, and he leaned in to kiss me. “What are you making?” I asked, peeking around him.
“Mmm. Pumpkin, pecan and an apple crumble.”
“Sounds delicious.”
“Oh, we’re fixing to have a feast, like I said,” Adam said around a chuckle. “Fletcher’s been out shopping all week, gathering all the things we needed to make you a proper Thanksgiving Day meal.”
I wrinkled my nose. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble for me.”
“Yes, but we wanted to,” he said. “Normally, Gracie is the one who hosts Thanksgiving—well, most of the holiday gatherings, actually. She makes so much food and invites the entire pack. It’s a tradition of hers.
However, since you and Gracie aren’t exactly on speaking terms, Fletcher and I decided this was a better alternative. ”
I frowned at that. “So you’re giving up—”
“Ah.” He held up his hand. “Don’t even go there. We’re not giving up anything, Sky. We’re choosing to spend our holidays with our family, which is you, and if you aren’t welcome in Gracie’s home, then neither are we.”
The sincerity of his words made my eyes sting with tears, but I quickly scrubbed them away. “Thank you. It means a lot to me.”
“I know, baby.”
“Where’s Fletcher?”
Adam sort of grinned. “Oh, he’s tinkering around down the hall. Why don’t you go see what he’s up to?”
I raised a brow at him, immediately suspicious of the playful way he said it. Suspicious…but curious. I narrowed my eyes at him, which made him laugh, and then patted his ass before heading back down the hall. The light in my old bedroom was on, so that’s where I went.
I stopped in the doorway, taken aback.
Fletcher had all the furniture shoved to the center of the room, tarps laid down on the hardwood, and he was painting the walls with a primer on a large foam roller. He was speckled with white, a grin stretching across his face when he spotted me.
“Thought I’d get a head start on the nursery,” he said. “Wanna help? Adam doesn’t want us in the kitchen today. He wants dinner to be a ‘him’ thing, so I figured the nursery could be an ‘us’ thing.” He laughed. “Go change into some rattier clothes and grab a paintbrush!”
I looked around the room, imagining it painted in pastels with a beautiful white crib where the bed once sat, a mobile with stars and moons hanging pendulous above. I touched my stomach, as if I could somehow feel the baby there, and smiled.
It took me no time at all to change and start taping things off with painter’s tape—windows, the light switch, the doorframe and floorboards, the electrical outlets—before using a smaller brush to go around them with more precision while Fletcher rolled out the bigger portions.
Except as we chatted back and forth about what colors would look good and what sort of decorations we should buy, old fears began popping up like bubbles, and I couldn’t seem to pop them fast enough. I went quiet, lost in thought.
This was really happening. In a matter of months, I would give birth and be a father—for real this time.
“Sky?” Fletcher murmured. “What’s wrong?”
“What if I can’t do it?” I blurted.
He softened, coming over to kneel beside me on the crinkly blue tarp. “Do what, baby?”
“Be a dad,” I choked out. “Raise a kid.” I sucked in a sharp breath, my chest aching suddenly. “M-Maybe you should raise the baby, Fletch. I’ve already lost three of them.”
“Oh, Sky.” Fletcher wrapped his arms around me, hugging me to his chest. “It wasn’t your fault, and besides, that has nothing to do with you being a good parent or not. You never even got the chance.”
“Yeah,” I whispered, my throat tight.
He kissed my cheek. “You wanna know what I think? I think the minute you see that baby, you’ll fall in love and your instincts will know exactly what to do. I think you’ll be a wonderful father, and Adam and I will be here, every step of the way, to make sure of it.”
“Thanks, Fletcher. I needed to hear that.”
“I know, baby.”
Around noon, we had our Thanksgiving feast—juicy turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, buttery dinner rolls, three different kinds of pie, and of course, no holiday would be complete without Fletcher’s mysterious green fluff.
After we stuffed ourselves, then cleaned the kitchen, which was a group effort with how full we were, we retreated to the couch to watch a Christmas movie.
“A little early, isn’t it?” I asked.
Fletcher only smiled. “Never too early for Christmas.”
I paused, thinking about it for a moment.
“My family was never really big on holidays,” I admitted.
“I mean, we celebrated them, but it was never elaborate or anything. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, so River and I were happy with the one or two presents we got on Christmas morning, and the ham and potatoes Mom served for dinner.
Our Thanksgivings were nothing like this. ”
“Our family will make up for all those lost experiences,” Adam assured me, running his fingers through my hair. “Holiday feasts and Christmas shopping and countdown calendars and all the presents a kid could ever want.”
I smiled. “Sounds amazing.”
“It will be.” He kissed my temple. “You don’t have to worry about money anymore, Sky. We’ll take care of you and our baby. So prepare to be spoiled.” Tucking his fingers beneath my chin, he tilted my head up enough that he could capture my lips in a sweet kiss. I melted into it with a happy sigh.
Oh, how I loved them. Those three little words were right on the tip of my tongue, so why couldn’t I say them?