by Lori King
“What’s wrong with it? Tina said they needed diapers, so I got diapers,” Luke said, giving Tavi a look like she’d lost her mind. Hours after their glorious morning lovemaking they stood over the dining room table discussing the day’s plans.
With an exasperated sigh, she shook her head. “These are size five diapers, Luke. The babies aren’t even out of newborn diapers yet. They’ll be three before they need this size.”
He looked disgusted. “Wouldn’t they be potty trained before then?”
Snorting, she laughed. “I see you’ve got a lot to learn before our bundle of joy gets here.”
“We only have a few months, so you’ll have to give me a crash course. We’ll have plenty of time now that I won’t be worrying about a new job,” he said, reaching out to rub her tummy. It was barely swollen, and she honestly believed that was only because of her overeating due to stress as she prepared to meet the whole pack for the first time.
“About that, are you really sure that giving up your spot for the CPAT is what you want to do?” She was still worried about his decision even though he continuously assured her that he was making the choice for himself, and not for her and the kids.
“I’m sure. I’ve already explained, all I’ve ever wanted is to be needed, and helping save KJ’s life made me realize that being an EMT gives me the adrenaline rush that I love without putting my own life at risk fighting fires.”
“What is it with you Gray pack men and your hero complex? All of you want to save the day,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. He laughed, and she hugged him. “I can’t say I’m not glad, but I still worry. You don’t know how long it will take for a full-time spot to open up, and—”
“And what? It’s not like we’re completely broke and facing homelessness. We’ve got all of the opportunity in the world to change our future and set ourselves up for happiness. After everything that’s happened, I think we both deserve that,” Luke said, pressing a kiss to her mouth. “Now, where’s Sonny hiding out this morning? I figured she’d be bouncing off the walls with excitement or nerves.”
“She’s still acting strange. She’s been in her room all morning.”
“Maybe she just needs some down time. Don’t worry so much about her. She’s a lot tougher than she looks, just like her mama,” Luke said with a wink.
“She’ll have to be tough. We still have a lot of big changes to get through. Oh, and we need to leave early enough before the party to go swap these diapers out for the right size. Did you get anything besides the pack of diapers?” she asked.
When he shook his head no, she wanted to throttle him. It was only her knowledge of his honest ignorance in the baby department that kept her from huffing at him.
“Okay, then we’d better get a move on because I’ll need time to pick out a couple of outfits or a toy,” she said, heading toward Sonny’s room.
“They’re just babies, and they’re the size of footballs. Really how much could they need?” he called out after her with a grunt of disappointment that she wanted to go shopping. She’d learned quickly that it was his least favorite activity in the world, but she wasn’t going to show up at a baby shower without gifts.
Walking into Sonny’s room she found her daughter quietly staring out the window holding a journal and a pen in her hands, lost in thought. Ever since the kidnapping, Sonny had seemed different, more grown up somehow. It made Tavi sick to her stomach to think that a piece of her daughter’s childhood was lost, but there was nothing she could do to turn back time.
The police had questioned them all rigorously, but the obvious self-defense situation had gotten it over with pretty quickly. Together she, Luke, Sonny, Tavi, Bryson, and Thomas had paced the hallways of the hospital until both KJ and Este were in the clear. To Tavi’s surprise even Oren had joined them once he’d found out what happened. It seemed that he was pretty smitten with Este, and after seeing them together, Tavi was sure the feeling was mutual.
Turning her focus back to Sonny, she called her name. Sonny jumped, and looked at her askance. She’d clearly been startled out of her deep thoughts.
“Sorry, sweetie, but we need to get going to the party. Luke didn’t get a present, so we need to run to the store,” Tavi explained.
Sonny nodded, as Luke called out, “I did too get a present.”
“Not a good one,” she called back. “Are you okay, Sonora?”
“Yeah, Mom. I’ve just been thinking.”
Tavi moved closer and took a seat on the foot of the bed. “Wanna spill?”
Shifting, Sonny tucked her journal under her leg, and smiled. “Nah, it’s no big deal. Just a lot going through my head lately.”
