made up, it’s a done deal. There is no going back on this decision. She’s done.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I leave the nursery, shutting the door behind me, my phone already at my ear.
“Why are you calling? Aren’t you supposed to be sexing your baby momma?” Chase answers.
“Is Gina there with you?” I ask him.
“Yeah. What’s up?” he asks, all traces of humor gone from his voice.
“Fire her.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Fire her. Now. If you can’t handle it, I’ll be in to do it myself.”
“Can I get a little more intel?” he asks. I go on to tell him the conversation I just had when Winnie.
“Consider it done. How is she?”
“My wife is in tears thinking I don’t want her.”
“Fuck,” Chase murmurs. “I’ll handle it. See you tomorrow for the shower.”
“Thanks, man.”
“None needed. You take care of your girls. I’ve got this.”
It’s times like these that I’m glad to have my best friend as my right-hand man. I could fire her, but I know with the way my blood is boiling at the moment, I would say things that were far from professional. It’s best to let Chase handle this.
I should have fired her ass a long time ago.
It’s Saturday afternoon, and most of our guests just left. My parents, as well as Winnie’s, along with Chase and Gabby, remain.
“Does my niece really need all this stuff?” Chase asks, picking up a small pink fuzzy blanket and caressing it with his thumb and forefinger.
“Definitely,” Janet says while my mom nods in agreement.
“Babies go through several outfits a day sometimes, and that includes sheets and blankets and burp cloths.” My mom ticks items off, raising a finger for each one.
“Is there anything that we still need that we don’t have?” I ask Winnie.
She smiles. I can see the exhaustion in her eyes, but it’s second to the happiness that’s shining in those green depths. “I have no idea.” She laughs.
“We should have done this at our place,” I tell her. “Less work packing it all to get it home.”
“That’s why they invited me, and well… for the cake. They knew they needed muscles for all this loot.”
“Muscles. I don’t see any muscles,” Gabby quips.
“I can show you,” Chase whispers, no doubt so our parents won’t overhear.
“I’d hate for you to hurt yourself,” she counters.
“Aww, are you volunteering to be my nurse?” Chase gives her a wolfish grin. “Because I’ve had this fantasy—” He throws his head back and laughs when Gabby smacks him on the arm.
“Thank you all for this,” Winnie tells our mothers and her sister.
“It’s our pleasure. Go through everything and let us know what you still need,” her mom tells her.
“Oh, and me too. Janet, we should plan a day to go shopping to pick up the rest of what they need,” my mom suggests. I can already see her wheels turning, planning a shopping trip.
“Guys, we can get whatever else it is we might need. I’m not sure there is anything else,” I tell them.
“Oh, Harrison.” Janet laughs. “That’s not going to stop us from buying more gifts. This is our first grandbaby, after all.”
I look over at Gabby, who’s watching Chase with a small pink bear in his hands. “Gabby, we’ll save all of this for you as she grows out of it,” I tease her. “That way you have a head start.”
“Hold up.” She holds her hands out in front of her. “There are no babies in my future. I’d need a decent man for that to happen,” she grumbles.
Chase turns to look at her. I’ve suspected for a while, but I finally see it. The fire in his eyes when he looks at her. It’s more than just getting under her skin. If I were a betting man, I’d say my best friend has it bad for my sister-in-law. He opens his mouth to speak, but then shakes his head, turning his attention back to the bear in his hands.
“We’ll still save it,” Winnie tells her. “Our next one might be a girl.”
“Next one?” her dad asks.
She shrugs. “We want more.”
By the look on our parents’ faces, you would think they just won the lottery. “Really, let us get this all unpacked and inventoried,” I say, only half joking. The floor is littered with gifts and items I’ve never even heard of. I’m grateful for our friends and family, but I doubt we’re going to need anything else.
“She’s going to need lots of clothes. Those little buggers grow so fast, and