20. Micah
Micah was suddenly wide awake. Had he really heard what he thought he heard? Did she really say that she loved him?
He had a sudden urge to wake her up and ask her if that was what she said.
So, what if it was? What if she really did just say that she loved him? Would he have said it back if she had stayed awake after whispering it? Was he even supposed to hear it?
A million thoughts bounced around Micah's mind. The biggest question was how he loved her. He knew he did on one level. She was a lot of fun to be around. Lucy was the most amazing woman he had ever met. She seemed to touch his soul.
I love her, but I don't think I'm in love with her, yet.
Micah was honest enough with himself that he could admit that he was heading in that direction. He was falling in love with her. However, he wasn't ready to ask her to go through the mating ceremony with him.
He laughed at himself. I think that before I even think about that path, we should have a conversation about being in a formal relationship. We are in a relationship, but it's not formal. There are no expectations or anything. We should definitely have a discussion about where we are at now and what direction we are going in.
As he closed his eyes, Micah thought, We'll talk tomorrow.
The sun streaming through the window woke Micah. He felt for Lucy, who had left his bed. He heard laughter downstairs and followed the sound.
"Allan never decided to shift in the middle of sledding down the hill again. Not only did Mom practically kill him for tearing up his clothes and destroying his coat, but he nursed a sprained wrist for a few weeks," Lucy said.
"You never did anything crazy, did you?" Vera said.
"Believe it or not, I was the calm one. I watched my brothers and sister and did the opposite. Odessa is the beauty queen, William is the athlete, Allan is the daredevil, and I'm the nerd."
"Well, I think that you're a beautiful nerd," Micah said, kissing her cheek.
She looked up at him and smiled.
After they finished breakfast, they headed to the clinic for Lucy's checkup.
"Very healthy babies," he pronounced. "They are growing at a healthy rate. You are doing everything right."
"Can you tell what kind of shifters they are?" Micah asked.
"No, but I can tell you that you have a boy and a girl," Dr. Ratliff said.
"One of each? Perfect," Micah said, grinning.
Lucy smiled widely. "I can't believe it. It's amazing."
The doctor reminded her to keep taking her vitamins, eating right, and exercising, and then Micah and Lucy left.
"Do you feel like a walk?" he asked.
"That sounds nice," Lucy said.
They went to the mountain and walked toward the oasis hand in hand.
"I wanted to talk to you about something," Micah said.
Lucy squeezed his hand. "What's that?" Her voice sounded a little nervous.
"I know that this relationship started out as you being the surrogate for my child, or in this case, children. Then, we became friends."
"Yes," Lucy said.
"I have started to feel something more for you. I think that, without saying the actual words, we have a good foundation for a relationship. I'd like to see where that goes."
Lucy smiled. "I'd like that. I… uh…care about you, too."
He thought that she was going to say something else, and thought about the night before when she had whispered that she loved him. The thought created an incredible warmth inside of him.
The wildflowers were even more vibrant. A rainbow of colors mingled with the deep green was a perfect backdrop for the creek.
Lucy undressed and stepped into the water. "Chilly."
Micah joined her and splashed her.
"Oh, it's like that, is it?" She laughed loudly and splashed him back.
They played for a few minutes. Then, Lucy stepped on a slippery rock and slid a little bit. Micah caught her before she could fall.
"Let's dry off and I'll take you to lunch," he said.
"Sounds like a plan."
They laid down on the bed of flowers. The sun was so warm. The birds were singing and squirrels chased each other, chattering with each other. He almost fell asleep.
"Micah," Lucy said.
"Yes?"
"We're hungry. You promised us lunch."
"They are always hungry," Micah teased as they redressed.
"Of course. It takes a lot of energy to start growing all their internal organs, arms, legs, and then just get bigger."
"True enough," he said. "I'm terrified to see what the grocery bill will be when they are teenagers. I might have to get a second job."
Lucy laughed. "Vera might have to hire an assistant to keep up with them."
Hand in hand, they walked back to the truck. Micah grinned. For the first time in a very long time, he could actually say that he was happy. It wasn't that he had been unhappy before, but being with Lucy and knowing that he had a growing family had created a whole new level of wonder and satisfaction. He was also pleased that they had talked about their feelings for each other and made their relationship official.
Howlers'was busy, but they managed to snag a table.
Sean, the owner of the bar and grill, came over and handed them the menus.
"The joint is hopping for a weekday," Micah said. "Are you running some type of special?"
"Nope. It's lunchtime. A lot of people come here for their lunch breaks," Sean said. He looked at Lucy and said, "You're looking good. I understand congratulations are in order."
"Thank you," Lucy said.
"You definitely look a lot happier than you did when you first came through the portal."
"I am," Lucy said. "Life is great here."
"I'm glad," Sean said. "I guess I better get back to work. Enjoy your meal."
The waitress blew by like a hurricane to take their orders. Ten minutes later, she practically ran to their table, carefully set their dishes in front of them, asked if she could get them anything else, and dashed off.
"I hope Sean gives her double pay for running," Lucy said.
"He pays the staff well, plus they keep all the tips. Sean doesn't take a cut of them," Micah said. "Sean is an awesome guy."
They were just about to leave when Caroline walked over to their table. Micah groaned.
"You're getting fat," Caroline said.
"That tends to happen when one gets pregnant," Lucy said, laughing.
Caroline looked at Micah and then back at Lucy. "I don't get what he sees in you. Is it something like the rich guy playing with the gutter snipe to satisfy some primal craving?"
She spoke as though Micah wasn't sitting at the table. He was about to tell her to get out of their face, but Lucy put her hand on his arm.
"You're a genius. That is exactly what the situation is," Lucy said, grinning. "He needed to find a real woman to satisfy his needs. A fake doll who wears too much makeup and perfume, who wouldn't know about giving or passion just wouldn't do it for him."
"How dare you," Caroline said.
"You started the whole conversation. If you can't stand the heat, I suggest you stay out of the kitchen," Lucy said. "Don't come at me and think that I'm just going to roll over and take your crap."
Caroline looked at Micah who laughed. "Hmmph." She stormed off. Caroline was so mad that the door hit her in the face as she jerked it open to go outside.
"That was fun," Lucy said. "I'm not a mean person, but it did feel good to put her in her place."
"I think you did terrific," Micah said.
Lucy was tired after dinner, so she went straight to bed. Micah and Conner met back up at Howlers'.
"We're having one of each – a boy and a girl," Micah said.
"You seem very happy. Congrats," Conner said.
"I am. Lucy and I talked. I told her that I had feelings for her, and I would like to see where our relationship went. She agreed."
"What are your feelings?" Conner asked.
"I don't know that I could put a name on it," Micah said, shrugging his shoulders. "Last night, as she went to sleep, she whispered that she loved me. I do love her, too. I'm just not ready to say I'm in love and to ask her to go through the mating ceremony with me. I want to take things slow."
"I know you initially hired her to be your surrogate, but now you are in a relationship with her and she is going to give birth to your twin babies. I think the time for taking it slow has passed," Conner replied.
Micah grinned. "You're right, but still… I don't want to go through the ceremony and end up like Mom and Dad."
"You won't. Lucy is terrific and you're nothing like your dad. I do think that you have to be ready, though. Don't rush it because you feel obligated to."
"Since when have I ever done anything just because someone thought that I ought to?"
"True enough." Conner laughed.