I feel so strongly for this man right now.
“I think I’m okay,” I croak out.
“Go lay down upstairs.” He brushes my hair back. “Do you want crackers?”
I nod, keeping one hand over my mouth, and go back upstairs to lay down. I discovered over the last week or two, that if I lay really, really still, the nausea isn’t as bad. Problem is, I can’t lay down and be motionless most places.
“Is she okay?” I hear Dean ask.
“She’s had bad morning sickness since the beginning,” Archer answers. “It sucks but it’s nothing abnormal. But…no. She’s not okay. I told you, this stupid shit upsets her more than she’ll admit.” The pantry door creaks open, and all the dogs go running. “Get the fuck over it. We’re family now.” There’s venom in his voice, and I don’t want him to be mad at Dean too. Being angry at Bobby is enough negativity for this wonderful man to have to deal with.
I get into bed, getting under the covers this time, and feel like I’m about to burst into tears. I’m such an emotional wreck, and I have six months left of this.
“Quinn,” Archer whispers, and just hearing his voice calms me. “You okay, babe?”
“Yeah. Just tired. Mentally and physically.”
He gets in bed with me. “Take a nap.”
“Will you snuggle with me?”
“Of course.” He’s holding the bottle of anti-nausea pills, and I reluctantly take one. Archer yawns, and it’s then I notice how worn out he looks. It’s more than the long shifts. It’s the stress of Bobby, Dean, and being away from me and the baby.
“Tired?” I ask.
“Yeah.” He lays down and pulls me with him. We get under the covers this time and keep our clothes on. “I was in surgery before I came.”
“I thought you were going to sleep before you drove.”
He shrugs. “I was too anxious to see you.”
I roll over and sit up, hands going to his shoulders, and start massaging his stiff muscles. He sighs happily, eyes falling shut. It only takes a few minutes before he’s asleep. I lay down next to him, and in his sleep, he reaches out and puts an arm around me, hand landing on my stomach.
Someone knocks on the door. My eyes flutter open and I sit up, blinking rapidly to try and focus my vision. I was in the thick of my nap and feel all groggy now that I’ve been woken up.
“Hey, sis,” Owen calls. “You decent?”
“Yeah,” I mumble and go to the door. I twist the knob and pull it open.
“You look like shit,” Owen says as soon as I open the door. He grins and pulls me in for a hug.
“I was sleeping,” I grumble, hugging him back. “What are you doing?”
“Mom asked Dean to come up and get you guys, but he was worried he’d catch you in the act again.”
“Oh God.” I bury my face in my hands. “I knew he’d tell you guys about it.”
Owen laughs. “I’m glad I missed it, but I would have liked to have seen Dean’s face. He’s been downstairs pouting like a baby since we got here.”
“That’s what I said!” I shake my head. “He’s being more dramatic than me and I’m the pregnant one.”
“You’re starting to look like it too.”
“Did he tell Mom?”
“Probably in hopes you’d get grounded.”
I let out a snort of laughter. “Why did Mom want us? Is dinner ready?”
“She says it is, but you know how Mom is. We’ll sit around talking for half an hour before things are even close to being ready.”
“Are Wes and Jackson here too?”
“Just Jackson. We picked him up on the way.”
“I’m going to let Archer sleep,” I say and close the bedroom door. “He was in surgery before he drove here. I know he’s tired.”
“So sweet,” Owen teases and holds out his hand, letting me go down the hall first. The kitchen is bustling, and Jackson runs to me, jumping into my arms for a hug.
“Is Uncle Archer here?”
“Uncle Archer?” I raise my eyebrows and look at Mom. “Yeah, he’s here. He’s upstairs sleeping.”
“Why’s he sleeping? It’s not dark yet.”
“He works at night sometimes and is tired.”
“Daddy works at night,” Jackson says. “Does Uncle Archer work with Daddy?”
“Uncle Archer is a surgeon. He does operations,” I add in case he doesn’t know what a surgeon is.
Jackson’s eyes widen. “Does he cut people open?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool!”
I laugh and set Jackson down. He’s getting heavy. Dean, Kara, and Logan are sitting at the island counter, eating the appetizers Mom always sets out as she’s making dinner. It’s nothing fancy, just chips and dip along with various cut up vegetables.
Logan flicks his eyes from me to Dean and makes a face, trying not to laugh. I shake my head, too irritated with Dean to feel embarrassed. Though it’s not like it’s a surprise Archer and I are sleeping together. I’m pregnant after all.
“Quinn!” Mom exclaims. She drops the spoon she’s holding and rushes over.
I freeze, thinking she’s going to tell me there’s a spider in my hair or something. “What?”
“You have a bump!”
“Oh.” My heart is still racing. I hate spiders. “Yeah. It just popped up overnight.”
Mom puts her hand over my stomach. “You’ll be able to feel the baby moving soon. It’s the best feeling. Though it can get quite painful, especially in the end.”
“I’m excited.”
“You should be. I can’t wait for tomorrow! But if you want to tell me what it is—”
“Mom,” Logan interrupts. “She doesn’t know either.”
“I really don’t. Neither does Archer,” I assure her.
Mom takes her hand off my stomach. “Where is Archer?”
“Sleeping upstairs.”
Logan gets up and goes to the fridge. “Why is he so tired?”
“Yeah,” Owen goes on. “He must be pretty worn out.”
“Stop it, you two,” I say through gritted teeth.
Logan grabs two beers and gives one to Owen. “I don’t know what you’re talking about? I’m asking a simple question.” He’s not looking at me as he talks, but at Dean. Dean is staring at his phone, pretending to be so into whatever he’s reading he doesn’t hear them.
“Right,” Owen says. “What was Archer doing earli
er?”
Mom, who’s oblivious to everything, picks up the spoon and goes back to the sauce she was stirring on the stove. “He told me he came from work. He was checking on patients.”
“Yeah,” Owen snickers. “I’m sure he was doing thorough exams.”
“Seriously,” I warn, shooting him my best shut the fuck up look. Taking a spot next to Logan, I reach over and grab a carrot. “How’s wedding planning going?” I ask Kara, though that’s a sore subject on its own.
“Good.” She sets the bridal magazine she’s looking at down and fakes a smile. If I haven’t given birth by the time their wedding rolls around, there’s a good chance I’ll go into labor during the ceremony. She perks up, happy to talk about the wedding. “I finally picked the colors and I think I found my dress.”
“Oh, that’s exciting. Do you have a picture of it?”
“I do!” She pulls out her phone and comes around, not letting Dean see.
“It’s gorgeous,” I whisper. “You’re going to look stunning.”
“Thanks.” She goes back to her spot and opens the magazine, showing me centerpiece ideas she likes. “I’m starting to go into panic mode though. We don’t have much time and there’s so much to do.”
“You know we’re here to help with whatever.”
“Thanks,” she says again. “We’re leaning more towards something low-key yet elegant.”
“I like that idea.”
Kara smiles and looks down at the magazine again. “So far, we’re thinking of having the ceremony in the late afternoon, then do pictures, a cocktail hour, and then the reception.”
“That’ll be really nice.”
“We hope so. If only the weather would be nice then, right?”
“It can snow in March,” Owen says.
“Everything is inside, so we should be fine,” Dean finally speaks for the first time.
“I saw the new renovations to the venue on their website,” I say. “It’s so pretty.”
“It’s like a fairytale!” Kara agrees.
“I forgot to ask you, Quinn,” Mom says and turns the burner off. “Is Jamie coming to the reveal tomorrow?”
“Yeah, she’ll be here.”
“I’m so excited for another grandbaby!” Mom beams.