Epilogue
“Papa’s home!”
Ima squirmed to get out of my arms and went running into the kitchen, straight into Todd’s arms. He’d only been gone a couple hours to help my father with his taxes, but you wouldn’t know it by the giggles and joy coming from our sweet daughter. “Missed you, Papa!”
“I missed you too, sweet girl, but I had to help Grandpa.”
“With plumbing?” She cupped his cheeks and studied his face, making sure she had his undivided attention.
“No.” He chuckled. “Papa needs to stay far away from plumbing. But I helped him with numbers. I was doing math.”
She hadn’t quite gotten to the point where she understood what math was, but she knew it was nowhere near as fun as taking pipes apart and putting them back together. That fascinated her, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one day she decided to take over the family business.
“Are you two ready to go?” Todd held up his key fob and shook it.
Was I ready? That was the question, and I wasn’t sure I had the answer.
It was no big deal. Not really. We were going to the local gift store. Sure, it was because they were selling my prints, but it wasn’t like I was in a gallery or anything. Maybe a tourist passing through would pick one up. It was hardly a career, but it was nice to have my drawings turn into something more than random sketches that no one ever saw. “Yeah, I’m ready.” At least, I was as ready as I would be.
Ima insisted on bringing her stuffed bear with her. I didn’t mind that she loved it—I did too. I’d spent a lot of time talking to it, telling the bear stories as I waited for Ima to be born. But I worried that one day it would get lost and I’d have to deal with the aftermath of that.
I kneeled down in front of her and helped her zip up her coat. “You have to promise that you’re gonna take really good care of Bear-Bear.”
“Yes, Daddy. I promise.” She hugged it close to her.
“What a protective little cub.” Todd scooped her up. “I bet her grizzly is gonna be just as big as mine.”
Usually, a cub’s first shift didn’t come until puberty, but Todd’s bear already sensed hers, and the odds were great that she was going to make her arrival sooner rather than later. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that—not that I had a choice.
Just like babies came when they did, apparently, bears did the same.
We arrived at the store a few minutes ahead of the ”premiere.”
The owner had set up a small table in the back with some cookies and a note card telling guests about the artist—who, in this case, was me. A display of a few of my drawings was up, and they were all inspired by the woods behind our house. Even though they weren’t totally realistic, they each had a little fairy, gnome, or pixie hidden in there somewhere.
My dad was already at the store, as were the guys from the shop. It shouldn’t have surprised me—they’d supported me from the time I was a child. The old-timers, anyway. The new ones had kind of adopted the same protective stance over me.
I looked back on the years they were stuck dealing with my brother, and I was glad those were far behind us. My mate had figured out where he was, and thankfully, he was far, far away. He was somebody else’s problem now.
Todd stood behind me with his hand on my belly. “These look great, honey.”
We hadn’t announced that I was pregnant again, but anybody looking at him had to know. He was doing the same proud-papa stance he did when I was pregnant with our first.
I was nervous and even had a dream that I froze up at the unveiling and was unable to talk about my pieces. But everything came naturally, and one piece after another sold. Sure, some of them were bought by friends and family, but there were also random people from town who picked them up too. I wasn’t going to be the art world’s next rising star or anything, but there was something so rewarding about seeing people appreciate my hard work.
Ima hugged my legs and pointed to a group admiring one of the last pieces left. “Daddy, they like your pictures!”
I had to swallow back the emotion I felt. “They do, sweet girl.”
“I like mine too.” She reached for me, so I picked her up.
Now that she was in a big girl bed, she got to pick the decorations she wanted in her room, and that included a drawing I did of her father in his grizzly form, lying on the blanket beside her in the warm midday sun.
Speaking of her father, he kissed my mating mark. “I’m so proud of you, omega.”
I exhaled slowly and nodded. Inside my head, I’d told myself this was hardly a gallery, and no one was making big bucks on it, but I was secretly proud of myself too. “It’s a local gift shop, not the Met.”
“It might not be a fancy museum in a big city, but I’m still allowed to be proud,” Todd said. “Comes with the job description.” He held up his hand, showing off his wedding ring. He didn’t wear it every day because he didn’t want it to get broken when he shifted, but when we went out as a family like this, he always had it on.
I leaned against his shoulder. “You know, this wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you.”
He looked at me, questioning.
“You’re the one who saw it in me. You saw that I liked to sketch when I was nervous. And you gave me those pencils.”
He hadn’t realized what a big deal that was, but it was the nudge I needed. “I can say I knew you when.” He winked to lighten the moment.
I grinned. “Yeah, I suppose you can. I love you, alpha.”
”Not even close to how much I love you.”
On this one point, we were never going to agree.