“Kitty has them for the morning. I needed a break. The girls hit a growth spurt and they eat all the time. It feels like all I do is sleep and feed.”
Eliza put her hand on Wednesday’s. “That sounds so hard. I can’t even imagine.”
“You better picture it,” Sky teased.
Tatum and Wednesday gawked at Eliza. “What?” they said.
Eliza sneered at Sky. “Well, I wanted to be the one to tell you, but someone can’t keep her mouth shut.”
Sky shrugged. “I’m sorry. It’s too exciting not to share.”
“Are you having a baby?” Wednesday asked. “I thought you couldn’t.”
Eliza took a drink of coffee. “I didn’t think it would happen, either. I mean I’m thirty-five for goodness’s sake. But I suppose stranger things have happened.”
Wednesday giggled and clapped like a schoolgirl. She hugged Eliza. “I’m so happy for you. How far along are you? What does Cameron think? Does anyone else know? How are you feeling?”
Eliza held up her hand. “Two months. He’s ecstatic. Not yet. Fine so far, except I pee more.”
Tatum clinked her mug against Eliza’s. “Congratulations. Don’t get me wrong, I’m way happy for you, but now Connor will really drive me crazy.”
“Does he have baby fever?” Eliza asked.
“Oh. My. God, yes. You’d think he was a girl.”
“Do you want a baby?” Sky took a bite of her Danish.
“I do, but not yet. I haven’t had my license for a year yet. Hank is leaving next month for another extended vacation and I’m getting in the groove of this whole doctor thing. Kids would kinda hurt that.”
Wednesday said, “Don’t let him pressure you. Do it when it’s right for you. I’m just now thinking about going back to work.”
“Teaching yoga? Where would you do that?” Eliza asked.
“A few regulars have emailed me since the fire and will pay me for coming to their house. Kitty and I talked about it. She told me that if I could line all the appointments up for the same day, she’d come and make a day of it.”
“How does Caleb feel about that?” Tatum asked.
Wednesday rolled her eyes and scoffed. “I don’t care what he thinks about it.”
“Uh-oh, is he still being an idiot?” Sky asked.
“Well, no, maybe, sometimes.” Wednesday regretted saying anything. She appreciated how hard Caleb worked, but missed him. His long hours at jobs he hated soured his mood all the time. They fought more the last three months than at any other point in their relationship. Something had to change though she had no idea what or how to start it.
“Hey ladies, can I join you?”
Doug walked up to their table dragging a chair behind him.
“You’re more than welcome,” Wednesday said.
“Before you ask, Sky, I picked up the supplies Wyatt needs for the science fair.”
It amazed Wednesday how Doug and Sky managed a healthy parenting relationship with Wyatt. Since Cameron mated with both Sky and Eliza, and Doug moved to Rio City, poor Wyatt had four parents.
“Perfect. Are you setting it up at your place or do you want to use mine?”
“Can we use yours? Mine’s a little cluttered at the moment.”
“Oh, that’s right, my brother moves in with you this week. I still can’t believe you can put up with him,” Tatum said.
“Ryan is a unique person,” Doug teased.
“I don’t know if I’d call him ‘unique’. He’s more like a pain in the ass.”
Doug laughed. “Yeah, but he’s my pain in the ass.”
“Well you can keep him.”
Doug winked. “Okay. Fine by me.”
Eliza gulped her drink and then said, “Ooo, speaking of moving in together, did I tell you about my sister?”
“Something about her and Eli?” Doug asked.
Eliza nodded. “Yep. She’s going on location with him next month. He’s wrapping up that King Arthur movie. They’ll be living together for a month. She says it’s a practice run to see if they can stand each other.”
“Things moved fast there,” Tatum said.
“I hope it works out. I’ve never seen her like this. He’s good for her.”
Doug checked his watch. “Sorry, ladies. Gotta go.” He nodded to Sky. “I’ll pick up Wyatt after school and bring him over to your place.”
He bent low to Sky and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks. That’ll be a big help.”
Wednesday checked her watch. “We need to get going too, ladies, if we’re doing it today. Since Kitty’s watching the babies, I can get a few errands done.”
Each week after coffee, the girls visited Maria’s grave with fresh flowers. None of them realized how important she’d become to their little group until she was gone. They took turns buying flowers and spent a few minutes paying their respects each week. It never got easier as Wednesday had hoped it would.
“I got roses this time. Do we know if she liked pink?” Tatum held up a dozen pink roses.
The ladies looked at each other with blank expressions. Tatum shrugged, and they walked out to Sky’s car.
Sky parked the car, and they walked to the far corner of the cemetery.
Wednesday noticed a familiar figure standing at the grave. “Why are you here? I thought you were working.”
Caleb startled. “I’m on a break.” He noticed the flowers Tatum carried. “Are you the ones who bring the flowers?”
Wednesday nodded.
“I ran into Maria’s mom here last week and she told me how much she appreciated whoever did that.”
“We never even thought about telling her,” Eliza said.
Caleb continued. “She comes out here like every other day. Sometimes we sit and talk.”
“You talk to her? I didn’t even know you knew her,” Wednesday said.
