20. Kennedy
Chapter 20
Kennedy
W ell, now I knew why I had been feeling so icky for the last few weeks. The possibility of pregnancy hadn't even crossed my mind. I'd only slept with Eli once , and I was on birth control. With Charlotte, I’d been stupid, because in the haze of lust and alcohol, I hadn't even thought to ask her father if he had a condom.
As much as I adored my daughter, I hadn’t wanted it to happen again, so as soon as she was born, I went on very strong birth control.
Apparently, it wasn't strong enough.
Maybe I should have just asked my doctors to tie my tubes when I gave birth.
Then again, even in the agony of birth, I’d known I wanted more children one day. I just assumed I would be bonded. Settled in a job, instead of working on my master’s.
Was I going to have to give up my studies? I had worked so hard, and I was so close to the end. Simply being pregnant and studying was hard enough. Doing that with a baby who hadn’t even turned one yet felt like an impossible task.
I desperately wanted to believe Eli when he said he would be there for me. Everything he had done until now had shown him to be a sweet and caring alpha. I had no reason to distrust his word. My own past was probably making me overcautious, but I couldn't help that Charlotte’s father had ditched me before I could even tell him about her.
My sleep schedule was only just starting to get back to normal now that Charlotte was a bit older. A new baby would mean more sleepless nights. What if they both went through a sleep regression at the same time? I'd be a walking zombie, and there's no way in hell I'd be able to finish my degree.
All those people that tell you to rest before the baby comes, because you won't be sleeping once they arrive, were liars. The lack of sleep started long before the baby arrived. Getting a good night's rest with what was the equivalent of a beach ball taped to your stomach, that liked to occasionally kick you from the inside, did not make for a good night's sleep.
“Here, drink this,” Eli said, placing a cup of herbal tea in front of me. “Ginger tea.”
I thanked him and took the cup as he sat down next to me, taking my spare hand in his. Eli fidgeted in his seat for a second, turning to me, an optimistic look on his face that immediately put me on edge.
“How would you feel about meeting my pack tomorrow? I told them about you, Charlotte, and the baby, and they’re excited to meet you.”
Tomorrow?
“You’ve already told them? That feels so soon,” I admitted, chewing my lip. I busied myself drinking the herbal tea, instead of answering. I hadn’t even told Beth yet—I had been so lost in my own world that I hadn’t even thought about it.
Eli filled the silence easily. “I told them immediately. We don’t keep anything from each other, especially something big like this.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” I nodded, dazed.
What would his pack think of me? I had met Micha, and he was sweet, but the other two members of the pack were an unknown to me. Like it or not, I was connected to them now through this baby. If they didn’t like me, it was going to be a nightmare.
The last thing I wanted was to cause unhappiness in Eli’s pack. He had spoken about his pack mates with such joy. If I ruined that, I would never forgive myself.
“Given our situation, I think sooner rather than later is a good idea. With another baby on the way, you’re going to need all the support you can get.”
“I’m worried, Eli. What if they don’t like me?”
The alpha looked at me in shock. “Kennedy, they’ll love you. It’s impossible not to like you.”
That made me snort in disbelief. “Eli, I’m a single mother. Your pack mates are college students, still enjoying their youth. I’ll be cramping your style.”
“Kennedy, I’m twenty-seven. My party days are long behind me… and by party days, I mean the times I would stay up all night playing World of Warcraft with friends.”
The idea of Eli sitting at his PC all night, playing a video game, made me smile. He seemed so grown up and put together. It only endeared me to him further.
“I know,” I huffed. “It’s just such a huge change. I was finally getting used to my new normal with Char. This…this changes everything.”
“It does, but we need to look on the bright side.”
“Bright side? My ankles are going to swell, and I'm going to blow up to the size of a whale. Yes, we get a cute, squishable baby out of it, but the process of making the baby is not fun.”
Eli raised an eyebrow at me. “I beg to differ. The process of making the baby was extremely fun. The process of growing the baby is probably not as much.”
I snorted a laugh, putting my tea down. “I think I have to agree with you there.”
“And if your ankles swell, I will just give you daily ankle and foot rubs.”
“Daily? Those are some bold words, Mr. Daniels. Don't write checks you can't cash.”
