Sassy in Diapers
Authors: Milly Taiden
SASSY IN DIAPERS
SASSY MATES SHORT 4.3
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
MILLY TAIDEN
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published By
Latin Goddess Press
New York, NY 10456
http://millytaiden.com
SASSY IN DIAPERS
Copyright © 2015 by Milly Taiden
Cover by Willsin Rowe
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Property of Milly Taiden 2015
READER’S NOTE
This is a SHORT. This is NOT a standalone full length story. It is intended to be read in order after you read:
Scent of a Mate - Book 1
A Mate’s Bite – Book 2
Unexpectedly Mated – Book 3
A Sassy Wedding – Short 3.7
The Mate Challenge – Book 4
This short follows the storyline of all the books stated above and there are things you won’t understand unless you’ve read them already. Once again, this is a short and only meant to give you a bit into Karla and Nate’s life as they adjust to parenthood. Enjoy.
ONE
Karla Wolfe didn’t know if it was pregnancy hormones or what, but she spent her days crying, trying for her mate not to know what was wrong with her. She’d been living with him, loving him, and now carrying his children for months. Yet, she felt as though she was missing something.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The knocking pulled her out of her daydreaming, and she glanced down at her belly. Almost time. Her babies were going to be there at any moment now. Dear god. Any moment now. She had no idea how she could stop the feelings of fear over being a mother. Her own had not been the best at it, so how could she be any better? What if it was in her genes?
She grabbed the leather hanging from the ceiling and tugged herself to her feet. Nate had realized she’d gotten to a point that it was almost impossible to stand without someone helping her up. So he’d gone ahead and installed a chain that hung from the ceiling and had a leather handle attached, so she could haul herself up and out of her sofa without needing anyone there.
Grumbling about feeling like a giant blue whale, she waddled—yes, she waddled—her way to the front door. By the time she got there, she was out of breath and ready for a nap. Upon opening the door, she found her brother Kel standing there with a wide smile on his face.
“You look exhausted,” he frowned, the smile sliding from his lips. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head and waddled her ass toward the kitchen. “Nothing. Want some coffee?”
“Sure,” he replied, following behind her.
She had made a fresh pot earlier for Nate. The poor sucker had no idea she’d been giving him decaf. Screw it. If she couldn’t have caffeine, then he was going to be deprived along with her. Who knew pregnancy could make a woman so bitchy? In fact, Kel could also have decaf while at her house. She filled another mug.
“So, what’s wrong?” he asked again. “I can tell something’s wrong with you. You have these two little lines that show up between your brows when you’re stressed out. Not really a frown, more like nerves.”
She lifted her brows and blinked. “You’ve been studying my facial features?” she asked, her voice full of surprise. “Who are you, and what did you to do my brother?”
He laughed, taking the mug out of her hand. He passed her, going further down the counter to grab the sugar and cream. “Nothing happened to me. But I have noticed the further along you go, the quieter you get.”
She bit her lip. He was right. She’d refused to tell anyone other than Nate about the anxiety attacks plaguing her. She’d sound like such an idiot telling her friends that she was stressed out because she wanted to be a good mom.
“I’m just tired,” she grumbled, trying to sound convincing. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m carrying around triplets. Life is anything but fun right now.”
Life was more like stressing her the fuck out. She had nightmares on a daily basis that she had three kids crying all at once and she couldn’t get them to stop. Not just that, she had all kinds of self-doubt when it came to being a mother.
“I know you, sis. You’re not telling me something,” he said, closing the distance between them and giving her a side hug. He made sure not to touch her belly, because he knew she was weird about people touching her. Maybe she was crazy. Other women raved about wanting people, even random strangers, to caress their baby bumps, and she felt like they were invading her personal space. Not to mention anyone touching her belly felt all kinds of wrong. Nate was the only person she didn’t mind doing that.
“I’m just tired, Kel. Tired and still unsure about this nursery.”
“You guys still haven’t made up your mind?” he asked, raising his brows high.
“Don’t sound so surprised. Not like I’m due to give birth for another few weeks. I still have time,” she said more to herself than him. Trying to convince her stressed-out brain that the lack of a nursery wasn’t a big deal was not working. She had to stop worrying about making bad choices for her children and get to work already.
“You’re usually very good about making decisions and sticking to them, Karla. What’s going on?” He walked beside her to the living room where she once again sat down on the sofa by a window. She shoved the book she’d been forcing herself to read for the past few hours away and leaned back. Electricity shot down her back, numbing her leg. Cramps sucked.
She sighed and glanced at the kitchen counter. Dammit! She’d left her water bottle over there. “If you get my water bottle from there,” she said, pointing at it, “I will smile more and nag less.”
He laughed, jumped to his feet and rushed to get her drink. She envied his speed and agility. Things were harder for her to do these days. Simple things like sitting, standing, sleeping. Heck, even breathing was hard. Someone was pressing on her lungs at various times of the day.
“Do you want me to help you with the nursery?” Kel handed her the bottle. “I’m good with organizing stuff.”
She knew that. He was a principal and a wonderful man. Her first instinct was to say yes, but she couldn’t. Him helping was one thing. Her pushing herself out of doing her first task as a mother was another.
“I’ll figure it out.” She took a gulp of water and cleared her throat. “So have you heard from mother?”
He nodded. Not looking at her was a bad sign. “She’s wanting to come out and see you.”
That was new. “Why?”
He gave a humorless smile. “She’s ticked off you’re not sending her money. I told her she’s forbidden from coming near you or the children.” He finally met her gaze with a sad one. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you stressing any more at the end of your pregnancy. I know you hardly get any sleep. The last thing I want is for her to add to whatever is bothering you.”
