I broke down, unsure where the emotions were coming from—this couldn't all be me and my subconscious. She squeezed my shoulders tightly. "You all get that stuff through the line. I'll wait with whichever of you wants to come cause I know one of you will want to." She led me away, toward the exit, and stopped to see all five of the men stalking silently. "One of you," she repeated. "We'll wait in the car."
She led me to the Hummer. Knox hurried ahead and opened the door. I wasn't even sure why I was crying anymore. Just that Hallie had looked like a mom, and I was going to be a parent, and that fact hadn't seemed so strange in the safety of the hotel. Out here, faced with marketing and packaging, pictures of babies sleeping soundly on blue fluffy clouds, parents smiling down—the whole situation felt impossible.
"Jazz, what's wrong?" Knox asked in the muted quiet of the Hummer.
"Nothing's wrong with him," Hallie snapped, her arms circling around me like protective bars. She had to know that something was going on with me. She'd noticed the change in my size, hadn't blinked an eye at my emotional outburst. Though no one had come out and said what had happened, she didn't need it to be. "Have one of the guys drive my car to the hotel." Hallie dug in her pocket and tossed Knox her keys.
Like Knox, Hallie didn't ask; she told.
But this time, Knox listened. I thought it had something to do with how I'd stopped crying in Hallie's embrace, my breath hitching instead as I leaned into her warm shoulder.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled, my voice thick and goopy. We were nearly back to the hotel. Faust trailed behind in Hallie's car.
"You have nothing to apologize for. Hormones are a bitch." Hallie twisted her upper half, looking at where the twins had filled the back with bags. "I see a pint of peanut butter ripple in that bag. Come on. I'll show you how it's done."
She led me out and toward the hotel, never once looking back to make sure the others were there or that they'd brought the bags. They were, and they did.
Dr. Tiff met us at the bottom of the stairs. Her straight black hair was still wet but pulled up in a ponytail—I was beginning to see it as her signature look. "Oh my, what happened?" she asked when she saw my face.
Hallie and Dr. Tiff faced off. I suddenly wasn't sure what to expect and was reminded of those old Godzilla vs. Mothra monster movies.
"Nothing ice cream won't fix," Hallie said suddenly with a smile after staring at the woman for several seconds. I didn't know what factors she'd taken into account to make her decision, but she'd clearly decided Dr. Tiff was a friend.
The two hurried into the sitting room that looked out onto the forest. Blankets, pillows, and bowls of ice cream appeared as if by magic, and an hour later, I was warm, my face was dry, and my stomach happily digesting too much sugar. The two women kept up a steady stream of easy conversation talking about everything from their favorite microbrews to how to get blood stains out of clothes. I knew why Dr. Tiff needed to know that, not why Hallie did.
Meanwhile, Knox and the others lingered back, periodically walking by the entranceway with wistful, uncertain expressions.
Hallie let out a loud sigh. "You seem sufficiently ice creamed. I should get going." She got up and stretched her arms over her head.
I hadn't expected her to stay the night, but how could she leave before she'd even asked about what was going on? "Don't you have questions?" I asked. After her first question had gone unanswered in the store, she hadn't asked another about my condition. How could she not be curious? Clearly, she knew something was up.
"Not at the moment." She brushed off her arms. "I'll be back in a few days with some peppermint foot cream. That was the only thing that helped me when I was preg—practicing for a marathon. My feet always ached."
After a round of hugs, Hallie stepped out, yelling at Faust to stop messing with her passenger door. There wasn't any anger in the demand; she likely knew he'd been the one fixing her car little by little when she came over. Faust never asked, though, choosing to act more like a mechanical ninja.
The smooth rumble of her engine faded, and Knox dropped by my side with no small amount of relief. Staying away while she'd visited had been difficult, especially with how upset I'd been when we got home. I understood now much of my emotional reaction was just hormones, but some had been me letting out the stress and worry I'd kept bottled inside.
I rested my head on his shoulder, watching the trees dance outside. Practicing hadn't been the word Hallie had meant to say, but if she wasn't going to ask me questions that I would have a difficult time answering, then the least I could do was return the favor. For now.
Chapter Fourteen
Knox
Things were quiet for a few days after the baby supply excursion, until a fourth ring appeared, shimmering around Jazz's stomach, his bulge noticeably larger. My chest clenched when I saw it. I battled contradicting emotions. Jazz was breathtaking pregnant. He didn't so much glow as he shone, his light impossible to miss. But there was too much uncertainty for me to be sure nothing bad was about to happen.
Dr. Tiff was ecstatic when I told her.
"Now we'll be able to get some answers," she announced, running for her bag she'd left in her room. She had a habit of running to places in the hotel. I didn't know if she was scared or if all that happy just ran a little faster than the rest of us.
The sharp patter of her feet quieted before growing loud again.
Jazz lay quietly as she stretched the measuring tape over his stomach, measuring the distance between the rings, the width of the rings, and how much space remained before the outer rings met his belly button.
"I mean, it's a crazy idea," she muttered. She turned her face around to me. "Do you mind if I call Nana Walker?"
I'd met the older woman briefly at the Walkers' home. I remembered her calming force. "If you think she'll have answers."
"Nana never has answers," Dr. Tiff replied with a secret smile. "But she always has suggestions."
Dr. Tiff gathered her measurements while I gathered Jazz.
"Knox, I can—" He looked into my face and stopped, curling into my body instead.
I kept my growls quiet enough to not be heard, but Jazz could feel them vibrating in my chest. I'd been an idiot. A horny fool. Getting Jazz under me had been more important than making sure he was safe, and now he had to endure days of us staring at his body like it was a science experiment, all the while none of us knowing what would happen to him next.
"Knox," Jazz whispered, smoothing the wrinkles from my forehead as I carried him. "It's gonna be fine. I know it."
I wanted to tell him he couldn't know that. No one knew that. But that would only bring him down to my level of barely restrained panic, which wouldn't help anyone. "Of course it will be." I kissed his cheek. "All these other people around to help you. I just like carrying you now and again."
He wasn't fooled, but he let it drop. We were in the meeting room by the kitchen, and I settled him in a chair, disappearing into the kitchen to gather a quick breakfast as Dr. Tiff got ready to call.
Her cell phone sat in the middle of the table when I returned, ringing through the external speaker.