35. Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Five
Bellarose
“ W here are we going?” Adam asked.
“I need to do a few errands, and we’re going to show off your awesome costume.” And, so Violet and Chris can set up the living room, I added in my head.
“But, you’re not wearing your costume,” Adam complained, stopping to readjust his hat.
He still wouldn’t let it go for very long. This morning, when I tried to put on his dinosaur costume, he refused to leave it behind, so we ended up improvising with a dinosaur cowboy costume. I pulled a pair of blue jeans over his costume, and he was wearing the hat over the head.
“I can’t because it would scare people.”
“Cowgirls don’t scare people, Mom,” he explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“I do,” I growled at him, making him giggle. At least that was back. He was slowly turning back into my sweet, happy Adam. It was a relief, considering Cade never called me back.
I somehow managed to keep him away until almost dinner time without him suspecting anything. Once Violet texted me that they were ready, I sighed with relief at not having to come up with something random I needed from another store and headed back.
“Hey, buddy! Wanna come in here and help me finish these Halloween cookies I made for us, while Mom goes and gets into her costume?” Violet walked out of the kitchen when we entered wearing a pair of homemade bunny ears and tail, drawn-on whiskers and a pink nose. She was wearing a white tank top, and white leggings to finish her costume.
I walked into the kitchen with Adam to see what they were doing, and found Chris wearing a flannel shirt, overalls and a straw hat I recognized as mine. Some sort of netted contraption in his hand finished his costume. I started laughing at the image he was presenting, and he shifted in his overalls, blushing.
"I have two questions. Why do you own overalls? and What are you supposed to be?”
“I don’t own overalls,” Chris defended, continuing to blush, while Violet started giggling.
“I made them last night,” she explained.
“And, what is he supposed to be?”
“A bunny wrangler,” Chris answered with a smirk, sending Violet a heated look that made her blush and busy herself with the cookies.
“Damn, you guys are cute. I’m going to go change. Make me a cookie, Adam.” I kissed his happy cheek and left them to decorate the cookies Violet made. I owed my sister big time.
Being a cowgirl had been Adam’s idea, and he was lucky I secretly stole one of Cade’s button-downs a while back. I tucked it into my blue jeans and put on a hat I’d bought at the dollar store today, along with a sheriff’s star. I didn’t have cowboy boots, but when I pulled the jeans down my over-the-knee boots, it looked close enough.
I walked back down to the kitchen, and Violet passed me a blank cookie and a bunch of colored frosting she’d made.
Chris and Adam were making Frankenstein cookies together, while Violet’s looked... “Damn, Vi. You’re really good at that.”
“Art is my thing, remember?”
After we finished decorating the two dozen cookies Violet made, she put them in a tray and handed it to Chris.
“Wanna go watch a movie, Adam?”
“Can we watch a Halloween movie?”
“Umm...” Violet’s eyes flickered up to me and I gave a small shake of my head. If we watched a horror movie, Adam wasn’t going to sleep at all tonight. “We’ll look but if it looks scary, I can’t watch it. I won’t sleep otherwise, okay?”
“Okay!” Adam ran ahead into the room, and all I heard was a “Wow!” as we hurried behind him.
Violet and Chris had done an amazing job decorating the room. If a hundred people flooded the pack house right now looking for a Halloween party, we would be ready.
“Wow is right!” I answered, giving Violet and Chris a thank-you hug. “Let’s get this party started, Monkey!”
Chris pulled out his phone and clicked a few buttons on it. The Monster Mash blasted out of his phone speakers and Adam started jumping around to it. Violet was soon joining in, and thankful that no one was here to see me, I joined soon after.
We danced for ages, munching on the snacks and food Violet and Chris spread out on a table. I was about to make Adam sit and watch a movie when a song came on that caught my attention.
I turned and glared at Chris as the words to Achy Breaky Heart began.
“Oooh, Adam. Your Mom is going to show us how to line dance. Grandma made her take lessons when she was growing up.”
“This is sort of a country-themed Halloween party,” Chris reminded me with an unrepentant smile.
“I hate you both so much, right now,” I growled at them.
Chris chuckled and surprised me by walking and standing next to Violet. When he saw my surprise, he smirked.
“You’re not the only one who had to take line dancing.”
I laughed and started showing the steps to Adam. I would never admit it out loud, but I was having fun and laughing so hard by the end of the song.
