Chapter 14
Hope walked through the quiet living room, little Jasper in her clutches. “How did you sleep last night?”
“Better than ever.” I sat up straight on the leather sofa in the living room. “I hope it’s okay if I take a break in here. It helps me plan things out when I can see the way the light changes in the room where I’m installing the window.”
“No problem at all.”
“Who’s a little cutie?” I smiled at the baby, capturing his attention. His dark brown hair appeared black in the low light. “How old is he?”
“Nine months going on thirty.” When she straightened his blue shirt, which had bunched up over his belly, it revealed a sunflower stitched on the front.
“Are you still breastfeeding? Or is that too personal? Sorry.”
“Don’t be silly. Nothing’s personal with babies,” she answered with a warm smile. “I still breastfeed, but he’s eating soft foods too. He loves bananas.” The baby giggled at her. “His daddy likes to give him jerky to gnaw on, but he’s obviously too young.”
I laughed softly and tickled his chubby little foot. “It must be a wolf tradition. My dad did the same thing with me. He said I used to drool all over his hand while gnawing on it, and he teased my mom it was good for chest hair.”
Hope gave a throaty chuckle. “How is everything coming along with the window?”
“Great. It’s a lot of line work, but I want to get it just right. Once I finish drawing out the design, I’ll start the glass cutting. That’s the hard part.”
She swayed her hips, keeping the baby in motion. Her floral pants had wide legs that looked like a dress when her feet touched. Hope had remarkable features: a generous smile, thick eyebrows, brown skin, and gorgeous hair that reached the middle of her back.
“Are you okay?” I asked, noticing she appeared frazzled.
The baby pulled at her shirt, popping off one of the buttons.
“I really wanted to take a bath, but I can’t get him to lie down for his nap. Everyone’s gone.”
“I can take him.”
“You have work to do.”
I stood and reached for him. “Come see Quinnie! It’s time to give your mommy a break.” Then I switched into a silly voice. “Who’s the cutest little boy in the world?”
He giggled and threw his arms forward until he was forcing himself out of his mother’s grasp.
Hope’s eyebrows drew together. “I’ll try to be quick about it.”
“Take your time.” I bounced the jolly baby a few times until he smiled again.
“Jasper will give me a tour of the first floor, won’t you?
” I smiled wide at the baby and made a silly face.
“Yes, we will!” I met her eyes. “I’ll hand him off to the next person who comes in so I can get back to work.
A hot bath isn’t something to be rushed. Trust me, I know.”
She squeezed Jasper’s hand before kissing it. “You’re a lifesaver. Robyn convinced me to stick with a daily relaxation routine, and it’s been a tremendous help with my anxiety. My gosh, who knew a baby could be so much work? Even with all the help, I wasn’t prepared.”
“I don’t think anyone is.”
“Well, I learned pretty quickly I can’t wear jewelry without him putting it in his mouth or yanking it off,” she said with a smile. “No more feather earrings for Mommy.”
After Hope left, I paced around before entering the game room.
Everything we passed, I let Jasper inspect while we had a discussion about it.
The billiard table and all the colorful balls, the books in the library, the pretty stained glass doors that opened in the back hall to a small sitting area, and then we wandered down the back hall and watched a few birds eating out of a feeder on the deck.
When he grew tired of that, we strolled into the kitchen and smelled all the different herbs growing in tiny pots by the window.
“I see my mate put you to work,” Tak said in his sonorous voice.
I twisted around and waved comically. “There’s daddy!”
“Taco!” Jasper giggled uncontrollably and tucked his head against my neck as if to hide. A rivulet of drool trickled down my chest.
I stared at Tak in shock. “Does he want a taco?”
Tak gave an infectious grin. “I’m Taco. He babbles. Hope is Ama. He hears others call me Tak, and I try to get him to say Dada. He took the vowel in Dada and mashed the two together, and now I’m Taco. If everyone hadn’t laughed the first time he did it, he’d be calling me Dada by now.”
I stirred with laughter. “I hope it sticks. Do they normally talk this young?”
“Alphas mature quicker. It’s in their nature.” Tak smiled at the boy. “You can’t hide from Taco.”
Jasper giggled as if he could understand. Then he peered up at his father, who was slowly coming for him, hands out.
“Where is my little man? I only see a turtle hiding from a wolf.”
Jasper squawked loudly and lunged forward so suddenly that I almost lost my grip.
Tak scooped the baby into his arms and raised him in the air before kissing his cheeks. “Dada missed you.”
