Never Say Never - Bijou Hunter Page 0,48
to keep secrets from Dad,” I say, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “Dad, you should give Mom some slack. She just wanted to protect you and me and the guy that knocked me up. She’s a kind person, that way.”
Dad smiles at Mom, and she beams back at him. I’m struck by a little jealousy at how much they love each other even after decades together. It’d be so easy to get bored and grow apart. Their relationship feels as solid as when I was a kid.
“Don’t cry,” Mom says and hugs me.
“I’m so hormonal. This can’t be healthy. I got sad when the dogs chose to sit with Desi instead of me. Why wouldn’t they choose her? She’s adorable.”
The girl jumps up and bounces over to me. I get a hug from Mom on one side and Desi on the other.
“I’m sorry they like me more,” the girl whispers.
Maude covers her mouth to hide her laughter. I shake my head. “You’re hormonal too, Maude. Let the laughter free.”
Grinning, Maude shrugs. “We’re mood swing partners.”
I nod, feeling sad again. I want Goliath to look at me like my dad does my mom. He’s just not that kind of man. I need to accept this fact before he returns. If I’m hung up on him, I’ll never make this booty call, baby daddy situation work.
“We’re here. We’re late,” Raven announces as she and her husband, Vaughn Majors, enter the house.
“You missed them,” Mom says, immediately bummed.
Vaughn smiles while Raven goes looking for Max. “No, we stopped them on their way out of town and made the boys hug their mom. It became a competition to see who made her smile the biggest.”
“Who won?”
“We pretended it was a tie,” Vaughn says and picks up a cookie from the stash on the kitchen table. “But River beat Maverick by a hair.”
“That’s funny because of how River’s hair is longer now,” I say and give Papa Majors’ blond locks a flick.
“So, what’s the current plan?” Vaughn asks.
“I’m doing homework,” Desi answers without looking up.
“Well, I refuse to do that,” Vaughn tells her, and she smiles at Maude to see if her mom noticed the big man talking to her.
“Shelby is pregnant,” Dad announces.
“Sperm donor from the internet?” Vaughn asks immediately.
“No, I’ve met my baby daddy.”
“Shelby’s having a baby?” Desi asks Maude, who nods. The kid sighs dramatically. “So many babies.”
“It’s the rendering plant,” I insist. “It has powers.”
Desi looks at me as if I’m nuts before smiling because she likes that I’m nuts.
“Who’s the father?” Vaughn asks my dad rather than me.
“The giant.”
“Goliath,” I say, insisting they use his name. “Dean Midkiff. You know, the tall fella.”
Vaughn shakes his head in sympathy. “That’s gonna be one big fucking baby.”
“It might not be,” I mumble. “And I have wide hips. It’ll be fine.”
The men look at me like Desi did a moment ago. Then they remember how there’s a small human with comprehension skills listening to our conversation.
“Oh, well, C-sections aren’t that bad,” Vaughn says with his mouth full of cookie.
“Who’s having a C-section?” Raven asks, walking into the room with Max close behind.
“Shelby created life with a giant. We assume it’ll need to be cut out.”
Raven is a lovely blonde goddess, but the look she gives me is so obnoxious that I consider punching her face.
“Well, they’re not bad. I mean, you have to take it easier than with a normal delivery. However, I know how much you enjoy sitting around watching TV. It’ll be like a vacation.”
“First of all, get bent, blondie,” I say, flipping off Raven, who snorts. “Second of all, did you have a C-section?”
“No. I did it like nature intended. With lots of pain and cussing.”
“Did you cuss, Mom?” Desi asks Maude, who tries to disappear during the conversation.
“I plan to,” Max answers to distract from an awkward Maude. “I want to say all the cuss words. I’ll just need to learn them first.”
“Typical, Max,” I mutter, giving her a wink, “always wanting to learn shit.”
“I want to cuss,” Desi says. “How many words are there?”
“A billion, and it’ll involve a lot of studying,” Maude says.
“Then, I don’t want to cuss.”
We all enjoy Desi’s choice to give up rather than work real hard on something dumb.
“Back to C-sections, are they painful?” I ask no one in particular.
“No,” Raven lies while my mom nods. “Lark had her babies cut out, and then she walked that shit off.”
“You know, I can text her right now and ask,” I mutter