Chapter Eighteen
Cannon
I thought I’d be the first. As the alpha, it seemed as if that would be the way, although we’d never discussed it. So, when Felix and I were sitting at the breakfast table, drinking coffee and waiting for the others to wake up, it never occurred to me that they would come out of the same door.
We’d been talking about the addition to the cabin, making plans for the upcoming week.
With the omega here, our lackadaisical pace needed to kick into gear.
“I think we can have the nest ready for her in about a month and a half,” Felix was saying when my gaze fixed over his shoulder.
“Cannon? Are you listening? What’s—” He turned and his jaw dropped.
“Good morning.” Tyrone wore pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, Millie just the long tee she’d picked out for sleeping in, and they both had marks on the side of their necks. “I hope you didn’t wait for us to eat.”
“We did.” I stood up because Felix was still frozen. “It’s keeping warm. Give me a minute to grab it.” We had made a breakfast casserole, a favorite of all three of us and one we hoped Millie would like too. “Felix, come get the fruit salad from the refrigerator?”
He still wasn’t moving.
“Felix! I need your help?”
“I can do it,” Millie offered.
I started to say no, but she was standing by a chair as if unsure whether to sit, and my heart clenched.
We all knew that it would be her choice with who, when, and as long as Tyrone was good to her, I was good.
“Thanks. Could you slice the banana in there before you bring it to the table. We always wait until the last minute so it doesn’t turn brown. ”
Millie opened the refrigerator and got out the bowl. She was peeling the banana when she caught my eye and smiled. Crossing the floor, she came to my side and said, “Cannon, can we sleep together tonight? I’d love to share a dream with you?”
“Of course, omega.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead, her nose, and a soft one on her lips. “That would be very special.” Trying to appear unruffled when all I wanted to do was sweep her to my bed right now, I carried the casserole to the table and set it on the hot pad.
Felix seemed to have recovered and was laughing and telling a story about when we first broke ground on the addition.
Something mathematical that almost had us building something very oddly shaped, and Millie sat down and listened, laughing when he described what it would have been like.
“A diagonal turret is the closest I can come to it.”
“Wow. Lucky you figured it out,” she marveled. “I hope I can help build it. I don’t know anything about construction, but I’d love to be part of it, any way you can use me.”
“A family project,” I confirmed. “There will be something for all of us to do together.”
We ate every bit of the casserole and all of the fruit in time to hear a rumble from outside the cabin. “Is that a truck?” Millie asked. “Do you get deliveries way out here?”
“Some things.” Tyrone started for the door. “This is going to be building materials. I’ll go show them where to unload.”
Felix followed him out.
“I’ll be out in a minute.” I stood and reached for the casserole dish, but Millie shook her head.
“The least I can do is clear the table while you guys go handle the delivery. It can be my first way of helping with the construction.” She piled plates on top of one another, humming a happy little tune.
We’d been trying to keep her from working too hard, but maybe getting her into the schedule with the rest of us would help her feel more a part of things.
Of course it would.
Leaving Millie to straighten up, I followed the others outside to meet the truck.
We had him back around to the rear of the cabin and began to help with the unloading.
He would do it if necessary, but why not save time?
Everything we set down was a part of the nest we’d be creating for our omega.
The lumber would be helping to keep her safe and warm.
The windows so she could look out on the countryside.
The flooring, smooth, wide boards, nice to walk on in bare feet or slipper/socks.
“We should show our omega the plans so she can have input in the finished work,” Tyrone said.
Felix nodded, a bucket of nails in his hand. “Agreed. Look, here she comes.”
I turned to see Millie, dressed in jeans and a hoodie now, sneakers on her feet. She approached us, a smile turning up the corners of her lips. “I got everything put away and the dishes are soaking, but I couldn’t wait to see what came.”
“Then come and have a look.” I took her hand and guided her around the piles of materials. “It’s going to look different when it’s the nest,” I teased.
“I know, but it’s all so glorious, isn’t it? You three can take these things and make a whole new part of the house.”
As we were surveying the things together, Millie looked across the yard and gulped. “I-I have to go back in and finish the dishes now.” She shook her hand free and ran for the cabin. No explanation, just kicking up dust in her wake.
“Did that seem strange to you?” Tyrone asked.
“Yes.” Felix looked after her. “I wonder if she didn’t like the flooring?”
“We’ll have to ask her after the driver leaves,” I said. “Because something definitely upset our omega.”