Chapter 9 Reed
NINE
REED
Three days after Roscoe and I officially became mates, I locked myself in the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. It creaked a little, like most other things in the house, and I grimaced ‘cause my mate had supersonic hearing.
Being in the bathroom about to pee shouldn’t have been a big deal, but yesterday when I’d dashed into town for groceries, I went to a pharmacy. Not my usual one because they knew me there but a different place on the other side of town.
Wearing sunglasses and a cap in case I met one of my customers or any of the Dark Crown Pack, I’d shoved a bunch of pregnancy tests into a basket and sidled up to the counter as if I was the bad guy in an old fashioned melodrama.
And now I was in my bathroom, staring at one of those tests and wondering what the heck I was doing. It wasn’t going to bite me, at least I didn’t think so. There was nothing in the instructions about the tests being aggressive.
I was being silly but I couldn’t help myself.
Roscoe had said it was possible I might get pregnant straight away.
There were no reindeer shifter statistics showing how likely it was.
And if I was honest, we needed time to be a couple so one of us could get annoyed about the other leaving their clothes on the floor instead of putting them in the hamper.
Or the other person yelling at the toothpaste tube because it’d been squeezed in the middle not the bottom.
I was guilty of both those domestic crimes so I put those thoughts on the back burner.
Just do it, Reed.
I peed, but how did I justify being in the bathroom for so many minutes, especially as I’d wasted time umming and ahhing and reading the instructions? Shower! I’d had one earlier but turned on the water and squirted body wash on my hands and arms as Roscoe had commented he liked the smell.
After checking my watch, I picked up the test. What? The single line mocked me from the bathroom counter. I wasn’t pregnant and that was a good thing. It was too soon for a baby. I sighed because I was relieved, but how come I was a tad disappointed?
A day later I tried again, pleased I’d bought more than one test. A single line again. Maybe this batch of tests was defective. They’d expired or there was a problem with the factory’s quality control.
But not being pregnant was what I wanted and I told myself to stop making excuses for the tests being faulty.
Roscoe and I were mated but we were on a getting-to-know-you journey and it should be just us two for a while.
But at moments during the day, I brushed a hand over my belly, wondering what was in our future.
“I’m silly, right,” I told Doug as I adjusted his Christmas lights. “It’s been less than a week. Of course, I’m not pregnant."
Doug rustled his branches which could have been him agreeing or he was fed up at my chattering. Perhaps he wanted to be in someone’s home and he was sad. I thought I could interpret his rustling but today I was at a loss.
By day eight, I was annoyed and stomped around the farm as I listened to the building work going on over the hill.
The farm was busy with a constant stream of customers thanks to an article the local TV station had done about me.
I suspected my mate had used his contacts and arranged that but he didn’t admit to anything.
I was ecstatic about all the customers, but I wasn’t spending much time with Roscoe.
But my irritation wasn’t with my work, the trees, customers, or my mate. It was because of those damn tests. I’d had to buy more and they were all crap. Negative every single one of them. It definitely wasn’t because I wanted to be pregnant. Nope, No. Nada. That wasn’t it.
But was there something wrong with me or with my mate? Maybe our mating bond was… I don’t know? Twisted? Broken? Needed a new battery? I was running excuses through my head and rejecting each one.
And as I was taking a test each day, sometimes twice or three times, it was getting expensive and I was spending too much time in the bathroom. Cars were approaching which meant customers and I had to be professional and friendly and not someone who’d been peeing on sticks all week.
“Morning.” Roscoe found me in the Noble Fir section. Gods, he was handsome in the thick sweater that brought out the color in his cheeks. "How are you feeling?"
I shot him a glance because his tone suggested he was fishing for information.
“Fine.” I looked away. “Why?”
“No reason. You just seem… I don't know. Different lately.”
We’d known one another for less than a month so we barely recognized each other’s habits. But my heart trotted, galloped, and then thundered and ouch, it hurt. Did his shifter traits include sensing my emotions? Or had he figured out what I'd been doing?
“Different how?”
He studied my face but I looked away, fearing his dark eyes were looking right through me. “You've been distracted. And you keep touching your stomach.”
Shit. I dropped my hand because I’d been doing exactly that. “I have not.”
Roscoe put a hand on my hip and pulled me closer. Along with his usual scent, he carried the aroma of paint and wood shavings.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” He put his other hand under my chin and tilted my head. Damn my shifter mate wanting to know what was going on.
But him questioning me broke my resolve of keeping everything a secret and the truth tumbled out. “I went to the pharmacy and bought tests. You know tests?”
I was almost screeching and the trees stilled. Thank gods we were some distance from the customers who were browsing.
“Tests?” His eyes were darker, like they were when his beast was close to the surface or he was yearning for something, often me.
“Pregnancy tests. For a week maybe. Sometimes twice a day. And I’m not pregnant. Why? I don’t want to be. I do want a baby but this is our honeymoon period and and and…”
I gulped in a huge breath.
“But why am I not pregnant? You said I probably would be and we both took that chance knowing the odds. Well, where are those odds, because they need a talking to.”
“My love.” Roscoe's voice was almost amused. “Breathe.”
“There’s something wrong with our bond and you think it’s funny? We need to get it fixed. Is there a doctor for that?”
He was pursing his lips, trying not to smile. I might not know everything about my mate but I could tell when he was tamping down a chuckle.
“You're adorable.” He bopped my nose. “And I wish you’d shared your concerns.”
Why hadn’t I? Because I wanted to surprise him when the test told me I was carrying our baby?
“I have a confession. I can scent whether you're pregnant.”
I stared at him. “What?”
“Shifters can smell a pregnancy within a few days of conception.”
I pulled away and folded my arms. “Did you know what I was doing?” Not wanting to leave them in the bathroom trash basket, I had taken the tests and tossed them in the garbage outside.
He put a hand over his heart. “No, I swear. I was worried because you seemed down but I waited until you were ready to tell me.” He tugged at his hair. “Perhaps that was wrong and I should have asked you.”
We both had a lot to learn about being in a relationship.
“So you’ve known the whole time I wasn’t pregnant and I let myself obsess over it.” I put my hands over my face to hide my embarrassment and tears of frustration.
My mate removed my hands. He had a faraway look in his eyes. “Have you taken a test this morning?”
Something in his tone made me pay attention. "No. Why?" I had one left and I’d shoved it back in the cabinet earlier, thinking what was the point.
He put his mouth to my ear and I shivered at his cool breath. “Because.” His voice was deeper than usual, almost gravelly, giving me hope he was going to give me good news. “You should take one more.”
Before I could respond, a gust of wind swept through the farm. Every tree swayed and rustled at once. The Noble Firs shimmered, the Fraser Firs sang in the breeze, and Doug's Christmas lights were brighter.
They were celebrating.
Zelda appeared and said she’d serve the customers if had something to do in the house. She had impeccable timing.
Did everyone, including the pack, trees, and my mate share a secret that had been hidden from me? I should have been annoyed but instead I was filled with joy.
“Soooo.” My voice was shaky. "I guess we should probably make this official with a test. Lucky last.”
“Nah, this is just the beginning my darling.” He slung an arm around me and we strode toward the house and our future.