Charmed and Dangerous by Lindsay Buroker
4
Amar blinked a few times.“You are pregnant?”
“I could be. Like I said, I haven’t seen my doctor yet, but I’ll make an appointment and drive down to Seattle tomorrow.” Morgen waved toward the evidence of her sickness, though she watched Amar’s face for his reaction.
Would he be horrified? Pleased? Alarmed? At the moment, he mostly looked stunned.
Then he stepped in closer and gripped her hands. “This is good news, yes? With my arch enemy gone, I do not fear having children.”
His words sent relief through her, though Morgen couldn’t help but think of the mayor and his cadre of Loups. Even if the witches weren’t gunning for her anymore, she couldn’t say that all of her enemies were gone.
Still, the smile slowly blossoming on his face made hersmile as well. “I know we talked about it a bit, but… do you want children? With me?” Maybe she shouldn’t have asked that, since, unless the test was wrong, it was going to happen. “We haven’t been seeing each other that long, and I definitely didn’t plan this. It would have made more sense to wait, but, uhm, do you want to hear my sister’s hypothesis about your sperm?”
That got him blinking again. Morgen stifled the urge to roll her eyes at herself once more. Usually, she felt comfortable around him. Why was this so awkward?
“Waiting is not necessary,” Amar said. “You are my witch, and I am your wolf.”
“That is true.” She relaxed into his arms, letting him draw her into a hug. “After my appointment, we’ll get things confirmed.”
“You could see Dr. Valderas now.”
“I’m not going to the vet for my pregnancy needs.”
“He is very capable. He has many horse breeders for clients and delivers foals regularly.”
“And yet, not my first choice.” Morgen shuddered.
“Hm.” Amar stroked her hair for a few thoughtful minutes before saying, “I must begin preparations.”
“Preparations?” She leaned back to look at his face, hoping there wasn’t some werewolf ritual that he had in mind. She envisioned the Lobos taking their newborn out into the wilds and Amar holding him or her up to the full moon while the pack howled in the background.
“Baby furniture,” Amar said. “There must be a crib. And storage bins for diapers and toys. Dressers for small clothing. I must begin plans immediately.”
Relieved that howling wouldn’t be involved with his preparations, Morgen allowed him to lead her toward the barn door. Was he going to start tonight?
He paused with his hand on the door. “This will be more complicated than pet furniture. A chainsaw might not be sufficient.”
“Well, I signed the lease and got the keys, so you have room for a bandsaw, if you want one.” Morgen had vague memories of using a bandsaw in her middle school’s mandatory shop class to carve a toy car out of wood, but she had no idea if it was the tool for constructing a diaper bin.
“Large woodworking machinery is expensive. Perhaps later, we can afford such things. For now, I will speak with the pack. They have many tools that I can borrow. You saw the circular saws they used on the deck.”
“Uh, yes. Are you… going to tell them about the baby?”
“They will know soon, even if I say nothing. You will smell different.”
Morgen decided she didn’t want to know what she would smell like, or how she usually smelled, and didn’t ask for details. “Okay, but can you wait to tell them until I’ve seen the doctor? Then maybe we can celebrate.” She almost mentioned the tradition of baby showers, but the last thing she wanted was to encourage a pack of mostly male construction-worker werewolves to give her gifts. Knowing them, she would end up with four wrenches and a ratchet set.
“We can celebrate tonight.” Amar squeezed her hand and smiled at her.
“Now?”
“After I start on the crib.”
“We should have nearly eight months,” she said, though she was touched that he cared. She felt foolish for even momentarily thinking that he would be horrified and run away. That had been her own fears speaking, nothing to do with Amar and what kind of person he was. “And you work quickly. You made that cat condo for Sakura in days.”
“A crib for our baby must be far superior to some pet apparatus carpeted with scraps of rug that an owl nested on.”
Morgen grimaced, glancing at the stain on the gravel that Zorro had left behind. As she recalled, he’d done more than nest on Amar’s scraps. “Yes, why don’t you leave carpet out of the crib? I’ll pick up a mattress and some blankets.”
Amar opened his mouth, but Morgen held up a finger.
“No hides either,” she said.
