Esmerelda: A Rogue Enforcers Novel by Darlene Tallman (phonics books TXT) 📕

“How do you feel about the name Clementine?” I retort, letting him know that it isn’t a boy, but a little girl.

“I’m so fucked,” he whispers, making me giggle.

Esmerelda

My pregnancy has flown by with hardly any issues. I say hardly because the only true issue I’ve had is an overbearing, controlling bear. I’ve rolled my eyes so much over the past few months I’m surprised my head hasn’t disconnected from my body!

As I finish folding up the tiny outfits that were gifted to us during the shower Charisma held, I hear him stomping into the house. “Esme! Where are you?” he bellows.

“In the nursery,” I reply. I don’t have to raise my voice because his shifter hearing means I could whisper, and he’d find me.

“Did you carry that?” he asks, pointing to the laundry basket sitting by my feet next to the rocking chair. While I did carry it, I shake my head instead. “I’m calling bullshit, Esme. You ‘prefer to do things the normal way’ so I suspect you carried it in here but are trying to get me to believe you flicked your fingers or something.”

“Sugar bear, do you know how long women have been having babies?” I inquire. “Centuries. Eons. Forever. Some women have them while working in the fields then get up and continue working.”

“I don’t care what other women do, I care about what my woman does, and I’ve told you not to lift anything,” he retorts. “Can you give me that, please?”

“Beast, you hardly let me do anything at this point,” I remind him, glaring. If he’s around, do I walk anywhere? No, no I do not. He carries me. He hasn’t let me go out on any missions that have come up and when he goes? Charisma is tasked to stay here to ‘keep an eye on me’ for fuck’s sake! “I’m getting really outdone with you, sugar bear,” I advise. “I’m not helpless, I’m pregnant. Not only that, but your penchant for barking orders out is annoying. If I want to cook, I’m going to cook. Same with carry a laundry basket that doesn’t weigh much at all. You’ve been with me at the doctor appointments, so you know that all normal activities are permissible if the woman isn’t having any problems. So I’ll ask you one time, why are you being so damned unreasonable?”

He drops to his knees in front of me, his hands cradling my burgeoning abdomen. As he rubs, I feel Clementine reacting. “Shhh, little lemon, I need to explain to your mother why I’ve been acting the way I have before she turns me into a toad or something.” I quickly hide my grin when he looks up, interested in hearing why he’s been insufferable. “So you know my family is close, right?” I nod, having heard tales of his younger years filled with a lot of laughter. “When I was about eight or so, before Baldwin came along, my mother was pregnant. She didn’t change anything she did, still handled everything in the house like normal, carried my baby sister, Bianca, on her hip. Esme, she ended up losing the baby.”

My heart breaks for the little boy he was who lost a sibling. Instinctively I know that when it happened, it skewed his beliefs as to what a pregnant woman should or shouldn’t do. “How was she when she was pregnant with your brother?” I inquire.

He sits back on his haunches and closes his eyes as though he’s thinking back. I patiently wait, our daughter now doing calisthenics on my bladder, for him to tell me how his mom was that time. “She did the same things,” he mumbles. “She didn’t change anything, Esme. Not one thing.”

“And obviously, Baldwin wasn’t affected, was he?” I prod.

“No he wasn’t. Dammit, I’ve been an idiot, haven’t I?” he asks, his gaze coming to mine.

“Not an idiot, sugar bear. Just a man who had a trauma as a child thinking that he didn’t want his mate going through that same thing. But, honey, as sad as it is, miscarriages happen and outside of an auto accident where the mother is injured, there’s really no rhyme or reason for them. I’m perfectly healthy, Clementine is almost ready to arrive, so can you loosen the leash a bit? If you can’t this will be our only offspring because I can’t do this again with you. That’s a guarantee.”

“I’m sorry, Esme. I’ll try to do better, okay? Although I don’t mind carrying you now that your equilibrium is so off.” I giggle because I can no longer see my legs or feet, my stomach is so out there. Thankfully, as a witch, I can use my magic to take care of shaving my legs and painting my toes.

“It’s a learning curve for us both, honey. Now can you give me a hand up so I can take a nap?”

He does one better, scooping me up then carrying me to our room. After he gently lays me down, he removes my shoes then his before sliding in beside me. “How about I join you?” he asks, kissing my nose.

“I’d like that. Hey, why did you come home so early? I thought you had training,” I ask, suddenly realizing he came home in the middle of the day.

“Maverick gave us the afternoon off because he got a call from Colton about Boatwright,” he responds.

“Oh? What ended up happening?” I knew the trial for Boatwright was approaching but have been so busy getting ready for Clementine, it hasn’t been my priority.

“He was put down after the council reviewed all the evidence. They also had a dream walker examine his thoughts to see if he’d be able to be rehabilitated.”

“And?” I prompt when he goes silent.

“Esme, he already had plans to start it all up again,” he whispers. “That was a threat the council couldn’t allow.”

“I’m so glad that mess is over,” I reply. It took Ice a few months to regain what