Page 76 of Kodi’s Keeper
Isley: Frey, you have so much more to contend with than any of us with having Emmy. It’s not like we are excluding you, just not wanting to give you our stress.
Frey: That’s lovely of you, but I’ll always be here for any of you if you need to talk.
Lennon: I didn’t tell anyone cause I wasn’t sure what was going on between us.
Monty: Lennon OMFG are you dating Kodi?
Lennon: Yes, he’s coming tomorrow night to meet my parents and sisters, god help him.
Monty: Sorry I was distracted, now I’ve read again what Frey said.
Isley: Have you warned him Lennon?? I remember when I met Giselle, she got me so drunk it took three days to get sober. I still have gaps in my memory of what we did.
Lennon: I did warn you she had a thing for sugar gliders. And yes, I have warned him. He thinks I’m joking about how bad they are. I could be single again on Sunday.
Ziggy: Seriously, they can’t be that bad.
Isley: Three days, Ziggy. Let’s just say your cocktails are harmless next to Giselle’s!
Ziggy: Lennon, I’ve got to meet her!
Lennon: My family do an open house the week before Christmas. You’re all more than welcome. But I take no responsibility for what happens if you do come.
Lane: When are we meeting them, Lennon?
Lennon: I’ll speak to them tomorrow and find out when they’re free.
Hollis: Lane, can I confirm what time you booked the chocolate making course for the following Saturday? Taylin has something planned, and I’m trying to make sure I don’t have to cancel.
Wilder: You are not cancelling us! Monty is flying in special for the weekend.
Hollis: It’s a given I won’t be cancelling our night, despite my better judgement of drinking in the day with you lot.
Ziggy: I checked with Soral and as long as the mini cooking plates are finished with, we can drink. I have the ingredients for several batches of cocktails all ready to make. It’s going to be so much fun.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Lennon
Lennon got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach at what that meant as he read the thread again. He got up and headed out of his office, going down the festively decorated corridor to Frey’s office. The door was open and Frey was sitting cradling Emmy, feeding her a bottle.
That’s going to be me next year.
His lips puffed out and the fluttering panic at what the blood results had confirmed the day before started to dance over the food he’d eaten, making him nauseous. To distract him, he launched into an apology, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings by keeping secrets.”
His gaze never left Emmy. She had gotten so big, and though Lennon loved his daily hour with her, he got the sense it would be so much more terrifying when it was his own child.
Frey’s smile brightened. “You’re alright, I get it.” His voice was low, and Lennon could see Emmy’s eyelids were closing.
He closed the door behind him and went to perch his bottom on the edge of Frey’s littered desk, careful not to knock anything.
“I could make it up to you.” Lennon hadn’t intended to say anything to anyone right now about the baby. He was still getting over the lingering shock.
Kodi… heck, he was in his element and had spent the night before searching the internet to make a list of all the things they would need. Lennon didn’t dissuade him, except he could recall the many times Kodi had complained about the stench of Emmy’s diapers. The apartment wasn’t big enough to give the baby their own room, not that Kodi noticed. When he’d finished googling that, he’d gone on to what to look out for when your partner is pregnant.
Frey’s eyes narrowed and became assessing as they swept over Lennon and the door he’d closed. “You don’t need to…”—his grin widened—“but if you feel the need to, I won’t object.”
Lennon checked to make sure he’d closed the door properly. “I’m pregnant,” he blurted out, practicing saying it aloud, knowing his parents would know something was up with him the second they saw him.
