"Normal? I'm not even sure that word fits any of us. Not anymore. Did you know that when I first came here, I thought I was insane? Well, I was, I guess. Sick too, and hurting. The building that I was in blew up because someone thought that my brother, Bart, and I had killed our mother. Who, I might mention, was still very much alive."
"Mmm, yeah." They both laughed. "Grady is such a nice man. He's spent so much money on this baby, and it's not even his. I hate that he might have wasted his money."
"I don't think he would feel that way if you asked him." Harper had, and he said it had been fun. "I don't doubt that he thought so, and would have spent more if you wanted something else. Besides, I have it on good authority that he's been reading up on how to handle a baby. He said that he's not had a lot of experience, and has been also bugging his mom about things. That doesn't sound like a man who thinks he wasted his money on baby items and diapers."
"I asked him to marry me." Emma said she knew that as well. "What do you think of that? A desperate woman asking your brother-in-law to marry her so that her sister can't take the baby she had implanted without consent?"
"I think you've been dealt a shitty hand, and now that you're here with us, things will turn around. Not all at once, mind you, but it will get better."
Harper asked her how she knew that. Instead of answering, Emma put her hand on her belly. The baby kicked then … he'd been doing that off and on since she sat down. When Emma smiled at her, Harper put her hand over Emma's and moved it to the left, enough to feel him flip again.
"Do you know what I think right now?" Harper shook her head. "I think that this little man is going to be so loved, so happy, that he won't care at all that his aunt is a fucking bitch, and I don't mean me or Jasmine. He'll be smart, like his daddy, Grady, and handsome like his uncles. He might know about his other aunt, the bitch this time, but he won't care. Not one bit, so long as his mommy is happy and daddy loves him. Do you love him, Harper?"
"Yes I do. I didn't want to, but from the moment that he moved, that first little blip, I fell right over in love with him." Emma said that was the way it should have been. "What about Winnie? She's not going to give up, you know. And to be honest, Emma, I'm so tired of her shit that I just want to find a gun and shoot at her. Not hit her … that would be wrong, but at her enough so she'll know that I mean business."
"Oh, I hope she doesn't give up, because the moment she comes here there will be a reckoning like she's never seen. Not only will someone shoot at her, but I'm pretty sure that she'll go running with her tail between her legs so quickly that all we'll see is a trail of smoke. They'll both be sorry they ever tangled with this family." Emma leaned in and so did Harper. "Have you seen the dragons yet? Grady's, I mean?"
"No." Her voice, like Emma's, was a whisper. "Are they real? I mean, I know that you believe in them, but have you seen them?"
"Oh my, yes. I'm married to the king of them. And so you know, Jasmine's baby is more dragon than the rest of them. I don't know about you, but I'm as excited as hell that we're going to have dragons around. Not just our mates, but children too. Won't that be just wonderful?"
They were both laughing when Aisha came in to tell them that it was time. Harper was finally allowed to see herself; the mirror had been covered when they helped her dress. So when she stood and the drape was taken off, Harper could only stare at the reflection that was in front of her. It was hard to realize that it was her. Rubbing her hand over her belly again, she assured the little man there that things were going to be just fine.
And they will be, my lady. There are things in the works now that will bring another piece to the family soon. I know not what it is yet, but it has been found and the wearer is...well, I meant to say she is as stubborn as you, but I don't think that's possible.
"She's not putting it on either, is she? How do you know that she's the one then? I mean, it could be in a box that she just happens to be near." She'd only been kidding, but apparently dragon took what she said to heart. "This woman, she'll be fine, right?"
Yes, she will be once she is on her way. Harper told him to keep her safe as well. I will, my lady. I will. And when she gets here, when she has found her mate, I should like for you and the other women to help her. I'm not sure what it is she needs help with, but I feel sorrow from her, a great deal of it. And as she will not wear her piece, I cannot tell what it is or what has her so sad.