Chapter 19 Lia
Lia
Someone is watching me.
I crack one tired eye open and nearly jump out of my skin.
Amber’s face is hovering inches from mine, her hair falling forward as she balances on the balls of her feet beside the bed.
Her eyes are huge and curious, seemingly glittering with excitement.
Like she’s been holding in something for much too long.
I blink a few times, trying to clear the hazy fog from my vision. My body still feels loose and boneless in that delicious way that comes after a pre-heat crash.
“Hey there, cutie,” I rasp out.
Her smile splits her face in two before she turns her head. “She’s up, Daddy! Can we hang out now?”
“Of course, but give her time to wake up! Not everyone is ready at the drop of a hat like you are, princess!”
“Okay!”
I roll over onto my back as a tired laugh leaves my lips. My chest feels warm. My head feels swimmy, but not in a bad way. I tilt my head toward one of the windows in the room and notice the sun is setting outside.
How long have I been out?
“Mm, what time is it?” I murmur as I shove myself upright.
Amber climbs into the bed and I feel her little hand rubbing my back. “Dinner time. Daddy’s cooking stew. He makes the best stew.”
I sniff the air, but all I smell are wildflowers and bubblegum. I lean back against the headboard, propping myself up as Amber makes herself comfortable at my side. She reeks of it, and it makes me smile.
I remember when my scent first began leaking through.
“How you feeling after the grandparent weekend?” I ask as I hold out my arm.
I’m surprised when she cuddles against me, but I welcome it just the same. “It was so much fun. We had a projector movie night and snacks. We went to the trampoline park. I had pizza while I was there. They let me stay up late.”
I giggle. “Sounds like a great time.”
She leans against me. “I stink, though.”
“Ah,” I murmur as I rub her arm. “I remember when my scent first emerged. It smells weird, doesn’t it?”
“You don’t smell weird. You smell like awesome cinnamon rolls. I smell like flowers and chewing gum.”
I can’t help but be amused. “I didn’t always smell like this.”
She looks up at me with those round eyes of hers. “You didn’t?”
I shake my head. “When my scent first emerged, I smelled like burnt brown sugar and those red hot candies.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Ew. Those hurt my mouth.”
“Exactly,” I say as I boop her nose with my free hand. “Your scent is only just emerging. That means your glands at the crook of your neck are only just now beginning to grow. Your scent will change and morph a few times between now and the time they’re done growing.”
She seems almost relieved. “Good. I don’t want to smell like my dad after he mows the grass.”
That makes me laugh.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Eli says, easing the door open and studying the two of us. “I think I hear too much fun going on in this room.”
“Oh, no! It’s the fun police! Hide!” Amber exclaims.
Before she throws the comforter over her head.
It only makes me laugh more as Eli thumbs over his shoulder. “Stew’s got another half hour, and then it’ll be ready to eat.”
“We got any dessert for after dinner?” I ask.
Eli leans against the doorway, crossing his lean arms across his chest. “I’ve got chocolate chunk ice cream in the freezer, but that’s about it.”
“Mmm,” I say as I peek under the comforter at Amber. “You know what goes good with chocolate chunk ice cream?”
“What?” her and Eli ask in unison.
I smile. “Cheese Danish roll-ups. Wanna help me make them?”
Amber throws the comforter off us. “Yeah! Let’s go!”
She takes my hand, tugging me out of bed and into the kitchen. I watch the way Eli gravitates back to the stew pot, picking up the lid to give everything a good stir. It lets loose a lovely smell that has my stomach growling, and when he peeks over at me, I can’t help but blush under his attention.
“What do we need first?” Amber asks.
I turn my attention to her before I open the fridge. “Let’s see what you guys have in here.”
“What do you need?” Amber asks as she slides her head underneath me, threading beneath my arm so she can look in the fridge as well. “I can help you find things.”
“We need a block of cream cheese, some sort of dough to roll it up in, some white sugar, some butter—”
Amber reaches in and pulls out a container of crescent rolls. “Will these work?”
