Chapter 20
Indio’s knee bounced as he waited in the exam room with Reagan.
Doc Paula—the wolf shifter doctor—was going to do Reagan’s six-week ultrasound and had invited them to come to her home in the wolves’ private living area that doubled as a medical suite.
Shifters didn’t really get sick or need much in the way of medical interventions, but Doc Paula helped anyone who was injured and had helped deliver all the babies in the park.
And with more humans becoming soulmates, it was good to have someone with lots of medical knowledge who was also a shifter.
“Are you nervous?” Reagan asked from where she was perched on the table, the protective paper crinkling as she moved. She was wearing a gown and pink fuzzy socks, and smiling at him like he was too cute.
“A little, but I’m mostly excited.”
“Me too.”
The door opened and Doc Paula walked in and smiled warmly.
“So,” she said, “you’re the famous Reagan who stared down a major storm and lived to tell the tale. It’s really nice to meet you, I’m Doc Paula.” She shook Reagan’s hand and then nodded at Indio. “It’s nice to see you again, Indio. Now, how about we meet this little miracle of yours?”
Indio stood and held Reagan’s hand as she got into position as directed by Doc Paula, feet in stirrups and a light blanket over her lower half. Paula pulled an ultrasound machine over and sat on a stool.
As the machine whirred to life, Paula said, “Six weeks, give or take?”
“Just a little over,” Reagan said.
“Perfect.” She made some notes, then picked up the wand and added lubricant to it. “All right, my dear. Let’s take a look.”
Reagan squeezed Indio’s hand as Paula used the wand.
He’d faced a lot over the years—the occasional battles to keep the park safe, years of waiting for his soulmate, the damn storm that had nearly cost him everything—but he’d never been quite so nervous as he was right now.
The excitement he’d felt as they’d waited for Paula had been replaced by full-blown nerves.
His heart was pounding so hard he was having trouble breathing.
Then a fast, rhythmic whoosh-whoosh-whoosh filled the room.
The screen was filled with a grainy black and white image that sharpened slightly as Paula clicked some buttons. “There you go, you two. Take a listen to that heartbeat! And here’s your little one, safe and sound.”
She pointed the arrow on the screen to the tiny baby inside Reagan’s womb.
“Oh my gosh!” Reagan gasped. “That’s our baby!”
Indio couldn’t speak. His throat was tight and his elephant was trumpeting in joy in his head. He pressed his lips to Reagan’s hand, trying to find words, but all that he could manage was a rough whispered, “That’s our baby.”
“Strong heartbeat! Let me take measurements and then I’ll print out some pictures for you.” As Paula clicked on the screen and took measurements, Reagan looked at Indio with tear-filled eyes.
“That’s our little peanut,” she said, laughing softly.
His eyes were stinging with tears. He leaned over and kissed her. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
“For what?” she asked.
“For this. For you. For giving me everything I ever wanted. Home and family and love. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Okay, you’re really going to make me cry,” she said.
“Sorry, I’m just so happy.”
Paula printed a few images and handed them over. Reagan held them like a treasure, and Indio just couldn’t believe that his soulmate was having his baby. It seemed like an incredible dream.
“Everything looks great,” Paula said. “Keep taking your vitamins, and no more getting trapped in the woods during wild storms.”
“I promise,” Reagan said as Indio helped her sit up.
“Your due date is August eighteenth. I’ll see you again in the middle of March for your five-month ultrasound.
If you have any questions or you’re worried about anything—and I mean anything at all—you call me.
Day or night, no matter what. Pregnancy can be nerve-wracking, and I’m here for you whenever and wherever. ”
“Thank you so much,” Reagan said.
“You’re very welcome. Take care, you two.”
“Thank you,” Indio said.
When they were alone in the room, Reagan handed the pictures to him. “That’s our baby’s first photo shoot. He or she did pretty great, I think.”
“I think so too.”
She kissed him and then said, “I need my clothes and I could go for some lunch. How about you?”
“I’m game. What are you in the mood for?”
