Page 18 of Singing the Dragon’s Heart

Chapter

Eighteen

R eno held Kami as he slept, his brain running a mile a minute.

They’d gotten Talon moved in. They’d been spending time with his buddies and all their kids. He thought Kami was doing full immersion therapy. Getting used to holding kids, to talking to them.

It was quite a feat for his independent mate.

But now he was thinking of the details. He needed to get a nursery up and functional. They needed a cradle or a bassinet, and Reno was no woodworker…

Oh, he may not be a woodworker, but he had a phone. So he texted Jack.

Hey. I hear you’re not doing the furniture and the supplying anymore.

I’m sort of managing the people who do that, but

Jack shot back in seconds.

I could totally help a friend. What you need?

Well, my mate’s pregnant I need stuff. Like baby stuff?

OK. So practically, what does that mean? Do you want a room painted or do you want paint? Do you need a crib? A bassinet? Changing tables, Rocking chairs. What?

I don’t paint.

What color? Have you talked to your hailee about this?

It’s a surprise.

There was a pause, then three dots, then:

Are you sure that’s smart?

Huh?

He didn’t follow. Why wouldn’t he be smart? Surprising your mate with something wonderful like a nursery was romantic.

Let’s see. Well, your mate could have ideas. I know it’s hard to believe. But possible. Can I call?

Two shakes.

He slid out of bed and took his phone with him. He grabbed the kettle and filled it, then dug out his favorite mug.

Once the water was heating, and the tea bags were in the cup, he called Jack. “So you don’t think that surprising Kami with the nursery’s a good idea?”

“I think it’s sweet and spectacularly stupid.” Jack was always such a joy to deal with. “Trust me, they get ideas. They decide what they want, they don’t tell us, and then when we don’t do it right, we get in trouble.”

“You sound long-suffering.”

“Dex is pregnant again.”

“Oh.” Damn.

“Exactly. Felicity decided that she wanted to decorate the nursery for the new baby in dragons. Dex was in tears because he wanted rainbows and clouds and suns and moons, but he couldn’t take the dragons down because Felicity had done it, and she was so proud. I have had to listen to this for hours. So, I’m telling you, talk to your hailee about it, then call me, and I’ll get you anything you want.”

Reno scratched his jaw and poured the water into his mug. “I suppose you have a point. I was just trying to be nice.”

“I understand, and you were. The fact is, however, that this is a mine-laden garden path. I’m trying to steer you through a field of one disaster after another, and since some of us have more experience than you do, I’m just going to help.”

“Suns and moons, huh?”

“Yes, please don’t suggest them to your mate. Dex is still mad.”

“No problem, I’m going to try to steer toward?—”

“Don’t. Don’t steer, no steering. You are not driving this particular train. I don’t know how to be clearer with you.” He’d never heard Jack sound quite so passionate. “Trust me here, when you’re the one with the baby in the belly, you get to drive the train. Until the baby is out of the belly? No train driving. You don’t even get to play with the horn. Nothing. Periodically, if you’re lucky, they get hormonal, and you get to play with the gear shift, if you get my drift.”

He tilted his head. “Do trains have gear shifts?”

“Pay attention, Reno. Once the baby’s born, you might get to drive once or twice. Maybe, maybe not. You may just perpetually be sitting there in the coal room, shoveling coal and changing diapers. That’s not up to you.”

“No?” Wow, Dex must be really hormonal. “Well, I will talk to Kami then, and we’ll call you back.”

“Just send a text. That’s fine. No suns or moons.”

“Got it, dude. No suns, no moons, no moony suns or sunny moons. How about eggs?”

“What?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all. Uh. Thanks, man. Bye.” He hung up. Maybe he should send Jack some booze or something.

Or ask him to lunch. Maybe he needed to get out more…

Yeah, he could do that.

He sipped his tea, decaf, and stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter. He wanted Kami to sleep. Nice and deep and still. He needed the rest.

It had been a busy few weeks, and Kami was getting past the morning sickness, but not so much the tiredness.

He was warmer now, though. Reno had learned?—

Braaken? I’m cold.

Reno chuckled, pouring another cup of tea . On my way, baby.

Mmm. Yay.

He headed to bed, handing the tea to Kami. “I needed something to drink.”

“Ah.” Kami grabbed it and took a sip. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He crawled in and got Kami all snuggled up next to him. “So, have you had any thoughts about the nursery?”

“The what?” Kami gazed at him, eyes wide.

“The baby’s room.” He waited for that to sink in.

“Oh.” Kami tilted his head to one side. “Should I have?”

“Well, Jack assures me that omegas have thoughts.” He winked.

“I haven’t had a one. Does that make me weird?”

“Nope. That means you’ve been busy, and that you had no idea you were supposed to be thinking about it.”

“Oh.” That had Kami grinning. “So what do you think?”

“Well, I would kind of like to be in charge of the cradle.” That was traditional. He was the braaken. “But Jack has asked us not to do suns and moons and stars.”

“Um, do I want to know?”

He snorted. “Dex was going to do that. He’s pregnant again. But Felicity did dragons and stuff. Dex is really upset, but Felicity is his girl, so he can’t change it.”

Kami chuckled, shaking his head. “No suns and moons then.” He breathed in the tea, then sipped. “Man, I got cold fast when you left.”

