Backseat Driver (Wilkins Brothers Book 3)

Chapter 40

LANDRY

“Hey! What are you two doing down here?” Jasper crouched to the ground and opened his arms to Everett. He wasted no time toddling the ten or so steps to his daddy. In the last three weeks, he went from crawling to walking, something I was not mentally prepared for.

“If you weren’t busy, I thought we could go for a walk.” With my hand on my ever-expanding belly, I silently pleaded with Jasper. 

“Another one?”

“I know, but I have to stay active and I’m positive that I’ve dropped and I just need to keep walking and keep hanging out on the yoga ball. I’d take him myself, but even toddling I can’t keep up.”

“No, I get it. Let me finish up here and I’ll make a lap with the two of you.”

“Hey sis,” Maverick comes up from behind and sneaks a kiss on my cheek. “Still pregnant?”

I try not to growl at him. He should no better, Bellamy went over her due date and it is no fun. I’m only a couple of days past the forty-week point, but it feels like I’ve been pregnant for an extra month instead. Since I gave birth to Everett early, I thought that the same would happen with this baby, but here I am, still pregnant and frustrated.

“No, Maverick, I totally had the baby a week ago and just didn’t tell you and then I shoved a few pillows under my shirt to make me look pregnant and fool you all!” I roll my eyes as I reply sarcastically.

“She’s a real peach, huh, brother?”

Jasper cackles and shakes his head, “There is not a chance in hell I’m answering that, Mav.”

“I’m going to let Bellamy know that you’re being a dick, just FYI.”

“She already knows this and she loves me anyway. Let me try to get back on your good graces, I’ll finish up for Jasper so the three of you can head out for a walk.”

“You don’t have to do that, I’ll only be like another fifteen minutes or so.”

“Go, Jas, it is no big deal.”

I squat down and pick Everett up, planting him on my hip. I’m getting good at holding one kid while being super pregnant with the other. I actually feel like I have a built-in shelf and I wonder what it is going to be like to hold him without the big belly there. Truth is as much as I’m looking forward to the next moment in my life, I’m sad to see this part go away. In a matter of days, it will no longer be one baby on the inside and one baby on the outside, it’ll be both babies on the outside. It terrifies and excites me at the same time.

After taking a nice long walk around the property, I made dinner and we got Everett to bed. Jasper tucked him in and came back out to join me on the couch. I was sprawled out, but he tucked himself between the couch and my body, resting his head on my thigh and his hand on my stomach. 

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, just really tired. I don’t think I’m going to be up for much longer tonight.”

“Baby Wilkins giving you any problems?”

“None more than usual. Pretty sure they’ve just taken residence up in this little corner though.”

We originally planned to find out what we were having this time around, but once we got closer to our twenty-week appointment we decided not to find out. It was a lot of fun finding out the day that Everett was born, so we still don’t know if we’re having a boy or a girl. Since we didn’t know for Everett, all the newborn baby items are gender-neutral anyway. Despite my insistence that we didn’t go anything extra, Georgia and my mom still planned a diaper shower for me.