“Alright, Mom’s winded. Let’s watch a movie, now.” I huffed, falling onto the couch before they made me teach them to square dance. I pointed behind me without looking and added, “I see you swiping more chocolate, my little chocolate thief. Grab me one and let’s watch.”
Adam giggled and grabbed a handful of Hershey’s kisses. He dropped half of them as he ran toward the couch, making Chris chuckle and follow behind him, picking them up. Adam jumped up to cuddle next to me, and Chris handed the stray candy to me.
“Consider this my apology,” he said.
“Apology for what?” I asked, confused, making Violet start giggling behind him.
“Don’t tell her yet!”
“Tell me what?”
“Sorry, Bells. She’s the boss,” Chris smirked.
“I change my mind. You guys aren’t cute, you’re mean,” I huffed, grabbing the remote.
We ended up watching Monster House on Netflix and even Hugh showed up to watch with us, though Adam said he couldn’t have any snacks, because he didn’t have a costume on.
I couldn’t remember much of the movie to know if it was really safe for Adam, but thankfully, I didn’t have to find out because he was out after like fifteen minutes. We continued to watch the movie, though, because why not?
Violet got up to use the restroom halfway through the movie and when she came back, she stopped in front of me, pulled out her phone, and took a picture of Adam cuddling beside me.
“Send that to me?” I whispered.
Violet nodded and went back to Chris’ end of the couch. Once the movie was over, I carried my monkey up to his room and tucked him in, removing his costume without waking him. I put his hat on his headboard, knowing he’d look for it first thing in the morning.
I went downstairs to help clean up, but with Hugh helping, they were almost done by the time I got there. Hugh bade everyone good night, and I went to make sure we weren’t leaving anything out that might attract critters or ants. When I saw everything was clean, I went back into the kitchen.
“Violet, can you send me the picture?”
“I already did,” Violet answered.
I tried to pull my phone from my pocket, but it wasn’t there.
“Shit, can you call my phone? I don’t know where I left it.”
“Sure thing,” she replied.
I heard my ringtone and followed the sound to under the couch. When I finally managed to snag it out, I saw three notifications on the lock screen. The first was the missed call from Violet. The second was the picture text message. I smiled as I looked at the picture and set it as my background right away. The third was a text message from Chris. I clicked on the attachment and as I started hearing the music coming from the video, I realized why Chris had apologized earlier.
“VIOLET! CHRIS! YOU LITTLE RATS!” I screamed, rushing toward the kitchen. Violet was giggling by the time I arrived and, when she saw me, she and Chris took off running up the stairs. “IF ANYONE SEES THIS, I’M MURDERING YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!” I yelled after them. I couldn’t chase them in the damn boots.
“I already sent it to Mom! It’ll be all over Crescent Moon and Guardian Moon by the time the sun is up!” she yelled back.
“I’m going to get you for this!”
“No, you’re not, because you love me, and Adam loves me, and I’m the best aunt ever!”
I shook my head and realized she was right. After all the fun Adam had today, my humiliation at being recorded line dancing was a small price to pay.
I watched the rest of the video and realized it wasn’t that bad. I still had some moves, and Adam looked so cute in his costume. I walked up to my room, removed my costume and got ready for bed. After an hour of tossing and turning, I snuck into Cade’s room again, and I was finally able to sleep.
The next morning, we were going through more rooms when my phone rang.
“Good morning, Mrs. Salonen.”
“It’s just Bells, Mr. Raddison. How can I help you?” I answered.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” he got straight to the point.
Of course. Not sure what else I could have expected. Nothing in my life could ever just be simple.
“What happened?”
“The buyers got an anonymous tip that the soil is contaminated. As you remember, they plan to build a bed and breakfast and turn the land into an orchard. They’re threatening to pull out unless you agree to have environmental testing done, at your expense.”
Yeah right. I bet it was fucking Martha who did it just to be a pain in my ass for not letting her come to Crescent Moon.
“That’s fine, Mr. Raddison, there’s nothing wrong with the soil here. I grew fifty acres of grapes this summer,” I answered tiredly, rubbing my temple against the headache already threatening to explode.
“I thought the same, so I went and looked around for a geotechnical engineer. They’re available in the first week of Dec. Will that work?” he asked.
“But, we’re supposed to close in less than two weeks?” I asked, my stomach sinking.
“There won’t be a closing without this,” he warned.
“Fuck. Okay. I guess if there’s no other way. Can I leave the keys with you?” I asked.
