Bruce waited a beat before asking, “What if Aaron isn’t a werewolf? Or his brother or sister?”
Laddin shrugged. “Then we’ll take turns running in the park. Or maybe they’ll be able to do something else.” He’d seen the files when he’d organized Captain M’s filing cabinet. “Adoption of magical babies doesn’t have the red tape normal adoption does. Magical orphans happen, and they need magical parents to raise them.” He looked at Bruce. “You okay with that?”
“We turned a demon into a son. If I wasn’t okay with that, I would have bailed back by the lake.”
Laddin smiled. “I love you,” he said, the words feeling like the most natural thing in the world.
“I love you too,” Bruce returned. “And in case you’re wondering, I’m in for the long haul. If you want. Even if things go south tomorrow morning—”
“They won’t.” Of course, that was a bold statement, given that neither of them had any idea how things were going to work out.
“But if they do, I want to try us anyway. You and me with a two-story house and lasagna. Kid or not, I want to give it a shot.”
“Me too.”
There it was—a commitment to each other, not just their son. And their kiss was, again, the most natural thing in the world. A kiss. Then another. And then Laddin whispered a question.
“So… you want to fool around before the 2:00 a.m. feeding?”
“Hell yes.”
The move to the bed took no time at all. There was no space in the room anyway, so they both fell over onto the mattress. They were nearly silent as they undressed each other, and barely spoke above a whisper afterward. Aaron slept through it all as they took comfort in each other’s caresses. And kisses. And hot, breathless orgasms.
And then they held each other and looked at the crib.
“That was weird,” Bruce whispered. “Doing that with a baby in the room.”
“Yeah,” Laddin agreed. “Let’s get separate rooms in the house.”
“And a baby monitor.”
“Deal.”
They fell silent, and Laddin nearly slept. He was about to drift off when Bruce rolled over and fiddled with the clock. He was setting an alarm for their dawn meeting with Bitterroot. Except he didn’t set it for before dawn. He set it for two hours earlier than that.
Given that it was well after midnight, they weren’t going to have much time to sleep. Especially if Aaron woke in the middle of the night to be fed. But when Bruce saw him looking, he shrugged.
“I’m not giving up,” Bruce whispered. “I’m leaving us enough time to come up with a solution.”
Laddin didn’t think two hours would be anywhere near enough time for that. They’d already been at it the entire day and had come up with nothing. But he didn’t say that.
“If anyone can figure it out, it’s you,” he whispered.
“Me?” Bruce challenged. “Why am I so special?”
“Because you are,” Laddin answered as he pulled Bruce close and shut his eyes. “You just are.”
Bruce was silent a long time. Long enough that Laddin had thought he’d fallen asleep. But then he heard Bruce whisper words filled with awe. Awe, shock, and a strong dose of gratitude.
“I’m not a monster,” he said. “I’ve fucked up, that’s for sure, but I’m not a monster. I never was.”
“No, you’re not,” Laddin agreed. “You’re the man I love.”
“Which makes me pretty okay, I guess,” Bruce said. Then, after a long moment, “Which means you’re pretty cool too.”
“Yeah,” Laddin agreed. “I am. We are.” Then he pressed a kiss to Bruce’s lips. And when they separated, he whispered the only words they needed. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
They slept.
Chapter 26
BABY CHEESE FARTS
BRUCE WOKE with an idea.
He also awoke with a splitting headache and a crimp in his neck. The first was eased by turning off the alarm. The second was ignored because, damn it, he had an idea!
Laddin grumbled and the baby stirred, but Bruce’s face must have shown his excitement, because Laddin abruptly sat up.
“What? What have you figured out?”
Bruce hesitated. “It’s just a thought. It may be nothing.”
“Don’t go negative on me! We’ve seen how badly that affects the world. So, what have you figured out?”
Bruce didn’t answer directly. He scrambled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. “Get dressed and—”
“I’ll go to the kitchen and make a bottle. Aaron’s probably getting hungry. Then we’ll talk.”
Bruce nodded and headed for the bathroom. His mind was racing the whole time, trying to work the angles, to figure out if his idea was possible. But right now he needed information, and that meant he had to talk to the higher-ups.
He stepped out of the bathroom and came up short. Wulfric was standing in the bedroom doorway.
“What have you got?” the man asked as he leaned against the wall. Damn, he looked half-dead beneath the fairy glamour. Bruce had forgotten he was still recovering from his near death a few days ago, but though he didn’t look any worse than he had back then, he didn’t look much better either.
Bruce waved him toward the bed. “Sit down before you keel over.” But he was warmed that the guy had stayed awake, presumably trying to help work things out.
“The director’s taking a shower. He’ll be—”
“The fewer people who know about this, the better.” Aaron was awake now and fussy. Bruce picked him up, marveling again at how strange life was. A week ago he’d been a bored firefighter with an emptiness in his life that he couldn’t seem to fill. Not with endless girls, not with dangerous risks, and not with family. Then, after one visit from his brother, he suddenly had magic, a child, and—
Laddin walked in, and Bruce didn’t even try to hide his sappy smile.
He had love, and that was the best magic of all.
Laddin sat in the rocking chair and held out his hands. “Give me Aaron, then start talking.”
He did, but not to Wulfric and Laddin. As soon as Aaron was settled, Bruce lifted his head
