pictures too, all artfully arranged on a bulletin board. There are photos from school, smiling faces of kids Jesse’s age, and plenty of Morgan and Parker. Unlike the photos outside, Jesse’s pictures are recent.
I think I finally understand why Jesse was so quick to accept me as their father’s new mate. Sam’s been living in the past—holding on to a time when he wasn’t so overwhelmed and alone. But Jesse’s young. They’ve tried to move on.
We tour the office and the room Morgan and Parker share. Then Sam guides me into the master bedroom. I expect this room to be like the rest of the house, but the large closet is open, and half of it is empty.
“That’s for you,” he says, kissing my cheek.
There’s a nightstand on either side of the large bed. The drawers of the right nightstand are open and empty as well. The bed is stripped down to the mattress, and a light blue comforter and sheet set, still in the packaging, are waiting at the foot of the bed.
“There is space in my life and in my home for you, Lu. If you want, we can buy a different house. But even if we choose to stay here, I’ll do whatever it takes to make you comfortable.”
This house feels a little like Sam’s life. There are parts of it that are ready for me, and others that might require patience and acceptance. But we can take it one day at a time.
“Thank you, Sam. This is perfect. Let’s go back to my house and pack.”
34
Sam
As we tell more and more people, it becomes impossible to predict who will be supportive and who will give me a stern lecture.
I expect Lu’s brother to be in the lecture category, but he takes the news rather well. He even welds Lu’s pebble necklace to his neck.
Axe’s new penguin shifter mate, Ben, is completely delighted with Lu and the news of our bond. While we pack up Lu’s stuff to move to my house, Ben kidnaps Mary for hours at a time and snaps countless photos of her with his pet tortoise. He shares them with us through an online drive entitled “Mary & Scooch Forever.”
If the pictures are any indication, Mary has found someone who loves strawberries as much as she does. One of the photos of Mary and Schooch eating bowls of strawberries, side-by-side, may have ended up as the lock screen on my phone.
Cy, on the other hand, is less enthusiastic about our bond.
One night, after spending the better part of the day helping Lu sort through his dishes, Axe walks into Lu’s house without knocking. I know that technically it’s their family’s house, but still. Axe and his mates haven’t moved in yet. He has a black binder in his enormous hands. I’m never going to get used to how huge alpha polar bear shifters are. Axe could probably rip me in half if he wanted to.
He trudges over to the couch where I’m taking a quick break until Lu is ready to sort through Mary’s old clothes. “You like to read, don’t you?”
“Uh, yeah. Why?”
He sets the binder on the couch next to me. “Read that. It was made for the penguin shifter mate of my buddy Todd.”
The cover has the words, “Polar Bear Shifter Pregnancy Traditions” printed across the top.
“Okay. Is that Todd, as in Todd Platten?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know you two met.” Axe pulls out his phone, which also has a “Schooch & Mary Forever” photo as the lock screen. “Have you seen Cy? He was supposed to be over here.”
“No, I haven’t. Sorry.”
He heads back to the front door. “Tell him I’m looking for him. Ben wants to buy this huge terrarium, and I need help talking him down.”
Just as Axe closes the door, Cy walks into the dining room.
“Wait. How long have you been in there?”
He eyes me skeptically. “All afternoon. I packed up Mary’s things.”
“But I thought Lu was going to sort through her old clothes to find the gender neutral ones.”
“I already did.” Cy takes two of the remaining glasses from the cupboard down. Lu left a lot of dishes for the three of them. They’re going to move into the house after Lu’s stuff is gone.
Cy opens the fridge and peers inside like he already lives here.
“Axe was looking for you. Ben wants to buy this really big terrarium.”
“Damn it.” Cy pulls out his phone and types something, before locking the screen again.
“Scooch & Mary Forever” made