The Journey Collection (33 page)

“Wow,” Nadine whispered, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “First a son, and now a daughter? You’ll have the perfect family.”

***

Chapter Nine

Giving Thanks

“Max, pick up this crap,” Penelope groused, waddling through the living room and glaring at the pair of shoes and the football sitting next to the couch. “I swear to God, little man, I’m going to break my neck one of these days. Then you’re going to have my death on your conscience. Wouldn’t like that, would you?”

“Sorry,” Max muttered, rushing down the hallway with only his pants on and picking up the items in question. He caught Travis’s eye as he passed, but didn’t say anything else as he headed back to his room to finish getting dressed.

Sighing, Travis walked over to Penelope and wrapped his arms around her from behind, letting his hands rest on her protruding stomach. She moaned and leaned into him, letting him support her weight. Travis knew she didn’t mean to be cranky; she just hadn’t slept much last night — or the one before, either. Between having to use the restroom, painful leg cramps, and a persistent backache, she had tossed and turned until she just gave up. Instead of sleeping, Travis and Penelope had watched movies all night.

“I can call Dad and tell them not to come out,” Travis offered, knowing that she’d refuse.

“No,” she murmured and placed her hands on top of his. “It’s Thanksgiving, and I’m sure Nadine has been cooking all morning. I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

Penelope nodded and turned to face him. “But thank you for the offer. I’m just tired.”

“Why don’t you lie down until they get here?” he suggested.

“Okay.” She placed a gentle kiss against his lips before she waddled down the hallway and into their bedroom.

Travis was surprised she had agreed to host the holiday, but at the same time, he knew how much she’d been struggling to get through each day. She was thirty-seven weeks pregnant and ready for their daughter to be born. So was Travis. He needed to hold her, to whisper his love and devotion into her tiny ears.

“Where’s Mom?” Max asked, stalking back into the living room with his shirt on.

“She went to lie down,” Travis replied, gathering the newspaper from the coffee table and heading to the kitchen. “Do me a favor and make sure there are fresh towels in the bathroom.”

“Okay,” he grumbled, but did as he was asked.

Together, Travis and Max managed to straighten up the house, not that there was much for them to do. Penelope had become a bit obsessive about the house over the last few weeks. During her last doctor’s appointment, Travis had asked Dr. Chan in private about Penelope’s behavior. The doctor explained to Travis that it was called “nesting” and was normal considering her fast-approaching due date.

Travis wandered down the hallway, stopping outside of the baby’s room. It used to be the study, but they had converted it to a nursery back in the summer. Penelope and Travis had considered selling their house and buying something bigger, but the place held too many memories for both of them. Instead, they opted to convert the study into a bedroom. Max, Russ, and Travis spent two days painting the walls a soft, sage green, leaving the trim and window sills a crisp white.

The hardest task for Penelope and Travis had been finding the perfect crib. They had searched every store in Amarillo, but hadn’t found one that wasn’t going to cost them more than they wanted to spend, or one that called out to them. Eventually, Penelope found one online that she loved. It was a simple sleigh-style crib in a dark cherry finish. As their daughter grew up, they could convert it into a toddler bed.

Next to the crib was a matching dresser and changing table, though Penelope had debated on whether or not to get one. She explained how, with Max, she had ended up changing him on her bed, the couch, or even on the floor. In the end though, she decided to get one, saying that if anything, it would be a good place to store the multitude of diapers and blankets they had been purchasing in preparation for their baby’s arrival.

After they found out they were having a girl, Penelope went in search of the perfect bedding. She didn’t want something frilly and lacy. Just last week, she came home from shopping trip with Nadine with everything they would need for their daughter. The sheets were pink, green, and yellow plaid. The blanket was solid pink with a green trim, and had a yellow flower embroidered in the middle. Travis had no idea that such a small person would require so much, but between the clothes, blankets, diapers, pacifiers, bottles, furniture, and toys, their baby had everything she was going to need.

The sound of someone beating on the front door pulled Travis’s attention away from his daughter’s bedroom. Rushing down the hallway, he saw Max sprawled out on the couch, with his feet propped up on the coffee table.

“Don’t injure yourself by answering the door,” he teased.

“Okay, I won’t,” Max mumbled, his attention focused on the football game playing on the television.

Rolling his eyes, Travis grabbed the doorknob and pulled the heavy door open.

“Out of the way,” Nadine called, bustling past Travis with her hands full. She had insisted on doing all the cooking, stating that, since Penelope was just a few weeks from her due date, the last place she needed to be was in the kitchen.

“There’s more in the car,” Russ said, following his wife inside and giving his son a look that told him not to argue.

“All right,” Travis replied and grabbed Max by the collar, dragging his son outside with him. “You can help.”

“Why do we need all this food?” Max asked, pulling himself out of his father’s grip. “There are just five us here.”

“I don’t know, little man, but if I’ve learned one thing about your grandmother in the last few years, it’s that you don’t question her when it comes to food.”

“Word, Dad.” Max balanced two casserole dishes in his hands and headed into the house.

Travis grabbed three pies and followed, passing Russ who said he would grab the rest. Nadine was bustling around the kitchen, placing the casseroles into the oven.

“Need any help?” he asked.

“Oh, no thank you, sweetie,” she chirped, giving him a sincere smile. “You look tired.”

Travis laughed and leaned against the counter. “I am tired. Penelope’s been having trouble sleeping, so I’ve been staying up with her.”

“That’s noble of you, Travis, but you need your rest, too.”

“I know I do, but I figure it’s good practice for when the baby comes, right?”

Nadine shrugged her shoulders. “I guess. I was never blessed with that particular experience.”

“Why didn’t you have children?” Travis asked, regretting the words the moment they were out of his mouth. It wasn’t any of his business.

