Page 51 of Shadowing Bright
A man was standing next to Normic, and his eyes were hopeful.He had a sheaf of paperwork in his hands.Her ears twitched, and he grinned.“That is very right.”
“Mr.Keel?”
“Keel, or Dad, or Father, but if you have kids, I am putting dibs on Pop-pop.”
Amy felt Emmers staring at her, and her face got hot.“Keel for now.Thank you for welcoming me.”
“When Lady Frostclaw first asked us, we wanted to know if we were her last choice, but she said we were her first.We are located here, have a strong desire for family, and your birth mother hates us, so we are all together there then.”Keel grinned.“We can’t give you your old family back, but with us, you can help us get a new one, and we will do the same for you.If you didn’t have a suitor already, we could have a line twenty men deep in about three hours.”
Emmers growled, and Amy growled back at him.He blinked and leaned his head back in surprise.
“Don’t fuck with my new family, Emmers.I can and will flip you to your back and then ask Keel about the first of twenty.”
He blinked in shock.“Yes, ma’am.”
Grandma was grinning.“Vixen, sign the paperwork, and then I have to ask Normic a question.”
A server brought Keel a chair, and he sat next to her.They went over all the documentation required to register for a new clan.Frostfire was right up her alley.
She looked at the schedule of public appearances and blinked.“Oh, this is a lot.”
Keel chuckled.“We will ease up next year, but for this year, we want you firmly entrenched in our community.”
She glanced at Emmers.“Are you sure about this?”
He grinned.“If I am off, I am yours.”
Amy said softly to Keel, “He works nights.”
“Ah.Well, you can be on your own for most of these.”
She nodded and kept slogging through the paperwork, reading it as she went.She surrendered her claim to her previous clan and gave all details about her name, address, phone number, and occupation.She had to list her friends, neighbours, and work associates.Casual associates were on there as well.
She filled all of the information out, including Emmers’ number and his association as a tentative romantic interest.His clan was also listed.
When she listed her birthday and preferred cake flavour, she began to understand that they wanted to understand her, and they wanted it fast.
“So, I am going to get some of this info on you two, right?”She glanced at Keel.
He grinned.“We don’t need anything and have a few restaurants, so we get what we want.”
“Flowers?”
Keel paused.“That would definitely be appreciated.”
She nodded.“Thanks.”
She signed the final page and exhaled as she returned his pen.
Normic had been talking softly to Grandma and Emmers.He smiled and absently signed the lines where clan leader authorization was necessary.
Keel was vibrating with excitement.
When the final page was signed, she got hugged from the side.She chuckled.“It’s a girl.”
Keel was making happy trills of sound, and she remembered that he was an owl.
Normic walked up behind her, pried Keel off, and hugged her as well.“Welcome to the family, daughter.”