I smile as I take them from her. “These are perfect. Let’s get everything else we need.”
After gathering our hoard of supplies, we set up shop at the little kitchen island. We roll out the crescent rolls before making our cream cheese mixture, and I throw together a rudimentary piping bag with a Ziploc bag that has the corner cut off it.
I show Amber how to pipe the cream cheese mixture onto the premade dough, my hands guiding hers while she squeezes and eyeballs it. She’s a natural in the kitchen.
“All right,” I say as we throw away the empty Ziploc bag. “Ready to roll?”
“Oh, yeah,” Amber says.
“All right, let’s wash our hands one more time and put a bit of oil on our fingers.”
Amber wrinkles her nose. “Ew. Oil?”
“Mhm,” I say as I wash my hands at the sink. “The oil helps the dough not to stick to your fingers when you’re rolling.”
“Ohhh,” she says as she watches me rub a bit of olive oil onto my fingertips.
She mimics my movements and then I show her how to roll them up. I pinch off the sides, explaining to her that you need to make sure there’s no way for the filling to escape—otherwise, you’ll have a lovely mess on your hands when they come out of the oven.
I explain the difference between using wax paper and parchment paper, warning her of how wax paper doesn’t go in anything that uses high heat, including a microwave. She even sets the timer after we get everything into the oven.
Really, she’s a natural.
“Now, we wait,” I say as I hold out my hand.
She high-fives it. “Yeah. Those are gonna be amazing.”
“Especially with that egg wash and white sugar drizzle on top.”
“You two thirsty?” Eli asks.
“Daddy, did you wash my tumbler?” Amber asks.
“Of course I did, princess,” he says as he takes a stainless steel tumbler with a flower pattern on it out of the cupboard. It makes me smile. “You want water? Or something else?”
“Can I have some orange juice?” she asks.
“Orange juice for my princess, coming right up,” he says as he turns his attention to me. “What would you like, Alley Cat?”
“Water’s good, thank you.”
“And one water coming up for the bowling champ,” he says with a wink.
“Not according to Walker,” I murmur.
Amber takes my hand, leading me toward the kitchen table. “Daddy says Walker won the bowling game. You should do another one and kick his butt.”
“Yeah?” I ask as we sit at the table. “You think I should?”
“Totally,” Amber says as she sits right next to me. “Daddy says Walker’s got too much of an ego to win all the—”
“Aaaand here’s your orange juice,” Eli says with a chuckle, cutting her off as he sets her tumbler down in front of her.
I have to curl my lips over my teeth to keep from outright laughing as he gives me a sheepish look.
“To be fair,” I murmur conspiratorially to Amber, “your father’s right.”
Amber smiles at me as she takes a sip of her drink. Eli hands me my glass and I thank him, but when our fingers brush there’s a spark of electricity that makes the hair on the nape of my neck stand on end. Eli’s throat bobs, and I know he feels it, too.
“Thank you,” I say softly, and I hope he realizes I mean for more than just the water.
His eyes dance. “You don’t ever have to thank me for anything. I’m just glad to be able to help.”
And really, that’s the summation of Eli.
He’s a helper. A father. A guide, of sorts. I watch him walk back into the kitchen and my world stops on a breath.
He picks up the wooden spoon, his glasses perched low on his nose.
He lifts the stew lid, steam curling around his face as he leans in to take a whiff.
It fogs up his glasses, and he slips them on top of his head before he stirs the stew.
He takes out the spoon, licks it for a small taste, and that small dart of his tongue forces me to take another big gulp of ice water.
There’s something dangerously domestic about all of this.
My instincts love it.
But I can’t run on instinct alone. I have to make sure to keep a logical head.
“All right,” Eli says a few minutes later, “stew’s ready.” Then the oven goes off and Eli motions to it. “What do you want me to do with these?”
I wave my hand at him. “Turn the oven off but keep them inside. It’ll keep them warm until we get to dessert time.”
“Can we have dessert first? Pleeeease?” Amber asks.
“Nope,” Eli says as he brings the stew pot to the table. “Nourishment first, fun food after.”
