Chapter Three

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Dimitri asked Kyle.

“Yes. It’s just contractions.”

“Is the baby coming?”

“No. I have an appointment in a few hours, and they’ll check it out. It’s probably false contractions.”

“Max and I will go with you then.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“We’re not negotiating this, Kyle.”

“Fine,” Kyle huffed out while rubbing her stomach.

“Is there anything we can do to make it easier for you?”

Kyle shook her head no and sat on the couch, laying her head back. She wanted this baby out and hoped she would go into labor sooner rather than later.

***

“She’s been having contractions on and off for a few days.”

Kyle glared at Dimitri. He was overbearing and didn’t give her a chance to speak with the doctor.

“Women can be in labor for days, Mr. Volkov, but it looks like Kyle is just having false labor pains. She’ll need to relax a bit more.”

Kyle let out a sigh. His overprotectiveness was getting to her; she felt as if he didn’t trust her instincts about the baby.

“Now that you’ve heard it from the doctor, are you going to give me a little space?”

“I’ll give you all a minute.”

Dimitri waited for the doctor to leave before speaking. “Do you have a problem?”

“Yes, I have a problem. I have a problem with you and Max.

“You guys won’t give me space, and you treat me like I don’t know what’s going on with this pregnancy, and I would appreciate it if you treated me like an equal.”

“We take care of you!” Dimitri said in a raised voice. “Obviously, you need that since what happened to you, and I’m not about to slack on that responsibility while you’re carrying our child.”

“I did that to protect you guys, and you know that,” Kyle yelled back.

Max stood back, watching the argument unfold.

“Can the two of you leave so I can get dressed?”

Max and Dimitri stepped out into the hallway to give Kyle some space. “Why are you picking a fight?” Max asked his brother.

“I’m not picking a fight. She’s acting like we’re in the wrong. She’s too naïve, and she doesn’t realize it.”

“She was sheltered, but look how much she’s grown. She isn’t a child, Dimitri, and I think we need to step back a bit and treat her as our partner.”

“Do you honestly believe the three of us can raise children?”

“Yes, if we work together. Is that what is really bothering you?”

“I don’t think she’s ready.”

Max let out a sigh. “You need to stop being condescending and support her. She isn’t stupid; she knows what she’s doing.”

***

The ride home from the doctor’s office was quiet, and the tension was thick. Kyle didn’t say a word to either brother and went to her room.

Her room was the place she went to be left alone. Max and Dimitri always gave her space if she closed herself up in her room.

She wouldn’t admit it to them, but Dimitri hurt her feelings. It hurt her to know that Dimitri didn’t trust her to take care of the baby.

***

Dimitri knew his brother was right: he needed to stop trying to control everything. He went to the nursery and started looking through things.

He always thought he would be childless; he lived a life that wasn’t child-friendly, and Kyle was giving him a chance to be a father, and he knew he was screwing it up.

When he turned around to walk out of the room, he was startled to see Kyle standing there staring at him.

“I know you mean well, Dimitri, but you hurt my feelings, and it says a lot about what you think of me if you don’t trust me with our child.”

“That’s not what I meant, ~myshka~.”

“There wasn’t any other way to take it.”

Before he could respond, Kyle left the room, leaving Dimitri to regret what he’d done.