Chapter 20 #2
“I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that we were standing on the rise watching your Dragon dip and weave through the storm. It was fucking amazing. As much as I love my Panther, I kinda wished I had a Dragon, but only for a few minutes.”
Remi just chuckled again as he kept cooking, flipping the food that would be combined to make their breakfast wraps and sandwiches.
Richie moved past him to grab his apron off the rack, but only made it a couple of steps before he hesitated and backed up. He turned his head toward Remi and sniffed, his nostrils flaring as he scented Remi.
“You mated her!” Richie exclaimed, slapping Remi on the back and squeezing his shoulders.
“And she mated me,” Remi said.
“That’s fucking awesome! Congratulations, Remi!”
“Thank you,” Remi said, grinning at Richie and shaking his hand.
“I gotta tell you, I was worried between the two of you, one of you would screw it up. I didn’t know who it would be, but I was afraid it was coming.”
“Honestly? Me, too. But once we stopped holding silent grudges against each other, it just kind of fell into place, and it was all her idea that made it right.”
“Really? What was her idea?”
“She said that it was overwhelming to think about all that was expected of us, and the steps that would get us there and she found it easier to just go on instinct instead of a schedule with deadlines and expectations. So, that’s what we did. We got out of our own way.”
“I’m so glad to hear that. Welcome to the Pride, officially — officially,” Richie said.
Remi laughed. “Thank you.”
“Next question… why are you here?”
“Getting ready for the day,” Remi said, holding his spatula above the cook top as a couple of pieces of potato and onion fell from it to the grill as he turned to look at Richie.
“No, I know that. I mean, you just claimed your mate, why are you here instead of with her?”
“Because you had no warning that I wouldn’t be here to help, and Cristie said she was going in and let Alex know she’d mated me and that she might take a few days off.”
Richie shook his head. “Go home. Love your woman again. Repeatedly. That’s what this time period is all about.”
“Uh, no. We are doing things as they come and not as people expect us to do. Last thing I said to her is to let me know what she wants and that’s what we’d do. I know she’s going into work for a while at least today. Maybe even the whole day. We’ll see what we’re doing after that.”
“Suit yourself,” Richie said. He grabbed his apron and then walked over to his grill to heat it up and start his share of the breakfast routine. “Does Riley know yet?”
“Probably not. Cristie was going back to sleep when I left.”
Richie stood at the window looking out over the parking lot between the restaurant and Riley’s house. “I beg to differ with that assumption.”
Remi looked up and saw Richie looking out over the parking lot and focused on the same place. There, trudging across the white gravel and carrying a plate, was Riley, wearing the biggest grin.
Riley used his key to unlock the door, then walked into the restaurant. “Good morning!” he shouted.
“Good morning,” Richie and Remi responded happily.
Riley started straight for them, smiling and grinning as he just almost did a little dance with every step toward them.
“Remi! Son, let me tell you. When I met you all those years ago, something whispered in my ear, ‘this boy is special, take care of him’, so I did. And I’ve never second guessed that decision.
I’ve always thought highly of you, always admired the male you’ve grown into.
I never thought I’d have the pure pleasure to be able to call you son.
But here we are, son.” Riley held his plate off to the side as he embraced Remi and hugged him tightly.
“I’m so deliriously happy that you’re the one my baby’s meant to be with. ”
Remi nodded and hugged him back. “There has never been anything more right. And let me just add, if you hadn’t noticed a lonely, scared four year old and decided to take responsibility for him, nothing I call mine would exist. I’m here today because you made my survival your business when you didn’t have to. ”
Riley hugged him tightly, pulled away just enough to look him in the eye, then hugged him again. It was clear to them both that the special bond they felt didn’t require words, which was a good thing, because they both felt that their words were falling short.
Riley grinned at him and presented him with the plate he held. “Here, have a cookie. Maia baked them this morning because we were too excited to go back to sleep after Cristie said y’all were mated.”
“Are those the little sweet, lemony tea cookies?” Richie asked.
