Audrey had squished in beside Jessica and Kit—and was asking pregnancy questions. After a moment, Frankie joined them, giving stories of being Kit’s birthing coach and asking Jessica about her labor.
Whoa. Bull retreated. Women were sure not the weaker sex. And damn, now he needed a drink.
Opening the cooler, he set several bottles of beer in the center of the table. “People, I have the brewery’s new seasonal beers. Let me know what you think.”
He’d also brought a bottle of wine for Frankie. Opening it, he nabbed a few clean glasses and walked over. “Ladies, would anyone like wine?”
Jessica took a glass. Kit already had a beer Hawk had brought her.
Bull started to pour some wine for Frankie.
She shook her head. “Thank you, but no.”
“No?” Bull frowned. “It’s your favorite.”
“I…” Her color rose, surprising him. She didn’t blush easily.
Worried, he ran his hand down her hair. She couldn’t seem to shake that stomach bug. “Sweetheart, if you’re not feeling good, I can take you home. Or maybe Caz should check you over?”
“I’m fine!” To his surprise, she glared at him. “Che cavolo, I don’t know how to say it plainer.”
What the fuck. She had a temper, but there was always a reason for it. This wasn’t like her. “How about we…” How could he politely suggest they needed to talk?
“No. I am fine.” She crossed her arms below her breasts, her gorgeous eyes shooting sparks. “And I already saw Caz, so there.”
A glance down the table showed no help forthcoming from the others. Grayson’s eyes were filled with amusement. Caz was grinning.
Even his damn dog seemed to be laughing at him.
Well, okay, at least she wasn’t deathly ill.
Bull sighed. He’d found himself a temperamental New York Italian. A laid-back Polynesian was outclassed.
Crouching beside her, he took her hand and kissed it. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried.”
He’d leave it at that because she had a tender heart to go with her temper.
And there it was. The anger disappeared. She ran her hand over his shaved scalp and down his cheek. “My orsacchiotto.”
He’d never tell her how much he loved being called her teddy bear.
Then sparks hit her eyes again. “You are so stubborn. I wanted to tell you tonight. In private.” She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.
“Jesus, tell me what?” Was he wrong? Was she ill?
“We’re having a baby.”
“Baby?” What. The. Fuck?
“What happened?” he asked, not in accusation, but in shock.
Down the table, he heard Grayson murmur to Caz, “Mako assured me he’d told you boys about the birds and the bees.”
Frankie leaned her head against Bull and confided, “I, um, messed up taking my birth control pills a while back. I needed a refill, but then I got hurt at the compound, and Kit was in the hospital, and everything was going on, and my family showed up and…oops?”
Oops.
A baby.
A sense of wonder was rapidly overtaking the surprise. A baby. Their baby.
Maybe even a little girl who might have her eyes.
Frankie put her hand on her midsection. “When I was growing up, I always wanted a big brother. So we should start our family with a boy.” Her mouth set in a stubborn line. “So that’s what has to happen.”
Across the table, Gabe started to laugh. “Hate to tell you, bro, but ‘your boy juice already picked out a gender, and she’ll blame you for not giving her what she wants’.”
Bull burst out laughing, plucked Frankie up from the table, and spun her around.
His shout of “We’re going to have a baby!” silenced everyone on the entire school grounds before cheering filled the air.
Much later, the festival began to wind down.
Gabe saw Zachary Grayson rise, obviously to start gathering his family. “Hey, Doc. A question. Something I’ve been wondering for a while.”
Zachary inclined his head. “Of course.”
“You’re maybe around fifteen years older than us, so how the hell did you have a doctorate when you visited us when we were young?”
“I didn’t.”
Gabe barely kept his mouth from dropping open. Bull, Caz, and Hawk looked equally shocked.
“When Mako and I talked, just before he stole you from the foster home”—Zachary put his foot up on the bench and rested his forearms on his thigh—“he ordered me to get my ass out of combat and into psychology.”
“Ignoring the sarge’s orders was never wise,” Bull said.
“And I didn’t. When I visited your cabin, he learned I was pursuing a doctorate and started calling me ‘doc’ then and there. I objected.” Zachary gave them a wry smile. “He ignored me.”
Caz’s snort of sympathy made them all laugh.
“So you were still studying for your degree when you dragged us out to the woods to chat?” Bull asked.
“Now, Bull, we went out to the woods to work. Or walk,” Zachary said mildly. “If a few words happened to get spoken, that was entirely at your discretion.”
Even Hawk grinned. Because it was that same ever-so-reasonable tone that had gotten each one of them to wander out to help the doc with whatever he needed assistance with—and had them spilling their guts. Maybe because they knew he’d listen with an open heart and mind.
“You were damn good at it,” Hawk said.
“I’d had some experience. My father was a psychologist. We discussed various therapies around the dinner table, and I’d read all of his books long before I enlisted.” Zachary smiled slightly. “My mother volunteered in pediatric units in the hospital, which meant her only child did too.”
No wonder four messed-up foster kids hadn’t been able to out-maneuver him. And Gabe had to admit that he’d tried more than once.
Bull spoke for everyone. “However you came by the experience and wisdom, you did good, Grayson. Thanks.”
“It was my very great pleasure to lend a hand now and then.” Grayson looked at them all, his gaze direct and honest. “You’ve grown into men the first sergeant would be proud of.”
Blinking hard at the burn in his eyes, Gabe glanced at his brothers. Yeah, he wasn’t the only one.
“Jessica, it’s time we were headed to the B&B,” Grayson said.
“No!” Aric scowled at him. “Sophia stays here.”
When Hawk cleared his throat with the same intonation the sarge had used as a warning, Gabe almost laughed.
Aric’s lower lip poked out in a pout, but then he politely asked Grayson, “Can Sophia stay, please?”
Grayson’s eyes were alight with laugher, but none showed in his voice. “Sophia needs a bath and bed. May she come and visit you tomorrow?”
Aric considered. “’Kay.”
As Grayson and his family took off, the rest of them began to pack up.
Gabe took Audrey’s hand. His beautiful, pregnant woman had held up until now, but she was obviously flagging. “Might I send you home with JJ and Regan? I need to make sure the last stragglers leave without any fights.”