Chapter 10 #2
“Oh no, she’s not nice to me at all. She’s kind of mean all the time.” He did laugh then, and his son looked at him oddly. “I know that sometimes mates can be bossy, but I’m not sure what to do with her. I think I’m going to let her protect me when I need it.”
“Good thinking.” He played with a second sandwich before taking a bite out of it. “Have you told her yet? I mean, does she know—is she a lion?”
“She’s a lion, but darker than mine. I can tell by her hair color.
She’s going to be a beautiful cat when she can shift.
And no, I didn’t tell her anything, but she told me.
I guess she can change her clothing, too.
Are you mad at me, Dad?” He asked him why he’d be mad at him for finding his other half.
“Because I’m only ten years old. I didn’t mean for it to happen. ”
“Of course you didn’t. But you’re lucky.
You know who you’re going to be spending the rest of your life together with, and that’s a good thing.
” He nodded, still unsure looking. “As you grow older, you’ll learn to appreciate her and her moods.
I hope so anyway. You two will get to grow old together, too. That’s a good thing.”
“I guess so. I just didn’t know how you were going to take me finding my mate.
I’ve wanted to tell you for the last few days.
” He had to wonder how much he’d been going through with his thoughts of having a mate when he was so young.
But he knew that he had a good head on his shoulders and that he knew the rules of having a mate.
“I won’t ever force her into anything that she doesn’t want to do.
I know that’s important. But I’m scared to meet her daddy.
He’s been at school picking her up, and he gives me the evil eye. I’m staying away from him.”
“If he gives you any trouble, you come to me or your mom.” He asked if he’d tell her. “I will as soon as possible. But if Mr. Gibbons says one thing to you that makes you feel bad, you tell me, and I’ll have a talk with him.”
“Don’t kill him.” He promised that he wouldn’t.
He just hoped that he’d be able to keep that promise.
“I don’t want to have to visit you in prison.
I want you to be there when we get married.
I know that’s a long way off, but you might get life or something like that and not get out in time to be there for me. ”
After having a bit more of a conversation about being mates, his son said he was tired.
Taking him up to bed, he tucked him into the covers and told him again how proud he was of him.
While he was very worried, he knew that his son hadn’t had anything to do with finding his mate.
It was just something that happened, and he was going to be happy for him.
Telling Emma about what they talked about, he found that he had about a million more questions than he had answers for. When she asked what they were to do, Colby said there was nothing they could do but to keep an eye on things. She asked if he thought that Mr. Gibbons was going to be a problem.
“He’ll only be a problem once.” She shivered when he said that, and he pulled her into his arms. “I’ll talk to Denver about it.
He might have more information on childhood mates than anyone would.
At times like these, I wish my grannie and grandda were around.
They’d know just what to do and what to do about Gibbons.
He’d better not hurt our son, or he’ll be in a world of hurt himself. ”
“I agree on both accounts. Telling your brother will get you information on Gibbons, too. He might even have some ideas on what to do about how this will affect them both as they get older. Have you ever heard of something like this happening?” He told her that he’d heard about it but never knew anyone that it had happened to.
“We’ll just hope that Denver or even Ronin will have some advice.
I’m really proud of him for telling you.
I thought that something was bothering him, but I didn’t know how serious it was. I’m glad you told me.”
“He wanted me to tell you. I think he wants me to talk to Denver, too. To maybe tell him what he’s to do.” She asked if there was much he could do. “No. Not now, at any rate. He’ll just know that she’s his mate for all time, and they’ll be happy. Hopefully.”
“That’s what I’m going to be thinking from now on. At least we know that he’s found his other half and he’s going to be happy.” Turning off the light on his side of the bed, he snuggled with Emma. “I’m not going to say anything to him unless he brings it up. That way I don’t embarrass him.”
He didn’t think she would, but it might be a good idea to wait for him to speak first. As he was closing his eyes to sleep, he thought of all the things that would go right for the two of them. They’d grow up together, and that would be a good thing for all of them.
~*~
Kayce heard about his nephew and wondered how he was doing.
Something like this happening could be traumatic to someone as young as he was, but he wasn’t too worried.
The kid had a good head on his shoulders and had talked to Denver.
It was the way that he’d go if it were to happen to one of his kids. ”
Dinner was to be served in forty-five minutes, and he was starving. He’d been looking forward to this meal all day, and now it was about time to eat. All he could think about was that he was glad that they’d been able to get together. He loved his family.
“You look good, little brother. The tan looks good on you.” He told Margo that he missed her.
After getting a hug and a kiss from her, they sat down at one of the many tables.
“And I missed all of you as well. I can’t believe that it’s been three months since we’ve all been together. It seems like it’s been longer.”
“I know what you mean.” He heard one of the kids screaming and looked around for the one who had been hurt.
It must not have been too much, as he wasn’t bombarded with kids telling him he needed his case.
“I go through more band aids when we all get together than I use at my practice. I actually buy them by the gross.”
“That’s a lot of knees to bandage up.” They both laughed, and he asked her how she was doing. “I didn’t realize how much I needed this dinner until I showed up here. I’ve really missed everyone so much.”
“I know that I’ve missed you, too. But we all understand why you had to move so far away.
It’s been so nice that you have your own school, but it’s not the same with you not being around all the time.
How is Grayson doing? I missed him the last time he was in for a meeting.
” She said that he was doing great, having fun being in charge of the foundations.
“I knew that if anyone could do that job, it would be him. He’s always been good with numbers and such.
I guess he’s been wanting to expand, too.
I hope he finds someone to do that for us.
It’ll be nice to spread what we have to someone else. ”
“That’s what he said. And the Fosters are happy with it as well.
They said that the foundation money would go towards the next charity and so on after that.
I guess they’ll help out, but won’t be as much of a part of it as they were with us.
I think they’re going to be passing it on to us to make it work.
” He asked her if she thought that they could.
“Yes. We’ve made a success of it, and it’s helped so many people.
I would love to see it go on. Wouldn’t you? ”
“Yes.” He thought about asking her if she’d be a part of it and realized that she was.
She would give up time with Grayson when he was around here working.
And when he worked from home. “I never thought about how much time we’ve given to the foundation.
Not just working the phone when we first started out, but even getting our family to work the shifts that are needed to keep it running.
I might not be there as much as I should, but when I work, I devote my entire time to it. ”
“That’s the way it should be. And the next family will hopefully be able to do it like we have.
Moving our entire family out here at once was a huge undertaking.
It worked out, but I do wonder how much harder it will be on the next group or family.
” He said that he didn’t know, but was hopeful like she was.
“I’m hoping it’s a large family that does it rather than a group of people.
As a family we pulled together to get things going.
As a group of people, you never know what it’s going to be like. Maybe I’m thinking too hard on this.”
“No, I think you’re right. We only had each other, and that was enough for us at the time.
” He thought about how much time they still devoted to the charity and was happy that he was able to say no when it became too much for him.
“I still have nightmares about the first day we opened, and Denver was hurt. All that blood. Even being a doctor, I sort of froze up because I knew who it was.”
“I think about that every once in a while and have the same thoughts. I was there that day, and the man was going to blow up the entire building with all of us in it.” She grabbed his hand and held it. “I love you, Kayce. I don’t want anything to happen to any of you.”