Cut it out. Get your mind out of the gutter for fuck’s sake.
Millie shook herself from her fantasy. Oh boy. Now she needed a cold shower.
She watched as he gathered up the little boy, and she offered to let him take the blanket with them. “It’s cold outside. You don’t want to wake him up.”
The man nodded and left her apartment as suddenly as he had entered it. She immediately felt something empty. That cute boy had stolen her heart. And the boy’s dad…
Geez…I didn’t even have the chance to ask his name.
The next morning when Millie got up, she found her blanket in a neatly folded pile outside of her front door. There was a simple note on the top of it.
Five simple words.
Thank you. Kieran and Fionn.
CHAPTER TWO
Two days later, Millie found herself in the local grocery store, once again at the meat counter. The butcher knew her by name, which was funny and slightly annoying at the same time, because she was their best customer. She was a meat-and-potatoes kind of gal. A meal wasn’t a meal if it didn’t contain any meat.
She had placed her typical order of New York Strip steaks and was looking forward to getting home and grilling one of them. This time, she might even get to eat it, she thought ruefully. She was moving with her cart toward the cash register when she heard the sound of a little boy throwing a tantrum. She saw the annoyed glances of many of the customers around her and felt bad for the unfortunate parent having to deal with the outburst.
She knew it was tough.
Millie looked down the baby aisle where the noise was emanating from and saw with surprise that it was the man and the young boy from two days before.
Well, well, well. What do we have here?
Mr. Hot Pants and Adorable Cub? Kieran and Fionn, she mentally reminded herself. Two unusual names for two unusual males.
She was going to move along and not say anything until she saw the look of helpless confusion on Kieran’s face. She thought back to their conversation where he had seemed so confident about taking care of his son, and she thought it might have been at least partly bluster. It was obvious that he had no idea of what he was doing where childcare was concerned. A flash of pity coursed through her. She just couldn’t look away when she saw someone in need of help. Not with that cutie-patootie cub. With a heavy sigh, she turned her cart into the aisle.
“Need some help?” she asked.
Kieran glanced in her direction, a look of surprise on his face. “Oh. It’s you. I’m kinda lost here. Why do they make so many different kinds of diapers? And all of this food? I just don’t know what I’m supposed to be buying that’s best for him.”
She reached around him and pulled a package of her favorite brand of diapers off the shelf. “These will do. He’s getting to the age where you probably can start thinking about potty training soon. He’s what—almost three?”
Kieran gave a short nod. “Two and a half.”
“They’re pretty rambunctious at this age. The terrible twos,” she said as she looked at the little boy pitching a fit in Kieran’s cart. That was when Fionn finally noticed her. He instantly quieted, and a huge grin appeared on his face. He leaned against the side of the cart with his arms outstretched toward her.
“Hello, Fionn. Did you miss me?” Millie cooed.
“Mama!” shouted Fionn happily.
Millie flinched. Kieran did too, but he didn’t say anything. Awkward! Seeing him alone with the toddler she guessed that Fionn’s mother wasn’t in the picture at the moment. Poor, poor cub. “There, there, cutie. Don’t you look handsome today? I love your shirt.”
“Shirt!” Fionn parroted and pointed at his clothes. He was wearing a sailor outfit today. White top with blue trim emblazoned with some nautical details, and blue pants to match.
Millie took him up into her arms. The boy seemed to weigh almost nothing, and he started to giggle as she ran her fingertips across his chest in a light tickle. “Yeah. Awesome shirt. I love your pants, too.”
“Shirt,” said Fionn.
“No, these are pants.”
“Shirt.”
“Okay, if you say so!”
“Mama.” Fionn grabbed her face and started chewing on her chin, slobbering her in the process.
Millie laughed. Clearly, this was Fionn’s version of a kiss.
“Obviously, he likes you,” Kieran said with a grumpy tone.
