Spectrum (Stone Society #14) - Faith Gibson Page 0,104

changed his son’s diaper, then took him to the kitchen where Priscilla was cooking breakfast. She paused long enough to hand over a ready-made bottle so Bas could have his breakfast before the rest of them ate. Priscilla had been prickly as of late, as had Kaya. His mate wanted to go home, but Rafael wasn’t ready. Before the explosion, Priscilla had always been loyal to Rafe, but having spent the last couple months in Italy, it seemed she had moved that loyalty to Kaya. She wasn’t rude to Rafael, but she didn’t go out of her way to appease him as she usually did. Rafe really missed his cookies.

After Bas finished his bottle, Rafe placed his son on his shoulder to burp him, patting his back while dancing around the kitchen. Bas loved when Rafael sang to him, so he obliged his son every morning. It was a routine they’d gotten into while Kaya was in the hospital and one Rafael continued once they were in Italy.

As soon as Kaya had been strong enough, Rafe hired a doctor to travel with them on the Clan’s jet, and he brought his little family to the villa. He told himself it was to give Kaya her best chance at healing. He loved his Clan, but her room at the hospital had been a revolving door of mates. In truth, Rafael couldn’t look them in the eye knowing he failed at keeping them safe. Houses had been destroyed and couples displaced.

While Rafael kept his family in Italy, the others were busy rebuilding their homes. They used the original drawings he had designed to put their houses back the way they had been before Drago fucking destroyed them. Gregor had been the one to inform Rafe they were taking care of the manor in his absence. His brother asked if he wanted anything changed, and Rafe told Gregor he didn’t care. Rafe couldn’t bring himself to take Kaya back to where she’d almost lost her life. He didn’t want her living somewhere that could possibly trigger a reaction, causing more trauma. She assured him she was fine. When he reached out mentally, he didn’t sense any stress when talking about the manor, but he didn’t want to risk it.

Rafe avoided a lot of phone conversations with his family while Kaya talked to the other mates often. She and the others chatted over video conferences, sometimes one-on-one, and other times there would be four of five of them laughing together. Kaya wanted to return so they could see the new additions to the Clan. Sophia had given birth to Lydia, and Jasper and Trevor had returned from their honeymoon with Jasper’s baby sister, a full-blooded female named Cailín. The Clan was putting their lives back together the way they should after a tragedy by helping one another. Rafael didn’t feel as though he had any right to be part of the rebuilding, yet guilt was eating him alive that they were trying to get the manor ready for a homecoming he wasn’t sure would ever happen.

Kaya didn’t understand the guilt, nor did she blame Rafe for what happened to her. She blamed Drago. If Rafael had taken the threat more seriously, if he had moved against Drago as soon as the male showed up in New Atlanta, things would have turned out differently. None of their homes would have been destroyed. The mates’ plane wouldn’t have been targeted. Kaya wouldn’t need a cane to help her walk, and her face would be the same one she’d had since birth.

Not going home was putting a strain on all of them, but Rafael felt it was for the best. At least for the time being. Speaking of strains, Kaya ambled into the kitchen, and Rafael danced over to her. When Sebastian reached for his mother, Rafael pulled him back. She wasn’t strong enough to hold their child and walk, but the look Kaya gave him said she felt differently.

After sitting at the table, Kaya held out her arms. “Give me,” she insisted, and Rafe handed the baby over, but he sat down next to her in case she needed him.

Kaya leaned heavily against the bathroom counter and stared at her reflection. The woman looking back was different yet the same. The surgeons had done an amazing job putting her face back together, and scarring was minimal. It was just strange not to look exactly like she always had. Kaya wasn’t vain, and she knew she was