Chapter Nineteen
Ripley
The guest room of our cabin would make a perfect nursery.
We had to put off some of our business plans, of course, because Jude was sick for the first trimester.
He was in no shape to find a business location, much less do all the leg work that would be involved in setting it up.
So, we decided to wait until he could do it without jeopardizing his health or that of our young.
The sale of my company went through quickly once I let the three people who had approached me with offers know I was open to discussion.
It turned into a bidding war, and by the time I drove home in my repaired truck to sign documents and pack up my condo—which I’d also sold—I had garnered enough to give us both a great start with our new enterprises.
Mine would also have to wait because with Jude’s morning sickness and the kindness of the local community, the orders flowed in for his baked goods.
He needed help. A sous chef. And it seemed it was going to be me.
But I didn’t mind. Everything we did together was a joy, and Jude was infinitely patient with my all-thumbs approach to baking.
I helped him. On the day of his first appointment with Quinn, the local healer, we came home to find an emergency rush order for wedding cookies.
Fifteen dozen, personalized, and intended to be used for place cards.
That meant names of the bride and groom as well as that of a guest had to be written on each cookie along with beautiful silver decorations. They needed them in one week.
He was so nauseated, the healer wanted him to rest, and he refused to turn down any jobs.
This one, in particular, was exciting to him because it came from across the country, and he believed the alpha groom could get him more work in the future if he liked the cookies.
So, we divided and conquered, me taking on the less technical and him the decorating.
It was pretty basic, a vanilla-bean sugar cookie, and Jude could have made them in his sleep, but not me.
Somehow, with a lot of help, I was on the way, mixing, rolling, cutting, and baking while Jude waited for the first batch to cool then began the delicate frosting calligraphy and decorating.
At first, I was nervous and slow. I burned a batch, but after a while, with my omega’s tutelage, I was on the way and we were working like a well-oiled machine.
From then, I realized I had to put aside my plans for his, and we went forward together, in lockstep.
With an omega who was afraid to lose all the work he’d put into his business and a pocketful of cash, I made sure to put him and his needs first. It felt good.
Like doing my real job. Being his alpha.
One way or another, we managed to do what we needed to.
My money was not infinite, and we wanted to be sure to keep the amount we needed for the shop and my business after the baby arrived, but the baking paid the bills.
I’d never respected anyone more than Jude who worked so hard to make enough to survive.
And boy was he busy. So busy that we arrived at the eighth month with a nursery that was still a guest room and the holidays approaching again.
“I won’t put up a lot of decorations,” he said. “We have enough to do anyway.”
Looking at his sweet face, his hand resting on his substantial bump, I knew I couldn’t let him do that.
“I’ll make you a deal, omega mine,” I said, brushing a kiss over his cheek.
“First, we get the nursery ready then, we decorate for the holidays. It wouldn’t do to have our little one arrive with nowhere to sleep or play. ”
He giggled. “No way. We can’t have that. They will want to know what we’ve been doing for nine months.”
“We can shop online, or we can go to the big town,” I said.
Jude was in the process of lowering himself into the one chair he could still get in and out of on his own.
It was straight backed and not very comfortable, but he swore he liked the independence.
“Alpha, would I be a terrible dad if shopped online? I know a good papa would want to see everything in person, but it’s so far, and if my ankles get any more swollen, I don’t know what I’ll do. ”
“Too much salt,” I scolded, moving into the kitchen. “I’m cutting back on what I cook with from now on.”
“See? And there’s that, too. Not only am I late in setting up the nursery, but you’ve had to take on all the cooking and cleaning and nearly all of my job baking. Why do you even put up with me?”
His distress was so hard to take. Thanksgiving was over and the cabin had not a single decoration. I decided right then and there that I had to do something about it for my Christmas-loving omega.
“I’m getting the iPad right now, and I want you to pick out every single thing you want for the baby’s room while I make dinner. A low-salt dinner. Then you’re going to bed early to get lots of rest.”
“We do have that big order to bake tomorrow,” he sighed. “And I’m a little tired.”
He was very tired, had been for some time now, but I didn’t need to point that out.
Quinn said he was fine; even with the water retaining, his blood pressure was good.
And once he began shopping, calling me over to look at the images before putting them in the virtual shopping cart, his mood lifted, and he grew more cheerful.
After dinner, satisfied with his progress on the baby’s room and with my promise to paint it to his specifications, he allowed me to tuck him into bed with a big glass of water on the nightstand in case he got thirsty during the night.
Then, when he’d drifted off, I went to work, getting out box after box of Christmas decorations from the shed and trying to remember exactly how he’d had it the year before.
It took almost all night, and we still needed a Christmas tree, but I thought it looked pretty nice.
I was just finishing up, attaching garland to the mantel and humming “Jingle Bells” when I heard a gasp.
“Alpha, you did this? For me?” I spun to see my omega in his nightshirt, belly bulging out under the long flannel. He held out his arms, and I went to him, hugging him close. “But you hate Christmas.”
“Not anymore,” I said, knowing it was true.
“It’s still a little hard, but while I was doing this, I kept thinking that it would make you happy, and I could just see us with our little one together, spending all the holidays…
It was a little hard, but it was time to stop grieving and look to the future.
I’ll never forget my brother, but I kind of feel like he’s looking down on us and smiling. ”
“Alpha, you’re very wise, and I love you.”
“Love you too, omega mine. You’ve brought back the joy.”