Chapter Fifty

Jeanne Ellen POV

Being pregnant sucks. I've been pregnant for two hundred and forty days, and though I had had an easier time than many, it still sucked.

I was humungous now. My belly was all I could see of my lower half without a mirror or Tank. During our eighteen-week scan, we found out the sex of the babies. I'm a planner, and so is Tank. We needed to know that information for planning purposes. Our girls were going to be spoiled, I thought, if it were entirely up to Tank. He had just come home with baby clothes again. Our daughters' closet had more clothes in it than mine did!

"I couldn't help it," he said, holding up two matching dresses. "They're just so cute!"

I tried to stop myself from rolling my eyes; really, I did. "I thought we agreed we wouldn't dress them alike."

He put the dresses on the kitchen counter and enveloped me in a hug. Between his massive size and my massive belly, I could no longer even pretend to get my arms around him, and I settled for placing my arms on his shoulders. "Lover, what am I going to do with you?" I asked playfully.

"Spank me?" he asked, partially joking and partially hopeful.

"I think that's how we got into this mess!" I said, pointing at my stomach.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway. Steph and Ranger are coming over tonight?" he confirmed.

"Yeah. They should be here in about an hour or so," I said. "Can you believe they're together? Like exclusively and permanently? Did you ever imagine Ranger with a girlfriend?"

"Not in a million years. He always said his life didn't lend itself to relationships. I think it was as much due to not wanting to settle with only one woman as it was his chosen career and the missions."

"Well, I am happy his stance has relaxed on that. Neither of them has seemed as happy as they are now."

Tank helped me prepare dinner in the kitchen. I mostly had everything under control, but he liked to cook, and I liked that he was a modern man who wanted to take on his fair share of household duties. I had no qualms about having children with him because I knew he'd change an equal amount of diapers and wake up at night just as often as I would to feed them.

He surprised me one weekend with a fully painted nursery after I had been out with Steph and Val all day. Thankfully, we had discussed what we wanted; otherwise, I probably would have been a sobbing mess at not having made any decorating decisions. We decided to paint it in foot-wide horizontal stripes of butter yellow and crisp white, and I loved the results as much as the concept. It was a gamble, going with yellow, because it often didn't turn out the way you expected. We had gone with modern white and light beechwood furniture and hired someone to install floor-to-ceiling cabinetry for everything I knew we'd need for the babies.

I picked out the rocker myself but ensured Tank and I tested its comfort. I planned to breastfeed but also supplement with pumped milk and formula. I didn't want to be the only one feeding the girls when Tank had two perfectly good hands and could help. When one of the men at Rangeman joked about Tank staying home to babysit, he cowered after I was done berating him. "Parents don't babysit," I said. "They parent. Equally." After that confrontation, the word spread, and some men started avoiding me.

Ranger and Stephanie arrived about twenty minutes before dinner was ready. Steph poured some sparkling apple juice for me and wine for the others while setting the table. She stuck to apple juice too, which had me raising my eyebrow at her questioningly. "There's nothing to tell you," she assured me. "I'm just not in the mood for wine and always liked this stuff."

I glanced around to make sure the men weren't in earshot. "So, you're not pregnant?"

"Not even a little. Isn't it enough that you're having two babies, and Val is having one, too?" she asked.

"I suppose. Can you believe Val is having a girl? What's with our family and girls?"

She shrugged. "Something in the water? Or maybe it's Dad's fault. He only had girls too."

"I'd agree with you, except that the man transmits the chromosome to determine the baby's sex."

"Details, schmetails." She waved her hand airily.

"Is Zoë with Jenny?" I asked. Jenny was a college student in Steph's new neighbourhood that sat with Zoë occasionally. Zoë loved Jenny and had a bit of a hero-worship thing going on with her.

Steph nodded. "It was easier just to take her home and let Jenny take over than to take her over to Val's and pick her up later."

Dinner was fantastic. I had developed a more sophisticated palate over my pregnancy, and I spent long hours in the kitchen preparing exotic menus with flavourful spices. Tonight's dinner was all inspired by India: a spicy vegetable curry, chicken tikka skewers and Aloo Gobi. I had taken several cooking classes in different cuisines over the past several months since I had nothing better to do. Doing the job of a bounty hunter is dangerous at the best of times, and I would not potentially put my baby in danger. As a result, I had a lot of downtime to fill. Tank wanted me to relax and prepare for the babies' arrival, but there was no way I could do nothing for so long. I'd go completely stir-crazy, whip up all that crazy and send it in Tank's direction.

When we had finished eating, Steph said, "We have some news for you."

She looked over at Ranger, who nodded and continued. "Steph has agreed to move in with me into my house in Hamilton Township. She and Zoë," he added.

I smiled and teared up. Damn hormones! "I'm so happy for you guys," I sniffled. Tank took my hand in his and rubbed circles to soothe me.

"Congratulations, man," Tank said. "You too, Steph."

"We're going to take about a month or so to move over slowly, and I want to combine some of my newer, nicer furniture with what Ranger already has so it feels more like ours."

"Okay. So, when do you think you'll be all moved out?"

"I think by July first," she said. "But just in case, I want to pay the rent up to August first. You'll have the babies by then, and I'm sure you won't be up to finding new tenants, though I have an idea for you."

"What idea?"

"What do you think of renting the house to Hal and Val? Her apartment is gross, and his condo is only a one-bedroom. He mentioned earlier today at work that he plans to sell it so they can buy something together. Renting from you would be a chance to save up a bit more money while they look. They want to live together by the time their baby is born."

I shrugged. "I guess we can do that. Do you think Val would be willing to keep her new address a secret from Helen?"

"I think so. She's been doing great at maintaining boundaries with her and meeting her either at Mom's house or a public place. Mom has still not met Hal yet."

"Wow. Good for Val. That can't be easy, keeping Hal from Helen."

We spent another couple of hours hanging out after dinner, playing a board game that Steph had brought. Either Ranger had been keeping facets of his personality hidden from us, or Steph had been influencing him, but either way, Ranger had become much more relaxed and did things now, like play board games. That never would have happened pre-Stephanie.

When we bade them goodnight, I locked up behind them and walked around the house, turning off lights and ensuring everything was in place, while Tank cleaned the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher. We went to bed shortly after that, but I had difficulty falling asleep because I was so uncomfortable. I tried not to disturb Tank, who was sleeping peacefully, but I gasped loudly when I felt a shooting pain across my stomach, and Tank awoke with a start.

"Baby, are you okay?" he asked in concern.

"I don't know. I'm in pain," I groaned.

He helped me up from bed. "Do you think you're in labour?"

"I don't know. It doesn't feel like what I read, but I must admit I've been uncomfortable for a couple of hours now."

"Baby, you should have told me," he admonished gently.

We started keeping track of my pains, and when we called my doctor to ask about them, she said they sounded like contractions to her and to go to the hospital when they were five minutes apart.

I texted Steph and told her it was probably time, and when we got to six minutes between contractions, I made Tank drive me to the hospital early.