at the local grocery store, but other than that his gift had been blessedly silent. All of that was about to change tomorrow with his first day back at work, but at least he would be able to enjoy one more day without ghosts being the focal point of his existence.
Jude pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “When I was in the store, I was positive this was the right gift for you, but as the days passed, it wasn’t sure what on earth you would do with it.”
“I wasn’t going to tell you until I had a bit more work done, but I’ve been making notes on my life. Things that happened to me when I was younger and what it’s been like ever since I met you and moved to Salem. Being a father adds one more element into my life story. This present is perfect.”
“You’re going to write your autobiography on an old-fashioned typewriter?” Tennyson sounded enchanted by the idea.
“I’m certainly going to give it a try. I don’t know how much free time I’ll have between Wolf and going back to work tomorrow, but we’ll see how it works out.”
There was a tiny squawk from across the table. Wolf, who’d been out like a light just seconds ago was awake and stretching. There was a funny look on his face as he stared up at Ronan. Cope couldn’t help thinking the baby was looking for him. His bottom lip quivering, Wolf started to whimper.
Jude moved in and plucked the baby from Ronan’s arms, even though he was already holding Aurora. Wolf settled instantly, smiling up at his father. “Well, I guess that means our son has taste.” Jude’s nose wrinkled. “And a full diaper.”
“I’ll take him.” Cope was out of his seat. He kissed Jude, before taking the baby from him. “Let’s go get you cleaned up, little man.”
As Cope walked toward the back stairs with the baby, he had the feeling he was being watched. It was ridiculous, of course, Jude was always watching him. The further away he got from the table and the typewriter, the more intense that feeling got. At the top of the stairs, Cope took a quick look around. Nothing had changed. Jude and Ronan were laughing about something, Tennyson was making funny faces at Aurora, and Everly was still running from flower to flower.
No one was looking at him at all, but the feeling he was being watched was even stronger now. Cope shrugged. He was probably just nervous about going back to work tomorrow and having to leave Wolf for the first time. Anxiety always made him feel a little bit paranoid and he was sure that was what this was, simple anxiety the day before his life was going to change.
2
Jude
For the first time since Jude had become a father, he dreaded his son falling asleep for the night. Wolf had always been such a good baby and had been sleeping through the night since he was four months old. Jude knew once the little boy was down for the night that was that.
In all the time Jude had known his husband, he’d always been steady as a rock, with the exception of those first couple weeks after they’d met. Cope had been dealing with a series of psychic attacks from an unknown person and his anxiety had been through the roof. Once that mess was settled, Cope had settled as well. Until now.
Jude had stayed home with Cope and Wolf for the first month after his adoption had been finalized and they’d brought the baby home from Navajo Nation in Arizona. He’d loved every minute of bonding with his son but had to go back to work. He had been feeling stir-crazy, not that he didn’t enjoy every minute with the baby, he just needed something else in addition to fatherhood.
It wasn’t something they talked about very much, but thanks to Cope’s inheritance, there was no need for him to ever work another day in his life. Jude made the mistake of bringing that up once when Cope was bemoaning going back to work, and his suggestion hadn’t gone over well. Cope was a very independent man. It had always been very important for him to stand on his own two feet rather than depending on any part of the Devereaux or Forbes’ family fortunes.
They’d both agreed six months was a good amount of time for Cope to be home with Wolf. During