Bane sighed, Avaleigh was right - they were treating him like a little child. It was easy to forget that he was a grown-ass man, that could make his own decisions. Bam was just so innocent that it was second nature to try to protect him. “You’re right. He’s right. I’ll talk to the guys.”
“Good. We’re fine. Don’t worry, he’s gonna spend the day with us. I can already hear Remi supervising,” she chuckled. “And Bam’s already asked if he can sleep on the couch, so don’t worry if you don’t see him later. I’ll let him know that ya’ll are going to ease up on him, so he can go to work tomorrow and not have to deal with all the questions, okay?”
“Alright. I appreciate it, Avaleigh. Ya’ll call us if you need something,” he told her.
They hung up, and Bane repeated to the guys what Avaleigh had said. They agreed, they’d all been coddling him. Yeah, he’d reached out to Bane, and he’d told the small group in the clearing what was wrong, but then he’d clammed up. He didn’t want to share anymore.
“But, we can’t just let him flounder alone!” Maverik exclaimed.
“He’s not floundering. He’s hurting, and he’s trying to find his way through it. Leave him alone. He doesn’t want us all up in his business,” Bane said.
“I’m not all up in his business! I’m fixing!” Maverik explained exasperatedly.
“Then don’t! Stop fixing. Leave him be for a while,” Kaid bellowed.
Maverik narrowed his eyes, glaring at Kaid, but unwilling to confront him further, “Fine. But I’m not gonna stop watching. I got his back. You can’t make me stop watching,” Maverik declared.
Kaid turned to Daniel and motioned toward Maverik with his hammer, “You hear that? Sounds just like Delilah,” he raised his voice an octave, “Fine! But I’m gonna do what I want anyway!” he mimicked.
Maverik snickered, “If I really sounded like Delilah, you’d be a whole hell of a lot more worried about pissing me off!”
“All ya’ll sound like a bunch of hens, twittering on about emotions and shit. Man up! Get the fuck over it, mind your own business, ladies!” Goldy yelled at all of them.
They all laughed, trading insults for a while as they got back to work, functioning as a well-oiled machine while they teased, because they’d all worked together for so long.
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“I love it, Uncle Bam!” Remi squealed excitedly. “It’s perfect!” he shouted as he bounced on his race car bed.
Bam grinned at him, “I’m glad, little man, but don’t bounce too high. I’ll have to fix the ceiling if you go through it.” In reality, Bam had made sure to design the room with a pitched roof on it so that it was a little higher to accommodate Remi’s need to bounce on beds and his ability to get a little higher than most kids - you know, the Dragon thing and all. But still, it wasn’t that high.
Bam looked around Remi’s bedroom. He’d finished the walls with wooden planking, so it looked like a cabin inside. They’d put his race car bed in the far corner and allowed him to arrange all his furniture the way he wanted it. He had shelves on the walls to hold all his special Matchbox cars, and had plastic containers stacked neatly holding all the ones that he played with regularly. He had a sand pile outside that held his Nylint dump trucks, and he spent hours making roads and playing with his cars and trucks.
Daniel had made Remi his own dream catcher from rabbit furs and eagle feathers, and it hung on the wall above his bed. There were more shelves with books on them that he loved to have Avaleigh read him at night, and a flat screen television mounted on the opposite wall. There were Indian throw rugs on the hardwood floor and framed pictures on the walls of Daniel, Avaleigh and Remi all laughing and hugging and playing together. There was even a framed photo of all the clan, with Avaleigh standing right in the middle, holding Remi, with Daniel standing there, arms around them both, and they were all smiling for the camera, standing in the middle of his desk. The room shouted family, love, belonging, and Remi. He’d chosen the pictures himself, and he was particularly proud of them.
Bam had one more surprise though, “Okay, you ready for the last surprise?”
“There’s more?!” Remi squealed, stopping his bouncing, eyes wide to look at Bam expectantly.
“There sure is; Avaleigh, come see!” Bam called out.
She’d been in the kitchen making a late afternoon snack for them and came at Bam’s call, “I’m here, I’m here! What are we doing?” she asked as she came into the room.
