Chapter Ten

Jessie

I put an end to Jessica and Delli hanging out, at least for the summer. Delli's parents thought we'd reimburse them for the tutu based on what their daughter told them. I did pay them for the tutu and promptly tossed into the dress up box at the academy's daycare. It wasn't Delli who grated on my nerves. Kids say weird things to get their way, but her parents should've known better than to buy something for another kid without checking with the parents first.

Instead, while Logan lounged in the nest growing a life, Jessica played with Gary and Jake's kids and occasionally her cousins. If they'd pulled that when Zoey-bell was younger, I'd have clocked her sire. It wasn't about the money. It was a cheap garment. It was about the fact they tried to put my daughter in a situation where she didn't have control over her body. She knew better, though.

Mid-summer came with scorching heat and Darian opened the academy's pool to families and kids since most of the students were gone for the summer. I took turns with the other parents watching over the kids as they swam in the shallow end. Jessica took to the water like a duck, and I was glad for the moment she wasn't trying to grow up and get her license by Saturday.

On a particularly hot afternoon, we hit the pool, picking up a few other kids along the way. When we left the house Logan had been out cold. We hadn't talked about it, but we didn't need to. Being so exhausted meant he was close. After the pool, I dropped my nieces and nephews off at home and loaded Jessica up in the SUV. We had ice cream at Mama Dragon's because we had to have the egg talk.

"Did the baby come?" she asked as the waitress walked away from the table after taking our orders.

The sun played over her face through the storefront, and I committed that excited smile to memory. Soon, I'd blink and she'd be older than Zoey-bell, off racing cars on the moon or something equally exciting.

"Not yet, but we have to talk about what it means when the egg comes."

"I'll help you defend it, Daddy," she grinned, looking wolfier than ever.

"Thank you, but what are we defending it from, pumpkin?" I asked her.

"Cracking," she said, jutting her chin out.

"And what can make an egg crack before its time?"

"People being mean to it," she squared her shoulders.

"Or bumping it too hard by accident or falling on it," I added on.

"So, no running in the house when the egg comes."

"Or after it hatches. You can still run in the backyard and at the playground, though," I said, not wanting her to feel like her whole life was going away just because she had a younger sibling on the way.

"Gotta be careful with the baby. Do we know when they're coming yet?" she asked.

"Soon, I think. Your daddy is napping a whole lot," I smiled.

"I noticed. I try to be quiet when he naps."

"You've done well, baby girl. I know this has been a big change for you."

"I'm excited, though. I can't wait to meet the baby. Maybe they'll grow up to be a racecar driver too."

"Maybe," I nodded. "It'll be a little while, though, before they're old enough to decide what they want to be."

"Can we talk about something old?" she asked me.

"Something old?" I arched a brow and thanked the waitress as she sat down Jessica's banana split.

"Yeah. Something that happened before."

"How far before?" I asked, glancing over the split with wolfen senses to ensure it was good to go.

I nodded and Jessica picked up her spoon.

"Before we started going to the pool this year," she said.

"Is this about Delli?" I asked.

"Yeah. I miss when she wasn't mean," Jessica frowned and it broke my heart. "I like my cousins, though. They've been fun."

"I'm sorry you and Delli don't get along anymore."

"It's okay," she said, still frowning. "I wanted to thank you for coming so far that night. I was scared they were going to shove it on me or something."

"No, baby. They knew better and I'll always come when you need me to," I said.

"Good, because I'm never wearing a tutu."

"Cheers to that," I grinned.

***

An hour later, we arrived back at the house still smelling like chlorine. I unlocked the door, about to tell Jessica she needed to hit the bath because we didn't want to put chlorine in the nest, but my heart skipped a beat and lodged itself into my throat for a second.

"Egg?" Jessica whispered.

"Go wash up just in case it's the egg. You have to be clean to get into the nest," I told her.

"But is it?" she whispered.

"I'll find out. You go clean up."

"But I want to meet the baby!" Jessica said, her pitch rising.

"The baby will be inside the egg. You can't meet them today either way, pumpkin," I managed a chuckle.

"Fine. I'll clean up, but I'm wearing my pajamas for the rest of the day!" she stalked off and I pressed down another laugh.

"Mate?" I called out for Logan.

How had I not heard him call for me over our mating link? Had I been so caught up in preparing for the future that I didn't hear him when he needed me.

"I'm in here. It's okay. I'm okay. We're okay," Logan called back.

"That's a lot of okays," I said, making my way into the living room. "I'm sorry I didn't ---"

"I was okay. Jessica needed you. She needs to feel special right now too. It's how we keep down the sibling rivalry while the baby's little."

From across the room, I couldn't see our egg. I froze in place. I needed to hit the shower before I crawled into the nest, but I had to see our egg before I did anything. My wolf dug in his heels as soon as I mentioned the shower. If he had his way, we'd not leave the living room until our baby hatched.

"Besides, the egg laying isn't the exciting part," Logan said, motioning for me to join him. "The hatching is."

"Is it hatching?" I asked, sprinting across the room.

"Not yet. It's not even big enough to hold a full-sized baby yet," Logan laughed, glancing down.

He sat with the egg cradled between his legs. Careful not to touch the nest, I peered over the ledge at a purple egg. I let out a long sigh of relief and my wolf wagged his tail. Logan leaned over for a kiss, and it was hard not to climb inside with him.

"I know they all say the shell protects the baby, but I'm going to hit the shower and not drag chlorine into the nest."

"Thanks," Logan said, cupping my chin, "and I mean it. Don't beat yourself up. It's not like giving birth. That takes time. Egg laying is easier than that and not really a spectator sport."

I kissed him again and pressed my forehead against his. His eyes drifted closed and I could've stayed like that forever, but Jessica's footsteps came down the hall.

"Go on. I'll take care of this part," Logan said.

Still, I lingered to watch Jessica clad in her blue racecar pajamas peer over the edge and down at the purple egg that housed her younger sibling.

"Was I that small?" she gasped.

"Not quite this small when you came out," Logan laughed and leaned over the edge to pull her into the nest. "The egg will grow before it hatches."

"Will it be as big as me?" she giggled.

He pretended to look her up and down, sizing her up against the egg.

"Maybe. I think Zoey-bell's egg was," he winked at me as I headed off to clean up.