“Holy shit.” I chuckled, my body erupting with goose bumps as my chest pinched.
“Holy shit, indeed.” The technician laughed. “Here is the heartbeat.” She flipped a switch and the rapid beat filled the room. I’d done enough research to know that babies’ heartbeats were very fast, so I didn’t immediately panic.
“How does everything look?” Hailey asked, concern filling her voice.
“So far, so good. I'm going to take a few measurements, but everything is looking in order,” the technician reassured her.
Hailey nodded, looking at the ceiling as the technician did her work.
“Do you want to know if it’s a boy or a girl?” she asked.
Hailey’s eyes darted to mine and then Wilder’s in surprise. “Uhh… do we?”
Personally, I wanted to know, but it was up to her.
Luckily, while Hailey and I were running on zero brain cells, Wilder, for a change of pace, actually had a smart idea. “Could you put the sex in an envelope and then we can open it later when we’re with the rest of our pack?”
Hailey relaxed, nodding as she looked back at the tech. “I like that idea! Merrick should be there when we find out.”
It didn’t escape me that she hadn’t bothered to mention Preston. I didn’t know whether that was because she was keeping quiet to protect him, or she didn’t want to wait until he eventually got out.
Not that she needed to wait. Hailey had every right to know the sex of the baby she was painstakingly growing herself.
“I can do that. Where’s your other pack mate today?” the woman asked nonchalantly, just making small talk.
“Working. He’s a firefighter,” Hailey explained with a beaming grin.
A sweet smile graced the technician’s face. “I totally understand. My partner is a sheriff, and sometimes he has to miss appointments. That's what we get for dating heroes.”
“It's totally worth it, though.” Hailey giggled.
“Hey, I'm a nurse. Does that make me a hero?” Wilder asked, wagging his eyebrows at Hailey.
All three of us broke into laughter. Not that he wasn’t, but Wilder's need to be part of the praise was hilarious. He was basically a giant golden retriever puppy who constantly wanted love.
“I suppose it does. But I think that means I am too. EMT and all.”
Wilder kissed the top of Hailey’s head. “Oh, youdefinitelyare.”
Twenty minutes later, the doctor came in to check the tech’s work and gave Hailey the all clear. There were several sonogram photos printed out so she could put it on the fridge too.
They discussed nutrition for a while, timelines, birth plans, and more. I sat there and listened intently, only chiming in when Hailey asked me a direct question.
The last thing I wanted to do was talk over her or overstep, so I contented myself with absorbing every piece of information I could and memorizing it.
Wilder was clearly doing the same, judging by the way he was craning his neck to listen in.
“Well, that was good,” Hailey said when we all got in the car. She held the sonogram picture in her lap.
“It's wild to think that in a few months, we'll have a baby.” Wilder smiled, looking down at the photo as he leaned between the seats from the back.
“Yeah… Our own little human. So…” She turned to me with a sneaky grin. “...since Merrick is busy, can we go get ice cream?”
I didn't even answer before turning the car toward the ice cream parlor.
Chapter 37
Hailey