Chapter 37
Ian
On Christmas Eve, Julia sits cross-legged on the living room floor, surrounded by wrapping paper and ribbon, her belly so round now that she has a hard time reaching the gifts in front of her.
Her dark hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun, a few silver strands catching the light from the fire.
She’s wearing one of my flannel shirts over her leggings because none of her own clothes fit anymore, and she’s never looked more beautiful.
“I’m done with the girls’ gifts,” she says without looking up. “I know they won’t open them until they’re home in a few weeks, but I’m not sure I’ll have time to wrap them once the babies come. Plus, they’ll look pretty under the tree.”
“Almost as pretty as you.”
“Come help me with the rest of these.” She gestures at the mountain of children’s books stacked nearby that are destined for my thirty nieces and nephews. I groan. Why are my brothers so fecund?
“Are you sure we need to wrap them?” I settle down beside her, careful not to jostle any of her piles. She’s organized everything by age group and reading level, because of course she has. “They’ll rip through the paper in two seconds anyway.”
“Unwrapping is the fun part.”
“I know I like unwrapping you.” I tug the hem of her flannel, threatening to pop the buttons.
She giggles, swatting my hand away before passing me the scissors. “You cut, I’ll tape.”
I lean over and press a kiss to her temple. “You got it, pretty girl.”
This is my idea of heaven. An evening by the fire, preparing for the holidays with my mate, anticipating the birth of our pups.
Tomorrow we’ll head to my parents’ place for the big gathering, all my brothers and their mates and their families, chaos and love and wadded-up wrapping paper spilling out of every corner. But tonight is just for us.
Well. Almost.
I’ve been keeping a little secret, and it’s been killing me. Every time Julia gets that wistful look in her eyes, every time she checks her phone hoping for a message from Christmas-Day-already Korea, I want to spill everything. But I’ve held strong. The surprise will be worth it.
“Can you cut this here?” Julia asks, holding a length of ribbon out to me.
As her faithful scissors-minder, I dutifully snip where she indicates and then watch in awe as she ties a perfect bow on the package. “You’re so good at this.”
“Twenty years of wrapping birthday presents and Christmas gifts for two kids.” She grins at me and sets the package aside. “This is fun for me. I miss it.”
There it is. That shadow crossing her face.
“You’ll see them again soon,” I say carefully.
“I know. It’s just hard, being apart during the holidays.” She picks up one of the picture books we shopped for together and idly flips through the pages. “Matthew came home from college last week, and Nicole and Heidi have been spoiling him rotten.”
“That’s sweet.”
“It is.” Julia’s smile is tearful. My mate has such a tender heart. “I’m happy for them. I just wish...”
She doesn’t finish the sentence, but I know what she means. She wishes she could protect her kids from any bad feelings or circumstances. I feel the same way about her. That’s how it is with the people you love.
“Your girls understand,” I tell her, pulling her gently against my side. “They know you did what you had to do.”
“I sent their father to jail, Ian. Right before Christmas.” Her voice cracks as she leans her head on my shoulder. “Right after he was in their ear about me being unfaithful. What do they think of me?”
“That you’re a woman who was protecting herself from a man who was hurting her.” I nuzzle against her hair, breathing in her scent. “Richard made his choices. He’s facing the consequences. There’s no blame to be placed on you.”
She’s quiet for a long moment. Then she takes a shaky breath and sits up straighter. “You’re right. I know you’re right. It’s just hard to shake the mom guilt, knowing that they’re affected, too.”
“If they don’t understand now, they will down the road.”
She leans over to kiss me, soft and sweet, and once again, I have to fight back the urge to spill my secret when she reaches for her phone to check her text messages again.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” she says, putting it back down. “Mako called about the case against Richard while you were bringing in more firewood.”
I suck in a breath. Things have been complicated since he was arrested. His bank accounts were frozen pending the investigation, and that has caused some issues with tuition for the girls’ next semester. “Good news or bad news?”
“Good news. Really good news, actually. Apparently, Richard’s parents set up trust funds for the girls years ago with specific provisions for educational expenses, and because they’re not in Richard’s name, they’re exempt from the state’s asset seizure.”
My tail starts to wag despite my efforts to control it. “So their education is protected?”
“Completely. And the house will go to them, too, which is what I wanted when I asked for it in the divorce, anyway.” She shakes her head, a disbelieving laugh escaping her. “It feels strange. I spent so long being afraid of him, thinking he had all the power. And now...”