“I’ve heard you speak another language,” I said, wiping away the drool. “Are you also going to teach him?”
“Jazz will learn to speak many languages, including an ancient language from Eden’s ancestors.
That will be the way for all our children.
Language is important in my culture, and it erases boundaries between different people when you can communicate.
” He bounced the baby around. “Have you been giving your mother a hard time? Why aren’t you sleeping? ”
“Hope was having trouble putting him down, so I volunteered to watch.”
He cradled the baby against his thick bicep. “I hope it hasn’t slowed down your work.”
“No, I was already taking my break. We explored a few rooms. I needed to stretch my legs. Plus he’s the sweetest little thing.”
“He’s a good boy,” Tak agreed.
Salem, Virgil, and Krys bustled in. Virgil squeezed by me and opened the fridge. I stared at his black bikini underwear and sneakers.
“We’ve had a busy morning.” Tak snatched an apple from a fruit bowl. “Salem needed a few extra hands.”
“I’m never doing that again,” Virgil grumped while reaching into the fridge.
I looked to Salem. “What happened?”
He approached the sink and washed his hands. “A patient flipped his Jeep over and was pinned beneath it in a ditch. He called me, but I couldn’t do much since the vehicle was too heavy. That’s why you should always wear a seat belt.”
Tak set Jasper on the counter so the little guy could proudly show his papa how he could stand up. His daddy kept his arm curved protectively around him while devouring the apple. “We turned the car over to free him. He could’ve hit a child.”
I smiled at Virgil. “What happened to your clothes?”
He gulped down a bottle of apple juice. “My pants ripped.”
“That’s one way to tell it.” Krys reached inside a large canister and pulled out a cookie. “After Salem set the guy’s leg, he shifted and tore after Virgil.”
“Why?” I asked.
Virgil slammed the fridge door. “Because coyotes are drama queens. I don’t know how you do it, Doc.”
Salem dried his hands. “Attacks are an occupational hazard.”
I had an unexplainable urge to wrap my arms around him for how exhausted he looked.
“How’s the patient?” I asked.
Salem turned around and leaned against the sink.
“On the mend. He only shifted once. The concussion disoriented his animal. Tak made him submit, and we muzzled him. We tried calling for a tow truck, but only two guys in town can help, and they were both busy. A cement mixer went off the road. In any case, his Jeep is still in the ditch, but he’s home resting. ”
“Not to change the subject, but does anyone know who left me the food basket?”
Tak held his baby’s arms as the boy balanced. “What food basket?”
“It had all kinds of goodies. Well, I wasn’t sure why a cucumber was in there all by its lonesome.”
Virgil snorted. “I know.”
“Whoever did it, let them know I appreciate it. They didn’t have to block the door with a table though. I had a hard time trying to move it out of the way this morning.”
Salem slowly dried his hands with a rag, his eyes downcast. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot today, and I’m not comfortable keeping it a secret.”
My heart dropped into my stomach.
Is he about to tell everyone we had sex in the field? Oh my God, this isn’t happening. In front of the Packmaster? I’m going to die. My soul is about to leave my body. They might as well bury me in the pasture.
Salem dropped the dish towel on the counter. “Last night I found you sleepwalking in the yard.”
I sighed with relief. When I noticed Virgil’s inquisitive gaze, I cleared my throat. “I should’ve known that might happen. It’s not something I do often, only when I’m upset or stressed out.”
Tak held the baby and faced me. “I thought everything was fine with the project?”
“Oh, it is. It’s not about that.” I touched my chest and clutched my hand in a fist. “I lost my locket. Yesterday morning I couldn’t find it.
I thought it slipped behind a cushion or something, so I went about my work.
After dinner, I tore the heat house apart.
Well, not literally, but I looked everywhere.
Under the bed, beneath the sofa, even inside the sink drain. ”
“Hope can make you another,” he offered.
“No, this one is sentimental. It has pictures of my parents inside. I always wear it, and… Well, it’s hard to focus on anything else.”
“Then we must find it.”
Salem’s phone vibrated, and he excused himself from the room.
I ventured to the opposite side of the kitchen island where the stove was. “I might know where it is.” After clearing my throat again, I continued while trying to play it cool. “The other night, I strolled around the pasture, and I think it fell off out there.”
Tak’s brow furrowed. “You shouldn’t wander around the territory without an escort, especially at night. Our wolves don’t know you. They won’t harm a woman, but it might frighten you into shifting, and then we’d have a situation.”
“I’m really sorry. Catcher was with me, if that makes you feel better.”