Chapter 17

Chapter

Seventeen

J esus, it was hot.

It was hot, Reed was fat, and he wanted BeauJos.

Now.

He looked at his boss and brother-in-law and growled. "I'm leaving."

"What?"

"I need pizza and a salad bar and possibly a soak in the hot springs. Goodbye." Reed turned off his computer and went to put on real pants.

Tyler wandered into the bedroom, leaning against the doorframe. "Baby? Where are you going?"

"Idaho Springs. I need BeauJos. I'm hot and I want pizza. Real pizza." He found a loose top. "Wanna come?"

"I do. In fact, I'll drive." Tyler grinned. "At least it's not winter."

"It's not. It's hot. I want the salad bar too. And possibly breadsticks. Mostly pizza though."

"Oh, we need the honey cheese bread." Tyler grabbed his wallet and pulled socks on his bare feet.

His stomach growled audibly. "Yes. Yes, exactly. See? You understand."

Tyler kissed his belly. "I do. Our Candace is a growing cub."

"She is." He loved that name. They'd decided on it late at night, when Tyler held him, out in the hot tub. They had a hot tub.

Candace Michelle. Their best girl.

His belly growled again. "Come on, bear. Pizza."

"Yes." Tyler followed him down the stairs, grabbing the keys to the truck. "You might get a snack for the ride. A granola bar? It's almost two hours."

"Mmm…good idea. You want a drink too?" They had granola bars. Snack packs of Cheetos. Olives. Cherries.

Oh, cherries.

He grabbed the cherries, the grapes, and two waters.

"Good call." They headed out, Tyler grinning from ear to ear.

"I will beat you, mate." Making fun of him.

"What? I think you're the cutest thing I've ever seen."

"I—I'm just so hungry and I want to go out, you know? I want to go play." He was uncomfortable and restless and he wanted attention and pizza.

"I'm willing. We'll go soak too. The hot tub just doesn't have all the stuff the springs does." Tyler got them moving before reaching for his hand.

"Thank you. I bet she loves the water. Gravity sucks."

"Yeah. I know it's been making you overbalance the last few days."

Reed had more than a bump now, and he found himself overcompensating, and that was hard on his back. Still, it wasn't terrible, was it? He wasn't sick, he had a lovely life, and his mate was good to him. "It's not that bad. I just need pizza and honey."

"Hey, I don't judge."

They were on the state highway in no time, heading down to Idaho Springs. He loved this whole drive, loved how the terrain changed as they went down. Tyler had obviously been doing it his whole adult life, because he was relaxed and chatty and happy.

When they pulled into the parking space behind the BeauJo's, Reed almost cried.

"We might have to order a couple of pies to take home." Tyler chuckled and shook his head. "Baby likes pizza. Good to know."

"I've been craving. I might get the spaghetti in the pizza bowl." He towed Tyler inside. "Salad wagon." Reed whimpered.

The hostess grinned, and Tyler shook his head. "I'm going to be making this trip a lot this summer."

"We like that," she said. "Stop and graze, hon. We'll seat your guy here and you can join him."

"Thank you!" It was good to be him.

So good.

Especially when he remembered the honey on the table just waiting for that BeauJo's crust.

Tyler was watching a movie with Justin, Dad, and Reed's father. Pop, Reed's mom, and Reed were crocheting. Reed had picked it up with pretty amazing speed. They were making a blanket set for their girl.

Reed's phone dinged, and he answered it, smiling immediately. "Leah! Hey. Sure. Let me put you on Facetime so you can meet everyone."

"Totally!"

Reed pushed a couple of buttons and then he smiled at the girl from the talent agency. "Hey, there!"

"Reed! You're the size of a house!"

Everyone went silent, and Reed's face went slack with shock.

"Oh, shit, honey. I just meant you've gotten very pregnant and it kinda made me stupid. That's all." Even Tyler could hear how chagrined she was.