“I don’t have to tell you everything I do and everyone I talk to,” he snapped.
Wednesday’s anger awoke her bird. “No, you’re right. I mean why tell me that when you don’t talk to me?”
The tension between them grew like a fog rising from the ground. The other girls stepped back from them.
“I think we’ll wait in the car Wednesday.” Sky nodded to the other girls, and they walked back to the car.
“What is your problem?” Caleb turned to Wednesday.
“My problem? My problem?” Wednesday put her hands on her hips. “No, we’re not doing this here. I’ll see you at home, whenever you grace us with your presence.” She stepped away.
Caleb held her arm. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“You tell me.”
“Are you upset I work?”
Wednesday narrowed her eyes. “No, I’m not upset that you work. I’m grateful to you for working and taking care of us, but you use work as an excuse not to be with us.”
“An excuse? You think I work my ass off so I don’t have to be with you?”
“Don’t you?”
Caleb dropped her hand and shook his head. “I can’t believe you’d say that. We’re in debt up to our eyeballs. I owe everyone I know money. I can’t get a real job because no one wants a failed business owner on their team.”
“You didn’t fail. The fire wasn’t your fault.”
He harrumphed. “It wasn’t? I heard those workers talking about a potential problem and I did nothing about it. If I’d taken care of things, then maybe none of this would have happened. The resort would still be there and Maria—” he inhaled, “—Maria would still be here.”
Wednesday went to hold him, but he moved out of her reach. A heavy weight pushed against her chest. “You can’t blame yourself. It wasn’t even the crew’s fault. It was an accident.” She inched to him again. This time he didn’t move. She held his hand.
He scanned the surrounding area. “Part of me knows that.”
“Then focus on that.”
He focused on her. “My grandfather showed me that land before he showed Camer
on and Connor. I had only been shifting a few months, and we went out flying. We landed on an overlook and he pointed it all out. He told me the canyon would take care of those who took care of it. I failed. I failed everyone.”
Tears threatened to spill from Wednesday’s eyes. “You didn’t fail. What makes you think you failed?”
“Because I have no way to take care of everyone.”
She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. For a few minutes they stood not saying anything. She tried to connect to him and his falcon, but to no avail. Wednesday broke away and searched for a place to sit. They walked to a bench, and she pulled Caleb into her embrace, his head resting on her shoulder.
“You are not responsible for all of us. You can only take care of you,” she said.
“That’s not what I’m about. Where would Cameron and Connor be if the resort hadn’t been there when they needed it?”
Wednesday ran her hand through Caleb’s hair. “They are grown men. They would have dealt with it.”
“But what about you and the girls? My job is to provide for you. I can barely do that. The bills get paid, but there’s nothing left at the end of the month.”
Wednesday held him tighter. “If I take private clients, that will help.”
Caleb sat up. “Do you want to work with private clients? You’re always saying how hard it is to take care of the babies and if you work, it will just be that much harder.”
“Yeah, it will hurt, but we’re in this together. It shouldn’t be all on you.”
Caleb pulled out his phone from his pocket. “It’s Cameron. He’s bugging me about meeting with the insurance people again.”
“I thought they settled everything.”
“It was, but they need to finalize it before releasing the money. Cam and Connor want to put it back in the resort and reopen.”
Wednesday missed the resort. She loved working with everyone and seeing the people come in. There were new students in her classes each week. It felt like a home for a big family, something she longed for most of her life. Since they moved into their own place, it took an effort to see other people. Caleb never made the effort, and she tried, but even the once a week coffee dates were almost too hard to coordinate.
“Do you?” Caleb asked.
“I miss it, but it makes sense you have reservations.”
“With my share of the payout, I can pay back everything we owe. It’ll be easier without that hanging over my head.”
“At the risk of making you mad, a lot of debt came from the money you put into the resort. Why didn’t your brothers put in more of their money?”
Caleb furrowed his brow. “I didn’t ask them.”
“Are you serious? I thought you were equal partners.”
“We were. I didn’t want to ask them for money because I didn’t want, I didn’t want—”
“You didn’t want, what?”
“Their help.”
Wednesday walked a step away and turned around. “Partners are partners. Work together.”
“But this whole thing was my idea. Mine, not theirs. They went along with it because I talked them into it. I couldn’t admit I failed, and they’d been wrong.”
She kneeled in front of him resting her hands on his knees. “Is that what you think?” Caleb stared at her with no answer. “You failed no one. You and your brothers are partners. Just like you and I are partners. Helping each other is another way of loving each other.”
“I don’t know.”
She stood and glared down at him. “Caleb Hanson. I’ve had enough of you feeling sorry for yourself. A bad thing happened. Well, guess what? That’s life.” She paced in front of the bench. “Wrong choices were made. Again, that’s life. Now suck it up and let’s move on. You know what I want? I want a mate who is at peace. Who can forgive himself and find harmony with the world? A mate who can provide shelter during the storms and still lean on others for support. These aren’t hard concepts but take yourself out of the equation and realize the world doesn’t revolve around you.”
She fumed. Her falcon lifted her wings and screamed in her head. Months of frustration boiled over in an instant. Prepared for a fight, it angered her even more when Caleb laughed at her.
