Page 22 of Next Door Midlife Alpha
Barbara shook her head a little as she thought, a habit that followed her in either form.Maybe, but a mother always thinks big when it comes to her children. Even so, I know a secret like ours can’t be an easy one for a human to accept.
Dylan needed a plan. It would ease his mind and give him steps to follow, a way to break everything down so that it didn’t all feel like a weight on hisshoulders all at once.First, I’ll wait out Will’s visit and see how long he’s actually going to stay. Then I’ll work more on making sure Stacey is a safe person for us, someone like the Suttons were. I won’t worry about anything else regarding her until after that.
That sounds good. It also sounds just like your father.She nuzzled his shoulder before she moved down the remainder of the path. Her bulk seemed to liquefy in the darkness, the bear quickly morphing into a tall woman with straight shoulders. She didn’t look back as she turned toward the house to rejoin the rest of the family.
He knew that what he said was right. He had to triage this situation, taking care of the most important things first. Anything that involved the clan as a whole was more significant than anything personal. Still, he also knew that what his mother had said was right.You deserve to have someone at your side.Wasn’t that what he’d always wanted?
Dylan had never regretted having Lila with Gwen. Though they weren’t compatible, he’d gotten an incredible daughter out of the situation. In the long hours of night, though, his bed had been empty for so long.
It would have to stay that way for a while longer.
12
“Mom?”
“Yeah, honey?” Stacey clipped Elijah’s wet swim trunks to the line she’d stretched across one side of the backyard. It held a constant rotation of bathing suits and towels. Living right on the water generated more laundry, but it was worth it to know her kids were getting outside. They enjoyed their life in a different way than they had back in Newton.
“Can we go to the library?” Vivian asked as she waved a bright pink paperback in the air. She’d come out in a tank top and shorts and made herself comfortable on the deck. “This is the last book that I haven’t read yet.”
Stacey smiled. This was even further proof that the move had been good for her kids. Vivian hadalways been a reader, but she’d torn into her collection with more voracity than usual over the past couple of weeks. “Sure. I’ll have to get a card for the one here in Truro. Actually, I think you’re old enough to have your own library card now.”
Vivian’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“We’ll check, but I think so. Of course, you’d have to be responsible with it.” Stacey pulled a damp towel from the basket at her feet and clipped it to the line.
“I will! Can we go right now?” Vivian’s feet slapped down onto the deck as she sat up.
Checking her watch, Stacey shook her head. “They’re probably closed for the day, but we can go tomorrow,” she promised. “That’ll give you time to finish that book.”
Her daughter eyed her current read with bored contempt. “Yeah, I guess so.” She flopped back into her chair and found her spot once again.
“How about you, Elijah?” Stacey nudged the laundry basket with her foot, moving it further down the clothesline. “Do you want to go to the library?”
“My name isn’t Elijah!” he insisted, flipping up the eye patch he’d donned before coming out into the yard. “I’m Captain Elijah!”
“Oh, my mistake. Well, Captain Elijah, would you like to go to the library tomorrow? It’s a new one, one we’ve never been to before. It’ll be an adventure.” Considering how he was parading around the yard, waving a plastic sword and yelling all the pirate lingo he could remember, Stacey figured an adventure was right up his alley.
“Yar! Pirates don’t read!” he insisted, catching his tricorn hat from last Halloween just before it fell off.
“Sure, they do.” Stacey smiled as she clipped a bright pink one-piece to the line. It was one of Vivian’s favorites, and it was getting enough wear these days that they’d probably need to get out to the store and grab a few extras. “Pirates like stories just as much as anyone else. How else do they pass all that time at sea?”
He twisted his face as he thought. “They sing songs! And make maps! And walk the plank!”
“Oh, okay. Well, I’m pretty sure Captain Elijah enjoyed going to the library before, so you tell him he can still come with us when we go. We might even find some books about pirates while we’re there.”
“Can I wear my hat?” Elijah asked, patting it proudly.
“Yes, but you’ll have to leave your sword at home. They don’t allow swords at the library.”
He looked down at the fake weapon in his hand, considering this, and then shrugged before he ran off toward the back corner of the yard, yelling about parrots and doubloons.
Stacey focused on the sunshine on her shoulders and the gentle sound of the ocean nearby. More than that, she concentrated on the knowledge that she was doing exactly what she’d come there to do. Her kids were happy and relaxed. She was right there with them, ready for whatever they might need. Even when she’d been one of the top execs at Martin Marketing, Stacey had always known her first job was that of a mother. It was just too bad that it’d taken such a dramatic change for her to be able to do it full-time.
“Ahoy, there!” Elijah called out.
Stacey glanced over her shoulder. Her son was standing at the back corner of the fence, waving his sword in the air. A man was out on the beach behind Dylan’s place, sweeping a metal detector over the sand. She immediately recognized him as Will. Even from a distance, it was strange to see a man who looked so much like Dylan and yet not. Twins or not, Stacey had already decided that she didn’t like theman. She’d only met him briefly once, so perhaps that wasn’t fair. She was past the point of really caring about what was fair. She just needed to do and feel what was right for her.
“Ahoy, there!” Elijah called out again.