“Awww,” Amber says as she juts out her lower lip in a pout.
Eli just boops his crooked knuckle against her pouty lip. “Tuck that back in or all the stew’s gonna roll off it.”
“Fine,” Amber mumbles.
“You need any help with anything?” I ask.
“Nope!” Eli chirps as he walks back into the kitchen to retrieve bowls and silverware. “You stay comfortable, I’m almost done.”
Yet all too soon, I hear my phone buzzing somewhere. I know it’s mine because the buzzing pattern is distinct. I set specific vibration patterns for each kind of notification.
According to the pattern I’m hearing, I’ve got a text message.
“Where’s my phone?” I ask.
Eli points. “Your purse is still on the couch.”
“Thanks,” I mumble as I stand.
I make my way over to the couch and fish my phone out. Yikes. My phone’s already down to 20%. I swipe away the notification about needing to charge it and focus on the text message that came rolling through.
I’m surprised when I see it’s Knox.
“Huh,” I murmur as I open the message.
“Everything okay?” Eli asks.
“Knox sent me a message.”
I expect Eli to ask what it’s about, but all he does is chuckle.
Though, when I open the message, I understand why.
Knox: If Eli got you today and Walker gets you tomorrow night, then I think it’s only fair your Sunday morning is mine, Sunshine. What do you say?
I smile at his text as a flurry of butterflies take off in my gut.
“I see the guys talk behind my back,” I say as I peer over at Eli.
His smile is sheepish. “Maybe a little. The three of us have a group text. I hope you don’t mind, we were just worried about you.”
A group text chat? About me? I’ve read about that in those kitschy magazines in doctor’s offices with the quizzes inside of them, where Omegas are interviewed and talk about all of the mushy-gushy things their Alphas do for them. Is that what’s happening? Are we forming a pack?
Is it possible for me to give this another go?
“Does that bother you?” Eli asks, and I can hear the worry in his voice.
I find I don’t mind it as I turn my attention back to the text message. “No, actually, it doesn’t. Thank you for telling me, though. I appreciate that.”
“If there are things you don’t want me to talk about—”
I read Knox’s text again as my mind swirls. “You can talk about anything you’d like, Eli.”
“You sure?”
“She said, yeah, Daddy,” Amber grumbles, still pouting over not being able to have dessert first.
I giggle as I look back over at him. “I promise.”
The worry on his face fades, and he grants me a smile. “Okay, good. I don’t want to ever cross your boundaries.”
I’m coming to understand that.
I message Knox back before I can overthink it. Something akin to hope replaces the dread I once felt at the idea of another pack.
Maybe giving them all a shot isn’t such a bad thing. What do I have to lose if it doesn’t work out?
Lia: I think that’s only fair. Tomorrow morning sounds perfect.
His next message is almost immediate.
Knox: Great. Pick you up at your place? There’s this old ass oak tree in the Grove that looks awesome at sunrise.
I smile as I message back.
Lia: Sounds like an early morning. Better let me go so I can finish up with Eli and Amber.
I smile even bigger when I see those three little dots immediately bouncing as he types. He’s waiting for me to respond every time.
The warmth trickles up into my chest, wrapping around my heart.
Knox: You three have fun. I’ll see you at 6 in the morning, Sunshine.
Lia: Perfect, see you then.
I barely get my phone back in my purse before Amber speaks. “What’s that smile for?”
I look over at Eli and find him smiling at me as well. It only makes me smile brighter as I make my way back to the kitchen table to sit next to the eager, curious nine-year old.
“Just thinking about how nice today turned out.”
“I had a good day, too,” Amber says with a punctuated nod of her head.
“Well, I’m glad you both had good days, because I had a good one, too,” Eli says as he sits across from me at the table.
His gaze locks with mine, and a pressure settles against my foot underneath the table. A small peek underneath shows that he’s slid his foot against mine.
It tugs a smile across my face, and as we all dig into the lovely stew dinner Eli’s prepared for us, a question crosses my mind.
Is this what healing feels like?