It took him a minute to get a hold of his emotions, but he didn’t appear to care that his men saw him fighting tears. BB appreciated that. She never wanted him to be afraid to express what he felt.
They walked slowly back to her car, hand in hand. After he threw his duffle into the car, he took her into his arms again. “I can’t get over the thought of a baby. I mean, I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I was going to be alone, you know? Then you came into my life and turned everything on its head. Do you know what the sex is?”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to know or not, so I had the doctor put it in an envelope for us. We can open it or not, together.”
His brilliant not-quite hazel, not quite blue eyes filled with tears again and he nodded, obviously fighting emotion. Lincoln hadn’t had the greatest upbringing and his brother had committed suicide a few years ago, so he didn’t have a lot of family connections. She had a feeling that this baby would mean the world to him. He pulled her into his arms and just held her for several long minutes.
“Let’s get out of this damn parking lot.”
BB held out the keys and he grinned as they climbed into the car. As they pulled away from the base, BB reached her hand out to hold his. “I have to warn you, I’ve made some changes.”
He glanced at her. “I expected you to, totally. Don’t worry about it. Whatever you’ve done I’m sure I’ll be happy with.”
She smiled slightly and decided to let him discover the house renovation on his own. She did tell him about Louie, though.
“Wait, you named him Louie?”
BB smiled at the odd look on his face. “Yes, Bleu Louie. Why?”
Lincoln chuckled, glancing at her as he stopped at a light. “My Grandad’s name was Louie. It’s just funny you picked that name.”
Lincoln listened to her talk about the dog, nodding his head, and commiserated on the time she’d spent caring for the pup.
“So, will he have problems with this cleft palate anymore?”
She shook her head. “Nope. And they’ve already neutered him so that he can’t pass the issue along.”
“That’s good,” he said, nodding. “Another dog, huh?” he laughed.
BB shrugged apologetically. “What can I say? I was so lonely when you were gone,” her throat tightened again but she forced herself to work through it. “When I took the pup on I had no idea I was pregnant.”
Link shook his head, grinning. “I went from a family of three to a family of five in one deployment.”
BB grinned too. “I hear that happens on military bases.”
He barked out a laugh. “So true!”
As BB pulled up in front of the house, Lincoln didn’t seem to notice that the house itself had gotten longer. They went up the steps and across the porch and let themselves inside. He dropped his bag as soon as they got in the door and he looked at the Christmas tree on the table. BB had positioned it beneath the shelf with his brother’s mementoes.
“That’s really cute,” he said, crossing the room to it and fingering the little lights. He glanced around the room at the rest of the decorations. “It’s beautiful, babe.”
The dogs were barking in the laundry room and Lincoln looked curiously at the upended hamper in the hallway.
“Little bastard chewed the wicker,” BB huffed as she removed the baby gate.
Frankie was ecstatic to see Lincoln and cried like a true drama queen, bouncing and rolling to her back in a bid for attention. Louie, on the other hand, was a little reserved and growly.
“Take him outside and play,” she told Link, watching him closely. He still hadn’t noticed anything more about the house.
He called the dogs and started down the hallway, then paused and looked around. “What the hell?” he said as he reached out to touch the door jamb.
BB laughed as she joined him. “We were out of space, so I had some renovations done.”
Blinking, he looked down at the hardwood beneath his feet. “Uh, yeah, you did. Hell, woman. I thought you’d changed out a rug or painted or something. Maybe added some new fake flowers to the flower boxes. I didn’t expect you to damn near double the size of the house.”
BB laughed as he explored and as she’d expected, his eyes softened as he looked into the nursery. “This will be where the baby sleeps?”
She nodded. “Maybe not at first. We’ll get a bassinet for when he or she is tiny to keep in our room, then when the feedings regulate, we’ll be able to move him or her out.”
“Are you going to breastfeed?” he asked quietly.
“Definitely. If I can. I know it helps with allergies and stuff and is better for the child and the mother.”
Lincoln had closed his eyes and was shaking his head slowly back and forth. “The thought of your breasts..." his voice trailed off and he glanced at her chest.
BB grinned. “I’ve already gone up a cup size,” she told him, watching his face. Then her eyes shifted lower to the more obvious reaction. She chuckled lightly. “Yes, you are the big fertile man and got your woman pregnant.”
Lincoln rested a hand against himself and grinned at her, not even a little bit shamefaced. “What can I say? The thought of getting you with child gets me hard.”
“You’re just hard-up,” she laughed as he dragged her into his arms for a kiss.
“Granted,” he growled, gently biting her lower lip. “But I think it’s more than that. It’s so funny because I’ve been having dreams of making you pregnant.”
She leaned back in his arms, lifting her brows. “Really? Well, it came true then.”
“Yes, it did,”
