Page 13 of Accidentally All Inclusive (Beartastic Summer of Love #5)

Westley

We managed to make an appointment with the den doctor a week after finding out we were pregnant.

I wanted to make an appointment that very same day, but Jules insisted we didn’t need to rush.

I counted down the days and spent as much time as possible near my mate.

It was early in the pregnancy, but I didn’t want to miss a minute of it.

The appointment was early in the morning, before I went off to work. I drove myself and Jules there.

The clinic was on the outskirts of town, large enough that we would be able to have the baby there, but small enough that we didn’t attract any humans there for medical attention.

A few times a year we’d have emergency situations where humans stumbled upon the place.

For the most part we remained secluded from humans.

Most everyone in town was part of the den or part of the neighboring dens.

Our doctor, though getting on in years, was fantastic.

We shared him with the other dens and packs in the area.

I had been seeing him since I was a child.

Shifters didn’t need doctors very often, since we healed quickly.

He mostly was there to assist with pregnancies and set broken bones when little shifter children pushed their limits.

Like the time my sister and I decided to see which of us was brave enough to jump off the barn roof.

He held out his hand as we walked in the door. “Westley, it’s good to see you. I hear congratulations are in order.”

I shook his hand, then introduced him to Jules. “Indeed they are. Dr. Straven, this is my mate. We had a positive pregnancy test a week ago.”

The doctor grinned widely. “Welcome, Jules. We are happy to have you here. I’ve heard so many things about you.”

“Thank you,” he said.

We followed him into the exam room, where I helped Jules onto the examination table.

“Now, you two met four weeks ago while Westley was on vacation, and you mated within a few days?”

Jules’s cheeks turned bright pink like a fresh sunburn, and he ducked his chin. “Yes,” he said.

The doctor chuckled. “No shame in that, young man. When you know, you know. I met my mate, and we exchanged claiming bites within the first eight hours.” He winked. “But don’t tell my parents that. They still think we met weeks prior and had been taking it slow.”

“Your secret’s safe with us,” I said. Dr. Straven’s mate worked at the bookstore in town. Jules had likely already met them without realizing it.

“Great. Now, how have you been feeling, Jules?”

“Good. I don’t feel any different. My back hurts a little, but I wasn’t sure if that was from waiting tables. I’m tired, but again, I wasn’t sure if that was just related to how much I’ve been working.”

I knew it was more than just waiting tables.

Often Jules came home from the breakfast shift and slept until I came home from work.

Then he went to bed right after we had dinner.

To say he was tired was an understatement.

I had chalked it up to him feeling safe and happy for the first time in a long time, but clearly it was more than that.

My brow furrowed. I’d have to talk to my mom about putting Jules on the schedule too often. Perhaps he should only work every other day. Right now he was working the breakfast shift two days a week and the lunch shift three days a week.

Jules laid a hand on my arm. “I know what you’re thinking, and I’m not working too hard. I’m not even there full-time. I like working. It’s been amazing to meet so many people in the den. I don’t want to stop.”

My bear grumbled. Our mate needed rest.

The doctor nodded. “The back pain could be your organs shifting around as your uterus expands to make room for a growing baby. As for being tired, that is totally normal. As long as you don’t overdo it and rest when your body needs you to rest, that fatigue should pass soon.

I’ll let the two of you decide how long you work and how often.

At this time, there is no medical reason to stop.

I have a portable ultrasound, so let’s see what we’re working with. ”

It didn’t take much time at all, and we had the portable ultrasound out, and the doctor was rubbing gel over Jules’s belly.

Then he placed the wand on there. My eyes were glued on the screen, waiting to see what it would reveal—not that I knew exactly what I was looking at.

I had seen my sister’s ultrasound pictures, but that was my only reference point.

Everything on the screen just looked like blobs to me.

It didn’t take long for a little circle to fill the screen, and inside that little circle, a tiny baby-shaped blob with a beating heart. My heart sped up as I realized what it was I was looking at.

My baby.

“Ah, there they are. Just one. In case you were worried about multiples. Looks to be the right size for how far along you are,” Dr. Straven said.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

He took a few measurements, then recorded the heartbeat. “Looks like you’re going to be due in about six months, and everything looks good. Congratulations, you two, you’re going to be fathers.”

“Shouldn’t I have more symptoms?” Jules asked. “I feel so normal, besides being tired.”

“Everyone’s different,” Dr. Straven said.

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If I remember correctly, Westley’s mom didn’t have many symptoms with some of her pregnancies.

But with Westley, her only alpha, she was quite miserable,” he said.

“Perhaps that’s what you’re having. Maybe it runs in the family.

Make sure you watch your water intake, and if you’re going to continue waiting tables, stay hydrated.

Keep a close eye on any swelling. Rest when you need to—your body’s doing a lot right now.

As you get closer, you might want to spend more time in your bear form. That’s perfectly normal.”

There was so much to learn. The weight of it all fell on my shoulders and held me down. I knew that I wanted children, but hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about the whole pregnancy process. I felt wholly unprepared to support my mate.

Once Jules was cleaned up and had his pre-natal vitamins in hand, he and I left the clinic clutching the picture of our little baby.

“I hate that I have to get to work,” I said. I hugged him against me, kissing his cheek. “I’m so happy. Can’t we just play hooky all day?”

Jules laughed. “I’m happy, too. It’s really real. We’ll have to tell your family at dinner tomorrow night. And no playing hooky right now. Who knows how much time you’ll need to take off for appointments and when the little guy finally arrives. Put your hours in now.”

“I like that plan. Are you working today?” I asked.

Jules shook his head. “Honestly, I might nap. The doctor said to listen to my body, and it says to sleep.”

I kissed him again; I couldn’t get enough of him. “You should. And start thinking about how you might want to decorate the nursery. I guess I know which room we’ll be renovating next.” That was another item on the to-do list. The nursery would need to be painted, the trim and carpet replaced.

“I can decorate the nursery?”

“Of course,” I said. “What’s mine is yours. You can change anything about any of the rooms or the outside or whatever. This is your home, Jules.”

The salty scent of Jules’s tears tickled my nostrils. “Thank you, Westley. Thank you.”

Once Jules was back at home, I made my way to work. I walked since I wanted him to have access to the car if he needed it. That was another thing we should do—purchase another vehicle for us.

Doing work was the last thing on my mind. Instead, I had a million items on my to-do list. First order of business was to dip into my savings account and pay off the amount that Jules owed to those bastard loan sharks. It wasn’t fair that we had this debt, but we would take care of it.

With that not hanging over our heads, we could finally move on and get started on renovating the rest of the house. I loved doing all the work on my own, but now I had a timeline that I needed to get it done by. With Jules due in six months, we needed things done fast.

Most of the house was done, except for the spare bedrooms and extra bathrooms. With a child on the way, those bedrooms wouldn’t be spare anymore.

We’d have a nursery and maybe even an office for me so that I could work from home some days.

With any luck, this wouldn’t be our only child.

Finishing the bedrooms and the bathrooms would mean we’d be ready for whatever life threw at us.

I set up a meeting with the Alpha to go over those few things. He agreed to loan us the money for paying off the debt. I didn’t love it, but it was necessary, and he promised to put together a crew to help with the house. One way or another, we would get this done.

Later, I would let Jules know that we had the money and would pay off his dad’s loan. And then the two of us could start putting together plans for our future.