I didn’t want our kids growing up with stripper names. This one,” he brushed the little nose with the tip of his finger. “She looks like an Isabelle to me.”
That’s a sweet name.
“Hang on, I will swap this one out with the others so you can see them all.” Dian could feel the warmth and affection in his mate’s gaze. “I do love you, mate.”
I love you too. But Dian was going to have to wait to tell his mate that in person, the same as holding his precious children would be something he would do in a little while. He’d been scratched by damn vampires before, and he was going to be crouched like a lump of rock for a few more hours yet. It’s better than fainting again.
Epilogue
A week later.
“We aren’t going to win any housekeeping awards anytime soon,” Kee said with a sigh as he flopped on the couch next to his mate. The washing machine was on, there was a basket of laundry left to fold. Dian had put the used bottles in the sterilizer unit, but they were going to need a bigger one of those. Using three bottles a feed soon added up when the babies were being fed every three hours.
“At least they sleep.” Dian sighed. Shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants, Kee thought his mate looked magnificent. Unfortunately, worshipping that magnificence would take more energy than Kee could dredge up. He settled for snuggling under Dian’s arm.
“We have two hours. Should we nap or eat?” Kee closed his eyes as he inhaled Dian’s scent.
“I’ll microwave a couple of Mrs. Hooper’s meals in a minute.” Dian was quiet for a moment and then said, “I spoke to my mom and dad today. Told them they were grandparents.”
That perked Kee up. “How did it go? Are they coming to visit?”
“Not exactly.”
Kee sat up. “Did they say something hateful about our adorable bundles of happiness? Because, damn, if they did…”
“No, no. It was nothing like that.” Dian did that sweet thing where he cupped Kee’s chin and made him feel cherished. “My parents are a lot older than me. Even now, they don’t spend a lot of time around other people – human or paranormal.”
“Uh huh.” Kee still wasn’t seeing what the problem was. There was nowhere safer for a gargoyle than Arrowtown.
“Yeah, they kinda bought us a house. Apparently, they bought it for me back when I started working for the council, so I’d have a home for me and my mate.”
“So, they bought it for you, but it will fit all of us? I’m not sure I want to move. I mean, it wasn’t that long ago that we bought this house, or should I say, you bought this house. We still haven’t fixed the vampire head dents in the hallway walls.”
“The guy over at the hardware store was coming to do it for us, but his little ones are teething, and he’s needed at home once the shop’s closed.”
“I’m not worried.” Kee wasn’t. Once he’d gotten over giving birth to the three most precious angels in existence, his focus was on them and his mate, not the walls. “So, about the house your parents bought you?”
“They don’t think little Eddie should grow up around the other shifter kids. They’re worried he’ll be bullied and by extension, Isabelle and Jenny will be bullied as well for being related to him.”
“I see.” Kee inhaled slowly, held it and then let the breath out just as slowly. “We are not hiding Eddie away. He is who he is, and the other kids have already accepted him. You heard Annabelle when Seth brought his three over to visit. She adores him.”
“My parents meant well…”
“They meant well with you, too.” Kee swiveled around so he was facing his mate directly. “Babe, times have changed. They change all the time. If Eddie, or his sisters, are hidden away, then what are they going to grow up thinking about themselves?”
“As they get older, kids can be cruel.”
“And if that happens, we’ll deal with it then. But babe, please. Tell me you told them no.”
“I did.”
“But you’re still worried about it – worried about little Eddie.” Leaning forward, Kee rested his chin on Dian’s shoulder. “Babe, you have to have some trust. This is the most accepting town I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been all over, so have you. Do you honestly think our friends will let us down? Do you honestly think anyone in this town would