She chose to ignore his tone. She wouldn’t let a sweet moment like this be spoiled by his crankiness. Fionn was bonding with her. Imprinting. That was what her professor said about bonding with shifter children. “Of course he likes me. All children like me! I come from a big family, and I used to babysit all the time. I have five younger brothers at home and the youngest is only a year older than Fionn. My mom said he was an accident baby,” Millie said. She hadn’t taken her eyes off the toddler in her arms. “You learn a couple of tricks along the way, and you figure out they work on almost every kid.”
Kieran mumbled something under his breath, but she couldn’t make out what it was. She figured it might be better if she didn’t know. This guy seemed to be high on the grump scale when it came to socializing. Too bad, because he was drop-dead gorgeous and lava-meltingly hot.
She gently brushed him aside as she moved Fionn over to her hip. She began to slowly go through the different shelves and pull out different items that she knew that Kieran would need to take care of Fionn. As she pulled each item from the shelf, she showed it to Kieran and explained what it was for and how to use it.
“Who knew one small person could need so much stuff?” Kieran finally said with a note of chagrin in his voice.
The look of utter befuddlement on his face made Millie laugh. “It’s worse when they’re younger,” she said. “Your wife must have been the one who was always taking care of him before this.“ It was the only explanation that made sense to her.
“I’ve never been married,” Kieran said.
Oh, it’s one of those situations, she thought. Kieran did have the appearance of a one-night-stand kind of guy. Slam-bam-thank you-ma’am. “So where is Fionn’s mother now?” Millie asked. “Is she still in the picture?”
“His mother is dead, so no, she’s not,” Kieran said suddenly. “Look, I appreciate the help, but I’m not going into our life stories in the middle of a grocery aisle.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” His comment stung a little, but Millie realized she probably deserved it. She was prying, and she barely knew the guy. He didn’t owe her any explanation, and if Fionn’s mother had died, then he was probably still grieving her death. It made her even more sympathetic to his plight, which was what caused the next words to come tumbling unbidden from her mouth. “You know, I go to school downtown, but my classes are almost always at night. If you’re looking for some help with babysitting during the day while you’re at work, I’d be happy to help you out.”
Kieran gave her a suspicious look. “Why would you do that?”
“Why? Just take a look at him. Anybody who doesn’t like Fionn must have a heart of stone.” Millie laughed as she bounced Fionn on her hip. The little boy giggled with her. He grabbed at strands of her long hair to tug on them, but she didn’t mind. It was all in good fun, and she could tell that Fionn appeared to like her as much as she liked him. “It’s not a big deal. I like being around kids. And if it would help you out with Fionn, I’m happy to do it.”
“I suppose I could use some help,” Kieran said reluctantly.
Millie handed the toddler back to Kieran, who made a face at her. “Here’s my number,” she said as she dug a piece of paper out of her purse and wrote it down for him. She handed it to him, thinking that she would love if he used it to call her for something other than just babysitting. “Give me a call whenever. I’m usually around.”
Then before she could look completely desperate, Millie pushed her cart forward waving her wiggling fingers at the toddler. “Bye, Fionn. I’ll see
you later.”
“Mama!” Fionn squirmed in Kieran’s hands. He didn’t want to let her go. “Mama.”
“Come on now, Fionn, you be a good boy,” she said.
Fionn started to fuss again and Kieran had to distract him with a box of fruity snacks.
“Sorry,” Kieran said.
“That’s okay. Kids his age are usually attached to their…you know…” She could feel the color rising in her cheeks even as she thought about all of the different scenarios that could possibly come out of getting closer to this particular little family. Even though Kieran appeared to be a complete grump, she was incredibly attracted to him.
“Later.”
“Later,” said Kieran.
She looked shyly over her shoulder at him and she saw that he was bouncing the boy on his hip now. Fionn seemed delighted at this latest development and was clapping his hands. A genuine smile appeared on Kieran’s face.
Yes, she was definitely looking forward to getting to know this family better.
