Chapter 8
Indio was in his Uncle Alistair’s house in the elephants’ private living area, which was underground at the park, at six a.m., too nervous to do anything but pace. Alistair was watching him with an amused expression, while his human mate, Maggie, smiled.
“We’re really happy for you,” Maggie said. “Imagine! A baby with your soulmate. It’s really wonderful.”
Indio stopped pacing and smiled, something he’d been doing a ton of since yesterday.
“I’m so happy. But I’m worried too.”
“About what?” Alistair asked.
“Everything.”
“Sure, but I mean specifically?”
Indio blew out a breath. “She hardly had any time to think about being pregnant and then she shows up at the park. I’m worried I didn’t give her enough space to just be in the moment and deal with her feelings.”
Maggie shook her head. “Did she ask for space?”
“No.”
“Then don’t put words or thoughts on her that she hasn’t articulated.
If she wanted time alone, she would have told you to back off, but she didn’t.
She invited you to her house and then invited you back today.
I don’t think she wanted to be alone with her thoughts, I think she wanted you by her side. And you were.”
Indio mused on that. “True.”
“Trust me,” Alistair said, “you don’t want to make assumptions when it comes to females. They hate that.”
“One hundred percent,” Maggie said with a chuckle.
“Okay, so I won’t assume anything.”
“That’s a good first step,” Alistair said.
“Should I take her a gift? I want to take her something.”
“It should be something for her, not for the baby,” Maggie advised. “You told her that she’s the prize and the baby is a sweet blessing. If you show up with a gift for the baby, she might question whether you want to be with her just because she’s pregnant.”
“We know that’s not true,” Alistair said, “because you’re soulmates. But a human female who is pregnant from what she views as a one-night stand might think you wouldn’t stick around without the baby.”
“She said as much.” Indio blew out a breath and resumed pacing. And then he had an idea. “I’ve got it. I’m going to run.”
“Where are you off to? Your breakfast date isn’t until eight,” Maggie said.
“I’ve got to see a wolf about a book.”
Indio held open the door to the Maple on Main Diner and let Reagan pass by him. The place smelled like bacon and bread, the cozy diner’s walls filled with vintage cooking implements and nostalgic signs and photos from the town’s history.
After they were seated, they looked at the menu. But all he could think about was the brown-paper-wrapped package he’d set on the seat next to him.
“I haven’t been here in a while,” Reagan said. “The last time was with Darcy and Rhomi. The food is really good here.”
“It smells amazing. What’s your favorite thing on the menu?”
“Well, normally I’d say French toast, but today I’m feeling like pancakes.”
“I was thinking about that too.”
The waitress appeared, and Reagan said, “I’d like the tall stack with more butter than you think a sane person should have, and also can I get decaf tea with honey and lemon? And could you get me a bowl of sweet pickle slices?”
The waitress paused her pen on the order ticket and then smiled. “Pregnant, huh?”
“How could you tell? Was it the pickles?” Reagan asked with a laugh.
“Definitely. With my last pregnancy I ate green olives non-stop. It was so weird because I don’t even like them now. I can definitely get you sweet pickles, we have the best ones from the farmers’ market.”
“Thank you,” Reagan said.
Indio ordered coffee and pancakes with an extra order of bacon and handed his menu over.
When they were alone, he said, “Would you like to go to the farmers’ market?”
“For pickles?” she asked, smiling.
“Yep. And other stuff. It’s a bit of a drive, but always a good time walking around.”
“That would be fun.”
“I could also bring you to the safari park, and you could help me feed the animals.”
“What? Like the lions?”
“No, the non-threatening animals. We don’t let anyone but employees who know what they’re doing in the paddocks with the other animals, but we have one paddock of deer, antelope, and Tank the moose. Some of the deer will come right up for carrots or other treats. And Tank loves to get treats.”
“That would be really neat! My cousins would be so jealous.”
Plans made, he sent a quick text to Cael to let him know that Reagan would be in the norms’ paddock for a little while, and then he set his phone down and picked up the package and slid it across the table.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Last night you were talking about how even before you found out you were pregnant, that you always wanted to have a traditional house, where the kitchen is the heart of it all.”
Her face softened as she looked at him. “You really listened to everything I said yesterday.”
“Of course. I didn’t want to miss a thing you said.”
She unwrapped the package and revealed the gift he’d asked Anke, the wolf in the market under the park, to get for him: a leather-bound recipe book.
It looked vintage although it was brand-new, with yellowed pages with torn edges and a soft, dark green cover with the words Reagan’s Recipes .
Anke’s mate, Zeger, had a leather embossing kit and had happily stamped the words onto the cover.
“How did you get this so fast?” she asked. “It’s incredible.”
“I remembered seeing the journal in the park’s gift shop, and I asked my friend Zeger if he could personalize the cover for me. I hope you don’t mind, but I put a recipe from my mom on the second page.”
She opened the journal, skipping the first blank page and seeing his mom’s recipe for peanut butter bars, made with peanut butter, chopped peanuts, and oats. His mom had been so happy to share the recipe with him, one that she’d made for him and his dad countless times over the years.
Reagan’s eyes were glittering with unshed tears when she looked up at him. “Why did you put it on the second page? Why not the first one?”