I didn’t want to spend another month here. Everything still reminded me of Cade and the worst mistakes of my life.
“I’ll be out of the state during that time, unfortunately. Plus the engineer usually requests the current owners be there.”
“Of course, they do,” I mumbled. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”
I mulled it over for a bit and then went to find Violet. I hated asking her to stay longer, but if I was stuck here for by myself for a month, I might go crazy.
“Hey Violet, where’s Chris?” I asked as I entered the kitchen.
Violet had taken over the preparation of breakfast, lunch and dinner for the four of us. Chris usually helped, though, having taken the cooking classes Mom offered he boys growing up. I took them, too, but nothing really stuck, unless you counted the food that stuck to the pans when I tried to cook.
“He went out to let Titan for a run, while Adam and I made lunch. What’s up? Do I need to mind-link him?”
“Maybe. I just got off the phone with the realtor. Someone made an anonymous complaint saying the soil is contaminated, and it’s holding back the closing of the sale.”
“Fucking Martha,” Violet growled.
“Pretty much my thought, too,” I answered, amused to hear her cursing, and because I had the same thought.
The vile woman ended up hanging around for days, not leaving until the day before Halloween, and throwing a big hissy fit about loyalty and family meaning nothing.
“How can we help?” Violet asked.
“There’s a soil engineer of sorts coming to test the soil and I need to be here for it. I was hoping you guys would stay with us until then, but...”
“But what?”
“It’s not for another three weeks. You’d miss the full moon back home.”
I knew she wanted to mark Chris, and Dad made them promise not to until they got home. I hated putting her in this situation.
“It’s not a problem, Bells. If you need us here, we’ll happily stay,” Violet answered, a little too cheerfully.
I narrowed my eyes before I realized why she must not be wanting to go back suddenly.
“Still not sure why Cory wants to see you both when you arrive?” I asked.
“No. I asked Dad and he said he ‘wouldn’t ask his alpha’,” Violet huffed. “And, Cory won’t talk to me about it whenever we talk.”
“I tried, Vi. He told me to mind my business.”
That wasn’t entirely true. I had gathered a bit of information about what he wanted from them, but I promised Cory I wouldn’t spill the beans.
“He’s so stubborn. How the hell did you deal with his big brother act for so long?”
“I’m more stubborn than he is,” I laughed. “Do you need to talk to Chris about it?”
“I will, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem. We’re like in our own little bubble here. It’s nice. I do miss home, but it’s going to be rumors-r-us once we get back, and everyone finds out we’re together.” Her face was suddenly filled with worry.
“Meh, don’t let it bother you. You guys are cute as fuck together, and things will die down,” I assured her.
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” she mumbled.
“Chris is a big boy, Vi. I don’t think there’s a power in heaven or hell that will make him leave you again. Not even Cory, should he try. And, you know you have everyone in your corner if he somehow lost his shit and had an issue with it.”
“Are you trying to convince me to leave early?” Violet teased.
“Nooo!” Adam cried out from beside us, his eyes tearing and making my heart break.
“Hey, we’re not leaving. We’re staying with you and Bells until we all go home, okay?” Violet was quick to reassure him.
“Promise?” Adam asked, wiping his face.
“Pinky promise!” Violet said, hooking her little finger with his.
I sighed, wishing once again Cade would call me. It was a week since he would have heard my message. I was losing hope that there was a chance he’d forgive me.
The next two weeks weren’t so bad. Now that we were stuck here for another month, we slowed down sorting through everything and spent the afternoons having fun when the snow hit. It was Violet’s first time in the snow, so we made giant snowmen and even had an impromptu snowball fight.
It wasn’t until I went grocery shopping with Adam, and we walked by the feminine hygiene aisle, that I realized something wasn’t right.
Weren’t we supposed to start our period last week? I asked Coyo.
I don’t track it like you do, she answered, stretching in the back of my mind.
I started panicking in the middle of the aisle, trying to do math or remember when my last period was.
You’d know if we were pregnant right? I asked her.
I—Not right away. I didn’t know until we were told last time.
We took our birth control, right? I asked her more desperately.
Most days?
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This couldn’t be happening, I thought feeling the sting of tears in the back of my eyes as I panicked.
“Mom? Are you okay?” Adam’s voice brought me out of my internal meltdown.
To reassure him, I tried to smile down at Adam in the cart seat. I wasn’t sure how successful I was.