“The same,” Riley said, waiting for Remi to take a few before he offered the plate to Richie.
Richie took three of them and popped one of them into his mouth whole. “These are my favorite,” Richie said.
“They’re my favorite, too,” Riley said. He grinned at Remi who was crunching away on his cookies, then handed the plate to Richie, who took it happily, while Riley grabbed Remi in a bear hug.
“I’m honored to welcome you to not only our Pride, but our family.
I’ve loved you all your life, son, and now you’re really my son. ”
Remi hugged him back, and after a few, long, awkward moments, they both stepped back.
“So proud of you,” Riley said.
“Me, too. For a little while I thought it was hopeless.”
“I gotta admit, I did wonder myself. Whooo, she was mad at me,” Riley said.
“Yeah, she was,” Remi said with a laugh. “But all it took was us to stop thinking about expectations and go on instinct alone.”
“Best advice ever,” Riley said.
“It was all her idea. Cristie said she felt better following instinct instead of a schedule or plan. So, that’s what we did.”
“How long after that?” Riley asked.
“Hours,” Remi said sheepishly.
“Like, eighteen or twenty?”
Remi met Riley’s gaze and cleared his throat. “One.”
“One?!” Riley half-shouted.
“Or less. But, doesn’t matter. It removed the obstacles, and we found our way to each other.”
“Good job,” Richie said.
“Yes, indeed. But try to understand this… as Alpha, I want to be supportive, but as a father, I never want to think about that part of it again as long as I live,” Riley said, wearing an expression that gave the impression he was feeling a little queasy.
Remi laughed. “Good. I don’t want to talk to you about it either.”
“Good. Wonderful. She’s good?” Riley asked.
“Better than,” Remi said. “You haven’t seen her?”
“Oh, no! Not me! The sun is not even up. I am not going to wake her up this early, not even for a celebration like this.”
Remi laughed. “I sat on the foot of the bed to put my shoes on before I left. Based on the snarling coming from her, I’m pretty sure as soon as I left she was already ordering something for me to sit on each morning that isn’t the bed she’s lying in.”
Riley laughed. “You’re good, too?” Riley asked.
“Best ever,” Remi answered.
“All I need to know. I’m heading home, got some things to do today. Eat those cookies so I don’t come back looking for them. Cause I really don’t need to eat more. I’ve already eaten at least a dozen,” Riley said, as he headed back through the dining room.
“They won’t be here for long,” Richie said, picking up another cookie and munching on it before handing one to Remi, who popped it into his mouth.
“Please tell Maia thank you for the cookies,” Remi said.
“I will. I’ll see y’all later?” Riley asked. “Y’all going to have a party or something?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it.”
“Think about it. This is life changing, Remi.”
“I’ll talk to Cristie,” Remi answered.
Riley waved again, his smile just as wide and bright as when he walked into the restaurant.
~~~
It was almost three that afternoon when Remi looked up and saw Cristie at her parents’ house, making a trip to her car with her arms loaded down with clothing. He laughed, finished the plates he was making, then put them up in the warmer window for delivery. “Hey, I gotta go,” he said.
Richie looked up at him. “It’s about time.”
Remi grinned. “Look,” he said, pointing across toward Riley’s house.
Richie looked in the direction Remi pointed and chuckled, shaking his head. “Go help your mate before she hurts herself trying to do it all by herself.”
“I am. If she’ll let me,” Remi said, as he untied his apron and hung it on the peg near the door. He threw his plastic gloves in the garbage as he walked out and didn’t look back even once, as he walked outside and hurried over to Riley’s house. “Cristie!” he called out, waving at her.
Her head popped up over the clothes she was trying to shove into the front seat of her car.
Her expression of frustration morphed into a gorgeous smile when she saw him. She dropped her clothes on the ground right where she was standing, then hurried over to greet him. By the time she got to the gate, he was already coming through it.
Cristie didn’t hesitate, she went right up to him and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him for all she was worth. “Hi,” she said breathlessly afterward.
Remi smiled, holding her against his body. “Hi, baby. How was your day?”
