Page 28 of Shifter Mate Magic
Auris nodded, but kept her deep black eyes focused on Jackie’s baby bump. “She is impatient.”
Jackie laughed. “You’re telling me.” She was still getting used to perfect strangers having something to say about her pregnancy.
“Three weeks early...” Auris held up her hand and looked at it as if she’d never seen it before. Maybe she hadn’t, because it was growing thinner and turning a sickly shade of yellow. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to glare suspiciously at an empty edge of the glade. She dropped her hand and headed that direction. Where she walked, the grasses swayed away from her sandaled feet.
Trevor’s wary unease mirrored Jackie’s own as she looked to Straya. “Is she an oracle?”
“Maybe. I don’t think she’s found her final form, yet.” Straya glanced at Jackie’s belly, where the frilly dress displayed it proudly. “Shifter babies sometimes come early.”
Trevor tightened his arm around Jackie. “We’ll be ready.”
“You must come visit, when your daughter is old enough to travel.” She leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially. “I have pictures.” She waggled her eyebrows and tilted her head to indicate Trevor.
“Don’t listen to her.” Trevor turned Jackie away. “Come on, there’s someone who wants to see you.”
Jackie laughed. “Later, Straya.”
He led her to the far side of the clumps of party-goers to where a woman sat by herself at a small table.
Jackie’s feet faltered. “Mama?”
Her mother’s face lit up as she stood and held her arms wide open. “Jacqueline!”
Jackie stumbled into her mother’s arms and wrapped her arms around her. Tears flowed as she soaked in the healing magic of her mother’s love. “I missed you.”
“Me, too.” Her mother rubbed her shoulder. “I’m sorry I believed that lying leopard when he called from Vegas to say you and he had won a jackpot cruise around the world and were leaving the next day.”
The remorse in her mother’s voice made Jackie pull back to look at her. “Don’t blame yourself, Mama. He’s a world-class liar. I don’t envy anyone who marries him.”
“I should have known better.” Her mother pulled out two tissues from a packet and handed one to Jackie. “You’d never have left your clients in the lurch during tax season.”
Jackie chuckled. “True.” She sighed. “When did you get here?”
“At noon.” Her mother’s eyes gleamed. “My first trip through a fairy portal.” She waved fingers toward patient Trevor, standing ten feet away and undoubtedly listening to every word. “Your man called me this morning and told me everything that happened.” She smiled. “He’s very protective of you. He was afraid I’d disapprove of what you did to survive.”
Jackie shook her head. “That was me, Mama. I wanted to be the perfect daughter so Weirtree wouldn’t look down on you anymore.”
“Oh, baby, you could have been a saint and it wouldn’t have mattered. They were set against me the day I married your handsome father.” She shrugged. “I don’t give a flying fuck what they think.”
Trevor snorted in surprise.
Jackie laughed. “Good.” Her mother’s willingness to flout expectation had always been Jackie’s private delight. “What do you think of Kotoyeesinay?”
Her mother smiled. “Astounding. I had no idea...” She waved a hand to encompass the glade and the variety of species in it. “There’s magic in every stone and blade of grass.”
“Do you like it well enough to think about moving here instead of Houston, like we were planning?” Jackie felt tears welling again. Damn hormones. “Trevor and I are building a house. It’ll take me some time to get my finances straightened out again, after being away for so long, but I’ve been saving money so you could go anywhere but Weirtree.”
Her mother exchanged a look with Trevor, who had sidled closer to Jackie without her noticing. “It’s your surprise.”
Trevor grinned. “I asked Matteo to get the Williken pride to fund an irrevocable trust for Princess, for college and stuff. Matteo went above and beyond to, uhm, extract two more, one for your mother and one for you, as the injured family.” From out of the wide bag hanging on his belt, he took out two folded pieces of paper and handed it to her. “Have a look.”
The figure on the page took her breath away. “That’s… wow.” The education fund amount on the second page made her grin like a village idiot. “Princess could buy her own college.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. Trevor took the papers back from her and handed her a tissue.
“Sorry.” Thank the goddess she’d decided against wearing any makeup for the day.
Her mother patted her shoulder. “It only gets worse. Wait’ll delivery.”