“Watch this,” Bam smiled and stepped over the the doorway where the light switch was. He flipped the light off, and the ceiling began to glow; then, it came into focus.
Remi’s delighted shout made Bam smile, “Awesome!” Remi shouted, standing on his bed, turning in a slow circle, hands raised in the air as he took in all the stars, planets and moons now glowing on his ceiling.
Avaleigh stood, doing much the same thing, “Wow, Bam, it’s amazing,” she told him.
“He loves flying with his Papa at night, talks about the stars, so I thought I’d make him a night sky for his room,” Bam said, also looking up at the glow of the shapes that he’d stuck to the ceiling.
Remi jumped off the bed and ran to Bam, launching himself at the big Bear, “Thank you, Uncle Bam,” and he wrapped his little arms around Bam’s neck. Bam hugged him back, truly loving the little boy.
Avaleigh smiled, watching him hug her son, knowing that this was exactly where and who she was supposed to be: Mom, Mate, sister and aunt to this clan. Her soul warmed; she loved her life.
“Snacks are ready, guys. Ya’ll hungry?” she asked.
“Yeah!” Remi shouted as he jumped from Bam’s arms and ran from his bedroom to the kitchen.
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Valerie spooned scrambled eggs and crumbled sausage into the tortillas. She topped them with cheese and placed the plates on the counter, where Maia poured a bit of country gravy over the top and rolled them into burritos. When she was done, she turned and put them on the table. Once all three plates were filled and in their places, Valerie picked up a pot and walked around the table, putting a few big spoonfuls of cheese grits on each plate as well. By the time she finished, Maverik was coming into the kitchen fresh from the shower.
“Good Mornin’, my girls,” he said lovingly, stopping to hug Maia and kiss her forehead, and then pulling Valerie in for a good, old-fashioned smooch.
“Morning, Daddy,” Maia answered, somewhat subdued.
“Good morning, my love,” Valerie chirped. She was always happy in the morning. Hell, she was always happy period.
Maverik took his seat, noting his Maia’s mood. “You okay, Darlin’,” he asked her.
Maia nodded as she picked at her breakfast, so Maverik, remembering the rooftop conversation about Bam yesterday, decided not to push Maia too hard either, though he did intend to have a private little heart-to-heart with Riley soon as he got to work.
“What you plannin’ today, baby?” he asked Valerie.
“I was thinking that I might go into town, pick up a few groceries, maybe visit with Vince a while, see Everly, and maybe have lunch if she has time.” Then she turned to Maia, “Maia, honey? You wanna come with?”
Maia looked up from her breakfast burrito, “Yeah. Yeah, I think I will. Thanks for inviting me,” she told Valerie.
Valerie reached out a hand to cover Maia’s with her own, “Honey, you are always invited. If you want to go wherever I’m going, just get in the car,” she smiled at Maia, and Maia smiled back, though sadly.
Maverik, being Maverik, couldn’t take it. He had an innate need to “fix” things. “Alright, that’s enough. What the hell is going on? And you will tell me, or I will go to work and whip Riley’s ass ‘til he does. Spill it, now, baby girl.”
Maia’s eyes got huge as she popped her head up to meet Maverik’s glare. She stammered as she tried to answer him, “Daddy, really, there’s nothing to tell.”
“Bull crap,” he snapped. “What did he do?” Maverik deman
ded.
“Nothing, seriously,” then she muttered under her breath, “he hasn’t been here enough to do anything.”
Maverik’s eyebrows drew down; he’d noticed that Riley hadn’t been around much, but he’d been glad for the reprieve. Pissed him off, always sniffing around his baby girl. Wanted to whip the Panther’s ass just for that. But though it was good for his own peace of mind, maybe it wasn’t so good for his Maia.
“Baby girl, that might not be his fault. I ride him all the time he’s here. Maybe he’s staying away to try to keep the peace. Let me talk to him, see if I can fix it.”
Valerie snickered at him saying he’d fix it, and Maverik caught it.
“What? It ain’t funny,” he giggled, smiling at Valerie, “I fix things - you know this, woman,” he told her grinning.
