Blending In
Page 23
“I second the motion,” Chase announced.
“Once again, wrong pantheon, but I’ll humor you this once because I find infringing on the turf of other divines amusing.”
Of course he did.
To keep Caleb from guessing too early what was in store for him, I cheated and gave Gavin directions without saying a word, and he grinned whenever I thanked him for being my lackey and being a good father despite being terrible husband material.
He wouldn’t receive any physical presents from me. He didn’t need them. The open invitation to visit Caleb and the chance to be part of our strange family was the best thing I could offer him. It cost me no money, it wouldn’t even burden me much, but I thought it was priceless, a treasure only I could give.
Chase wouldn’t mind sharing space with Caleb’s father, and the knowledge I didn’t even need to ask made all the difference in the world.
As expected, Caleb went straight into orbit when we unwrapped both of his new computers, and while he gushed over them, I peeked at mine before having them tucked into the corner to keep from overshadowing my son’s enjoyment.
When the time came for Caleb to open the present Chase had wrapped, my son locked onto the horrific wrapping job, his eyes narrowing to a mere line. “That’s just wrong.”
“Made even more wrong as you’re the one who gets to open it,” Gavin announced, handing the booby-trapped gift over.
The realization Chase would hit multiple people with this prank sank in, and I relocated under the guise of sitting closer to Cocoa and petting him.
He licked my hand and wagged his tail.
“Is this the equivalent of coal for all the times I’ve been bad this year?” my son complained.
As I thought it was a brilliant idea, I did my parental duty of taking his idea and making it my own. “Yes, it is.”
“Bummer. But I guess I wasn’t too naughty. That was a lot of presents.” Caleb eyed the tree, which still had a disturbing number of gifts piled beneath it. “Is a lot of presents.”
I never thought I’d see the day my son could be overwhelmed with gifts. “Go ahead and open it.”
He did, and glitter flew everywhere the instant he tore into the wrapper. My son sighed several times, which made it hard to avoid laughing. Chase’s parents glared at their son.
His father pointed at Chase and muttered, “You’re a bad child.”
“Have fun getting that out of your house, Dad. Merry Christmas.”
The string took Caleb a few minutes to unwind, but when he reached the leash and collar set inside, his brows furrowed together. He lifted it up, staring at the collar. “This is too small for Cocoa.”
I did my best to appear puzzled rather than amused. “You give the weirdest gifts, Chase.”
Chase rolled his eyes and kept quiet.
The next few presents, all various dog-care products, first confused Caleb, but then a mixture of annoyance and hope crept to the surface. He stared at me with open suspicion. “You didn’t even know you were getting Cocoa. Most of these are from you.”
Chase’s mother slipped out of the room, and moments later, she returned with Caleb’s puppy, who wore a little red bow tied to his neck. She tiptoed behind my son and waited.
“That’s so strange,” I admitted, widening my eyes. “Why would I do something like that?”
“Mom!”
Before the temper tantrum could begin in earnest, Chase’s mother placed the puppy on Caleb’s lap.
While Caleb was a lot like his father in some ways, he’d inherited my inability to cope with too much good fortune without bursting into tears. Along with the tears came babbling, which I decided to ignore as it involved something about a puppy.
I waited for the worst of it to subside before I grinned. “You’re still going to be partially responsible for helping with Cocoa.”
Caleb resumed babbling, but I was fairly certain he swore he’d take good care of the little puppy for all eternity.
“My turn,” Chase announced, and he left the room like his mother had, and when he returned, he held a purring Goliath, who ended up on my lap. Like Caleb’s puppy, he wore a red ribbon around his neck. “I have reviewed your application to be a live-in cat sitter, effective immediately and for a permanent duration. To confirm your status as my live-in cat sitter, you must remove the ribbon from your cat.”
I laughed and shook my head at the absurdity, but I did as told.
Tied to the ribbon was a golden ring featuring a solitaire ruby.
“I’m okay sharing you with your cat. He’s devilishly cute, even when he’s trying to use my face as his bed. While I’m hopeful, I’m prepared to wait until you’re ready to say yes.”
Some questions I didn’t need to think about. From the first time I’d transformed into a chameleon when he’d walked into the room until today, one thing had become clear: I’d never meet another man like Chase Butler ever again.
Like my son, I sobbed, and once the sobbing started, I babbled. It didn’t take long for my babbling to devolve into a gibbering mess. Unable to communicate an answer even if I wanted to, I held Goliath with one hand and waved the ribbon and ring with the other.
Gavin sighed, lifted his hand, and rubbed his temple. “Welcome to the rest of your life, Chase. She’s trying to say yes, but it’s not working very well.”
While my tears blurred my vision, I couldn’t have missed Chase’s smile, which reflected in his eyes. “I wouldn’t change her for the world.”
About the Author
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RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
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When she isn't playing pretend, she likes to think she's a cartographer and a sumi-e painter.
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In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Should that fail, her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until she is satisfied.
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RJ also writes as Susan Copperfield and Trillian Anderson.
If you enjoy using bookbub, you can follow RJ and her alter ego Susan there.
http://thesneakykittycritic.com
Magical Romantic Comedies (with a body count)
Playing with Fire
Hoofin’ It
Hearth, Home, and Havoc
Whatever for Hire
Serial Killer Princess
Owl Be Yours
Fowl Play
No Kitten Around
Blending In (Nov 2018)
Cheetahs Never Win (Dec 2018)
Saddle Up (2019)
Grave Humor (May 2019)
Dragon Her Heels (2019)
From Witch & Wolf World
Series: Witch & Wolf
Inquisitor
Winter Wolf
Blood Diamond
Silver Bullet
* * *
Series: Wolf Hunt
Wolf Hunt
Wild Wolf (2019)
The Edge of Midnight (2020)
* * *
Series: Nature of the Beast
Pack Justice
Dual Nature (TBD)
* * *
Series: Balancing the Scales
Karma
License to Kill (TBD)
* * *
Standalones
Beneath a Blood Moon
Shadowed Flame
* * *
Tales of the Winter Wolf
(Short Story/Novella Collections)
Omnibus - Volumes One-Five
Volume Six (Aftermath to Winter Wolf.)
Other Stories by RJ Blain
Jesse Alexander Novels
Water Viper
Steel Heart (late 2018/early 2019)
* * *
Requiem for the Rift King (Epic Fantasy)
Storm Without End
Storm
Surge
The Tides of War (TBD)
Witch & Wolf World Reading Order
The Witch & Wolf world is all over the place. I’m sorry about that—really. I’m worse than a gnat sometimes, flitting from project to project, excited to write my next story. Here’s my preferred reading order of these books. While I wrote Inquisitor first, it actually happens after Winter Wolf.
Note: You can jump in on any series with the exception of Blood Diamond, Silver Bullet, and later volumes—they are dependent on events that happen prior in the series.
Winter Wolf (W&W #2)
Tales of the Winter Wolf Vol. 6
Tales of the Winter Wolf Vol. 1-5
Inquisitor (W&W #1)
Beneath a Blood Moon (Standalone)
Blood Diamond (W&W #3)
Silver Bullet (W&W #4)
Wolf Hunt (WH #1, W&W #5)
Wild Wolf (WH #2, W&W #6)
The Edge of Midnight (WH #3, W&W #7)
* * *
The following books can be read at any time:
Nature of the Beast
Pack Justice
Dual Nature (TBD)
Balancing the Scales
Karma
License to Kill (TBD)
Standalone
Shadowed Flame