He smirked. “Oh, I fully intend to do it every day. See, Kennedy, I'm kind of obsessed with you, so touching you in any way, shape, or form is heaven in my books.”
“Does that include neck massages? Because I do get a sore neck when I've been studying.” I hummed thoughtfully, taking another sip of the tea. “Ugh. This stuff tastes like medicine now. I drank so much of it throughout my first pregnancy.”
“Can the doctors do anything for the nausea?”
I nodded. “There's a medication I got last time that I'm sure I'll be able to get again. It helped a little bit, but it was hardly a cure. Instead of running to the bathroom twenty times a day, it was only three or four.”
Eli frowned. “Statistically, that’s a good decrease, but I would much rather we get it down to no times a day.”
“Think that would be asking for a miracle, honestly,” I said, shifting in my seat. This discussion of being sick was making my stomach queasy.
Eli beamed down at me, his face almost adoring. What had I done to deserve that look? I was a mess, sick, sleep deprived. Probably had enough bags under my eyes to rival a celebrity's closet.
“Well, you decided to take a chance on a math nerd who hit on you in the library, so clearly, miracles do happen.”
My heart hammered at his words. Why did he have to be so dang sweet?
“Okay,” I moaned, though I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “Tomorrow, I’ll go meet your pack. Should I see if I can get a sitter for Charlotte?”
Eli shook his head, grinning from ear to ear. “Bring her. She’s part of this family now. She’s adorable, they’re going to love her.”
I huffed a small sigh of relief. If given the choice, I would much rather have had my daughter with me.
Once Eli left to go run errands, I grabbed my phone. There was someone I needed to tell about this latest life development.
“Please tell me the world is on fire, and I need to come home immediately ,” Beth said as she answered the video call. She was lying on her bed, just like I was. She was in her childhood room, which was an explosion of fluorescent pink.
She looked exhausted. Visiting her family always took it out of her, but for some reason, she still went every few months.
“Hey,” I greeted warmly.
“You look terrible. Are you feeling okay?” she asked.
“I’ve got some news…”
“You banged the hot alpha?” Beth smirked.
Looking back, I wasn’t sure how I’d managed to go this long without telling her. Between making up for work I’d missed while sick, taking care of Lottie, and seeing Eli, life had gotten busy.
“Yep. And now I'm pregnant again.”
Beth was quiet for a second as I let the information sink in. “What!?” she shouted.
“We had car sex, and apparently, I’m so fertile, my birth control was useless!” I cried, flopping back in my bed.
“Well…fuck. When will my new niece or nephew be here?” she asked.
“I think, around July?”
Beth nodded. “Well, we can make this work. You’ll have taken your finals before then, and I’ll be around to help with Charlotte as much as possible. How’s the alpha taking it?”
I sighed. “Being an absolute saint. He wants to be there to support me and look after me and he is perfect. A few weeks ago, he came over to pick me up for a date and discovered I was sick. He proceeded to call one of his pack mates, and the two of them spent the next two days taking care of Charlotte and looking after me while I recovered from the flu.”
“Woah, Kennedy, they sound pretty perfect! Have you managed to find some good ones?” she asked excitedly.
“Maybe? I don't want to get too carried away, but they seem eager to be involved. I'm going to his pack house tomorrow to meet his entire pack. Beth, I’m freaking out.”
“They're going to love you. Of course, they're going to love you. You’re you .”
“But I already have a child. Having a second one is just going to complicate things.”
“Well, you can't really change it now, can you? Ugh, I hate that I'm all the way over in Nebraska. I'm flying back in a few days, and we’re having ice cream and discussing this!”
From somewhere behind Beth, I could hear one of her family members shouting, trying to get her attention. She sighed deeply.
“Do you need to go?”
“Probably. I don't want to. All my brothers are in their twenties, and yet they can’t toast a piece of bread.”
I winced. Beth didn't talk much about the time she spent with her family, but from the little tidbits of information she had dropped over the years, I knew they didn't exactly treat her kindly.
“Go, I’ll text you and let you know how the meet goes. Ice cream when you’re home sounds delightful.”
Beth smiled. “I’ll bring the rocky road.”