Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“Thank you, Wren.” Eric cut them off with a groan as he rubbed his temples.
“I have a handout for grandparents-to-be that answers a lot of questions about home birth.” Marissa offered copies to both Eric and me. I glanced at the colorful pamphlet while Eric muttered to himself. Leaning on her cane, Marissa gave him a stare every bit as stern as the ones he’d been handing out. “You did a transport on one of my births a year or so ago. You might not remember—”
“I remember.” Eric exhaled hard, tone turning more conciliatory. “You’re a professional. We’ve worked together on a couple of transports, and I’m familiar with your mother as well. You both have impeccable reputations, but that doesn’t mean I’m in favor of this for Maren.”
“I won’t take chances with Maren’s safety,” Marissa said firmly. “You can have your opinions on home birth, but you know I’ll transfer at the first sign of issues.”
Eric nodded sharply before crossing the room to peer down at Maren. “This is seriously what you want?”
“Yes.” She gave a regal nod, and to my shock, all the fight seemed to leave Eric at that one simple word.
“Okay.” His face and shoulders slumped as he blinked several times against the mid-morning sun filtering through the blinds. “I…I need coffee.”
He escaped in the general direction of the kitchen, but the back door slammed a few seconds later.
“Should I go to him?” Maren seemed firmly rooted to the couch.
“Or I could?” Marissa offered, but I waved both of them off.
“No, you finish your prenatal appointment. I’ll go tame the bear.”
“You’re getting good at that.” Diesel offered a way-too-enthusiastic grin. He had no clue exactly what I was good at where Eric was concerned, and I had every intention of keeping it that way.
I wouldn’t say I was the love-them-and-leave-them type of player, but I also had a terrible track record with long-term relationships. I’d told Eric I wanted more than a single hookup, which was true, but I was having a hard time picturing anything about my life six months from now, what with the fire and the coming baby. I had zero clue where this thing with Eric was headed. Probably not to the picket-fence fairytale ending Diesel and Maren would jump at, which was why I wasn’t looking to broadcast our physical connection.
Friendship, however, we were both good at, and I found him exactly where I’d suspected, slumped in a deck chair, my dogs on either side of him.
“Did you lure them outside with treats?” I helped myself to the chair next to Eric.
“Nah. I think they’re in training to be emotional support dogs.” He petted each in turn, and I had a strong desire to offer up my own neck.
“Them in training for anything would be a sight to see.” I tried to give Ben a scratch, but he was more interested in Eric. “I went to the shelter while Diesel was in Europe and the quiet in my house was stifling. I wanted to foster something small and well-behaved on a trial basis.”
“But Ben and Jerry had other plans?” Eric stretched his legs out in front of him.
“They were best buddies and kennel mates who’d been waiting over six months for adoption. How could I say no?”
“You’re way more of a soft touch than you look.” Eric shot me a surprisingly fond smile before his expression darkened again. “Did you know Maren had settled on a home birth?”
“Nope.” I was actually glad he’d come home when he had, both so he could hear the baby’s heartbeat and so I didn’t have to keep more secrets. “Pretty cool, though, being able to have her appointments in the living room.”
“Not helping, Magnus.” Groaning, he laced his fingers behind his head.
“Hey, you backed down from the fight far faster than I anticipated. Progress?”
“I’m working on accepting that she and Diesel are adults who will make their own decisions.” Eric managed to look like each word cost him a lick of a lemon. “And Maren has a complicated past with medical care. Not my story to tell. But hospitals are a major anxiety point. She really struggled with visiting Montgomery when he got sick, and they were incredibly close. It was one of the reasons we settled on home hospice. So I suppose I shouldn’t be too shocked she wants to avoid a hospital birth.”
“But you’re worried.” I lightly tapped his foot with mine.
“You’re not?” He snorted. “Oh wait. You were born in the woods.”
“Cedar hot tub, but close enough.” We were friends now, and I could let him get away with some friendly ribbing. “And you’re a paramedic. You’ve seen the outlying cases—the births needing transport or the car births that didn’t make it to the hospital in time. Most of the time, home birth is fine. No big deal.”