When the waitress returned with Rory’s card, Shay rose, food in hand, and they exited the restaurant. Rory held the passenger door of the truck open for her, hand on her elbow to give her a boost. She paused in the opening, turned instead to face him, and placed her palm on his cheek. “You’re not my ‘dirty little secret.’ If anything, you’re my secret treasure. Is it any wonder I want more time to savor our mating before bringing my family into it?”
His pupils flared, and stunned pleasure filled his gaze. He took her mouth in a devouring kiss. Shay leaned weakly against the seat, panting when it was over.
He rested his forehead on hers. “Are you sure that’s the only reason?”
She rolled her eyes. “Rory, you’ve met my mother. What do you think her reaction is going to be when she finds out I’m pregnant and living with my baby’s father? Do you really think she’s going to be like, ‘Oh, Shay, that’s wonderful. Let me know when the baby’s born so we can come visit’?” she asked. “Hell no! She’s going to catch the first flight here, and we might, might get rid of her by time the kid’s five. That’s after she puts both of us through the Inquisition.”
He winced and drew back a bit. She could see by his expression he was remembering her mother’s behavior at Kiesha’s wedding.
“Now you begin to see. You think she was bad with Kee? Wait until it’s our turn. Do you know how long she’s been nagging me to tie the knot and give her grandkids?”
He placed his hand over her mouth. “All right. You’ve made your point. I’ll leave it to your discretion when to break the news to your folks.”
Rory gripped her by the hips, lifted her into the truck, then gently closed the door. Shay set her food on the seat between them while he came around and got in. Seconds later they were exiting the parking lot.
“Where are we headed?”
“Back to the mall. There’s a health food place inside,” he told her.
“Our midwife gave me this tea to drink to help with my pregnancy, but the stuff tastes awful. It’s helping, so I don’t want to hurt her feelings by trashing it, but is there anything you can recommend that actually tastes good, or if not good, at least not so bitter?” Shay asked the helpful store attendant while Rory roamed the aisles.
“Did you want a tea?” he asked.
“Not necessarily. If you have something in pill form, that would be great,” Shay told him. Pills had to be better than tea. She could knock it back with her prenatals, and best part, no nasty taste.
“Do you happen to know what’s in the brew she gave you?” he asked as he led the way to a section of shelves labeled Pregnancy.
“No, but we have some with us if that would help,” she said and called to Rory. “Give the man the tea. He wants to see what’s in it.”
Rory pulled a sealed baggie out of his pocket.
The attendant said, “I don’t need all of it. A portion will do.”
“No, please, keep it,” Shay said quickly. “I’d rather have the capsules. Just tell me what and how much to take.”
He took the bag from Rory, went behind the counter, and much to Shay’s displeasure, took about half the potion and transferred it to a container before sealing the baggie and returning it to Rory. Then he motioned for Shay to follow and went and pulled a few bottles off the shelf.
Rory’s eyebrows rose. “Shay, that’s a lot of pills. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather drink the tea?”
The store attendant paused and gave her a questioning look, waiting for her response.
“Pills are more convenient. If it gets to be too much, then I’ll switch to the tea again.”
The store attendant nodded, then told her the purpose for each herb and how many to take before pointing to a few more bottles. “These you’ll want to begin taking when you’re in your last few weeks. They’ll help ease the delivery.”
“Ease as in less painful?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered.
Shay committed the bottles to memory. Anything that would help her through the labor process was on her must-have list.
Taking the herbs to the register, the attendant pulled out a pad and wrote down the name of each and the prescribed dosage he’d give her, then made a copy of what he’d written. He handed Shay the extra. “I’m an herbalist. I’ll analyze the brew she gave you and make sure I didn’t miss anything. We like to work with medical professionals, whenever possible, and it’s so rare to find one into natural remedies. If you won’t mind giving me your name and number…?”
Shay gave him her name, e-mail addy, and cell phone number, and Rory rattled off the number to the house. They paid for their purchases, and Shay thanked the attendant profusely, holding the bag to her chest like it was precious.
As they left the mall, Rory teased, “They had some interesting items in there. There’s something called ‘horny goat weed.’ It’s supposed to increase the male sex drive.”
Shay narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re already a horny werewolf. The last thing you need is help in the keeping-it-up department. I wonder if they have something to keep it down?” she mused.
“We’ll never know,” he said, sounding smug, before he laughed.
Sunday morning Shay awakened to a feeling of vicious nausea she hadn’t experienced since her first morning in Rory’s home. Lying absolutely still, she breathed softly through her nostrils, praying for it to pass.
Between one breath and the next, Rory woke beside her. “What’s wrong?”
“Queasy,” she muttered in a low voice.
“You need food,” he stated decisively and rose from the bed.
Shay flattened her hands on the mattress out on either side of her body, trying to stabilize herself. Even that small bit of jostling had her swallowing hard, the steady stream of saliva filling her mouth adding to her misery instead of lessening it. “No food,” she ground out. Just the thought of it had the acid rising to the back of her throat.
“Tea, then,” Rory said, stopping to look at her. “I don’t like your pallor.”
“Tea,” Shay agreed, knowing she needed something. “And not that mess Laurie Bell gave you. Bring me black tea sweetened with lots of honey, and dry toast or saltine crackers.”
Rory brushed her hair out of her face. “Your forehead’s clammy. I’m calling the midwife.”
“No,” Shay bit out. “It’s just morning sickness. Give me what I asked for. I’ll drink the tea and eat the bread and lay here until my stomach settles.”
He frowned. “Fine, but if your remedy doesn’t work, I’m calling her.”
“It will,” she assured him. When he left, Shay closed her eyes. She hated morning sickness almost as much as she hated throwing up. It was always a battle to see which was better, the constant queasiness or upchucking the contents of her stomach. If she could make herself throw up, she knew she’d feel better in minutes, but who wanted to go through the trauma?
Shay lay still and concentrated on her shallow breathing. She’d yet to take the first birthing class, but she already had the labor breathing nailed.
Rory returned in minutes with the requested items. Gritting her teeth, Shay shoved into a seated position and then froze as her stomach rolled in protest.
“Shay, you’re totally white. I’m calling Laurie Bell.”
She shook her head violently, eyes closed as she fought to control her stomach. “I’ll be fine.” She held out a hand.
“Tea or toast?”
“Toast,” she whispered.
He placed a paper towel in her hand. Shay squinted at it to make sure it was dry before bringing the bread to her mouth and nibbling on it. She’d eaten her way through half the slice before holding out her free hand for the tea. Once she had it in hand, she alternated sipping the contents with chewing toast. Already she was feeling better.