The Fall - Book 2

237. What about a hockey team?

AUGUST 4, 2020  — THE BARNES HOUSE — RÉA

I wake to bright sunlight filtering through my eyelids, and my husband curled around me, his right hand resting on my belly...over a very active Conall.

"Mornin', doll." He shifts us so that he can lean over me, and presses a kiss to my lips.

"Morning."

"Is he usually this wiggly?" he asks as Conall gives another kick.

"No. Apparently, he's graduated from jazzercise to Muay Thai," I reply, my tone filled with amusement. "Already trying to be like his daddy."

Bucky chuckles in response and gives me another kiss before sliding down so he's level with my belly. "Is that true, buddy? Are you trying to be like me?"

I grin as I feel a short burst of rapid flutters. "Pretty sure that was a 'yes'."

"Conall, if that was a 'yes', stay very still." When there's not another movement, Bucky looks up at me, a playful sparkle in his steel blue eyes. "I see." He returns his gaze to my belly. "Well, Micul Lup, just so you know, your mom is even more of a badass than me." He cringes slightly, his eyes darting to mine. "Oops." (Little Wolf)

I can't help the laugh that escapes me, the sound bright. "Honestly, with Tony as his grandpa, I'm fairly certain he's going to have a very...colourful, expansive vocabulary."

"True," he grins.

My stomach growls, and Conall wiggles again.

"Okay, buddy, I'll feed you and your mom. Let me guess...you want peanut butter waffles with bananas."

"That would be wonderful." I ponder for a moment. "Could you add chocolate chips to the waffles?"

Bucky moves so that he's hovering above me, a lopsided grin on his face. "I've been waiting for you to ask me that for months."

He places a quick kiss to the tip of my nose, then climbs out of bed and heads into the closet, leaving the doors open. I start to follow him, and he shakes his head.

"Stay there, doll."

He opens a drawer in the island and takes out a pair of black boxer briefs. He pulls them on, then opens two more drawers, grabbing a charcoal grey t-shirt and a pair of black gym shorts. He gets dressed, then grabs one more t-shirt—this one navy blue—and a pair of my underwear before making his way to me. He hands me my undergarments, and waits for me to slide them on before pulling his shirt over my head.

"I'm going to bring you breakfast in bed," he tells me, helping me sit up and propping me up with the pillows. "So, you stay here, and I'll be back with food."

I beam at him. "I'd like that."

"Good." He kisses my nose. "Be right back."

A couple of minutes after he's gone, I slip from the bed and pad into the en suite. When I return to the bed, I settle back under the covers and rest my hands on my belly.

"Good morning, Conall." I feel a kick against my right palm, and a smile curves my lips. "I really hope you are answering when your dad and I talk to you, and that it's not just coincidence." I pause, taking in the view from the windows. "Your dad built me—built us—a house. A beautiful house, right here on the compound grounds...which means we're not too far away from your granddad, Tony, and your grandmom, Pepper, and your aunt, Morgan, or any of your other aunts and uncles." Happy tears pool in my eyes as my heart once more swells at Bucky's thoughtfulness. "Your dad is the best man—the best person—I know. He's kind, and thoughtful, and honest, and smart...he's strong, and brave, and protective...and he's so incredibly compassionate and loving that sometimes I can't believe he's real." I sniffle softly. "But he is, and he's ours. He's our family, Conall, and we're so incredibly lucky to have him...so incredibly lucky that he loves us the way he does."