“You know, it’s okay to have an emotional reaction to everything that happened. We’ve had a lot of changes in our life all of a sudden,” Tavi said, reaching for her daughter’s hand. In this moment Sonny looked much older than she ever had, and Tavi’s heart ached.
“That’s what Dr. Greer said. I promise, Mom, I’ll come to you if I need to talk. I’m just processing right now I think,” Sonny said, shrugging her shoulders. Dr. Greer was the therapist Thomas had recommended for Sonny and Tavi to talk to regarding the kidnapping incident. They were careful not to let any secrets spill, but it was important to talk about the gravity of what had happened.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to Jackie’s tonight? I’m sure her mom would still let you if you want us to drop you off,” Tavi offered.
“Nope. Jackie was part of my old life. Now she seems so much like a kid…I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. I just want to go meet everyone at the den and get to know our new family,” Sonny said. In the days following the attack, Sonny and Tavi had been introduced to most of the pack Beta wolves as people came around to check on all of them, but the baby shower was the first opportunity they’d had to gather the whole pack. According to Tina it was still a secret from the guests of honor, but Tavi had a hard time believing they could pull off something that big. Devin seemed like he was a pretty smart guy.
“I love you, Sonny.”
“I love you, too, Mom. Let’s get going. Do you think I could pick out something for Noelle? I’ve always wanted to buy baby girls’ clothes. When will we know if you’re having a boy or a girl? Can we go shopping soon, or do we have to wait until we move?” Sonny chattered as she led the way down the hall, and some of Tavi’s fears receded. Perhaps Sonny had just grown up a bit.
“Do you really think we’ll be able to pull this off?”
Luke rolled his eyes at Cash as KJ asked her mate the same question she’d asked them all a dozen times. Unlike the irritated answer that was on the tip of his tongue, Thomas just shushed her calmly.
“It will all work out perfectly, little one, stop stressing.” Thomas caught Cash and Luke’s exchange and shook his head minutely. It was tempting to taunt the woman just because the other man said not to, but Luke was still reeling from the sacrifice that KJ had been willing to make for Tavi. He couldn’t seem to get over the fact that even after the way he’d acted toward her and her mates, she’d stepped in front of a bullet for his mate.
“Did you hang those ribbon thingies that Tina left by the stairs, guys?” Now KJ was addressing the two of them directly from her seat on the couch. She’d been relegated there after she wouldn’t quit trying to lift things that were over her ten-pound weight limit that Thomas had given her. Before Luke could respond, Cash shook his head.
“That’s the next thing we’re going to do, sweetie. Luke and I were just finishing putting ice in the coolers, and once we carry them to the cabin we’ll take care of the ribbon thingies. Right Luke?” Cash asked with a pointed look that assured Luke there was only one right answer.
“Right. Ribbon thingies. Check,” Luke responded, snapping his hand to his forehead in mock salute.
KJ didn’t seem to note his sarcasm. Her pretty pale cheeks flushed, and her blue eyes sparkled as she gifted them with a beautiful smile. “You two are awesome, thank yo
u so much.”
“Awesome’s overdone,” Cash said with a curl of his lip. “Gods among men suits us better, don’t ya think?”
Laughter peppered the room, and KJ rolled her eyes. “Fine, you’re both Godlike specimens. You’d better get moving if you don’t want Tina to hang you with those ribbons when she and Caroline get back.”
Cash gestured to Luke and the two of them each took a big blue cooler on their way out the front door of the Alpha cabin. The new cabin where they were having the party was only a short walk down the gravel road, but it was completely invisible from the front yard of the Alpha cabin. Luke wondered how Tavi was getting along in the kitchen with Victoria and the other pack women, but he didn’t have a chance to check in on her.
Once they’d delivered the coolers to Shandi who was manning the decoration team at the party venue like a weathered Army General, they hurried back up to collect the streamer of ribbons and curlicues that was supposed to stretch across the main drive of the den. One larger piece read “Congratulations.”
“Do you know how to hang this?” Luke asked Cash with a frown at the pile of frilly pieces.
