yet. “Zombies?”
Brooke snorted and kept her face carefully hidden behind her blond locks.
“Yeti?”
Now Skyler was laughing, too.
“Give me a hint,” Danielle pleaded. “All I’ve got are glowing eyes and growling… Oh, werewolf!”
“No, and stop guessing,” Brooke said with a little worried moue to her glossed lips. “ If there was anything different about Denison and if he decided he wanted you to know, he would tell you when he was good and ready.”
Danielle narrowed her eyes and sighed. “Fine.” It was just like last time she’d lived here when she was the odd woman out. Everyone was in on the secret, but nobody trusted her enough to let her in. It stung and made her realize she wasn’t part of this trio of friends. She was just a tagalong.
“I’m going to go get Denison some food before his event. I’ll see you later.”
She turned to leave, but Brooke hugged her from behind, arms squeezing Danielle’s collar bones. “I know how it feels,” she whispered. “Feeling like everyone knows but you. You have to be patient, though. It’s not my place, or Skyler’s place, to spill secrets that aren’t ours.”
Danielle’s eyes burned with emotion, and she held still as Brooke hugged her tighter.
“I had to wait, and Skyler went through hell finding her way into the Ashe Crew, too,” Brooke explained. “You’re Denison’s girl, and if it were up to me, you’d already know how much you belong to us. It’s not up to me, though. I’ll tell you something I haven’t told anyone but Tagan, so you’ll know you have my trust.”
Skyler stepped in front of Danielle with a worried look in her bright green eyes.
Danielle could feel Brooke smile against her ear. “I’m pregnant.”
Skyler’s eyebrows drew up, and her eyes rimmed with tears. “Already?”
Danielle didn’t understand the dynamics here. Had Brooke and Tagan been trying for a baby for a long time? Had they suffered a loss?
Brooke pulled her and Skyler into a hug. “It’s hard for our kind to have babies,” she whispered so low Danielle almost missed it. “It’s why I’ve been having a hard time eating. I feel sick all the time, and we haven’t told the boys, so please don’t say anything. We wanted to make sure the baby is okay before we get everyone worked up.”
“The crew is going to lose their shit,” Skyler murmured. A slow smile stretched her lips. “We’re gonna have a baby.” The first tear slipped down Skyler’s cheek, and Danielle thumbed it away, then hugged them both closer.
She didn’t understand why it was hard for Brooke and Tagan to have a baby, or why Skyler worded it like the Ashe crew was having a child instead of just Brooke, or why a bunch of foul-mouthed, beer-guzzling, caveman trailer boys would care one way or the other about a baby, but she knew one thing—these were good people. People who cared deeply for one another and who were trying to let her in as much as they could. She wanted to be a part of this. She wanted to be accepted by Denison’s friends and become someone they could depend on, like they obviously depended on each other.
“Okay, okay,” Danielle said, giving them one last squeeze. “Let’s go feed this baby.”
****
The last half hour had been spent gathering food. Two rows of stands sat in a fog of savory scents that ranged from sausage to fresh fried pork rinds to hand-dipped corn dogs to gourmet pizza pies. Brooke had already inhaled a pair of three-cheese and meatball sandwiches by the time they made their way toward several sixty-foot poles towering along the outer edge of the crowded fairgrounds.
Danielle watched in horror as eight men ran up the poles with spiked shoes and a single belt thrown around the log. “They don’t have safety harnesses,” she said as her acute fear of heights threatened to freeze her into place.
“They don’t need them,” Skyler said, handing a bartender, who was set up right alongside the event, a couple of
Brooke snorted and kept her face carefully hidden behind her blond locks.
“Yeti?”
Now Skyler was laughing, too.
“Give me a hint,” Danielle pleaded. “All I’ve got are glowing eyes and growling… Oh, werewolf!”
“No, and stop guessing,” Brooke said with a little worried moue to her glossed lips. “ If there was anything different about Denison and if he decided he wanted you to know, he would tell you when he was good and ready.”
Danielle narrowed her eyes and sighed. “Fine.” It was just like last time she’d lived here when she was the odd woman out. Everyone was in on the secret, but nobody trusted her enough to let her in. It stung and made her realize she wasn’t part of this trio of friends. She was just a tagalong.
“I’m going to go get Denison some food before his event. I’ll see you later.”
She turned to leave, but Brooke hugged her from behind, arms squeezing Danielle’s collar bones. “I know how it feels,” she whispered. “Feeling like everyone knows but you. You have to be patient, though. It’s not my place, or Skyler’s place, to spill secrets that aren’t ours.”
Danielle’s eyes burned with emotion, and she held still as Brooke hugged her tighter.
“I had to wait, and Skyler went through hell finding her way into the Ashe Crew, too,” Brooke explained. “You’re Denison’s girl, and if it were up to me, you’d already know how much you belong to us. It’s not up to me, though. I’ll tell you something I haven’t told anyone but Tagan, so you’ll know you have my trust.”
Skyler stepped in front of Danielle with a worried look in her bright green eyes.
Danielle could feel Brooke smile against her ear. “I’m pregnant.”
Skyler’s eyebrows drew up, and her eyes rimmed with tears. “Already?”
Danielle didn’t understand the dynamics here. Had Brooke and Tagan been trying for a baby for a long time? Had they suffered a loss?
Brooke pulled her and Skyler into a hug. “It’s hard for our kind to have babies,” she whispered so low Danielle almost missed it. “It’s why I’ve been having a hard time eating. I feel sick all the time, and we haven’t told the boys, so please don’t say anything. We wanted to make sure the baby is okay before we get everyone worked up.”
“The crew is going to lose their shit,” Skyler murmured. A slow smile stretched her lips. “We’re gonna have a baby.” The first tear slipped down Skyler’s cheek, and Danielle thumbed it away, then hugged them both closer.
She didn’t understand why it was hard for Brooke and Tagan to have a baby, or why Skyler worded it like the Ashe crew was having a child instead of just Brooke, or why a bunch of foul-mouthed, beer-guzzling, caveman trailer boys would care one way or the other about a baby, but she knew one thing—these were good people. People who cared deeply for one another and who were trying to let her in as much as they could. She wanted to be a part of this. She wanted to be accepted by Denison’s friends and become someone they could depend on, like they obviously depended on each other.
“Okay, okay,” Danielle said, giving them one last squeeze. “Let’s go feed this baby.”
****
The last half hour had been spent gathering food. Two rows of stands sat in a fog of savory scents that ranged from sausage to fresh fried pork rinds to hand-dipped corn dogs to gourmet pizza pies. Brooke had already inhaled a pair of three-cheese and meatball sandwiches by the time they made their way toward several sixty-foot poles towering along the outer edge of the crowded fairgrounds.
Danielle watched in horror as eight men ran up the poles with spiked shoes and a single belt thrown around the log. “They don’t have safety harnesses,” she said as her acute fear of heights threatened to freeze her into place.
“They don’t need them,” Skyler said, handing a bartender, who was set up right alongside the event, a couple of
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