“Because I wanted you to decide what recipe goes first. My mom said when she meets you, she’ll make the bars for us.”
“She wants to meet me?” Her voice squeaked a little.
“Of course, sweetheart. Reagan, you’re my forever girl. For my parents? That means you’re their daughter already.” He froze, wondering if he’d said too much too soon.
“Oh gosh,” she whispered. Then she stood and came to his side of the table and hugged him. “I don’t know what to say except thank you. Thank you for being so sweet. And thank you for my gift.” She kissed his cheek and whispered, “Thank you for finding me in the park yesterday.”
He gave her a hug and said, “You’re welcome.”
She sat back down in her seat just as the waitress brought their food, including Reagan’s bowl of sweet pickles. While they ate, she told him about reaching out to both Rhomi and Darcy and telling them about him and the baby.
“They’re both thrilled for me, of course. I told Darcy about you a little while ago, but I hadn’t told either of them about the baby because everything happened so fast yesterday. I went from a positive pregnancy test to making dinner for you last night, and the day just sped by so fast.”
“It did for me too. They’re not mad at you, I hope?”
“Nah. A little annoyed, because neither of them like secrets, but they at least tried to understand where I was coming from with wanting to steer clear of the guy I inexplicably threw myself at during the baby shower.”
Indio knew it wasn’t inexplicable. She was drawn to him because they were soulmates. And some day he’d be able to share the truth of his shift with her, and why she’d felt so connected to him so fast.
“Rhomi said she hopes you know that you’re family for her now, because you’re the father of my baby.”
“Absolutely.”
“So they’re happy I’m happy.”
“Are you?”
“Am I what?” She paused, pancake-filled fork halfway to her mouth.
“Happy.”
“You couldn’t tell?” she asked with a wink.
“I feel better today than I did yesterday. I talked to my neighbor Darla last night and she told me that I deserved to be happy and that I can’t let my mom’s negative talk affect my future.
So I’m not going to. I have to admit it’s a bit hard to push aside that little voice in my head that repeats all the stuff my mom said about men and relationships being terrible, but for the baby—for you—I’m willing to do it. ”
He reached across the table to give her hand a squeeze. “You’re not alone, sweetheart. I’m here for you, for whatever you need and however you want me to be.”
“I just want you ,” she said. Her cheeks pinked and she coughed, hiding a smile.
“I just want you too.”
After breakfast, they went to the safari park and he took her into the norms’ paddock through the safari tour entrance, then showed her how he prepared the feed and treats for the deer, antelope, and moose in the paddock.
Tank came near them once he saw the carrots, and he even nudged her belly gently, which made Reagan giggle and smile.
“Does he know I’m pregnant?” Reagan asked.
“It seems so,” Indio said. “He’s pretty intuitive. He’s mostly only grumpy with males.”
“Like you?”
“Well, I’m the one who feeds him, so he’s not usually grumpy with me, but yeah. Our resident vet, Cael, when his wife was pregnant, Tank did the same thing with her that he just did with you. He may have a built-in baby detector in his nose.”
“He’s sweet,” she said, scratching his head. Then she looked back up at Indio. “Do you want a family?”
The question was so abrupt that he dropped the bucket of feed, which tipped and spilled on the ground.
“You okay?” she asked, amused.
He righted the bucket and poured it into the trough.
“I’m great. You just caught me off guard.
Yes, I’ve always wanted a family. A big one, actually.
Growing up on the road, I loved being with my extended family, but I used to wish for siblings, and for a house that didn’t have wheels on it.
I wanted roots, you know?” He turned to face her.
“When I think about the future, Reagan, you’re who I see by my side.
I know it’s fast, because we just reconnected yesterday, but I’ve been pining for you for the last three weeks like a poet who lost his muse.
It feels like I’ve known you forever, but I know there’s still so much to know.
I don’t want to scare you off or come on too strong, but you’re it for me.
I told you you’re my forever girl, and I mean it. It’s just you for me. Forever.”
He caught the subtle scent of her arousal and his elephant trumpeted in his head. He didn’t make the first move, because he still wasn’t sure exactly where he stood with her, but then she moved to him and gazed up at him.
“You could kiss me. Again. I like kissing you.”
This time when he dropped the bucket, it was because he wanted to hold her. He drew her even closer and lowered his head to kiss her.
Their lips met, the world disappeared around them, and all he could think about was how soft her lips were, how good she smelled, and how much he liked her.
It had been a day since they reconnected, but it felt like a lifetime already. She was sweet and funny, and so beautiful he couldn’t believe he was lucky enough to be her soulmate.
He wanted the moment to last forever, and it kind of did. The kiss itself ended, but the tension simmering between them didn’t. It lasted through the afternoon and into the evening, when he took her home and they fixed dinner together, then fell asleep watching a movie.
When they woke and it was dark, she kissed him and asked for more, asked for everything, and he was willing to give her the moon. This time, there was no rush to climax, no hurried kisses and hasty touches with one eye on the door in case someone tried to come in.
They took their time, touching and tasting and driving each other wild.
And when they fell apart together, it was better than he remembered.
As they drifted in that sweet post-loving haze, she whispered that she was falling for him.
“I’m falling for you too, Reagan,” he murmured.
And it was the last thing he remembered before he fell asleep with her.