Cash chuckled. “Not a clue, but how hard can it be? There’s a string on that end, and one on this end. We just need to tie it to a couple of trees.”
It sounded simple, but they quickly realized that the forest rarely grew trees in line with each other, which meant that there was no perfect place to hang the banner. Luke huffed and grumbled as Cash searched for a solution.
“What’s the big deal if it’s crooked? The babies are already here, and trust me they don’t give a crap if the sign’s straight.”
“I hear what you’re saying, Little Gray, but no matter what we think, we’re going to hang this sign the right way. It’s important to the girls.” Cash said, tugging on a tree limb to see if he could angle it the way he wanted. It snapped back into its original place the moment he released it, and knocked into another branch. A large crow flew up into the air, cawing angrily at them.
“Grab that broken branch there.” Cash said, gesturing. “I think, if we brace it against that tree there…yep, like that. Now, lean it across to the other one. Exactly.”
While Luke stepped back, Cash made quick work of lashing the pretty banner to the crooked tree branch, and then stretching it across to a tree trunk on the other side of the road. With just a few small adjustments, it hung perfectly across the gravel path, welcoming the new parents back to the den.
“Promise me you won’t let them plan one of these events for me and Tavi when our baby comes.” Luke pleaded with Cash as they walked back to the party.
Cash laughed. “I’ll do my best, but you know how the girls are. Women get all riled up over babies, and weddings and stuff.”
“I’m glad Tavi doesn’t seem to get all caught up in that stuff as much.”
Cash shrugged. “She’s had a baby before, maybe it’s not the same with the second one.”
Luke shook his head. “No, I think she’s just feeling overwhelmed. She’s been worrying about finding a job even though she’s got the cash to get through for years now.”
“Did you talk to Dev?” Cash asked.
Only a couple of people knew that Luke planned on asking Devin to give Tavi a job at the den as his personal assistant. Devin and Damon were trying hard to make more time for Caroline and the babies, and now that an office was being constructed for the Alpha twins to work out of there would be plenty of room to add in a desk for an administrative assistant. Luke thought it was the perfect interim job for Tavi until she figured out what her next step was.
“Yep, he’s going to ask her later today. I know it’s not a solution for the long term, but it would at least make her feel productive. I think she’s fretting about turning into a couch potato,” Luke answered.
Cash shook his head, and laughed. “She’s miles from a couch potato. That woman never stops moving.”
“Tell me about it. So how are things at the bar with the new owner taking over?” he asked, kicking a branch off the roadway and into the trees.
He sensed Cash tense up next to him, and turned to see the other man’s face had a distinctly irritated look on it. “What? What’s wrong? Is the new owner a douche? If he is, we can always have a talk with him.” He wiggled his eyebrows pointedly, and slapped his hands together, in the standard hand signal for a good old-fashioned beat down.
“That would be great, if the guy would make time to meet with me. I swear, he’s owned the bar for a week, and I’ve called every single day, but the girls answering the phone keep putting me off saying, ‘Corey’s unavailable right now, and there are currently no decisions on entertainment being made.’”
“Okay, so maybe that’s the truth. I mean, he just took over a bar for God sake. Give the man a break. I’m sure he’ll start hearing from the local crowds how much they miss the Gray Skies,” Luke said. “You guys will be back on stage before you know it.”
“Well aren’t you the optimistic one,” Cash teased. “Damn, I never thought I’d see the day when Little Gray grew up.”
“Had to happen sometime. I just needed to find the right woman to tame my inner beast.” Luke preened proudly as if he’d actually done something amazing.
Cash took the joke good naturedly, shoving him in the shoulder. “Put your beast away, little man, we’ve got company.”
The sound of a vehicle vibrated through the air, but thanks to their stronger werewolf senses, they had just enough of a forewarning to make it back to the Alpha cabin driveway in time to greet Rafe, Ryley, and Owen as they returned with Devin and Damon from a meeting in town regarding Rafe and Ryley’s adoption of their two new sons.
Devin climbed out of the SUV with a look of astonished wonder on his face, and cleared his throat. “What is this?”