“Donald and I tried for several years, but it never happened for us. I suppose at some point we just gave up the idea of having our own family,” she explained, turning to face him. “Then I got my job at the high school, and well, let’s just say that dealing with you little punks everyday helped ease the yearning for one of my own.”

Travis chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose we weren’t the easiest kids to handle.”

“You were a good group of kids. Well, most of you were. In a lot of ways, I always kind of thought you were one of mine.” A flush of red filled her cheeks. “Silly, I know.”

“No it’s not,” he murmured. “You know, I hated disappointing you. I could handle the grief from any of my teachers, but all you had to do was give me that look and I’d feel like shit for letting you down.”

“I’m not sure how to feel about that,” Nadine laughed. “You never disappointed me, Travis.”

“Not even when I left and never came back?”

“No, not even then. You had to follow your dreams in order to be the man who made the decision to come home, who made the choice to accept Penelope and Max with an open heart.”

Travis shook his head. “Accepting them — loving them — was the easiest decision I ever made, Nadine. From the start, they owned me.”

She smiled and fiddled with her wedding rings. “Yeah, I know the feeling.”

Pushing away from the counter, he walked over to her, and pulled her into his arms, causing Nadine to gasp. “I haven’t told you this enough, but thank you for loving my father. He’d been alone for a long time and seeing him happy, knowing that there is someone there for him every day, well, it feels good.”

“Loving him was easy, sweetheart,” she whispered.

“Is everything okay in here?” At the sound of Russ’s voice, Travis released Nadine and dragged a hand over his face and through his hair.

Turning to his father, he nodded. “Yep. Anything else in the car?”

“No, I got it,” he said with caution. “Sure everything is okay? You’re acting kind of weird. Well, more than normal anyway.”

“I’m fine, Dad.” Travis smiled. “I’m gonna go check on Penelope.”

“We have about ten minutes before lunch will be ready,” Nadine told him.

“Okay.”

Travis left the two of them in the kitchen and walked down the hallway to his bedroom. Penelope was laying on her right side, a pillow shoved between her knees, and another one hugged up against her chest. She hadn’t bothered to get dressed this morning, staying in a pair of orange, black, and white plaid pajama pants and one of Travis’s old T-shirts from the University of Texas. He’d always loved the way she looked in his clothes, but with her tummy stretching out the material, causing it to hug her curves, had him craving to touch her.

“Hey,” he murmured, crossing the room and climbing onto the bed next to her. Reaching out, he placed his hand on her hip. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she whispered. “Just tired and my back still hurts a little. I can’t seem to find a comfortable position.”

“I’m sorry.”

Penelope laughed. “Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault.”

“Isn’t it?” He smirked. “I did get you pregnant. Twice now.”

“True. I guess I can blame you then,” she snickered, sliding her fingers across his cheek.

Travis moaned, allowing his eyes to flutter closed.

“You should have slept last night,” she grumbled.

He could hear the guilt in her voice, and opened his eyes. “No, I was where I should have been. You needed me, baby.”

“I’ll always need you,” she whimpered, and he saw the tears filling her dark brown eyes.

“Oh, honey. I’ll always need you, too. Forever.”

Pulling out the pillow from in front of her, he tossed it onto the floor and scooted closer, drawing her into his arms and holding her while she wept. He knew she wasn’t upset about anything in particular; she was hormonal and had a dozen different emotions flooding her senses.

“T — Travis?” she sputtered through her tears a few minutes later.

“Yeah, baby?” he asked.

Tilting her head up, she looked embarrassed before she spoke. “I’m hungry. Is the food ready?”

He struggled to keep his laughter at bay, but she looked so sweet and innocent. “Yeah. Nadine said it would be about ten minutes when I came in here, and that was five minutes ago. Why don’t we head on out there?”

“Okay,” she replied, amused at herself.

Travis climbed off the bed before helping Penelope stand. Closing her eyes for a moment, she appeared to stretch. The grimace that filled her face concerned him. “You all right?”

“Yeah,” she breathed. “Just the usual aches and pains. I’ll be fine once I get moving around.”

“If you’re sure,” he said. Even though he wasn’t convinced, he opted not to push her.

Russ, Nadine, and Max were sitting in the living room when they walked in.

Penelope waved at them before saying, “Hey, everyone. Sorry about the mess.”

“What mess?” Russ scoffed, looking around. “This place is spotless.”

“Oh, please,” she snarked. “There’s dust everywhere and the carpets need to be cleaned. I’ll do them tomorrow.”

“No you won’t,” Travis declared. When she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, he added, “I’ll do them, but you are not pushing the carpet cleaner all over the house.”

Penelope rolled her eyes. “I’m more than capable of cleaning them.”

“Never said you weren’t, but I’m still not letting you do it,” Travis argued.

She huffed, but didn’t offer a rebuttal.

“Well, perhaps we should eat. Don’t want the food to get cold,” Nadine proposed.

“Yes, please,” Penelope moaned. “I’m so hungry I could eat horse.”

“Sorry, sweetheart, but I didn’t cook any horse today. I do have a delicious turkey, and the broccoli, cheese, and rice casserole that you wanted.”

“Yummy,” she cheered, clapping.

Travis laughed and helped her stand up. Leaning in, he brushed his lips across her cheek and noticed a blush creeping over her skin. He loved how her body always responded to him. They followed Russ, Nadine, and Max into the dining room. His parents told them to sit while they grabbed dinner. Travis wasn’t about to argue with either of them, and pulled her chair out.

However, instead of sitting down, she sighed. “I need to piss.”

“Mom!” Max exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “TMI!”

Penelope shrugged. “Not like I said I needed to crap. Now, that would have been too much information.”

Max made a gagging noise as she turned and waddled toward the bathroom. “If I’d said that, she would have beaten my butt.”