I complied, throwing her up a few more times before Bethany interfered. “Okay, that’s enough. She already ate a sandwich and she’ll be puking all over you if you keep that up.”
I’d seen the girl puke once before. She was a pro at it, leaving me with zero desire to repeat the experience while I held her.
“Go play,” I encouraged, then plopped down on the blanket beside Bethany.
“She really likes you,” she said. “Whatever happens between us, I’ll expect you to be cognizant of that. I know you don’t want kids.”
She handed me a sandwich. I took a bite without paying any attention to what it was. It could’ve been sand and dirt and I would’ve eaten it if Bethany gave it to me. “I am,” I said. “And I do want kids. I just think having a baby right now would be complicated.” I chewed and thought about it. “Although, to be perfectly honest, if I had a child, I’d be very lucky to get it away from my mom, aunts, and grandmother.” I rolled my eyes. “Not to mention my sister.”
Bethany giggled. “I’m sure Tiffany would love to meet your sister.”
“You have a sister?” Tiffany plopped down on the blanket. I knew she was walking up but hadn’t realized she was within earshot.
“I do,” I said. “And she loves to babysit. Maybe we can all go do something fun one day soon.”
The sweet girl grabbed an apple and handed it to me. I wasn’t planning on eating an apple, but when a three-year-old hands me an apple, I eat the damn apple. “Here you go, Maddox.”
The way she said my name was so cute. It was more like Maddos or maybe Maddoth. She had the slightest lisp. “Thanks! Apples are my favorite.”
“Me too,” she crowed. Soon we finished our apples and she’d told me every food she liked and had begun the foods she didn’t like. I tried to agree or disagree as was appropriate, but mostly I marveled at how cute she was and how surprised I was that I was actually interested in the little girl’s food preferences.
“Tiff,” Bethany interrupted gently. “You better go get some slide time in before we have to go.”
She jumped up and ran off, but before she got far, she whirled around and came back. “Will you slide with me?” Tiffany asked shyly.
Nothing in the world sounded like more fun at that moment. Not even sitting in the warm sun with Bethany. “I’d love to.”
If nothing else, I had to give Tiffany the medal for being tireless. Even with my dragon endurance, I finally had to call uncle. “Okay, you got me beat,” I said. “I can’t take one more trip down the slide.”
My butt was sore and my hips from being a little bit too big for the narrow opening. I kept getting stuck halfway down.
She giggled. “You’re too big to slide.”
She was not wrong. I hobbled over to Bethany and stretched out on the blanket. She’d cleaned away the food, leaving plenty of room. “You’re sweet to humor her like that,” she said.
After making sure Tiffany wasn’t looking, she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.
Artemis wanted to deepen it and wrap her up in our arms, but we were in the middle of the park with kids and parents everywhere. I was lucky I got the quick kiss I did.
When the day wore on and Tiffany began to get visibly tired, Bethany smiled at me. We’d been holding hands for the last hour or so as Tiffany ran around with a girl she knew from school.
“Come on, sweetheart,” Bethany called. We’d spotted Tiffany rubbing her eyes. “It’s time to go home!”
She ran over, definitely slower than she’d been a couple of hours before. “But Mommy!”
Bethany held up one hand. “We’ve been here most of the day. Don’t argue, okay?”
Tiffany’s shoulders slumped, but she didn’t voice another protest. She just trudged toward us. To my surprise, she came straight to me and held her arms up. “Carry me?”
My heart prickled as I drew her up into my arms. She laid her head on my shoulder. “Thanks, Maddoth.”
Bethany looked ready to cry, and I even found myself a little misty-eyed. Tiffany had wound herself tightly into my heartstrings.
I carried her to the car and buckled her in while Bethany put the picnic supplies on the other side. Then, I walked around and put my hand on Beth’s shoulders. “That was a nice afternoon,” I said.
Beth peered into the car. “She’ll be asleep before we hit Main Street.”
I chuckled and pulled her into a hug. “Text me tonight.”
After another soft kiss, she got in the car, and I watched them drive away.
It was time for a conversation with my father. I followed the trail back to Main Street, across and past the drive-in, and up the path into the woods. I knew exactly where to cut across to come out near my parents’ cabin instead of my grandparents’ or my Uncle Axel’s place.
My father, alpha of the territory, was on the porch waiting for me when I came out of the woods. Of course, he’d known I was coming. He was more intuitive than I was, even though Artemis and I were alphas as well. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing. I just wanted to get your perspective,” I said. “About Hailey.”
He furrowed his brow. “Is she okay? Is something wrong?”
Shit. I hadn’t meant to make him think she was the focus of my worries. “No, no, she’s fine. I’m more thinking about what it was like becoming her stepfather.”
He nodded somberly. “I don’t consider myself that. Hailey is mine, no matter who fathered her.”
I long suspected he felt that way. She called him Dad, just like I did.
“But I won’t lie. It was scary at first. Suddenly, I had two kids. As thrilled as I was to have you both, it was slightly terrifying. I didn’t know anything about raising kids. I still feel
