Page 25 of A Bunny for the Bear
Aunt Souli rolled her eyes at him, then set her spoon down and folded her hands together. “Part of the reason we're here was to feed you and visit with you, but it was also for a bigger purpose.”
I furrowed my brow. "What purpose is that?”
“As I said whenever we arrived, I wanted to make sure that you were moving home. I needed to confirm that before we talked about the plans we've had in mind for you.”
"Plans?" I asked, numbly.
"Yes, plans, Hutton. We always hoped you would come back here. It was less about if and more about when. It was foolish of us to just assume, but in the end, it might work out for you."
"Work out for me how?"
My uncle cleared his throat. "What my wife, who so rarely beats around the bush, is actually trying to say is that we know where you can build a house."
"Build a house?" I reared back. I hated asking all these questions, but the two of them were being so vague.
He held up his hand. "Yes, just let me get it out, boy. We have land, as you know.”
“What you don't know, though, is that we have a lot of land," Aunt Souli added.
"How much is a lot?"
Uncle Champ whistled. "Acres upon acres. Enough so that you could build a house for you and your mate, and we wouldn't even be able to see it because of how far away it was. But it would be close enough to take a short drive or a little ATV ride. Maybe even let your bear out and take a run. Get some fresh air."
My jaw dropped open at the news. "You're telling me you have a family plot? I thought you only had like five acres."
"Add a zero to the end of that, and you've got us."
I knew I had to look like some type of cartoon character with the way my eyes nearly popped out of my head. "Fifty acres of land? What in the world were you two thinking buying all that up?"
Aunt Souli rapped her knuckles on the table. "We were thinking that we loved our nephew and wanted to be close to him for the rest of our forever and a billion days. We were thinking that maybe he'd find his mate, bring them back home, and start a family there. We wanted a place where your kids and their kids could run around. Generational wealth is more than just money." The vehemence in her tone told me that this was serious to her.
"I wasn't trying to be rude, Aunt Souli. I promise this is a shock. I've spent all morning running numbers and trying to look up house listings, and you're telling me that I can have a land and a house and there's no catch?"
"Oh, there's a catch all right," Uncle Champ said as he leaned back in his seat. "The catch is that you let that woman at those babies the minute they get here."
Aunt Souli reached across the table and smacked her husband's shoulder.
"Now don't go acting like you don't want grandbabies too. We had this discussion, Champ.” She turned to me and spoke in a softer tone, “Your uncle is right though. I want first dibs on babysitting options for whatever little rugrats you have.'"
I laughed, then covered my mouth quickly. My aunt and uncle shared a look of amusement. They were clearly having a good time with everything going on. I, on the other hand, was damn near stunned speechless.
"This doesn't feel real," I said softly. "How in the world did I get so lucky? I was just in my own apartment hiding away, practically agoraphobic. Now I have a mate and the potential for a home. I'll be close to family again."
Aunt Souli nodded. "Fate has blessed you, son, but she's also blessed us. To have you back here is going to be everything I've dreamed of for years. We've missed you."
I reached out to take her hand. I stuck my other one out towards Uncle Champ and he took it, though he did grumble. The man wasn't as touchy-feely as his wife, that much was for sure.
I squeezed both of their hands and said in the most honest tone I could, "I'm sorry it took me so long to get my head on straight. I'm thankful to Fate for setting me right and bringing me back. I know that we'll have many, many years together, and I hope that I can give you those grandbabies that you want. Part of the reason I hadn't been able to find a place is because I was looking for somewhere with enough room.”
Aunt Souli giggled. "Oh yeah, you're gonna need enough room. I have a feeling that Ross is going to be extra fertile."
I did a bit of mental math at her words. "Why would you say that?"
It was too soon to know if he was actually pregnant. Though we had knotted and mated, it wasn't always a guarantee. Fertility was another of Fate's designs. Occasionally, it was not meant to be.
Aunt Souli tilted her head, then slowly her eyes widened. “He hasn't told you.”
“Hasn't told me what?”