She laughed, “Yes, my love, you do,” she told him, looking at him lovingly.
“Don’t talk to him, Daddy,” Maia said quietly.
“It’ll be okay,” Maverik said.
“No, really. Please don’t. He said that he would never leave, he said that he’d be near me always, no matter what. He’s not,” Maia shrugged her shoulder. “If he really wanted to be near me, if the draw was as strong for him as it is me, he’d still be here. It’s been two days, I haven’t seen him. Haven’t heard from him. I know it’s only two days, but he never left my side since I met him, then all of a sudden, nothing, not even a call,” Maia raised her eyes to her Daddy, “Please don’t say anything to him.”
Maverik looked into his daughter’s eyes, knowing she was speaking from the heart. “I’ll try, baby, but I ain’t gonna promise you that I won’t confront him at some point. For now though, I’ll try to let it lie.”
Maia just nodded, going back to picking at her breakfast.
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Ms. Sadie piled the pancakes high on the serving platter beside the already bacon laden platter in the middle of the table. She’d already filled the carafe with warmed pure cane syrup and poured coffee into each cup. She whistled loud and then smiled at the response of footsteps through the house headed her way. Goldy came down the stairs and into the kitchen first, still braiding his beard as he walked, “I’m a coming, Sadie-girl.”
She smiled at his nickname for her; it warmed her heart to hear it. Everything about him warmed her heart - he was a good male, and she loved him with all that she was. He’d shown her what it was to truly love and be loved. She stood smiling at him, watching him enter the kitchen. He looked up, having finished braiding his beard, to catch her watching him, “What are you smiling at?” he asked in that gruff, scratchy voice of his as he walked over to her.
“You. You make me smile,” she answered as he took her in his arms to kiss her and hold her tight. Nuzzling her hair and kissing her temple before pulling back to look into her eyes. He smiled at her, his heart in his eyes, “You’re my world, Sadie-girl,” he said on a hoarse whisper.
“Good, ‘cause I’d hate to have to smack you with my frying pan and tie you to the bed if you ever decided to leave me,” she answered without missing a beat.
Goldy barked out a laugh, holding his hands up in surrender, “No need for all that now,” he chuckled, “keep that frying pan put away, I’m not going nowhere!”
He pulled her close once more to kiss her lips sweetly before taking his place at the table.
Delilah and Kaid joined them, and just a few moments later Bane, Janie and Daisy came in the back door of the kitchen. Bane calling out, “Ya’ll mind if we join you for breakfast?”
Sadie immediately went to Janie, taking Daisy into her arms, “Good morning, sweet little girl,” Sadie cooed to Daisy, “come see Mawmaw, baby.”
“’Course we don’t mind, come on in!” Goldy answered.
Delilah, having gotten up to kiss the baby and hug Janie, handed Daisy a piece of bacon. Daisy immediately started munching on it. Delilah smiled at her eagerly crunching her bacon and took her seat next to Kaid again. After all were seated and served, Kaid asked Delilah, “Monster? What are you doing today?”
“I am going to the library. Sister Janie and I will read of the auras,” she said matter of factly as she sipped her tea. Since she’d become pregnant, she couldn’t stomach coffee any longer, so she’d switched to hot tea.
“The auras?” he asked.
“Yes, the auras. That is how Maia called the colors that Bam sees. I wish to learn more,” she said as she reached for a piece of bacon for herself. She nibbled on it, made a face and placed it on Kaid’s plate. This morning sickness was ruining her love of food. And she was not happy about it, at all.
Kaid saw her put the bacon on his plate, “Still can’t eat it, Monster?”
“No, I cannot,” she answered irritatedly.
“Here, Delilah, I made you some toast, and here’s some honey for you to try on it. Maybe you’ll be able to keep it down like yesterday,” Sadie said.
