Page 74 of Embattled Return
She nodded, waving her free hand. “I’ve been feeling a little off, and I wonder if I haven’t picked up the conference crud or something. Or some germ from the planes.”
“That would explain why you’ve been so tired,” he said, worried.
Shannon nodded. “Yes. I might have Marigold drive me home. Can you pick up the kids on the way home?”
“Absolutely. Why don’t you let me take you home?”
“Because Logan is going to be done with his paperwork in a bit and you need to find him something to do.”
Yeah, she was probably right. He could use another set of eyes on the McClain case anyway. “Are you sure babe?”
Shannon leaned in and started to kiss him, but veered away to land on his cheek. “Just in case, I don’t want to infect you.”
John grinned and wiggled his brows. “We’ve been a lot closer than a kiss recently, and I feel fine.”
She gave him a smile. “I know, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
“Okay, babe. I’ll hold down the fort. And I’ll bring the minions home with me. Text me if you need anything else.”
* * *
Shannon stareddown at the stick cradled in her hands, nausea making her stomach boil.
Even though it wasn’t the first pee of the day, the hormone coursing through her body was strong enough to register. She was pregnant. What the fucking hell... After the mixup with the email and John thinking she wanted another baby and stressing about it, fate deemed that she needed another baby. Snorting, she set the test to the side, cradling her head in her hands. Carmella nudged at her with her wet nose, and Shannon opened her arms to the dog, ruffling her ears. “Just what you want too, huh, another creature taking attention away from you.”
Carmella flopped on the floor in front of her. Shannon sat on the floor near the bed. Marigold had been more than happy to drive her home, and happy as well to stop at the drugstore for ‘medicine’. As soon as John had mentioned mothering chicks, the fear that she was pregnant had refused to leave her mind. And the symptoms lined up, but she’d bought a pregnancy test to confirm. Actually, she’d bought two, one for mid-afternoon pee and one for morning pee just to confirm.
She didn’t think she needed to run the morning test, though. It was obvious she was pregnant. The only thing she needed to do was count back a few days to the conception.
When she’d gotten pregnant with the boys, her body had begun to change immediately. She’d known within days that she was going to be a mother. And it was the same this time. It had to have been the welcome-home sex last week.
John was going to kill her.
Shit. Chad and Lora were going to feel even more under the gun. Maybe they should keep the pregnancy under wraps. Shannon was still deciding what to do when John pulled into the driveway a few hours later.
* * *
As soon ashe rolled inside, there was a melee with the kids, but his dark eyes scanned her.
“I’m okay,” she promised.
“Why don’t you go back to bed?”
She shook her head. “I want to see my boys.”
After an easy dinner, they played and laughed with the kids until they put them to bed. Shannon was very aware of John watching her, probably for signs of sickness she could be transmitting to the kids.
“Come on, Sex-on-wheels, we need to talk.”
John followed her into the bedroom. When she turned to talk, he was grinning at her. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
Shannon laughed. “How did you know?”
John shook his head, rolling close. Reaching out a hand, he tugged her to settle across his lap. Shannon wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and leaned into his chest. “You got pretty sick with the boys at first, then it petered off. Remember?”
She nodded against him. “I really did think I’d picked up a bug, at first. It seemed plausible, just coming in from the convention and stuff. But I had Marigold stop by the drugstore and I picked up a couple of tests. It confirmed that I’m very definitely pregnant. That plus sign popped up almost immediately.”
John chuckled, the sound so precious beneath her ear. “I have good swimmers, huh?”