“We wanted to surprise you guys with a baby shower!” KJ said, beaming at her Alpha with satisfaction.
Damon clapped a hand on Devin’s shoulder and grinned. “Never thought I’d hear those words in this lifetime.”
Everyone laughed, and then started hugging the brothers. Before anyone could proceed any farther, a second vehicle pulled around the bend, and Luke could see Caroline already crying as she climbed out of Tina’s car.
“Oh my God! You didn’t! I can’t believe this! You guys are so sweet!” she gushed as she rushed around hugging everyone.
Luke frowned at Sienna Gray, the former Alpha-Bitch of the family, and mother to Devin and Damon. She’d just joined the throng and was holding a tiny blanket wrapped bundle in her arms. “How’d she know what it was without asking?”
Sienna smiled. “The baby bottles and rattles on the Congratulations banner probably gave it away.”
“Huh. That’s what those were?” Luke hadn’t recognized anything in the pile of colorful paper. Perhaps he should have taken a look at it when they’d hung it.
“Here, can you hold him for just a second.” Sienna thrust the baby into Luke’s arms, and hurried over to hug Caroline.
Standing there with an armful of kid was completely out of his comfort zone, and he froze. Caleb Gray looked back at him with large emerald green eyes. His skin was the color of cinnamon, and dark black hair covered the crown of his tiny head. The overall look was identical to his fathers, but it didn’t hide the delicate features of his mother that made up his face. It was Caroline’s nose, and plump lips that crinkled up in a shriek of displeasure, startling Luke.
“Shit. What did I do?” Luke asked. Panic skittered through him, and he rushed to Damon’s side, pushing the baby at the man. “Something’s wrong with it. I didn’t do anything. I was just holding him for a second like Sienna told me, too!”
“Shhh, hey big guy, it’s all right. Stop scaring Luke like that. He’s a big pussy and can’t handle it,” Damon murmured.
“Damon, watch your language!” Caroline scolded, joining her husband and child. Devin appeared at Damon’s other side, holding Noelle in a pale yellow blanket.
&
nbsp; “Sorry, beautiful. Caleb and I were just having a man to man chat,” Damon said. His eyes twinkled with laughter, and Luke realized that they were identical to the baby’s. What would it be like to hold a child in his arms that shared his genetics? How strange would it be to look into eyes exactly like the ones he saw in the mirror each day?
The realization that it wouldn’t be long before he found out hit him hard, and he stayed silent as they made their way to the party where Caroline, Devin, and Damon all took turns thanking everyone. Caroline’s tears were heartfelt, but they wouldn’t stop, and Luke purposely put some distance between him and the new family.
Thankfully, he spotted Tavi standing on the front porch of the cabin, and he went out to see what she was doing. Coming up behind her, he eased his arms around her middle, resting his palm over her tiny belly as though holding his child in his hand. It was comforting and terrifying all at once.
“How’s it going, baby?” he murmured against her ear.
“Good, I love your family. They’re all so nice, and look.” She gestured to where Sonny was seated under a tree, the abnormally warm breeze blowing her hair back away from her face as she sat chatting with a couple of the new girls from the Quiver Creek pack, Mari and Rose Griffin. “She seems to have made friends already.”
“Do you think you guys could be happy living here?” he asked, holding his breath as he waited for her answer. It was one of the two questions he was terrified to ask, but if she answered this one right, he might have the balls to ask the next.
Turning in his arms, she threaded her fingers into the hair at the base of his neck, stroking the sensitive skin on his nape. “I think so. I’m still not sure about the whole school transfer thing. I think I’d want her to finish the school year out where she is, but after that…”
“Would they let you do that?”
She nodded. “Yeah, they do it all the time. I just need to talk to the school. I wanted to see how Sonny felt after today.”
Luke nodded, and then took a deep breath. “I know this is a big step, and we’ve done everything backward, but Octavia Reid, I’m in love with you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and you’ve taught me that honor isn’t about bloodlines, it’s about protecting the people you care about, and knowing they care back. If it weren’t for you and Sonny I don’t think I’d be half the man I am today.”