“Barbecue. I don’t know what kind, but hopefully Jeanie has something for lunch that I can put barbecue sauce on.” Jeanie, mated to alpha wolf Joss, was in charge of the marketplace cafeteria underground and had been happy to make Reagan anything she was craving.
“If not, I’ll take you out for lunch,” he promised.
“You’re the best.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re the best,” he said. “Did I tell you I love you today?”
“Earlier when you sexed me up in the shower,” she said, hopping down from the table and grabbing her pants to pull on. “And then again when we were walking over here. And also when I was getting undressed.”
He grinned. “I never get tired of telling you.”
“And I never get tired of hearing it, I promise. Now let’s go get Mama some barbecue. And then see where the day takes us.”
“I have a few thoughts,” he said with a low growl.
She put on her boots and let out a chuckle. “I bet you do.”
They left the wolves’ private area and headed down the hall toward the cafeteria. His arm was around her as they walked, and she was holding the sonogram pictures close to her heart. “Can you believe we’re going to be parents?”
“It seems surreal,” he said. “But a gift too.”
Before they reached the marketplace, he stopped and faced her. “There’s something I’ve been carrying around for a while.”
“What?” she asked.
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small pouch. “I was waiting for the right moment, and I think this is it.”
He opened the pouch and drew out a delicate silver ring, the smooth band etched with an intricate infinity pattern. “It belonged to my grandma. My dad gave it to me the day we left the circus to give to you when the time was right.”
He went down on one knee and she sucked in a breath. “Reagan, I’d move heaven and earth to be with you. You changed my whole world the day you walked into the shed. You’re my heart and my home, and my future, wrapped up in a beautiful person, inside and out. Will you marry me?”
“Oh, Indio,” she said, pressing her hand to her lips, her eyes filling with tears.
“Is that a yes?” he asked.
“It’s definitely a yes.” He pushed the ring onto her finger, thankful it fit perfectly, as if it had been made for her. “I love it, and I love you.”
“I love you too,” he said. He rose to his feet and drew her close, kissing her slowly and sweetly. He lost himself in the softness of her lips and the knowledge that she was his and he was hers.
Forever.
After grabbing lunch in the cafeteria, including barbecue chicken sandwiches piled with coleslaw that they both loved, they video chatted with his parents to share the good news.
His mom answered her phone on the second ring, and let out a delighted cry when Reagan raised her hand to show the ring on her finger.
“Oh, I knew you two would get engaged soon! I’m so glad that your dad gave you the ring before you left! Congratulations!”
His dad appeared on the screen and smiled with a nod. “Wonderful news! Congratulations. Your grandma would be so proud.”
“We also heard the baby’s heartbeat today,” Indio said.
“I’ll text you pics of the sonogram,” Reagan said.
“My first grandbaby!” Amara said with a broad smile. “I’m so happy for you both.”
They talked with his family for a while, about the circus and the park, and plans to visit with them in the spring when the weather was nicer.
When the call ended, Reagan said, “I love how supportive your family is.”
“Me too. I’m lucky to have the close family I have, but they’re your family now too.”
“That makes me feel very lucky.”
Next came the video chat with Rhomi and Darcy, the three-way call full of excitement for not only the engagement but also the baby news. He excused himself to chat with Alistair and share the news with him, while Rhomi and Darcy gushed over the ring and the sonogram pictures Reagan had texted them.
It was later that night, after he and Reagan made love and snuggled together under the blankets in the bedroom, that she told him she wanted to get married at the circus, but she didn’t want to exclude her friends or the park memory.
“I bet if we give them enough time, they can swing the circus up this way,” Indio said. “They travel on a schedule but they’re very flexible, especially for family.”
“I’d love that. I can’t imagine a better place to get married than under the big top with all our friends and family in attendance.”
“Sounds perfect to me.”
“The girls are coming over tomorrow for an impromptu engagement and baby party. We’ll hang out in the employee cafeteria.”
“With those barbecue chicken sandwiches?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah. That sounds good. And red licorice.”
“Whatever you want, sweetheart.” He kissed her forehead and breathed in her sweet scent.
“I just want you,” she whispered, her hands flexing on his back. “And red licorice.”