She nodded. He was right. Still, she couldn’t stop the sharp, throbbing pricks in her heart. Even though all her mother wanted was money, she hadn’t made the effort to call Karla and ask about her grandchildren. That was the last thing she wanted for her babies’ future. A deadbeat grandmother.
TWO
Nate glanced at his mother as if she’d grown another head. “You want me to what?”
Barbara rolled her eyes and tsked. “I want you to come and take a birthing class at the clinic. And while you’re at it, a parenting one too.”
Mason and Aric glanced at each other.
“He’s the one having the babies. Why do we have to come along too?” Jake asked.
“Because,” Barbara growled, “in case of an emergency, you might need to help one of your mates when the time comes. What are you going to do then? Faint at the first view of a head being pushed out of a female’s privates?”
“Oh, mom!” Mason winced. “I didn’t need a visual.”
“Stop acting like children,” she snapped. “You all need to know how to help a baby be born.”
Nate turned to Ellie. “You’re coming too, right?”
Ellie lifted her brows and folded her arms over her chest. “I’m one of the people teaching the class.”
Nate frowned. “You don’t even have kids!”
Ellie shook her head and glanced at Barbara. “Are you sure these are my brothers and they weren’t switched at birth?”
Barbara sighed. “Unfortunately, I am positive they belong to me.”
“If it’s another way I can help Karla, then yes. I will be there,” Nate nodded. The last thing he wanted was to upset his mother. Karla was already distant, and he wasn’t sure why. She was still affectionate towards him, but it seemed as though she was closing in on her thoughts. Not sharing whatever was bothering her. He knew she was stressing the three babies in a shot thing, but not much they could do about that.
He waited for his brothers and sister to grumble their way out of the kitchen and followed his mother to the yard.
She sat down on a picnic table and motioned him over. “Get your furry ass over here, Nate. I know that face.”
He grinned. “What face?”
“The one you make when you need my help but are not sure how to ask me. You’ve been making the same face since you were a baby.” She leaned her arms on the table and swept a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “So tell me what’s going on.”
“There’s something wrong with Karla,” he said. Then he laughed at how stupid that sounded. “I mean, there’s something worrying her, and I can’t figure out what. She’s very quiet, and I don’t know what to do to help.”
His mother nodded. “Yeah, I’ve noticed. I went to see her, and she sat by a window the entire time.”
That’s all she did when he was home too. “I tried to get her excited about the nursery, but whenever I mention it, she gets pale and says her legs hurt or that she’s tired. I’m not really sure what it is about the nursery that’s upsetting her.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I won’t let her do any work, I just want her input on the kinds of things she wants to see in there.”
“I think your mate is suffering from feeling overwhelmed by her upcoming motherhood.”
He frowned. “I thought women were born with some wanting-to-be-a-mother chip in their heads.”
“You did not just say that,” his mother mumbled. “I sometimes wonder how you boys got mates to begin with.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, mom,” he laughed.
“Nathan Wolfe! Not all woman are born with the whole wanting-to-have-babies thing. And even if we were, which we’re not, don’t you think you would be scared to death to have three kids in one shot depending on you?”
“But that comes with time. I mean, I know we’re not perfect and won’t be perfect parents.”
His mom blew out a breath and glared at him. “Tell me something, son. Has your mate seen much of her mother recently?”
He thought about it. Karla didn’t even like talking about her mother. He knew why, but he didn’t see how that had anything to do with the nursery. “No.”
“It’s because her mother is not the best mother out there. That probably means Karla’s feeling all kinds of insecure about being like her mother. She’s probably insecure and overwhelmed all at once.”
“Would that be a reason for her to have panic attacks?”
His mother’s eyes widened. “Panic attacks?”
“Yes. She’s woken up shaking a few times. Crying another. I’m not sure what’s causing it. She says nightmares, but I know the difference.”
“Oh, honey. She needs help. She needs you and the rest of us to help her see that her future is not dictated by her past. She also needs a massage!”
Fuck. His mom was right. He ran a hand through his hair. “So what do I do? I haven’t done the nursery, trying to give her time to make up her mind on how she wants it to look. I want to make it how she wants.”
His mother waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll get that information for you. You need to go take that class with the others. I think you showing her you’re going to help her will really give her that sense of partnership she needs.”
“But we are partners.”
She nodded. “Yes, but she’s the one carrying three kids. Not you. She’s the one unable to sleep or eat or anything because of that. A person starts to think the responsibility is all on them after a while.”
Leaving his mother to tend her garden, he went in search of Ellie. He knew she could help him figure out how to get Karla to relax.
Ellie was on her computer, a ton of baby decorations on her screen. “You need me?”
He nodded. “I’m going to do the nursery for the babies this week, and I need you to do me a big favor.”
She swiveled to face him fully. “Sure. Name it.”
“I need her out of the house for a day or two. I’m hoping that time will be enough to get the place set up.”
“What are you planning?” Jake asked, walking into the room with Mason and Aric. “I can give you a hand.”
“We can help too,” Aric added. “Family comes first. We’re all excited about the babies.”
Nate loved his family. He knew that Karla was struggling with not having anyone but Kel on her side. He wanted her to remember his family was her family too.
“I’ll get mom to get her out of the house overnight,” Ellie said, “but you’ll need to buy the furniture and get it all set up before she brings her back.”
“So is this the baby shower you’ve been planning?” Mason asked Ellie.
Nate lifted his brows and stared at his sister. She grinned sheepishly. “I knew you wouldn’t have the time for that. We have everything ready to go this weekend coming.”
He pulled his sister into a hug and sighed. “I don’t know what I would do without you all.”
“Well you don’t need to try and figure it out because you do have us.” Ellie hugged him back. “So go get started with your massive furniture order, and I’ll set up the rest.”