Rising Storm (Westin Force #2) - Julie Trettel Page 0,58
even realized we had one. I picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Emma? It’s Shelby. I just wanted to check in on you after last night, and I know the team left and I needed to make sure you were okay.”
I smiled. “Thanks Shelby. I feel a little lost, but I’m okay.”
“I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but it hasn’t for me yet. I was wondering if you had plans for dinner yet.”
“No, I was just going to make a salad.”
“A salad? You sound like Elise. I’m grilling steaks tonight if you’re up for it.”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass. I don’t eat meat.”
“Oh, I didn’t know.”
“Gorillas are largely vegan. Some in the wild will eat termites or other bugs, but even then, I steer clear of them.”
“Well, if you don’t mind eating with some carnivores, you could bring your salad over and join us.”
“I’d like that.”
“Uh, you do like kids, right? I have three toddlers.”
“I love kids.”
“See you in about half an hour?”
“Can I have your number? I’ll have to see if Cal or someone can drive me.”
She listed off her phone number as I jotted it down on a piece of paper sitting by the phone.
“If you don’t hear from me, I’m on my way. Otherwise, I’ll call so you don’t worry.”
“Great. See you in a bit.”
My day was already shot anyway with no semblance of normal. I might as well go and spend time with someone who was facing the same fears and might understand mine.
*****
Cal was very sweet and had no problems dropping me off at Shelby’s. I’d forgotten to get her address, but he knew just where to go. It wasn’t the same house I’d been to for ladies’ night. Never once had it dawned on me that we hadn’t been at Shelby’s.
The moment I stepped through her door it was obvious though. There were baby toys and stuff everywhere in the big living room. It looked like a crazy, hectic, fun house.
“Ignore the mess. I don’t even bother trying to clean until they’re in bed. It always starts the day spotless, I swear.”
“You said there are three of them?”
“Yes. Hey guys, look who’s here,” she said. “This is my friend Emma. Can you say hi?”
I got three variations of something that sorta sounded like hi.
Shelby grinned proudly. “This is Zachary, Nathan, and Mary Alice.”
I squatted down to their level as the three of them toddled over to me. “Hi. Aren’t you cuties?”
Their mom took a seat on the couch, while I sat on the floor. She hugged a pillow close to her chest and just watched us as I interacted with the babies. They were at a fun, explorative age. It made me miss the gorillas back home. The last batch of infants would be much larger than these three by now. My heart ached at the thought.
“I don’t know how much you know about us, but Ben actually delivered these three guys in one of the Raglan camps.” Ben had told me a little about that while fishing for information on the experiments they were doing, especially to pregnant women, but I let Shelby tell me her version without interruption. “I’m not able to have children, and all I ever wanted was to be a mom. Of course, he knew that, but we had made peace with the idea of being childless. Then one day he leaves on a mission and I get this phone call that changed my life forever. ‘Hey, so would you want to adopt three newborn pups?’ The rest is history. It was love at first sight for me. It doesn’t matter how they came to be with us, these are my kids.”
The protective tone of her voice made me smile. “No one would ever doubt that. I imagine you are one fierce mother. They are very lucky to have you.”
I barely knew Shelby, but I had zero doubt that she would ever tell these three precious babies that they were unwanted, that they were the biggest mistakes of her life as my mother had done repeatedly throughout my childhood. They were loved and it showed in their bright smiles and happy nature.
We had a nice meal and talked for hours. I even helped her put the kids to bed.
“You’re a natural with them, you know.”
I shrugged. “I always loved the baby gorillas back home.” I hadn’t really talked about my life in the band much, but I wanted to share that with Shelby. “I was the leader of the band.”