“Yeah. I’m good, sweetie.”
We walked through the aisle, and I stopped again when I saw the rows of pregnancy tests. We didn’t have a doctor or clinic anymore, so this would have to do. I grabbed different ones, just in case, and hurried with the rest of the list Violet gave me.
When I got home, I dropped the bags on the counter, keeping the one with tests in my hand, and went straight for my sister, but addressed the man beside her. “Chris, can you watch Adam?”
“Sure. Everything okay?”
“Everything’s great. I need to borrow Violet,” I answered, grabbing my sister by the hand and pulling her up the stairs with the bag full of tests.
“Bells, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
I pulled her into her room and into the bathroom, shutting both doors behind us out of paranoia. It wasn’t like Chris to snoop, but I was panicking right now and rational thinking had gone out the window.
“I think I might be pregnant.” I blurted out, and Violet’s eyes practically bugged out of her head as she watched me empty the bag of tests into the sink. “I’m freaking out, Vi. What am I going to do?”
I was on the verge of tears, but I had held it in for almost an hour, and now I was near hysterics. Cade never called me back. If I was pregnant, I was going to be doing this alone.
What was I going to tell my parents? Cory? I never told Cory I was with anyone, and suddenly I was going to show up pregnant? I was going to be a disgrace, returning to Crescent Moon without a mate, nothing to show for my absence and now pregnant.
I felt someone shaking my shoulders, bringing me out of my spiraling thoughts.
“Snap out of it!” Violet was screaming.
“What?”
“Oh, Goddess, you scared me. You just froze.”
“What am I going to do, Vi?” I answered weakly.
“For one, you’re going to take a test, so we can know for sure. We can panic after,” she instructed.
“Okay. Okay. I can do that,” I answered, lowering my pants.
“Not in front of me!” Violet squealed, covering her eyes and giggling.
“Sorry. I’m a little freaked out,” I defended, pulling my pants back up.
“I can see that. How about this? You bought like fifty of them. We’ll both take a couple of tests together and that way you’re not doing it alone.”
“Yeah, okay, let’s do that,” I replied, trying to calm my racing heart.
“Alright, you go, and then I’ll—”
“You can’t leave.” I grabbed her arm, stopping her from exiting the bathroom.
“Bells, I don’t want to watch you pee on multiple sticks, and there’s only one toilet,” she replied and I looked over at the shower.
“I’m not peeing in the shower!” Violet continued to laugh nervously.
“Please?” I begged.
“No. Not happening. Especially not in my tub. I shower in there every night!”
“Downstairs. There are the communal toilets,” I suddenly remembered.
“Fine. Help me put these back in the bag, and we’ll go downstairs.”
With shaky hands, I helped put all the tests back into the bag, and we snuck into the downstairs bathroom. I dumped all the tests into one of the sinks and ripped open four boxes. I divided the eight tests between Violet and myself.
“It’s not like this is fair. You know it’ll be negative,” I grumbled.
“I mean, I don’t have t—”
“Take the test.” I shoved a little cup at her to pee in.
I went into one of the stalls, peed into the cup, then dipped the tests into them. I heard Violet doing the same in the other stall. We both came out with the tests and set them face down on the sink.
“How long has it been?” I asked what felt like hours later.
“Like twenty seconds, Bells,” Violet laughed and pulled out her phone, setting her timer to four minutes.
“The test box said three.”
“Four just to make sure.” Violet shrugged.
I paced every second of those four long minutes, my hands itching to check the tests.
“How long has it been,” I asked, what felt like hours later.
“Bells, relax.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Well, get the shot when we get home.”
“A little late if I’m already pregnant,” I grumbled.
The phone timer went off and I jumped, now not wanting to get close to the tests.
“Come on, Bells. We’ll do it together.”
I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans and nodded. We both stepped up to the tests and I grabbed the first and flipped it over.
Positive.
I grabbed the next one and flipped the three remaining over one by one.
Positive.
Positive.
Positive.
Four different tests, four positive results. My breath shook and strangely, I felt a sense of peace and joy settle into my body.
I was pregnant.
I was going to have a pup.
I was going to have Cade’s pup.
We can do this, right Coyo? I asked my wolf.
With you all the way, she assured me.
I looked up to smile at Violet, but found her frozen in place, staring down at her four tests. I walked over and looked over her shoulder.
“Oh, shit! You’re pregnant, too,” I whispered.