Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Grace awoke to a male voice saying, “Yes, just like that.”
She frowned, then heard Daisy’s voice. “You’re doing great! Blake’s amazing at teaching, even with me. He’ll have you cooking in no time so you don’t have to always get food from the clan’s restaurant.”
Cooking? She blinked, trying to make sense of the words.
The last thing she remembered was Trahern carrying her toward the cottage and then…nothing.
My boys. Her breasts ached, and she needed to feed them. But they weren’t in their bassinets.
Grace dashed out of the room and headed for the voices in the kitchen. She stopped, seeing Trahern frowning down at the stove as Daisy said, “Try turning it. I’m sure this time you’ll get it right.”
Trahern muttered, “It shouldn’t be this hard. There must be a better, more efficient way to do this.”
Blake snorted. “You can figure that out later, I’m sure. For now, flip it over or it’ll burn.”
As much as she wanted to watch, her gaze searched the room until she found Eddie and Eli in their little bouncy holders, buckled in for safety, asleep.
She debated waking them up, but Daisy saw her and rushed over. “Hi, Grace! Trahern said not to wake you, so hopefully I wasn’t too loud. I tried to be as quiet as possible whilst feeding the twins. I forgot how tiny babies can be. My brothers grew so fast, after all.”
Even without a cup of tea to wake her up, she managed to follow Daisy’s words and ask, “So they’ve been fed recently?”
“Yes, Trahern took Eli, and I fed Eddie. They’re turning into such good little babies. Not fussy at all. Oh, and Trahern is trying to make you breakfast. Isn’t that sweet? He apparently can’t cook anything, so my stepdad is trying to teach him.”
Trahern finally glanced at her and then back to the stove. “Good morning, Grace. If you give me a few more minutes, I should have something edible for you.”
She couldn’t help but blurt out, “You’re learning to cook?”
“Yes.”
Nothing else. And yet, she knew he wasn’t being rude. No, he was just being Trahern.
She smiled. “Thank you. Give me a little time to pump and I’ll be right back.”
Before Daisy could offer to help or give her tips—the little girl always wanted to be helpful, no matter the topic—Grace retreated, and by the time she finished, she still couldn’t believe Trahern Lewis was learning to cook. To help her.
Maybe he’d meant his vow about taking care of her.
Cynicism crept up, but Grace pushed it down. She’d at least give Trahern a chance. Oh, she wasn’t about to fully trust the man and think she could lean on him. But the more she learned about the dragonman, the more she started to understand how difficult this had to be for him.
Mainly because of his father.
So it seemed they’d both had hard times growing up, albeit in different ways.
After tidying up and brushing her teeth, Grace went into the kitchen just as Daisy jumped up with a cheer. “You did it, Trahern! Well done!”
Blake placed a hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “Why don’t you set the table, Daisy? We’ll eat soon.”
The little girl dashed to do as suggested, and Trahern turned around, holding a plate full of pancakes. They weren’t exactly round, but as the aroma filled her nose and her stomach rumbled, Grace decided she didn’t care.
Trahern must’ve heard her stomach because he frowned at her. “You need to eat.”
Her first instinct was to brush it aside and be polite. But then she remembered her promise to be direct, and she said, “I’m less tired but definitely hungry. I could probably eat the whole plate by myself.”
Daisy piped up. “There’s also fruit and yogurt and some eggs. I don’t think you could eat all of that, though.”
As the little girl raced to the side and started placing dishes on the table, Grace laughed at the heaping amounts of everything. “No, I don’t think I could. Unless there were donuts, then I could probably eat half a dozen of them without thinking.”
Trahern placed the pancakes on the table. “I can’t make donuts yet, but I can try to learn. Do you know how, Blake?”
Before Blake could answer, Grace shook her head. “No, don’t worry about it. I’m sure we can buy some inside Stonefire, for a treat. I’d get sick if I ate them all the time, no matter how good they taste.”
“If they make you sick, why would you want them?”
“Haven’t you ever eaten too much of something, of a favorite food, and regretted it afterward when you’re too full and feel like you’ll pop?”
Trahern’s brows came together. “No. Why would I?”
Daisy chimed in again. “Because it tastes amazing. Do you have a favorite food, Trahern?”
“I like toast.”
Grace blinked. “Toast? That’s your favorite food?”
“It was the only thing I could make before, so yes.”
She smiled. “Favorite out of necessity. We’ll have to change that.”
He glanced at her, but didn’t smile. She wondered if he ever did.
Trahern replied, “Why? Toast is easy, economical, and nearly foolproof.”
