Page 23 of Landing Her Eagle
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.” My heart hurts for them. I don’t want to do anything that would hurt Daphne or our child.
“Yeah, well, you were a baby, and we don’t really talk about it. If you’re successful, what happens if your child is a shifter? Suddenly you and the child have something she doesn’t—a way to communicate, to be, on a level she can’t understand. She may feel like an outsider in her own family. That’s hard. That’s why most of us marry other shifters.” Will fidgets in his chair. “With Liam and Kennie both being cougar shifters too, Faith was left behind sometimes. It was hard. She felt left out.”
“I appreciate your advice, Uncle Will, but you don’t know us.”
“Look, I like Daphne,” he assures me, “and I’m happy for you. I’m just warning you. When she’s disappointed…”
I try to hold back my huff of annoyance. “It’s going to be fine. I have a plan.”
“You and your plans.” He chuckles.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Seriously, why is everyone getting on my case about having plans like it’s a bad thing? How are you supposed to get anything done if you don’t have a plan?
“Nothing. So, what’s your plan? You know there’s always a position here for you at Morgan Development. Your photography skills would be useful in marketing. You have a business degree, and law school is always an option,” he says around a chuckle.
“No law school. I’ll leave next week for assignments in Spain and Portugal. Then I’ll be covering the Christmas markets in Germany and Switzerland.”
Uncle Will leans forward and rests his forearms on his desk. “You’re leaving again? Is Daphne going with you?”
“We’re figuring out what we’re doing. I don’t think she’s coming with me, at least not right away.” I sigh. “I don’t get it. Daphne has always wanted to travel, and I’m giving her the opportunity to travel and share my adventures.” I grimace. “She hates her job.” I feel the flush rising in my cheeks when I remember who I’m talking to. “Crap. Forget I said that.” I take a sip of my coffee, trying to disguise my gaffe. “This brew is excellent. Where do you get your beans?”
“Ask Betty when you leave. She knows all the info.”
Maybe he didn’t catch it. “Did you know Daphne’s grandmother died before her senior year of college and left her a house? She was expecting Daph to sell it and fund her travels. Instead, Daphne is acting like the house is an anchor. She acts like it’s imperative she keeps it and stays in it. Forever.”
“I’m sorry she hates her job. She’s excellent at it.”
I guess he caught it.
“I won’t fire her just to make your life easier.”
I feel guilty even thinking that. “I know. Daphne needs to decide things for herself.” I shift in my chair and rest my ankle on my knee. “She’s made the choices she did in reaction to loss and feeling adrift. She wants security. Losing her job would cause her so much stress. She needs to decide to make a change, not be forced into it.” I shrug. “Of course we can’t mess with her career because I want to be with my girlfriend. Being a mature adult sucks sometimes.”
“That it does, Logan. If you ask your grandmother, I’m still resisting it.”
I blow out a breath to clear out the thoughts I’ve been worrying about. “I can’t help but hope she decides she wants to come with me.”
“What if she never wants to go with you? Being a nomad doesn’t suit everyone. Can you put down roots for her? Have you discussed it?”
Trust my uncle to get to the heart of the matter. “We’ve been a couple less than twenty-four hours. Let us enjoy ourselves, huh?”
He leans back in his chair and sips his coffee. “By all means, enjoy yourselves. But you know these are things you’ll have to discuss and work out if you’re going to have the long-term relationship I assume you’re hoping for.” He places his cup on his desk. Aunt Faith insisted he have a coaster. I’ll have to tell her he uses it. “I’ve seen the two of you together over the years. Even if the romantic aspect of your relationship is new, it’s obviously not casual. I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”
I hate it when he’s right. “I know. Let’s change the subject. Daphne said Liam was doing maintenance here. What’s up with that?”
“We’re considering a large local project, so he was checking into some preliminary matters. Can’t say anything yet, but if it happens, it will be cool.” He kicks his feet up on this desk. Aunt Faith wouldn’t like that, but I won’t tell. “He took care of replacing some lightbulbs and incidental things like that. He’ll head out of town in a couple of weeks to visit our southern division properties. He spends a fair amount of time on the road. Not as much as you though.”
Chuckling, I stand and hold out my hand for a shake. “I need to call him and see about hanging out while we’re both in town. I guess I should let you get back to work. I need to go home and do a bit of editing.”
Rising from his desk chair, Uncle Will comes around his desk, takes my hand, and pulls me in for a hug and a slap on the back. “It was so good seeing you, Logan. You’re staying at Daphne’s, right? The two of you need to come over for dinner before you go. We can invite your parents, Kendall, and Liam, too. It’s a shame Andy is away at school or else we’d have the whole family.”
“Text me what you have in mind, and I’ll run it past Daphne. Even if we don’t do dinner, I’ll swing by to see Aunt Faith before I go, so she doesn’t disown me.”
“Sounds good, buddy.” He gazes at me steadily. “I’m happy for you. Don’t screw it up.” With that, Uncle Will retreats behind his desk, and I take my leave.
I wish my conversation with Uncle Will left me feeling better than I do. But I’m walking too fast and clenching my fists. He’swrong. Everything will be perfect with Daphne. As long as I can convince her to step out of her old life and into a new one with me.
17