"No worries. This is my brother-in-law and my new boss, Justin, my fathers-in-laws, my mom and dad, and of course you know Tyler."

"Nice to meet everyone." She waved as Reed showed the phone around.

"Come on, I'll show you the sunroom and we can chat there." Reed wandered off, and Tyler hated that defeated slump in his little bear's shoulders.

"Well, that was rude as hell," Mom grumped.

"Yes," Justin growled. "He's carrying my niece. He's perfect."

"I'm so glad you brought him home, son." Dad shook his head. "He is blossoming."

"He is. Appearances were everything to those folks back in Valleywood, and Reed just doesn't fit their tanned, capped teeth mold. But I think he's gorgeous."

"That's because he is gorgeous." Reed's father caught his gaze. "Go make sure he knows it, hmm?"

"Yessir." He levered up off the couch, heading for the sunroom. Tyler was cautious, listening to see if Reed was still chatting.

He found Reed on the deck, tears on his cheeks, staring out into the forest.

Tyler wrapped his arms around Reed from behind, resting his chin on Reed's head. "Hey, love." He wasn't going to bother with "she didn't mean it," because she'd been pretty clear that she misspoke.

"Hey. I'm really gaining weight, huh? Too much?"

"No, love. You're pregnant." Reed had been to a doctor who specialized in omegas. He was perfectly within his weight percentile. "You're perfect."

"It hurt my feelings. I tried so hard to be what I was supposed to be, and I couldn't." Reed turned to push into his arms and held him. "I forgot how unhappy I was. It's so right here, with you."

"It is. I'm glad she misses you, which maybe sounds meaner than I mean it to, but you're here. I love you. We all love you. Just was ready to rip her head off." He chuckled when Reed snorted.

"They bought us a fancy stroller and a year's worth of diapers, so maybe we shouldn't." Reed actually smiled. "Of course, he could tear off an arm."

"Maybe beat her with it. That was sweet though."

"They took up a collection, and James matched it."

"No shit?" Tyler felt his eyebrows rise.

"Apparently. It was nice. I'm glad I quit."

"Me too." He kissed Reed gently. "I love you. So much. You know how much, right? And you are now Pop and Justin's favorite."

Reed put one of Tyler's hands on his belly, and he felt Candace kick his hand hard, like she was saying hello.

Tyler gasped, the sound happy and wondering. "Love! She's so strong. Like her Papa."

"She is. She's a scrapper." Reed leaned back into his hands. "She's strong."

"I think she has an amazing role model in you." He swayed, dancing a little. "You okay?"

"Yes, and I'm being rude. Come on, love. Let's go visit with the family."

"I bet cookies have appeared."

That got him a laugh. "I bet. And tea. Pop is all about tea. So is Mom."

"Tea is good for you, little bear. Come on. Let's enjoy our family."

Reed took his hand and held on. "Sounds good to me. Did you see the blanket? It's going well."

"You're way better than your mom," Tyler teased.

"Your Pop is a better teacher. But what she lacks in skill she makes up in love."

"She does." Mom was such a wonderful lady. Reed was the perfect combination of his parents, and that was so cool. Tyler hoped Candace was that way too.

When they stepped back in, there was tea and cookies and tiny little salmon salad sandwiches.

"Oh, yum. They're perfect."

"We all need to eat our feelings," Justin growled. His brother was so protective of Reed.

"Yes. They got us a stroller and a year's worth of diapers. It was sweet, but… Well, you guys all know."

"Yes." Reed's mom hugged him. "You are not fat. You get it from me. We just have comfort down to a science."

"Thank God." Reed's dad waggled his eyebrows, making them all laugh.

He watched Reed's shoulders relax even more, the lines around his mouth smoothing out. This was absolutely the right choice for them to make.

Reed had left Valleywood in the dust, and Tyler was so damn happy.

Everything he wanted in the whole world was right here.

Tyler intended to keep it.