Delilah looked at the dry toast and the little bear-shaped bottle of honey that mother Sadie had placed near her and made a face. She wanted food, not dry toast. But she had to have something. Anything was better than nothing. Her Dragon was busy curling protectively around the baby and was not the least little bit worried about eating. That was part of the problem. The Dragon didn’t care if they ate; she was all focused on the baby, and that, combined with the standard morning sickness, pretty much did away with any appetite Delilah previously had. The Dragon only looked at her when Delilah reached inside for her. She was busy, adoring their baby, and didn’t want to be bothered. She did occasionally chuff at Daisy or Remi or Cristi, the maternal instinct having been awakened Delilah thought, but base personal needs didn’t occur to her until Delilah forced the issue. Delilah didn’t have the will to fight her to eat this morning, so she reached for the dry toast and crunched a bite. Immediately following it with a sip of Vanilla Chamomile tea.
Bane addressed Janie, “So town today, my heart?”
“Yes, we are going to get Delilah her own library card, and then we are going to spend time looking for information. Then Avaleigh and Remi are going to meet us at the diner about noon for lunch. Then we are going shopping. We need to start picking up things for Christmas dinner. Some of the stuff we need, they run out of fast, so we’re gonna go ahead and pick up some of the food now, though we still have a while.”
“Be careful, heart. But have fun,” he said as he kissed the tip of her nose. Then he shifted his eyes to Delilah, who was already looking directly at him. He had no doubt that Janie and Daisy would be perfectly safe with Delilah, but he still felt the need to confirm that Delilah would not leave Janie’s side.
Delilah smiled at Bane, “I will be there at all times,” she told him quietly.
He inclined his head to her, “Thank you.”
She smiled and returned her attention to the vile dry toast on her plate, poking it with one finger before pushing the plate away and settling in to sip her tea again.
Chapter 8
The morning at the library had not yielded much in the way of information about shifter auras. There were books on the supernatural, books on the thoughts behind auras, but nothing about mating and auras. It was, Delilah believed, key to the issue with Bam. If Maia was indeed correct, and the colors that Bam saw were auras, then maybe there was a reason that he couldn’t see his own. Even if it wasn’t proven, if it was at least a supposition, she could show Bam, and it might be enough to convince him that he did indeed have a Mate. If there was a reason for him not seeing his own colors, and not having a Mate wasn’t one of them, surely he’d pursue Everly. But they were unable to find anything on Mates or even marriage and auras. Delilah advised the old librarian on her and Janie’s way out of the library that their library was sorely lacking in its research material. Then she haughtily ordered her to fix it, as she spun on her heel and pushed Daisy’s stroller through the front doors on her way out.
Janie couldn’t help but giggle as she followed Delilah out of the library, wishin
g the shocked, stern old lady a good day on her own way past.
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Valerie and Maia started out right after breakfast. They stopped at the department store and picked up a few things for them both, some new shirts for the cooler weather, Maia a new pair of boots, some warm socks. Then when they left the store and got in the car, Valerie paused before putting the key in the ignition. She was quiet for a moment before turning to Maia, “Can I confide in you?”
Maia startled, immediately replied, “Of course, Valerie! What’s wrong?”
Valerie smiled shyly, “Nothing’s wrong. I just…I have a doctor’s appointment this morning. I didn’t want to say anything to your dad before I know for sure.”
Maia didn’t follow at first; then, all of a sudden it hit her. She gasped hugely, “You’re pregnant? Oh, my God! Daddy’s gonna be thrilled!”
Valerie smiled, “Well, I might be. I’m not sure yet. And if I am, it’s only a week or two, but I’m nauseous all the time, and I just need to sleep constantly. I’ve heard that shifter females’ bodies respond to being pregnant almost immediately, but I’ve never known any that were pregnant, but Delilah, and we all know her Dragon does what it wants rather than what it’s supposed to, so I’m not sure. Maybe I’m just sick, coming down with something.”
Maia, her subdued mood immediately gone, leaned over and hugged Valerie, “I’m so excited! This is amazing!”
Valerie hugged her back - she already loved the girl so much, “I hope I am, but I’m not sure yet. That’s what we’re gonna find out now.”
“Is that why you wanted me to come today?” Maia asked grinning.
“Well, I always want you to come with me. But, yeah, I really wanted you with me today. Moral support, you know?” Valerie said.
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