Chapter 14
MISHA
If the first two months of my pregnancy felt like they’d crawled by, the second half seemed to be running on fast forward.
After I convinced Tucker to fuck me, he’d made it his mission to make up for lost time, and everything had been a blur of amazing sex and baby prep.
The nursery was almost done. Tucker was just putting the final touches on a stylized forest mural he was painting on one of the walls, and it looked amazing.
He’d volunteered to help me out at the farmer’s market, but I knew he wanted to finish the painting so we could get the rest of the room finished, so after he’d helped me load the car, I’d given him a hot goodbye kiss and been on my way.
It was my second spring in Key West, so it still surprised me how quickly the cooler, dry winter gave way to spring’s higher temperatures and even higher humidity.
To say I wasn’t handling the change well was an understatement.
I didn’t remember last year being this bad, but I also hadn’t been super pregnant last year, so there was that.
And on the plus side, I wouldn’t be pregnant in the summer.
Tucker was less than pleased that I was still insisting on spending the day outside in the heat, and he’d made sure I had several large insulated tumblers filled with ice water and a cooler full of ice packs and cold snacks.
I also knew he’d have an ice cool bath waiting for me when I got home.
Just thinking about lounging in the cool water made my body relax.
When I pulled up to my spot at the market, Libby—the fox shifter college kid I’d hired to help me out over the summer—was already waiting for me, her red hair plaited into two French braids.
I parked and pulled myself out of the car, my lower back protesting the movement. Libby hustled over and offered a hand, but I waved her away. “Hey, Libs. Thanks for getting the tent set up.”
“No problem. Is everything in the trunk?”
I nodded. “Sure is.”
“I’ll grab it. Why don’t you sit while I set up.” She pointed to a folding camp chair that she’d tucked into a corner under the tent and held out her hand for my car keys, which I passed over.
“Can you do me a favor and grab one of the waters from the front cup holders?”
“Of course. On it!”
I settled into the chair, grateful it was one of the sturdy ones that didn’t sink too much in the middle so I’d be able to get up fairly easily when I inevitably had to waddle to the bathroom a hundred times.
At least the park where the market took place had a building that housed the bathrooms so I wouldn’t have to squeeze myself into a porta-potty. Small miracles.
“Here you go.” Libby passed me one of the tumblers of water, and I took a long drink. I was already sweating, and I’d forgotten my little portable fan. Shit. Maybe if I didn’t think about the fact that I was melting I could convince myself it wasn’t happening.
But I’d signed up for this. I could have easily left Libby to run the booth.
She was clever and had been working with me in the workshop at Miss Abbott’s since she’d gotten back from St. Morrigan’s in Montreal, and she knew the products almost as well as I did.
The thing was, I liked interacting with people.
I’d left the shy omega I’d been in Alaska behind, and I genuinely enjoyed making small talk and catching up with the locals and tourists alike.
It was why, despite my beeswax business’s success I still worked part time at Nico’s bakery.
Nico and I had become good friends, and I enjoyed spending time with him and talking to everyone who came into the bakery.
Thinking about how I’d been—clumsy and unsure—the day I’d met Tucker when he’d come into the bakery for pastries on Valentine’s Day versus how I felt now—confident and secure—I barely recognized myself, but in the best way.
Here in Key West, with Tucker, I’d found myself. And I’d never been happier.
Libby made quick work of getting the booth set up, and by nine, we already had a line. It was a good thing I hadn’t left Libby alone because the crowd was massive, both locals and tourists browsing the wares on offer.
“I think this might be our best day yet. We’ve already sold out of the hand salve, and we only have two of the stretch mark cream and the after-sun lotion left.”
The market had only been open for a little more than an hour. She was right, if things kept going like this, we’d sell out.
“Speaking of the after-sun cream, did you put on sunscreen? We don’t want another lobster incident.”
Libby used her middle finger to push her sunglasses up her nose, and I laughed. “Yes, Dad. I put on sunscreen. I’ve even reapplied.”
I nodded toward her braids. “Even on your part?”
She turned around so I could see the braids. “Check it out. No part. I found a tutorial on YouTube.”
