Only for You (Crave #3) - C.C. Wood Page 0,56

structure.

Curious, I left the back porch-slash-sunroom and walked around to the backyard.

"Hey," D.J. grunted as I approached him. "Your beds were getting a little overwhelmed, so I'm cleaning them out."

"Thanks," I replied, sipping my tea.

He glanced over. "That's not coffee, is it?" he asked. "Because you shouldn't have caffeine while you're pregnant."

I stared at him as I sipped again, then answered, "It's tea and it has a low caffeine content."

D.J. leaned back on his heels, looking up at me from where he knelt next to the garden beds. "Letitia didn't have caffeine at all while—"

I lifted a hand and took another sip of tea. "Everything I've read says a small amount of caffeine is acceptable unless directed otherwise by your doctor."

"And when are you going to see a doctor?" he asked. "You're what, twelve weeks along?"

"Almost," I answered. "As soon as J.J. gets me on his insurance, I'll go."

"And when is that going to be?" D.J. asked.

"He'll fill out the online forms and such on Monday. Brody is going to try to push it through as quickly as possible."

D.J. nodded and went back to weeding.

Well, I guess he was done interrogating me for the day.

I wandered over to Robert, whose back was to me as he screwed the frame of the garden bed to the corner posts that would keep it steady.

I waited until he was done driving the screw before I asked, loudly, "When are you going to clean my window?"

I hid my laugh behind my teacup when he jumped and twisted around to stare at me.

"Jesus, Lee, you scared the shit outta me!"

I narrowed my eyes at his language and he sighed.

"I'll clean the damn, uh, darn window as soon as I'm done here," he said. "You could at least thank me for building you another bed."

"Thank you for building me a garden bed. Don't forget to clean the window."

He laughed and shook his head before I wandered away to the truck that was nearly unloaded. I took a quick peek into my storage shed and saw that they'd neatly stacked the boxes in the far left corner and there was still room to spare inside.

Brody saw me first and came over to give me a hug. "Hey, there, Lee. How's your first day as a married woman?" he asked.

"I'll tell you when it's over."

He grinned at me as J.J. made his way to us and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Mornin'," he said.

He smelled crisp and clean and he wore a beat-up pair of jeans, a faded red tee, and battered tennis shoes. I wanted him to hug me the way Brody had.

"Is that coffee?" he asked.

I bit back a sigh. "No, dearest. It's tea and it's low caffeine. Your new eldest brother-in-law has already notified me that I shouldn't be having any, but I figure the cops won't agree when I give that as an excuse for beating someone over the head with a wooden spoon."

Brody laughed, covering it with a cough when J.J. shot him a look.

J.J. turned back to me and opened his mouth, but I kept speaking.

"I haven't ordered any books on pregnancy yet, but I have spent some time online researching what I'm allowed to have or not have, and most doctors allow their patients a single cup of coffee or tea in the morning unless they have complications."

"But you haven't seen a doctor yet," J.J. pointed out.

"And when I do, I'll ask if I need to refrain. Until then, the tea not only helps prevent homicides, it soothes my stomach when I'm nauseated."

He seemed to realize he wasn't going to win this argument so he shifted his focus. "How is your nausea? Any better?"

I took another sip of my tea before I answered, "It's actually a lot better today. Other than a little queasiness when Robert jammed his face against my window this morning, I haven't felt sick at all. First time in a while, too."

It felt weird to talk about whether or not I felt like throwing up in front of Brody, so I changed the subject. "Are y'all done with the boxes or is there more?"

J.J. looked toward the stack of boxes in the rear corner of the shed. "The boxes are done, but I do have to get my couch." He shot me a sideways look. "Were you serious about storing your couch and using mine?"

"If it's more comfortable, absolutely. I bought what I could afford when I furnished this place and I'm pretty sure