Chapter 19
Ian
Istill don’t know where Julia lives. I mean, I know she lives in the same cul-de-sac as her friends, but I don’t know which house is hers.
If she wanted me to know, she’d tell me.
But I can’t help scanning the other homes, wondering which is hers, while I’m waiting at Heidi and Nicole’s door after I knock.
Is it the one with the pile of raked leaves in the driveway?
The one with the giant spiderweb Halloween decoration blinking orange and purple in the gathering dusk?
The one with cheerful flowers under the glow of the porchlight?
I bet it’s the flowers. She seems like someone who would always have flowers.
Shit, should I have brought her flowers?
Julia answers the door and takes my breath away, as usual. Her hair is swept up into a cute bun, and she’s wearing a dark green dress with a cardigan over it. She has a heavy cardboard box in her arms, so I can’t hug her, damn it.
“Hi, pretty girl. Let me carry that.” I take it from her, and she gives me a shy smile.
“What is this? You didn’t need to bring anything.
I baked a couple pies and wrapped the boatload of books for the pups.
” I leave off the part where I put her name on the card, a little worried I might have crossed the line.
“Persimmons,” she says as we walk to my Jeep. “They’re in season, and they’re my favorite, so I thought I’d bring some to share.”
That was sweet of her. I should have expected nothing less from the thoughtful, kind woman who is my mate. I rush to put the box of fruit in the back seat next to my pies and open the passenger door for her. “I’m sure they’ll be a hit.”
We’re both quiet on the drive, and I wonder if she’s thinking about the same thing I am—our Friday night together.
It’s been hard for me to stay away for the last few days.
I’ve texted a couple of times to check on her, but we haven’t had a real conversation.
I don’t really know how she’s doing. She keeps saying fine, but in my peripheral vision, she twists the hem of her cardigan in her lap, so I wonder if she was telling the truth.
“Thank you for coming to this,” I say to break the silence, keeping my eyes on the road. “How are you feeling about it? Are you nervous?”
“A little,” she admits. “I want them to like me, which is absurd since we won’t have much contact once the babies are born. But I hope…I don’t know, is this dumb? I want them to love the parts of our pups that came from me.”
Oh. Oh damn.
“It’s not dumb,” I say hoarsely, overcome. “They’ll love you, don’t worry.”
I’m right. The instant Julia sets foot in Conall and Meg’s den, she’s surrounded by my family members who are eager to meet my mate and take our potluck contributions off our hands.
Pies and persimmons spirited away, I introduce her to my older brothers, their mates and pups, a variety of aunts and uncles and cousins, Meg and Conall, and then, finally, my parents.
“Call me Stephen,” Pa says, pulling Julia into a hug. Is that a tear in his eye? It is. He pulls back to study her face. “We worried Ian wouldn’t find his mate, so we are so glad to finally meet you.”
Mam beams beside him, grasping Julia’s hands and kissing her on both cheeks. “You are so lovely, Julia. Ian is a lucky pup.”
“A thirty-five-year-old pup,” I snort, putting my arm around my mate. She tucks so neatly into my side.
“Always a pup to me,” Mam shoots back, with a wink at Julia. “Go get some food, you two, and we can catch up later.”
“Your family is so nice,” Julia observes as we make our way through the line of wulvers that winds around the buffet-style potluck setup.
I hold two plates while she fills them up, reveling in the dozens of quiet interactions we’re having to complete the task.
I memorize everything she likes to eat, and I think she’s doing the same, her lips quirking when I ask for bigger portions of all the meat dishes.
When we reach the dessert table, I see that some helpful relative put out our contributions.
My huckleberry pies, made from berries I gathered and froze earlier in the season, are next to Julia’s open box of persimmons.
Some of them are peeled and cut, the whole fruit arranged beautifully around them.
Both the pie and the persimmons are disappearing quickly.
“I wasn’t sure how popular they would be, so I didn’t cut them all. I hope there’s enough.”
“We can cut the rest after we eat,” I suggest, and she looks relieved. We take our plates to sit with Conall and Meg, who are parked at the same table as our older brother Ben.
Meg looks approvingly at our plates. “Did you bring the pie, Ian? It’s incredible. Everyone is raving about it.”
I nod, and Julia squeezes my forearm.
“Maybe I should eat dessert first.” She takes a forkful of my huckleberries and closes her eyes as she chews and swallows. A little moan escapes her that does things to me that shouldn’t be happening outside the bedroom. “Like a bite of heaven.”
“I’m jealous of her, and I already had a piece,” Meg remarks, grinning.
“Do you want another one?” Conall jumps up and jogs to the buffet without waiting for her answer.
Meg watches him go, smiling as she pats her hugely pregnant belly. “Wulvers are very devoted to their mates,” she says to Julia, her words kind but pointed.
Julia swallows her second bite of pie with some effort. “I’m beginning to understand that.”
Ben, who’s been watching our exchanges in silence, props his elbows on the table. “So. Julia. Tell us about yourself. Where do you live? What do you do for work?”
Julia puts down her fork. “I live in Apple Grove. I um…work at a bookstore. I love children’s literature, and I run the story time there. That’s where I met Ian, when he was shopping for books for the new babies.”