“I have many to choose from. Some of the pelts are very soft. I have rabbit fur.”
“No parts of dead animals go in a child’s room. That’s a rule. I’m sure it’s covered in American Baby.”
He squinted at her. Her phone rang, saving her from having to further defend her position.
“Zoe,” Morgen growled when her cousin’s name popped up. She answered with, “Why did you tell my brothers that I’m studying witchcraft?”
“Hi, Morgen. Great to talk to you too.”
Amar went into the barn, humming to himself as he flicked on the lights. He headed straight for the workbench in the back where he sketched his pieces before bringing them to life.
“Sian says they’re planning to come up here to save me from myself,” Morgen said, wandering toward the driveway, “or who knows what craziness.” She stepped over the spot where Wendy and the other witches had helped her to install magical wards to keep enemies out of the house. They’d been inactive since the rougarou had died, but she wondered if she could turn them on when her brothers showed up, then hide inside and pretend not to be home.
“You should be thankful that I told them,” Zoe said. “They were grousing about how you got everything when your grandmother died. I told them that from what I’d seen, you’d mostly gotten a lot of trouble.”
“That’s the truth.”
“It’s not my fault they think you’ve joined a cult.”
“Zoe.”
“I barely mentioned the coven. If it helps, Caden thinks you’re not a follower and, if anything, you started the cult.”
“That doesn’t help. What am I going to tell them when they come up here?” Morgen fantasized about the wards again—and hiding under her bed and reading books until they went away. Were mothers supposed to do such immature things? She would have to get an actual issue of that parenting magazine and see if there were any tips.
“Perhaps you can distract them with werewolves. That worked for me.” Zoe oozed satisfaction and sounded like she was smiling. “That’s what I called about.”
“Your werewolf fetish?”
“It’s not a fetish. I had great sex with Juan Martín, and I’d like to have it again.”
“Shouldn’t you call him instead of me? I’m not your pimp.”
“I didn’t get his number or his address. I assumed your strapping werewolf lover could point me to him though. It’s been ages since I’ve known such intense pleasure.”
“You were here three weekends ago.”
“Ages. I don’t have any client meetings for the next couple of days. Mind if I come up this weekend?”
Morgen was about to say she did mind and that it wasn’t a good time, but the filth of the tannery came to mind. “In exchange for free room and board, would you be willing to help me clean the new building I just leased for my business?”
Maybe she could also foist her brothers off on Zoe. Her cousin could be their tour guide and show them around town while Morgen focused on getting the building ready.
“Clean? Morgen, I show houses for a living; I don’t clean them.”
“This isn’t a house. It’s a large commercial building.”
“So much more appealing.”
“It was built in the 1800s. It’s historically significant.”
“And thus, more desirable to clean?” Zoe asked.
“I should think so.”
“Fine, fine, if you let me stay and help me find a werewolf lover to scratch my itch, I’ll dust a few shelves for you.”
“A werewolf lover? You don’t care if it’s the same one?”
“I’ll take him if he’s available, but I’m not particular. You know I enjoy broadening my horizons and experiencing new things—and people.”
Morgen shook her head at the phone. “How is it possible that we share any blood?”
“You ask that as if I’m the weird one who started a cult.”
“I didn’t start a cult.”
Zoe made a kissing sound. “I’ll be up later tonight. Thanks.”
“Tonight?” Morgen asked but Zoe had already hung up. That didn’t keep Morgen from muttering, “I’ll find a lot more than a couple of shelves for you to clean, cousin.”
The phone lit up with a new call.
Morgen frowned, feeling inundated. This was far too much socializing for an introvert, and when Deputy Franklin’s name popped up, she groaned, certain she didn’t want to hear whatever he had to say.
“Hello, Deputy.”
“Ms. Keller, I’m afraid I must report that your building has been broken into. There’s fresh graffiti on an inside wall, and the owner of the Roaming Elk Inn reported seeing weird glowing lights through the broken windows.”
“Are you kidding me? It’s only been two hours since I signed the lease.”
“Nonetheless, you might want to come down here.”
Morgen stared bleakly at the phone. So much for her romantic evening with Amar.