Free My Furry Valentine: "In Between" 1.5 (Peculiar Mysteries) by Renee George Page A

legs.
    “Are you okay?”
    I shook my head and felt my lower lip jut. “My face looks like a piece of aged steak, I can’t tell my ankles from my calves, and I’m pretty sure I just peed my stretchy, unflattering maternity pants. I am far from okay.”
    “It’ll be all right, Sunny.” Chav hit a button on her phone and put it to her ear. After a short pause, she said, “Hey doc. No, I’m fine. Yes, the therapy is going well. Yes, I’m taking my meds. No, I’m not overdoing it. Yes, I’m doing my stretches. Jesus, Billy Bob, I’m good.” She paused again. “I called because Sunny needs you.”
    Chav disliked Doctor Billy Bob Smith almost as much as she hated people feeling sorry for her. The aversion to all things Billy Bob seemed to run in the Trimmel family. Babel couldn’t stand him either. I think it had something to do with the doc being a lycanthrope, or a werewolf, and not a therian. Or maybe it had to do with Billy Bob being a shaman as well as an M.D. The Trimmels had been raised Christian, and mysticism was a hard pill for them to swallow. I didn’t get it. He was a nice man, a competent doctor, and super easy on the eyes.
    When Chav disconnected the call, she said, “He’s on his way over.”
    “Wow, he must be having a slow day.”
    “It’s you , Sunny.” Obviously irritated, Chav went to the sink and filled a glass of water. “So, yeah, he’ll come running.”
    “Are you mad at me?” More tears welled in my eyes, threatening to scorch my burning cheeks. Damn pregnancy hormones.
    Chav’s gaze softened. “Of course not.”
    “Oh, good. Will you make me lunch? I have yummy sweet potato gnudi in the fridge. Easy to reheat. Oh, and I’d like some spicy pickled beets on the side. Top shelf on the left,” I directed.
    She shook her head, grinning as she opened the refrigerator.
    “Thank you, Auntie Chav,” I sang. I kicked my legs like a happy toddler. “This niece or nephew of yours is hungry.” Thanks to my psychic powers, I knew the sex, but Babe wanted to be surprised, so I hadn’t told anyone that I’d had a vision of him throwing a football around with our daughter. She would be a hella-tomboy. I smiled, absently rubbing my stomach. She would be strong and fierce, just like Chavvah, and this knowledge pleased me to no end.
    By the time the gnudi was hot and on a plate in front of me, the juice from the beets adding a vibrant shade of burgundy to the brown butter sauce, Billy Bob arrived.
    When I’d first met him, he had waist-length dreadlocks, but in the past month he’d had his hair cut to his shoulders, and his thick, silvery hair framed his face in a tangle of lush curls. I sighed. A man shouldn’t be that beautiful.
    His skin was a light shade of mocha, his eyes were a pale shade of gray, and his body... Oof . I grabbed my stomach as Baby Trimmel gave me another good kick.
    Chavvah cast me a slightly judge-y gaze, and if my face hadn’t already been on fire, I’m sure I would have felt the heat rush to my cheeks.
    “Hey, Billy Bob,” I said, trying to cut through the now awkward tension in the room.
    He held a small tub in his right hand. He smiled, and his eyes lit up with humor. “I heard you decided to perform dermabrasion without a medical license.”
    Chav snorted. “That’s one way to put it.”
    “I’ve made you a mixture of salves and herbs, along with something to help with the pain.” He handed me the container.
    I unscrewed the lid and sniffed. It smelled like sweet clover and honey. “Nice. How long will it take to heal my face?”
    “A couple of days.” He must have seen my disappointment because he winked, and added, “I could always kiss it better.”
    I didn’t even try to fight the grin. Lycanthropes had healing properties in their saliva, and once, after I’d had my jaw dislocated, Billy Bob had definitely kissed it better. Which is the exact moment I knew I’d fallen in love with Babel. The kiss had been all kinds of awesome, but all I