Chapter 16

Sixteen

Kaleb put the last touches on the plates of pancakes and fruit, trying to make sure he made them look really nice. Then he covered them with cloches King had suggested he get, put them and glasses of orange juice, and cups of tea and coffee on the tray, then put the tray in the dumbwaiter.

Time to see if the thing was really going to work in any practical way.

He headed out of the kitchen to climb the wide main stairway, the gleaming newel post and baluster so damn nice now that the wood was all refinished. He just… The house was amazing, and Kaleb had to admit, it was Charlie who had really brought it to life.

He couldn't imagine doing this without his lover.

His husband.

Wow. That still had the nicest ring to it, even a month after the wedding.

Kaleb made his way down the second-floor hall toward the big suite at the end, and he stopped at the door for the dumbwaiter, opening it so he could crank the mechanism up and watch as their breakfast-in-bed magically appeared at the opening.

He anchored it in place and grabbed the tray, setting it on the side table Charlie had thoughtfully placed there so he could loosen the anchor and shut the door. That way it would run again from anywhere in the house.

Whistling, he walked, tray in hands, to the bedroom, where he'd left the door open just enough for him to get in. The dogs had their doggie door set up now, and they came and went at will. They weren't big wanderers, preferring to stay in the yard he and Charlie had designed over the summer, or in the temperature-controlled house.

His babies were spoiled.

Which meant, he had no doubt, that they would be up nosing around for bites of food soon. He needed to get Charlie his tray before that happened.

Man, he could see how a house like this had needed a staff…

He and Charlie had compromised on that. They had a cleaning crew that was going to come every two weeks to really deep clean part of the house, and then they were going to look at hiring someone local, come spring, as more of a housekeeper. But they needed time to establish what role they wanted that person to play.

He slid into the bedroom, smiling at the lump Charlie made under the covers. Up this far, it was getting chilly at night now, and Charlie liked to pile up under the blankets and snuggle.

"Morning, sunshine," he called, giving some warning. "I brought breakfast."

Charlie popped up, light brown head tousled, blue eyes filled with sleep. "Oh! Yum. Let me pee."

"Ah, the pregnant one's refrain." As Charlie got bigger, the baby pressed on all sorts of things, and he had to pee a lot more.

"Yeppers." Charlie rolled out of bed, then yelped when his feet hit the floor. "Eeek. Cold. Running now."

"Careful." He watched Charlie sprint, as much as he was able, for the bathroom. Then he got the little bed table out and set it up with their breakfast, leaving the cloches on to keep things warm.

Once the baby was born, he was thinking of making up a coffee station in the bedroom with a little K-cup maker, just so they didn't have to make that trek down to the kitchen when they wanted coffee or tea first thing.

"That smells amazing." Charlie slipped back into bed, pulling the covers up to his nose.

"I skipped the meat." Charlie was still iffy on beef, bacon, and sausage, despite the morning sickness having really let off.

"Mmm. I appreciate it. Did you use the dumbwaiter?"

"I did. And it didn't spill the drinks!" It had taken them forever to get that mechanism back up to speed, but it was smooth as a baby's butt now.

"Yay!" Charlie laughed, the sound delighted. "What kind of tea do I have?"

"Ginger and cinnamon."

"Oh, perfect. You spoil me." Charlie lifted the cloche on his plate.

"That's my job." Kaleb crawled into bed, settling in and grabbing a napkin. "Man, this is nice. I had dreamed about stuff like this when I bought this house, but now I know I just needed you to make it true no matter where I am."

"Aw." Charlie's eyes glittered when he looked at Kaleb. "Thank you."

"You are very welcome. Look. I tried to make a swan."

Charlie studied his banana-strawberry monstrosity. "I see… Nessie."

"Close enough. Aquatic bird, lake monster. Who can tell the difference?"

Charlie nodded, his expression studiously serious. "I think it's lovely."

"Oh good." He might never have a career as a fruit carver, but if he could make Charlie happy, that worked for him.

They poured syrup and got to eating, and by the time Neo and Trin showed up, sniffing around the edges of the big bed and waiting for permission to come up for a bite, Kaleb thought he might be ready to face the day.

"So what are your plans for the day, baby?" Kaleb asked.

"One of Kynan's guys is coming up to meet me about the plans for the new spa room at the hot springs pool. And then I thought I might go out and look at the sheds."

That caught his attention, and not in a good way. "The sheds? Why?"

"I want to look for that cradle."