“Long. Too damn long when all I wanted to do was come home to you. Then I remembered I have so much that’s not at our house yet. So, that’s what I’m doing.”
“Let me help?” he asked.
“Please help,” she said, leading him over to where she’d dropped all her clothes on the ground.
He helped her pick up her clothes and at least stack them neatly if not folded in the front seat.
As they worked together, they laughed and talked.
Then he rearranged some of the rest of the things she’d already shoved into the car.
Inside the house, Riley and Maia watched as they stood together at the window. “See that?” Riley asked.
“Pure happiness,” Maia said.
“You just don’t know how much it does for my heart to see that.”
“Sure I do. It does the same for me.”
“What are we going to do with all the room in this house now? It’s just us,” Riley said, looking away from the window to do a quick glance around the inside of the house from where they stood.
“It’s not just us. Sebastian still lives here.”
“When he’s home from school.”
“And the Pride still congregates here.”
“True.”
“And now we have grand babies on the horizon, so we won’t be alone long.”
Riley’s head snapped toward his mate. “What?”
“She’s mated. It’s only a matter of time before they have babies. We can turn Cristie’s room into a nursery for any future grand babies.”
“I like that. But I don’t.”
“Riley, she’ll always be our baby, no matter what’s happening in her life. It’s just time for the next phase of hers.”
“I know. And I’m thrilled for her. You know I am. I just really need some time to get used to it before we talk about babies.”
“I thought you said you were excited about this phase of her life.”
“I am! It’s a good thing! I know Cristie and Remi will successfully take the Pride into the next generation — when I’m ready. But I’m still here and not looking to go anywhere this week. And, I know she’s mated, but I don’t want to think about her having babies yet. She’s not old enough for that.”
Maia laughed so hard she almost spilled her tea. “You are aware that I became her stepmother at a much younger age than she is now.”
“You became her mother, there’s nothing step about it, and I know that. I do, but, she’s my baby. So, I’m going to need her to take baby steps.”
Maia kissed him, then leaned her head against his shoulder. “Just imagine how we’ll feel when Sebastian finds his mate, and our jobs are done. You’ll be begging for grand babies, then.
“No, I will not. I’ll be profusely thanking whatever poor female agrees to take him on. Lord, can you imagine any woman in her right mind taking him to task and trying to make a mate of him?”
“He’s a good male,” Maia said.
“Yeah, as long as you don’t expect him to rise to any responsibility.”
“That’s not fair! You know he’s not a terrible person.”
“I didn’t say he was. What I’m implying is that he’s a fifteen-year-old, in a twenty-year-old’s body. At some point he’s got to move beyond beer pong and cheerleaders.”
Maia smirked at him. “Yeah, so he’s a little wild. He’s not hurting anybody.”
Riley turned to look disbelievingly at her, and noticed Remi and Cristie through the window as they walked toward the house. “They’re coming in. Sit down, we can’t look like we’re spying on them.”
Maia sat down on the nearest chair and Riley plopped down on the sofa.
The front door opened and Cristie and Remi walked in. “Remi’s going to help me get the rest of my stuff. We might have to make two trips.”
“Remi!” Maia called out. “We got to see Cristie earlier but I haven’t seen you yet,” she said, getting up and walking over to hug Remi.
“Hi, Maia,” he said, hugging her back. “Thank you for the cookies.”
“You’re welcome. There’s plenty more if you want them.”
“Always. Feel free to send all leftovers to our house.”
Maia kissed his cheek. “Congratulations, and welcome to the family.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“Want some help? I do have a truck out there y’all can load some more stuff into,” Riley offered.
“That’d be great!” Cristie said excitedly as she started up the steps at a jog.
Riley looked at Maia with a surprised expression. “She actually wants my help!”
“I’m going to see what else she’s planning on bringing,” Remi said, starting up the steps after Cristie.
“I’m going to back the truck up to the porch, then I’ll be up to help, too,” Riley said.
“I guess I’ll go see if I can help, too,” Maia said, setting her glass aside and going up the stairs right behind them.