Jeremy shook his head. “You two go on. But I wouldn’t mind you picking up a few steaks at the butcher. I thought we’d have a barbecue. And since Clay seems so energetic, maybe I can persuade him to cart out the lawn furniture and we’ll eat outside tonight.”

“Let’s do that now,” I said, swinging toward the shed.

“Build up an appetite for those banana splits.”

Clay caught my arm. “No lifting, remember?”

“That’s after I get pregnant.”

“But you could be pregnant already, right? We have to be careful.”

I looked over at Jeremy, but he busied himself unloading his revolvers. I was reasonably sure you couldn’t damage a fetus the size of a pea by lifting a lounge chair or two, especially not when werewolf strength made it the equivalent of picking up a plate, but if Jeremy wasn’t going to back me up on this, I wouldn’t argue with Clay. I was sure we’d have plenty of things to argue about if—no, when—I did get pregnant.

When it came to my health, Clay wasn’t the only one overreacting. In the last six months, Jeremy had read just about every book ever written on pregnancy, and erred so far on the side of caution that, between the two of them, I’m surprised I was allowed to get up in the morning. The truth was that, no matter how many books Jeremy read, he couldn’t be sure they applied to me at all. Female werewolves were very rare. For one to bear a child, even to a human father, was the thing of legend. Two werewolves reproducing? There was no record of it ever having happened. Maybe that’s because it couldn’t happen. Maybe all of our planning and dreaming—

“Come on,” Clay said. “You can grab the lanterns. Race you there.”

I looked at him and I knew he’d seen that look in my eyes, the dark shadow of panic that seemed to come over me several times a day now.

“No,” Jeremy said. “You go. I need to talk to Elena.”

As Clay headed for the shed, I wandered over to Jeremy and reached for the newly-emptied revolver on the wall. He slid it out of my hand’s path and put it into its case.

I sighed. “It wasn’t loaded.”

“I’m not taking any chances.”

I sighed again and leaned against the wall. Jeremy glanced over at Clay, who was moving away at one tenth his earlier speed. When Jeremy asked how I was feeling, Clay picked up his pace, curiosity fading. I said I was fine, then he asked, “Have you been taking the new vitamins?”

I gave him a look. He lifted a finger, then darted his gaze in Clay’s direction, telling me to play along.