Grace opened her mouth to reply, but Daisy beat her to it. “You can still like toast, but maybe there are other foods that can become a favorite, too. Did you have any as a kid?”
For a split second, Trahern focused on arranging the plate of pancakes, rotating it this way and that before he finally replied, “I had ice cream once. I think I liked it, although it was a long time ago.”
Knowing more of his history, Grace wondered how he’d gotten the ice cream. She doubted Trahern’s father had given him any sort of treat.
Daisy, however, was oblivious to Trahern’s past pain and merely said, “The next time we come over, I’ll bring some ice cream. What kind? My favorite is cookies and cream. Or fudge brownie. Or chocolate chip cookie dough. Oh, and maybe also rocky road.”
Trahern hesitated and then said quietly, “I would like strawberry. That’s what I had before.”
Daisy scrunched up her nose. “Simple, but if it’s your favorite, then that’s what I’ll get. Now, let’s eat! All this talk of ice cream has made me even hungrier.”
The little girl sat next to Blake, and Grace sat next to Trahern. As the other pair talked about something to do with their family, Grace leaned over to Trahern and whispered, “Thank you for making breakfast.”
“Of course. It should taste fine, even if it’s not symmetrical. Next time, I need to improve the shape.”
She bit back a smile and loaded her plate with a little of everything before saying, “Some of the best cakes or biscuits I’ve ever eaten looked awful but tasted brilliant. As cliché as it is, you shouldn’t always judge by appearances.”
“That’s easier for you. If it’s supposed to be a circle, it needs to be a circle. Otherwise, it just looks wrong to me.”
“Then do this.”
She took his plate, cut up the pancake into equal pieces, and pushed it back. “There. Every bit is roughly the same size. Is that better?”
“A little.” He finally glanced at her. “Thank you.”
As they stared at one another, she wished she could trust Trahern completely. That maybe, just maybe, he would always be honest with her and not deceive or hurt her.
And yet, she’d been burned too recently and might never trust another person with all her thoughts and secrets, let alone her life or love.
Not that she was going to love anyone, apart from her sons.
Thinking of her boys helped her tear her eyes from Trahern’s, and she went to work eating her breakfast.
Daisy chattered, filling most of the silence.
Maybe some would find it annoying, but the little girl made her smile and even laugh once.
And before she could stop, Grace eventually blurted, “How did you learn so much about dragon-shifters so quickly? It’s been less than two years, I think, since your mum mated Blake? ”
“Oh, I attended the human-dragon camp before that, and then the plays we performed on Stonefire. But I’ve always been fascinated and wanted to know more about the dragons.
My mum and me are writing some children’s books to help other humans understand.
Ones that aren’t scary or full of lies. I’m sure some will say they’re bad books because they show dragon-shifters are a lot like humans—which is true.
Apart from changing into a dragon, of course.
Mum and I can show you what we have, if you want. ”
Grace bobbed her head. “I would love to see them, thank you. Maybe we can read the stories to Eli and Eddie.” Movement caught her eye. “Speaking of which, Eli wants attention or he’ll start crying soon.”
She drained the last of her tea and went to her son. Eddie was still asleep, but Eli wiggled and blinked at her. While she’d still be a little blurry at this age, he could see color. And because he was a dragon-shifter, he should be able to see her in detail over the next month.
Regardless, she smiled at her son before kissing his cheek and picking him up. “Hello, little one. Were you a good boy for Daisy and Blake and Trahern?”
Eli moved a hand, and she replied, “Mostly? That sounds about right.” She kissed his cheek again.
“Let’s change your nappy and you can have some playtime on the floor.
How does that sound?” He gurgled, and she replied, “I agree, you need loads of playtime to help make things interesting. I’m sure you’ll want the noisiest toys, won’t you? ”
She continued having a one-sided conversation with her son until Trahern stood next to her and said, “We’ll take them both to the living room.”
After glancing to see Daisy and Blake were gone, she frowned. “When did they leave?”
“Whilst you talked with Eli.”
“I should’ve thanked them, though.”
“It’s fine. You were smiling, and I didn’t want to disturb that.”
She readjusted her hold on Eli and glanced at Trahern. But he focused on Eddie, watching as her other son squirmed and started to wake up.
Before she could ask anything, Trahern picked up Eddie, cleared his throat, and said, “Hello, Edward and your inner dragon. It’s time for some learning enrichment activities.”
Eddie blinked, and Grace laughed. “Just say playtime, Trahern. He’s only a month old.”