“What the hell is going on, Kate?” Mike was going to lose his shit if she didn’t find some way to convince him she was okay.
So she opted for the truth. Looking at the concerned and familiar faces surrounding them, she didn’t mind sharing the moment with everyone. They were family, in the broadest sense of the word. Hopefully Mike wouldn’t care either. “I wanted to think of some clever way to tell you but, uh, I’m sort of pregnant.”
“What?” Mike blinked at her.
“Sort of?” Uncle Tom unleashed a giant belly laugh at that. “It’s been a while since I heard those words directed at me, but as far as I remember, it’s not a sort of condition.”
Ms. Brown smacked him lightly with the back of her hand. “Tommy. Shush.”
“Oh my God, that’s amazing news.” Sally, who was also pregnant, sniffled then crushed Kate between her and Mike. “Congratulations, you two!”
And yet, Mike still stood there, frozen. “A…a baby? Like a miniature person. That kind of baby.”
Kate nodded a few times quickly, but not enough that she’d get dizzy again.
“You’re having a baby?” Mike asked as he brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes so that he could look directly into them.
“We’re having a baby,” she answered.
“Hang out here a while and your kid can be besties with Eli’s.” Holden grinned. “Might as well share baby shit and sitters while you’re at it. We have no shortage of those around here, you know.”
Stay? In Middletown? Kate peeked over Mike’s shoulder at the construction site and the future Joe and now Mike too for a little while at least, were building here. It was only supposed to be temporary but…
Then again, what if Mike didn’t even want another child? Maybe she should have waited and told him once they were alone, but she couldn’t hold the secret in even one more second when she’d remembered how tiny their children had looked in his big, strong, capable hands. And how much he loved them.
Kate’s breath froze in her lungs. What if he didn’t want this? New beginnings at their age could be terrifying. Look at what Joe and Morgan had gone through to reach for theirs. And that had been progress, not going back to where they’d been over ten years ago.
Mike took one more ragged breath and then he was there, his hands cupping her face as he smiled, slow and wide until all she could see was pure, unadulterated bliss. The same sort she’d felt since she realized that what she’d been denying was true. They were doing this again, whether they’d planned to or not.
He murmured, “I love you.”
But instead of kissing her like she expected, Mike sank to his knees. His hands cradled her hips this time while his thumbs brushed over her belly. “And I love you. How can I love someone I didn’t even know existed until a moment ago? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to meet you, little baby.”
Then he buried his face in her shirt as if he couldn’t stand to be even an inch away from the life growing inside her.
It wasn’t until he rose and she saw the tears dampening his cheeks that she totally lost her shit, practically trying to climb him. With his arms banded around her, everything in her world was perfect. She had no idea where they would go from there, but as long as they were together, and they had their children, they would be just fine.
“Now that’s a hell of a surprise,” Joe teased as he put one hand each on Mike and Kate.
Holden and Sabra, Roman and Carver, Uncle Tom and Ms. Brown, and all the rest of the Hot Rods piled on for an epic group hug. Kate wished the rest of the Powertools were there to share the moment with them, but the next best thing was having their Hot Rods cousins join in the celebrations.
“Wow, this is incredible.” Mike looked as dazed as she’d felt when she’d finally accepted what the entire box of tests Devon had bought her had said. “I don’t even know how this happened. I mean, we’re careful and…”
“Oh, I know how it happened.” Kaige, another one of the mechanics, grinned before thrusting the wrench in his hand through the circle of his thumb and forefinger.
“What does that mean?” one of Holden’s sons asked.
“Nothing!” Sabra shot Kaige a glare, then smiled sweetly. “Uncle Kaige will explain it to you and Ambrose someday, won’t you?”
When Kaige considered educating his daughter about the birds and the bees, his smirk vanished. “In about fifty years, sure.”
Everyone laughed at that, Kate included.
“Man, I can’t wait to see Morgan’s face when you tell her. She’s going to be so happy for you.” Joe clapped Mike on the shoulder.
Kate saw the moment it dawned on him, just as it had her…
“But we’re going to be here at least all summer.” Joe looked from his cousin, Eli, who was about to be a first-time dad, then to Mike and back—panic, dread, obligation, all of it warring with joy and excitement in his warm eyes, causing them to crinkle at the corners.
“It’s okay,” Kate hurried to reassure him. “Look at what you’re doing here—Eli needs you. You were right to come. This is obviously a huge opportunity for you and Morgan too.”
“If you need to go home, we’ll figure this out.” Eli was quick to let Joe off the hook, but anyone who knew Joe knew he wasn’t capable of backing down from responsibility.
“No, no.” Joe ran his hands through his hair. “I’m not bailing on you. I just, wow. Mike isn’t going to be able to be away from home, so he’ll need to teach me everything he knows this week. And kids all around. It’s going to be a really fun year, huh?”
Uncle Tom came forward, putting one hand on Eli’s shoulder and the other on Joe’s. Then he took an extra step and surrounded both Mike and Kate in another of his famous bear hugs. “You two should take the rest of the afternoon off. Go celebrate. I’m sure you have a lot to talk about. The rest will work itself out. You’ll see.”
“That’s a good idea.” Joe nodded. “I think I can manage not to fuck shit up if you get out of here for a few hours.”
Mike huffed. “Cut that out. You don’t need me.”
But the reality was that in the crew, they all needed each other. Being separated was going to be harder than they’d imagined. They’d have to figure out a way to make it work.
Just thinking about it sapped the last of Kate’s strength. She had to find somewhere quiet to snuggle in her husband’s arms so she could figure out if he really was as happy as she was to be going on this adventure in parenthood with him, one more time.
Mike noticed and scooped her into his arms, not waiting for her to collapse again. He nodded to everyone and said, “I’ll see you all tomorrow, and you when you get off work tonight.”
He jerked his chin at Joe, who nodded.
That’s right! Kate remembered Mike was staying with Joe and Morgan as he deposited her in the passenger seat of her car and clicked her seatbelt into place. Then he jogged around to the driver’s side and moved the seat back what seemed like ten notches before joining her. She waved to everyone as they shouted congratulations and warm wishes.
Mike’s fingers entwined with hers. The heat and strength in his grasp drew the last of her nervous energy from her, and before she realized it, she’d closed her eyes. The pretty moss-colored light filtering through the canopy above as they wound through the woods toward Morgan and Joe’s rental house was the last thing she remembered before she dozed off.