Page 50 of Backstage at the Freak Show
I swelled with pride and Raz acknowledged he felt it too with a light brush of his hand on my leg. My pups never had any other kids to play with until the littles came to live with us. I was so proud my kids were doing their best to include them in our family. Our pack.
The kids finally settled on Zootopia while I got up to make a second batch of popcorn. Just as the movie was winding down and most of them were nodding off, four cell phones went off at the same time.
“That’s probably Mel,” I whispered, not wanting to wake Bella asleep on my right side, nor Joey on my left.
“Mm-hm,” Conner confirmed, his face lit up with his screen while he cradled Mason on his shoulder. “Look at our girl.”
He turned his phone to show Raz and I. Mel had sent a selfie of her, Jeanie, and Miriam—all beaming beautiful smiles and their heads tilted toward each other.
“Did she say anything?” Raz asked. The two of us were pinned beneath sleeping children and couldn’t reach our phones.
“She’s on her way home.” Connor’s thumb swept over the screen as he wrote out a reply to her. “Say cheese, guys.”
He angled his phone up high to take a picture of us. It was easy for me to smile. I knew Raz wore a similar one as he propped his chin on my shoulder. Connor snapped it and sent it to her, then all of our phones dinged with an immediate reply.
“She says, ‘oh-em-gee, my babies are the cutest. See you soon, heart-eyes-emoji’.”
“You’re such a fuckin’ dad,” Raz snorted.
I couldn’t bring myself to scold him for swearing in front of the kids. It had been a simple, easy day, but these were my favorite. Just a day and a movie with my family.
“I love you,” I whispered, giving Raz an abrupt kiss.
His surprise turned into pure elation. “I love you, Hunter.” He grabbed my chin and pulled me into another kiss. “I love our kids and our family.”
“Where’s my kiss?” Connor grumbled jokingly from his end of the couch.
“Walking through the door in a half-hour,” Raz laughed, nuzzling my cheek. “You can’t handle a dragon, Con.”
“You’re probably right,” Connor laughed in response.
With that, we started rousing the kids for bed in anticipation of our wife coming home.
17
MIRIAM
“Night, girls!” I waved to Jeanie and Mel in the car.
“You gonna be alright, Mir?” Jeanie frowned out the passenger window.
“Fine,” I assured her. I was a little tipsy but I really was fine.
I actually liked walking through the woods myself. The trees, the ground, and all the hidden critters seemed to tickle my shaman abilities. It wasn’t silence but like a wordless conversation with nature that gave me peace. The cottage I shared with Colt and Gabe was under a quarter mile away, anyway.
“I can walk with you,” Mel offered.
“And walk back by yourself?” I shook my head. “Trust me, girl. I’m good.”
The other shaman didn’t look convinced. “Well, text me as soon as you’re home.”
“Aye-aye.” I did a clumsy salute that morphed into a wave as I headed into the wilderness.
The sounds of night insects, owls, and my own shoes crunching over the ground was comforting. These late night walks through the woods used to calm me. But tonight, now that girl time was over, nothing could calm my racing thoughts about Tak.
I looked again at my phone with no calls or messages, the questions running through my head. Did he change his mind about wanting to be with me? And if so, why wouldn’t he tell me? He promised to always be honest.
“You’re my heart, Miriam,” he told me with that sexy growl and possessive kiss right before he left. I could still feel his teeth on my skin, how passionately he fucked me on our last night together.