CHAPTER THREE
The next few weeks passed by in a sort of blissful haze for Kieran. Now that he had help during the day, he was starting to realize how much he disliked his current employer, despite the fact that he wasn’t being asked to do a lot of the dirty work that he’d been leaned on for before. Now, every day when he came home and saw Fionn’s beaming smile welcoming him, he found he felt like a million bucks. He was just as happy to see Millie as Fionn. His attractive neighbor was rapidly becoming indispensable to him.
She had showed him so many things about taking care of a child that he really couldn’t think of any way to properly repay her. Tonight was a perfect example. It was starting to grow cooler as the season changed to late fall. Millie had invited Kieran and Fionn over for a home-cooked meal at her place. Kieran found himself looking forward to it all day. There was one thing that he had quickly learned about Millie, and that was she was a terrific cook. She often made things during the day like casseroles and pot roasts and gave them to Kieran for him and Fionn to eat at night. So far, she had resisted anything more than a small payment for babysitting, so Kieran insisted on buying groceries for her several times a week. She was taking such good care of Fionn, who was growing rapidly now, that he couldn’t let her completely subsidize all of that on her own.
Seeing Millie with Fionn made him realize how neglectful his sister must have been in taking care of the boy. Of course, Kieran had noticed the state of her house when he had arrived. There had been the lingering smell of filth and neglect. His nephew had been living on the edge of squalor for God knew how long while his sister wallowed in the grief of losing her husband. In a way, Kieran was grateful that she had trusted him to take care of Fionn after she died, but he wished that she had been willing to ask him for help long before it had come to that.
Millie had cooked them a hearty dinner that reminded him of his childhood—back when his mother was still alive and they were an ordinary family. After dessert, they migrated to the living room. Millie and Fionn played on the carpet with the new train toys he’d just bought.
Kieran flopped onto his back and watched as the two of them continued to play. The TV was on in the background, but the sound was turned down. Getting a new job, a normal one, was something that had been on his mind for quite a while now. He didn’t want to be the hired muscle and a bouncer any longer. It wasn’t something he enjoyed to begin with—he’d just fallen into it to survive.
“I think I’m going to look for a new job next week,” he told her.
“Why?” Millie asked. She seemed curious.
Kieran flexed his knuckles and looked at his fists with a sigh. How many men had he hurt over the years? Dozens. Hundreds, maybe. He didn’t believe in karma, but if it was real, he was no doubt brimming over with the bad stuff. It was high time to quit. “I hate my job. It’s just not as satisfying as it used to be. I feel like I could be doing something so much better with my time.”
Millie nodded slowly. “What do you think you’d like to do?”
“I’ve never really thought about it before. At one time, I thought that I knew exactly what my future held for me, but that ended up fizzling out.” His whole childhood had been spent preparing him for one day being the Alpha. It still hurt to think that was out of his reach forever. His stepmother had made sure of that.
The greedy bitch.
“Well, if you really don’t like your current job, then you can always try something part-time. Maybe I could talk to my manager. There might be something at my office that you could do,” she suggested.
Kieran knew that Millie worked part-time as an administrative assistant at a company that managed several of the more well-known and popular restaurants in town. “I don’t want to be a bouncer again,” Kieran said, deadpan.
Millie laughed. “That’s not what I had in mind. I was thinking something more like inventory or maybe even bartending at one of the nicer restaurants. Of course, that would require you to talk to people,” she said with a slight roll of her eyes. Even though they had been hanging out only a couple weeks, she seemed to have already put her finger on the fact that Kieran wasn’t as social as he used to be when he was younger.
He couldn’t blame her.
It was just another by-product of being disowned by the people he trusted the most. He used to act like the whole world conspired against him—a total jackass. He’d gotten better over the years, thankfully.
“Maybe,” Kieran said. The idea of bartending wasn’t completely unappealing.
“I’ll talk to my manager. At the very least, you could have a conversation about what positions might be open,” Millie said.
“I’d like that,” Kieran said, and he meant it.