Meg beams at that answer, but Ben doesn’t. “Which store?”
“Dog-Eared Pages.”
“Have you worked there long? Is this a career for you?”
“Not long,” she murmurs, flushing a dull red. Under the table, I reach to squeeze her thigh reassuringly. She doesn’t need to be ashamed of anything. Conall returns with pie for Meg, and I hope the interruption will derail Ben’s pointed questioning, but it doesn’t. He’s relentless.
“So what did you do before bookselling?”
“Let her eat her meal before you interrogate her,” I joke, but I’m not really laughing. “This is a party, not work.”
Ben and his littermates run a private security firm, Pack Dynamics, and his professional persona can bleed over and make him too gruff and serious sometimes. I can tell his scrutiny is treading dangerously close to uncomfortable territory for Julia, and I want him to stop.
“It’s fine,” she says, smiling tightly as she glances around the table.
“I’m sure you all have a lot of questions about me, and rightfully so.
Like…’why is she wearing a wedding ring?
’ The truth is that our situation is a little complex.
More than a little complex. I wasn’t sure how much to tell you all about my life, but I’ve decided to be an open book, so to speak. I have nothing to hide.”
“Do tell.” Ben crosses his arms and leans back in his chair.
She takes a deep breath. “Okay. Before I worked at the bookstore, I was a stay-at-home mom.”
“Oh!” Meg murmurs, sitting forward. “You have kids?”
Julia nods. “Two girls, Molly and Samantha. They’re eighteen and twenty now and attend university in Korea.
They live with my mom there. She moved back to Korea after I got married, but I grew up here.
Obviously, I am quite a bit older than Ian.
” She goes quiet and toys with her fork, pushing food around on her plate.
Ben’s ears are forward. “When did you divorce?”
Julia lifts her eyes to meet him. “I didn’t,” she says simply.
“Is your husband living?”
She nods. “We’ve been married for over two decades.”
“Does he know about Ian?”
Julia nods. I don’t like the turn this has taken. The table is quiet, and instead of celebrating Conall and Meg’s happiness, everyone is gnawing over the bones of what Julia has revealed.
“Enough,” I bark. “This day isn’t about us.
And anyway, we’re figuring things out. It might be unconventional, but I’m glad Julia is my mate.
That’s all you need to know about her. About us.
” This last statement is leveled at Ben, whose narrowed eyes and tense posture tell me that he’s not going to let this go.
“I’m going to go cut up the rest of the persimmons, if that’s all right,” Julia murmurs to me. She needs a breather, and I don’t blame her.
Before I can ask if she wants a hand with it, Meg scrapes back her chair and struggles to her feet. “I’ll come with you! I want to pick your brain about baby books.”
They head off, and I relax. Meg is a sweetheart and will make Julia feel at ease, unlike Ben.
“You didn’t have to be so harsh,” I tell him. “It’s not her fault we’re fated.”
“You’re taking her to Court, right?” he asks, ears flattened.
“That’s what I said,” Conall chimes in, his mouth full of the remnants of Meg’s second slice. I glower at his unhelpful ass.
“First of all, that’s none of your business.
Secondly, there’s no need. We’ve already worked out a lot of the details on our own.
Like she said, her husband understands the situation.
” Her stingy fucking husband who won’t pay for her food if she eats a little more for a few months, but that’s an issue to deal with another time.
“What about pups?” Ben challenges, glancing over at his own mini pack, who are chasing their cousins around the buffet table, tails wagging.
It makes my heart squeeze to watch them, imagining my pups joining the fray soon, along with Conall and Meg’s.
That’s how things should be, all the Lyalls growing up together.
“She agreed to carry them.”
“And the husband isn’t going to challenge you for custody?”
“We have a contract. Two of them, actually. They’ll have no parental rights. I’ll have sole custody.”
Conall puts down his fork, jaw agape. I don’t know what he’s surprised about since he already knew most of this. “She’s giving up her rights?”
“Isn’t that what you want to hear?” I snap at him and Ben, who’s also looking oddly concerned.
Conall shakes his head. “No, you’ve got it wrong. We want you to be with your mate, dude. We want your pups to know their dam, even if it’s complicated.”
“We want you to be happy. Her, too,” Ben adds unconvincingly.
“I’d be happy if we can focus on Conall’s actual pups instead of my hypothetical ones,” I growl, even though mine might not be so hypothetical anymore. I stab some of the food on my plate and fill my mouth, hoping for someone to change the topic.
While I eat, I search for Julia, and I spot her over by the food, where she’s chatting and laughing with Meg and my mom. I get that warm feeling in my chest again. That pack feeling. But this time, it isn’t real. Julia’s not planning to be around long term.
“They’re making friends,” Conall observes. “That’s good. Maybe when she sees Meg with her pups, she won’t be so eager to sign away her rights.”
I grunt and shovel in more food, unable to let myself hope. I thought this howl might be hard for Julia, but I didn’t think it would be so hard for me.
“Have you and Meg picked names?” I ask him, eager to get the attention off us.
“He’s naming at least one of them Ben,” Ben announces.
Conall nods, playing along. “We’re thinking Ben, Benji, Benzo, and Benita.”
I snort, choking on my beer, but Ben just nods, looking serious as usual. “Perfect.”