“Now you’re free.”
“Now I’m free,” she echoes softly. Of course, she doesn’t mention that she won’t be getting any kind of settlement, but I know that the money wasn’t important to her, anyway. She’s looking ahead to her future, and I’ll take care of anything else she needs.
I pull her closer, resting my hand on her belly where our pups are doing their evening gymnastics.
I can feel them moving under my palm, three little lives getting ready to enter the world.
Dr. MacDougal says everything is progressing perfectly.
Julia’s been taking her prenatal vitamins and getting plenty of protein, and the pups are right on track for their due date in less than a week.
I’ve been doing everything I can to make her comfortable.
Extra pillows on the bed. Daily afternoon naps on the couch.
Snacks on demand. Endless leg rubs, back rubs, and foot rubs, depending on what’s bothering her the most. She’s always so grateful, but it’s nothing compared to what she’s doing for our pups.
“We should finish wrapping,” Julia says reluctantly. “How many more do we have?”
I glance at the remaining stack. “Maybe a dozen? We’re really cranking through them.”
We work in comfortable silence for a while, the fire crackling and Christmas music playing softly from the speaker in the corner while we tie bows and add the gift tags. My phone buzzes in my pocket. I check it discreetly while Julia is focused on a particularly tricky wrapping job.
Landed. Getting our bags.
My heartrate kicks up. I type back a quick response and try to slide the phone away before Julia notices.
“Everything okay?” she asks. Apparently I wasn’t quite fast enough.
“Fine, just Mam checking in about the plans tomorrow. Making sure you’re still up for it,” I fib.
“I am, as long as these little ones stay put.” Julia pats her belly fondly. “I don’t think it’ll be tomorrow, but I’ve been having some Braxton-Hicks contractions, so it won’t be long.”
“You want me to get you some water? More pillows?”
“Ian.” She laughs. “I’m fine. Just help me get these done so I can get off the floor.”
We finish the last of the presents just as dusk begins to settle, clean up all the ribbon scraps, and then retreat to the couch to cuddle by the fire.
The tree we cut ourselves twinkles with white lights, and the stockings we picked out for the pups hang from the mantel next to the ones belonging to Julia’s girls.
“I still can’t believe this is my life sometimes.” Julia says quietly, surveying the scene. “Less than three months ago, I was reading The Three Little Pigs to preschoolers and feeling sorry for myself. Now I’m here with you in our house, pregnant with three little pigs of our own.”
I chuckle at her description. “They’re definitely as hungry as three little pigs.”
“No kidding.”
There’s a knock at the door. Julia starts to push herself up to answer, but I put a hand on her shoulder. “Stay comfortable. I’ll get it.”
“If it’s carolers, call for me. I want to come listen.”
“Probably just a delivery.” I keep my voice casual even though my heart is pounding. “I ordered some last-minute things for the nursery.”
When I open the front door, two young women are standing on the porch, bundled up against the cold, surrounded by suitcases.
The taller one has clear-pink glasses that are fogging with her breath, and the shorter one has a fuzzy angora hat with a huge pom-pom that makes her the same height as her sister.
They’re both staring at me with curiosity…
and smiles that look exactly like their mother’s.
Behind them, an older woman is waiting, rubbing her arms and stomping her feet to stay warm in the chilly evening air. She’s not smiling, but I have a feeling when she cracks one, it’ll match theirs, too.
“Welcome,” I say. “Come on in out of the cold. I’ll get the bags.”
“Hi,” the taller one says. “I’m Samantha. This is Molly. You must be Ian. And this is Halmi, our grandmother, of course.”
The white-haired woman behind them, Julia’s mom, says something to me in Korean, and Molly translates. “She says ‘Don’t call me grandmother. I’m not old enough to be yours.’”
A surprised laugh bursts out of me. “What should I call you?”
Once again, Molly translates. “Eomma is fine. That means ‘mom.’ Or Mrs. Song, but she says that is her ex-mother-in-law’s name, so she would rather you didn’t.”
“Eomma it is.” That earns me a smile, and sure enough, it looks just like Julia’s. “Well, you three are even more beautiful than your pictures. Come in, come in. You must be freezing.”
I show them inside and then fetch their bags while they’re shedding their shoes and coats, all giggles and whispers and wide eyes as they take in the cabin…and me, apparently.