Page 41 of Roman
“You’re going to be amazing. And I’ll be there helping all day. I have nothing else going on, so there is no reason for me to not be. Unless you would rather I go do something else. I’m not wanting you to feel as if I’m suffocating you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t feel that way. I think, at least at first, it will probably be best for both of us if you come with me. You only have another month until you have to go to your new job.”
Roman snorted. “Sweetness, it’s in the downstairs office. I only have to go onto campus twice a month for in-person officehours. It’s not going to be difficult or taxing. And it will be super helpful for us when the baby comes. He can stay here with me while you’re at work since my days will be less hectic.”
I grinned. That was all true. And I was happy for Roman. He’d applied to the larger state university and had quickly been hired. He was going to be teaching online only, at least for this upcoming fall semester, and yes, he would have to go into the office twice a month, but that wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle. I would either not go into work those days, or we could put our little one in the childcare center behind the bakery. It was all going to work out. Now, I just needed to get my nerves under control.
“If you’re still unsure about going back to work, we can let them know you’re not ready just yet,” Roman told me.
It would be so easy to say yes, but I wasn’t going to do that. Konrad had been amazing and wonderful, but he wasn’t my full-time employee. He was only temporary, and he was only there to help until I got things settled and into routine. And poor Sean. I’d hired him, and then I disappeared. Sure, he knew what happened and was a shifter himself, so he understood. But I felt as if I’d just abandoned him before he could even start. What kind of person did that make me?
“Your thoughts are wandering, and not in a good way,” Roman said. I started back at him and sighed.
“You’re right. They are. I’m ready to go to work. I wish I could just poof us there, but I don’t trust my magic enough to even try.”
Roman offered a smile. “I don’t mind driving us to the cabin. There will be more ‘traffic’ going up to the mountaintop this time of the morning than I think you realize. There are several employees for the council that don’t live on Treasure Ridge, and they have to get up there somehow. It’s just what it is.”
“But it’s five in the morning. The council doesn’t start this early.”
Roman shook his head. “No, but the cafeteria staff have to prepare for breakfast, just as you would. Monroe will be at the store shortly because he has to accept the delivery of things. That stuff has to be delivered somehow. The mountain is already busy with activity.”
I nodded slowly. I’d not realized that things were already happening. All this time, I was just happily sleeping my mornings away while others were already up and at it. “I’m ready.” I smiled before I turned in Roman’s embrace and hugged him back. “I’m not going to get any more ready than I already am, and I think if I keep delaying, it will only be more difficult to go back.”
“Most likely. If you’re sure you’re ready,” Roman said.
I nodded against his chest. This was one of my favorite places to be: snuggled against him. He smelled amazing, and I felt so safe in his arms. Roman kissed the top of my head before he rubbed up and down my back a few times, and then he dropped his arms. I looked up at him, and when he took a step away, I followed. We were going to do this. I was going back to the bakery, and I was going to do what I’d said I wanted. I was going to run the bakery despite being pregnant and not having full use of my magic. I didn’t know how we would have everything we needed, but I would figure something out. For the next couple of months, the menu would most likely need to be adjusted, but that wasn’t something that hadn’t already been done with me gone.
Never before would I have considered myself a “homebody,” but that’s exactly what I’d become in the past month. This was the first time Roman and I had left our house, and it felt odd. I wouldn’t say this had necessarily been the plan, but it was simply how things had worked out.
“Do you think that later I can meet your tiger?” I asked as Roman pulled out of the garage. He glanced over at me, his eyebrows high on his forehead. “We’re going to be up on Treasure Ridge, and it’s safe for you to shift up there. I know it is because I’ve seen dragons flying overhead.”
It took Roman only a few seconds before he started laughing. After he got himself under control, he offered me a smile. “You can absolutely meet my tiger. He very much wants to meet you, and although he’s been anxious about it, he’s been somewhat understanding about everything.” Roman slowed at the gate that was at the entrance to our neighborhood, and when it opened, he pulled through and then turned onto the empty road. “I apologize for not suggesting that we go to the mountain before now so you could meet him or even shifting in the house so you could. It wasn’t intentional.”
“We’ve been a bit busy,” I told him. The tea had been amazing, but I already knew it would be, and we’d gone back to doing exactly what newly mated couples did. And often. But we did manage to spend time out of the bedroom, and not always knotted together, learning even more about each other.
“True. But I should have offered, and I am sorry for not doing so. I would very much like for you to meet my tiger. We can also stop by and see your brother if you’d like. I know he’s been messaging you, and things seem to be doing better between the two of you.”
I smiled, although I wasn’t sure how well Roman could see it. True, he was a shifter, and he had better vision and hearing than a human, but I wasn’t sure just how much better. “I’m sure Evan will be by the bakery at some point today,” I said. “He’d mentioned that he would come by if I wanted and if he could get away.” I sighed. “I told him I’d love to see him, and I think that might be part of my nerves that are bothering me so much.”
Roman reached over and took my hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze—offering support. He didn’t release it though. Instead, he brought our joined hands to the middle console and rested them there. I smiled to myself as he drove us through the dark streets toward the cabin that served as the transport building at the base of the mountain.
It seemed as if in no time, we were there, and Roman pulled into a spot that wasn’t far from the entrance we would use. It knew that the cabin belonged to Konrad’s family and had been there for a very long time. They used to use it as a cover for getting supplies up to the mountain, and now the council used it to get people on and off the mountain.
“Are you ready?” Roman asked after he shut off the vehicle.
“As much as I’m going to be. I feel bad that I can’t use my magic like I’m intended, and although I will be another pair of hands to help bake everything, I still feel as if I’m failing them.”
Roman tugged on my hand that he was still holding, and when I leaned closer, he kissed my forehead. “I don’t think you are giving yourself enough credit. Things changed. It happens. But I also think you are going to be surprised by the changes that have happened in the last month. Stay there,” Roman said before I could get a word in. He let go of my hand and was out of the vehicle before I could even think. He had rounded the front and had my door open before I could even think to protest. I smiled at Roman as he helped me down out of the SUV.
Roman held my hand as we walked into the cabin. “Will you teach me to drive?” I asked as we entered the cabin. Too late, I realized there were actually several others in what I’d call the transport room. “Oh,” I said to nobody in particular. “Hi,” I said to the others. Roman chuckled.
“I’ll absolutely teach you to drive,” he told me as he placed a hand on my lower back and ushered me over to the rest of thegroup. “We can start whenever it is you feel as if you are up for it.”
I looked up at Roman and gave him a smile. Instinctively, I moved a bit closer, not sure why though. I wasn’t normally shy or hesitant, but I usually had magical abilities and could easily defend myself.
“Do I need a permit?” I asked. “Maybe I should study?”
Roman, as well as several others, chuckled. “Well, the sheriff and the entire sheriff’s department are shifters or other paranormals. But if you want to get a permit, that’s not an issue for me. We’ll get you a book to study.”