“What the hell are you laughing at?” she demanded.
“I forgot how gorgeous you are when you get keyed up.” He held out his hand for her. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, but the gentle smile on his face melted her fury. “Sit here with me for a minute.”
He pulled out his phone and typed on the screen.
“Now what are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m letting Sky know I’ll take you home.”
“What makes you think I want you to take me home?”
Caleb ignored her and made a phone call. “Hey, this is Caleb. Just calling to let you know I won’t be back in this afternoon.”
Wednesday questioned him with her eyes as he disconnected the call.
“I’m not going back to work. I’m headed home to be with you and the girls.” He rested his arm on the back of the bench.
“That sounds good in theory, but—”
“I don’t know that I can make up for the times I haven’t been there to help you. I don’t know if I can ever make up for all the things I said to my brothers. I need you to understand that I did what I thought was right.”
She took his face in her hands. “Caleb when I met you, you saved me from an unhappy life and you gave me this one. You gave me two beautiful children and a family that is stronger than any I could have imagined. Talk to your brothers.”
“We could stop by there on the way home.”
She nestled against him. “That sounds wonderful.”
After a few minutes, Caleb said, “We’ve got a lot to talk about if we rebuild. I don’t want it to be like it was before.”
“Good. I don’t either. In fact-” she pulled back to see him, “-I have a different idea. I have money saved up. It’s not much, but it’s enough. I want to buy into the Libre Volare.”
“What?”
“I want to be a partner with you in every way. I bet the other girls would be interested too.”
“I don’t know about this.”
“I do. Let’s make this a true family effort.”
Caleb stood up and faced his back to her. “Do you think we can work together and survive?”
She stood behind him and put her arms around him, holding him close. “I don’t know, but I’d like to give it a try.”
He twisted around, put his hands on her face, and kissed her. “I’m opened to try it. We need to sit down and have a long conversation about everything though.”
“Agreed, but maybe we could sneak in a little alone time before Kitty has to leave.” She walked toward his car. “I bet my mom would love to take the girls on a walk.”
“I’ve got a better idea.” He followed behind her. “I know a very secluded ledge overlooking the canyon that is only accessible if you fly in.”
“That’s the Mr. Hanson I married.” She stepped back to him for a kiss. She kissed him hard and gripped his ass in her hands. His reaction was just what she’d hoped for. While his eyes were still closed, she tapped his shoulder and said, “I bet I can get there faster.”
It didn’t take her long to undress and take flight. Caleb needed a few seconds to figure out what was happening, but he took off after her. They soared away over their canyon, together.
Caleb
Caleb’s brothers and their mates crowded into his small living room. It had been months since they all got together to eat and talk. He missed it. Mentally, he kicked himself realizing he was mostly to blame for that. He sat on the floor watching everyone sit around, laugh and eat reminded him of his dream. This is the family he wanted to protect, to shelter.
“Is there more pepperoni left?” Connor asked.
“Nah, bro, I ate the last piece.” Cameron flashed his brother a sly smile.
“Here, Babe, you
can have mine.” Tatum handed over her plate.
She sneaked in a kiss on the cheek. He put his hand on her arm and they kissed a little harder. Her plate fell, and he reached his hands behind her head.
Cameron threw a wadded napkin at them. “Hey, get a room.”
Eliza whispered to Wednesday. “Where’s your bathroom? This kid is already using my bladder as a trampoline.”
Wednesday nodded and whispered back, “I remember those days. It’s down the hall, second door on the left.”
Caleb got off the floor and cleared his throat. “Um, uh, I want to thank everyone for coming over here tonight.”
Cameron laughed. “Are you giving a toast or a speech?”
Sky put her hand on his arm and glared at him.
He held out his hands and shrugged his shoulders. “What? What did I say?”
She sighed. “Give him a break.”
Eliza came back and sat down.
“As I was saying, we’ve been through a lot so far this year and I, I guess what I’m trying to say is, I, um, it’s been bad and I…” He glanced at Wednesday who nodded. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted towards each of you. I’ve been a bit of an ass.”
“A bit?” Cameron chided.
Sky flicked her hand and swatted his arm. Cameron growled at her.
“Nah, I get it. You’re right. I was a big ass. And as hard as it is to admit that, that’s what I’m doing now. Do you remember how small the waterfall was the first time granddad showed it to us?” His brothers nodded. “I remembered he said, if the falls had an audience, she would grow, or something like that. I fell in love with that canyon and knew that one day, I’d bring an audience to her. I didn’t imagine the Libre Volare would become a sanctuary for you Cameron, when you came home, and even you Connor when you came home. Now I understand that each of you came here to help me. I’ve just been too prideful to see that I’ve never been alone in this.”
He took a drink from his beer and continued. “That’s why I have an idea.” He jutted out his chin to Wednesday. “Well, it’s actually her idea. You want to tell them about it?”
Wednesday giggled like a school girl. “I’m so excited about this. Let’s reopen the resort.”
Shelter For My Mate: Sassy Ever After (Sanctuary for My Mate Book 3) Page 11