There was something about starting fresh and hitting the redo button on life that was appealing. Working for Millie’s company could potentially also put him in closer proximity with Millie. He had already begun to realize how much he enjoyed her company and how much he missed it during the day.
His neighbor was a sweet young woman. She was beautiful and voluptuous. She had a smile like a beam of sunshine, and it could brighten any room the moment she entered. When she laughed, he felt like he wanted to laugh with her. Her cheery personality was infectious.
But that wasn’t really it.
The closer Kieran got to her, the more he picked up on things he didn’t notice before. How lush her dark lashes were that fanned out around her big doe eyes. How cute her button nose was, and how sexy her full lips were. Kieran had fantasized about kissing her on several occasions. How soft her skin must be. How ample and firm her breasts would be in his hands. And when he finally parted her legs and took her—
He shook himself from his fantasy. His cock hardened at the very thought of claiming her. She would make a great mate, and Fionn loved her.
And Fionn already called her Mama.
Millie bounced Fionn on her knee, but he could see that she was watching him now. He felt the small sparks of electricity between them. He didn’t think he was imagining it either. She was interested in him, too.
“I’ll talk to my boss tomorrow then,” she said with a soft smile.
He returned the smile. “Thanks, Millie. You’re very kind.”
*
Millie was just getting ready to walk out the door when she opened it and found Kieran standing there. He had Fionn in his arms, who immediately reached for Millie. She took him gladly even though she knew she was already late in leaving for her evening class.
“I’m sorry for dropping by, but I have an emergency,” Kieran said. “Would you be able to watch Fionn tonight for a little while? I know you have class, and this is a huge inconvenience, but I don’t have anyone else I can turn to.”
“Say no more. I’ll watch the little guy,” Millie said as the words fell off her lips. She knew that she had a big assignment coming up for class, and the professor was going over all of the details that evening. But she had developed the kind of relation
ship with Kieran that made it extremely difficult to even think about saying no. Her mind was already scrambling to figure out how she’d be able to juggle her classes and keep Fionn with her. “Assuming you are okay with me taking him to class with me. I can’t miss tonight entirely.”
“That’s no problem,” Kieran said.
Her heart melted a little bit when she saw the grateful expression on Kieran’s face. He was still grumpy a lot of the time, but she noticed that he wasn’t as grumpy with her as he seemed to be with other people. That made her feel good.
It was progress.
“I promise I won’t be too late,” Kieran said. “I’ll call as soon as I know what time I’m going to be back.”
“It’s okay,” Millie said. “We’ll just be hanging out after class. Don’t worry.”
Kieran nodded and gave Fionn a quick tickle on the tummy before he turned and left. She loved seeing the interactions between the two. It was obvious to her that they both adored each other.
She quickly picked up the diaper bag that was next to the door and headed out to the car. Kieran had insisted on buying her a car seat for Fionn. She didn’t like accepting gifts from him, but she understood that if she was going to be going anywhere with Fionn during the day, having her own car seat made it more convenient—and safer—for everyone.
She arrived at the campus and hurriedly gave Fionn something to eat. She was ready to leverage every trick up her sleeve to keep him calm, and she was confident that her professor would be okay with her bringing him to class. She gave him instructions that she knew he didn’t understand about making sure that he kept quiet in class. As soon as she entered the room, she was practically mauled by all of the girls in the room. Everybody was talking about how adorable Fionn was, and Millie couldn’t help but agree.
“Those cute ears!”
“Oh my God. He has a tail!”
“His stripes are so adorable.”
Millie had heard more than once. She knew it was a rarity for anyone to see a werecub. Little ones under school age were rarely seen in town. Millie thought that it was likely due to safety concerns with the children shifting when they weren’t supposed to more than anything else. Millie had already experienced Fionn half-shifting out of the blue for several moments before shifting back. The first time had caught her completely off-guard.
Lone Tiger And Cub: BBW Weretiger Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance Page 3