"Charlie…" Charlie wanted to find the cradle from the old nursery, as well as the pram, and he was convinced it was on the property.

"You could come with me." Charlie gave him a bright smile.

"If you go looking, you don't do it without me, okay?"

He felt a whisper of cold air on his neck, and he thought someone else agreed with that thought.

Maybe Augustus, who seemed mostly quiet these days.

Neo lifted his head to woof, as if to say, "You better listen, Charlie-dad."

"No, no, of course not." Charlie shook his head, raising a hand to touch his arm. "I know those sheds aren't cleared for safety yet."

"Thanks, baby." He leaned over to take a kiss. "I just want you to be careful." That cold brush of something ghostly happened again, and then it was gone, leaving him with goose bumps rising on his arms.

"I've made peace with the house, Kaleb," Charlie said with absolute certainty in his voice. "I'll be fine."

"Mmm." Kaleb wasn't going to argue about that. Charlie did seem to have a real affinity for the old walls and floors of this place. So he just put his hand on Charlie's belly and felt for his daughter's kicks. She did like pancakes.

Charlie chuckled, the sound as rich and warm as the sun coming in the windows, livening up the chilly room. "Okay, I hear you. I do."

"I love you, baby." He turned to stare into Charlie's eyes, the blue so clear and bright. "So much."

"I love you too." Charlie licked syrup off his fork. "Almost as much as pancakes."

"Happy fall!"Hank bustled into the solarium, his arms piled high with wrapped presents. "Stone and I are here to get the party started!"

An embarrassed sort of pleasure warmed his ears and his cheeks. Charlie laughed from his big chair, which felt a little throne-like, but his ankles had swollen up like balloons this morning when he got up, and Kaleb had insisted he sit as everyone arrived.

"Hey, Hank!" He held out his arms, suddenly needing a hug. This was his baby shower. He was married to Kaleb and he was having a baby…

Soon.

Hank set down his packages and came to hug Charlie tight. "Hi. Oh, honey, congratulations."

He sniffed, his whole body filling up to his eyebrows with swirling emotions.

"Yay, Charlie." Stone walked over to hug him too, and more people started to arrive, Kaleb playing butler to let them all in.

Hank immediately took on the task of organizing gifts, and when Ryan came in, food started to appear, nibbles and drinks and cake.

"What's all this?" Charlie pointed to the plates and cups. Half of them had a woodland animal theme, like the nursery upstairs. The other half were…baseball themed?

Hank chuckled, his cheeks going pink above his tight-cut little beard. "We've decided she's going to be a softball girl. She's going to have a wicked fastball like her dad."

"Oh." That caused the tears to spill over, and he tried to blink them away, but he couldn't quite get his eyelids to move fast enough.

"Honey, I didn't mean to upset you." Hank rushed to him, grabbing his hands.

"You didn't. That's just so sweet."

"Ah, my little walking hormone." Kaleb brought him a hankie. He loved that Kaleb carried a hankie.

"Thanks." He blew his nose a little, then wiped up with the other side of the cloth. "I just didn't expect that."

"We even all signed a softball for her," Stone said. He held out a box to Charlie. "You should open it now, just in case it makes you cry again."

He had to laugh at that. "Thank you." Charlie lifted the lid on the box and stared down at the softball with all of his friends' signatures scrawled on it. "You're all so amazing."

"We love you, Charlie. And we can't wait to meet your little girl." That was Ryan, coming to kiss his cheek. He had a little extra bond with Stone and Ryan, who had also lived in the omega apartment above Lukas's shop. They got what it was like to find a home in Secret Springs.

"Me too!" He laughed, his shoulders relaxing. "Okay, bring on the games and stuff! My little one wants cake, so we need to power through."

"I brought you cheese puffs." Ryan brought him a plate of goodies, no charcuterie in sight. "Start with that."

"I will, thanks." He nibbled, watching everyone find a chair, the first-day-of-fall sun still warm enough to make the solarium pleasant.

"Neo! Get your slobbery head off my table!" Ryan went running to save the food, making everyone chuckle.

Charlie searched for Kaleb, meeting his silvery-gray gaze, getting the happiest smile when their gazes met. And he knew in that moment, gratitude rose up in him, because he knew he was the luckiest man on earth.

The bubble popped between them, the party coming back into focus, and he laughed at the antics of the dogs, who were fascinated by the pile of brightly wrapped presents.

Ankles be damned, he was going to have a good time.