“Sorry, baby.” He put his phone on the side table. “I’ll hang out.”

“Are you awake-awake?”

“A little, yeah.” He stroked Kami’s back, warming his lover.

“Can we watch a movie?” Kami kissed his chest, burrowing in and setting the tea aside.

“Absolutely. What do you want to watch?” Reno asked.

“Something silly and gentle.”

“Animated or just goofy?” He grabbed the remote.

“Oh, just goofy. Maybe like the 1999 Mummy movie.”

“I’m on it.” Kami had chosen this movie before, and they both loved it. “You okay?”

“I am now.” Kami grinned. “I must have been dreaming hard.”

“You must have. I got you.”

They snuggled in and started the movie, and soon enough, Kami dozed off.

Which was totally cool. Except that he still had no idea what to do with the nursery.

Kami stood in the little bedroom in his and Reno’s apartment, hands on his hips, lips pursed.

A nursery.

He’d stared at this room now for, like, two weeks. And he still had no ideas. He’d talked to Lake. To Eyv. To Elowyn. They all just told him not to upset Dex.

Poor guy. He was really a hormonal mess.

Kami kind of got it, because while he wasn’t bursting into tears, he was getting super pissed at Reno and chewing his ass, and then wanting to hug and cuddle and snuggle and apologize.

But right now, he wanted to figure out this whole nursery thing.

He stomped to the front room, where Reno and Talon were playing chess. “What theme should we do?”

“Baby, I have been reliably informed that I am not steering.”

When Reno had told him about Jack’s long discussion about that, he’d thought it was funny. Now he pursed his lips and glared.

“I need help!”

Talon glanced at him, then at Reno. “Well, what do you feel? Neutral? Boy? Girl?”

“I have no idea.” He put his hand on his belly, trying to like, feel the baby.

His eyes went wide.

“Reno!”

Reno popped up like a jack-in-the-box. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Come here! Come here now.”

Reno crossed the room in two long strides. “Is it the baby? Do I need to take you to the healer?”

“No. No, give me your hand.” He grabbed Reno’s hand and put it on his belly. “Feel that.”

Reno waited, looking bemused, but then his jaw dropped. “The baby is moving.”

“Yes.” Awed, he leaned into Reno’s touch. “Do you feel that, bean? That’s your soffaren.”

Reno beamed at him. “Oh, baby.”

“Should I?—”

“No.” Reno turned to Talon. “Come here. Right, Kami?”

Kami nodded. “He is the baby’s ki’soff. There’s no one better to feel, right?”

“Exactly.” Reno motioned for Talon again.

Talon came over and put his hand on Kami’s belly right where Reno’s had been. It took a second, but then the baby kicked, punching Talon right in the center of his hand.

Talone stilled, then beamed at him. “That’s my ki’kai.”

Kami nodded, his heart full. “It is.”

“Wow.” The three of them stood there a bit, like they were frozen in time, then Talon leaned away. “How does it feel to you?”

Kami chuckled—like he’d swallowed a thousand butterflies. “Weird. Really weird, but cool.”

Reno encouraged them all to move over to the sofa and sit. He snuggled back into Reno’s arms, soaking up the warmth and the strength. Our baby moved.

He did.

Are we having a son, do you think? Kami asked.

I don’t care. I just want a healthy, happy little one to love.

Talon sat beside him, brow creased as he thought.

“Don’t hurt yourself, friend,” he teased. “What are you thinking about so hard?”

“Rainbows.”

“Pardon?” He didn’t follow.

“Why don’t you do a bunch of crystals, like for mobiles and stuff, so when the sun hits them, it casts rainbows. You could do rainbows.”

Talon might have hit on something. He loved that idea, and he didn’t think it would hurt Dex’s feelings at all.

“You know, I could. We could. That would actually be kind of cool.”

Talon shrugged and opened his hands. “You could paint the walls a super light sky blue, with some pinks and some oranges that were barely there.”

Oh, he loved that idea. “And then—prisms everywhere. Some big soft plushy rainbow things. They have to exist, right?”

Reno nodded. “Yes, I have seen them in the books. They even have rainbow chairs that are soft. They have a rainbow changing table, everything.”

The idea of his braaken searching through catalogs of baby furniture was hilarious and dear and he loved it.

Not as much as he loved the fact that they were finished with making that decision. He didn’t have to think about it anymore, and it was neither suns nor moons. So he wasn’t going to get in trouble with every person in the keep. “Really good idea, Talon.”

“I have my moments.”

“Thank you.” Kami rubbed his hands together. “So now that that’s done, I could play too. Well, not chess. We could play cards.”

“Sounds good to me.” Reno hugged him. “I like a good game of cards.”

“I’ll grab the deck.” Talon stood and glanced at them. “You’ll have to move out of Reno’s arms, though, otherwise he’ll cheat.”

Reno scowled at Talon playfully. “I don’t have to cheat to beat you.”

“No, but you do have to cheat to beat Kami.”

Reno laughed. “True enough.”

Kami climbed out of Reno’s lap so Reno could scoot the coffee table into position for them all to play. He grabbed a notebook to keep score, and Talon came back with a deck of cards.

He had the best braaken and best friend in the world.

And now he was going to have prismatic rainbows.