Sure enough, her braids were fashioned in a way that left no exposed part, the strands crisscrossing over the back of her head in a sort of zigzag pattern.
It looked really cool, and for a minute I imagined watching YouTube to figure out how to do my daughter’s hair.
Arctic hare kits were born in their animal form, and it would be impossible to tell their sex until they were about six months old when they had their first shift.
After they shifted into human form, they would stay that way until puberty when they would once again be able to take their animal form, and their secondary gender—alpha or omega—would become apparent.
Some shifter species had a third secondary gender, but for arctic hare shifters you were either an alpha or an omega.
Another wave of patrons flowed into the booth, and it was a long time before I got another second to think about my babies.
The day had gotten warmer and warmer, but I tried to ignore it as Libby and I were run off our feet, moving like a well-oiled machine to take payments and wrap and bag purchases.
“Misha? Are you okay? You’re really red all of a sudden.” Libby’s concerned voice sounded like it was coming from far away, and I suddenly couldn’t focus on her face. “Misha? Oh shit.”
I started to sway on my feet, my vision going fuzzy around the edges as I felt myself start to fall.
Libby reached for me, but a pair of strong arms caught me before I could hit the ground.
For a second, everything went dark, then the next thing I knew, I was sitting in the camp chair, and something cold was being pressed against the back of my neck.
“Misha, baby. Are you okay?” Tucker’s voice sounded panicked, and I slowly blinked my eyes open bringing him into focus.
“I’m okay.” The words sounded a little weak, and I actually felt kind of shitty.
“Where is your water?”
Libby appeared with the empty tumbler I’d downed that morning. “It’s gone.”
“I packed him three.” Tucker looked around trying to find the other water bottles. “Where are the rest?”
I lifted a hand and gestured vaguely to the car.
“I’ll grab them.” Libby sprinted toward my car while Tucker ran his hands over my thighs.
“Baby, you need to stay hydrated in this heat. You know that.” Even though he was rightly chastising me, I could hear the worry in his tone.
“It was busy.”
He shook his head and following the motion made me dizzy. “Not an excuse, Misha. What would have happened if you had fainted and I wasn’t there to catch you?”
Thinking about that made me feel like I was going to throw up, but I swallowed hard, taking the water bottle Libby held out and downing a slow sip.
“I’m taking you home.”
I tried to shake my head, but my vision swam, and I nodded instead.
“Libby, can you finish up here?”
“For sure. We don’t have much stock left. We could pack up now and not lose out on much.”
“Great. Let’s do that. What do you need help with?”
Libby waved Tucker off. “Nothing. I can fit what we have left in one box. The display crates and decor stuff just need to be packed and stacked and the tablecloths and banner need to be folded. The market provides the tables and the tent. We usually set it up and take it down to give them a hand, but since we’re ducking out a little early, they’ll take care of it. ”
“You tell me what to do, and I’ll help.”
Libby blushed bright red. My guess was she hadn’t had many experiences where an alpha was telling her they’d follow her lead. I hoped she got to have more experiences like this one at school.
I was feeling better, so I tried to stand, knowing three sets of hands would make the minimal teardown go even faster, but Tucker pushed me back into the chair with one gentle hand on my chest.
“I can help.”
“I know you can, but I’m not going to let you. You sit there and drink that water. I want it gone by the time we finish packing up.”
I knew I was dehydrated and overheated, and that Tucker was one hundred percent right, so I didn’t put up a fight. Instead I sat dutifully, with the ice pack on my neck, and sipped at the water.
When everything had been loaded into my car, Tucker came over and helped me up out of the chair. I had to admit I was glad he was there because I was suddenly so tired I could barely stand. All I wanted was to get home, into the blissfully cool air conditioning, and sleep for days.
Tucker bundled me into the passenger seat of my car and pressed the third water bottle into my hands, tossing the now empty first and second bottles onto the back seat.
“You scared me, baby.”
“I’m so sorry. It was so busy, and I didn’t realize how much time had passed.” A huge yawn cracked my jaw. “I know better.”
Tucker’s large hand landed on my thigh. “Let’s get you home so you can rest.”
“Sounds good.” I had my head resting against the headrest and my eyes closed before we even pulled out of the market parking area.