"All that matters is that we all help today. Otherwise, we won't get back to Stonefire until maybe tomorrow."
Dawn spoke up. "Don't worry, there's not a lot to pack. The furniture will almost all stay here. A former colleague from my old job is going to pick it up and take it for her niece. So here's how we'll divide up the packing."
As Dawn gave the orders, Blake was amazed at how Rafe and Jane merely nodded and went to their respective tasks. He whispered for her ears only, "That pair are as stubborn and strong-willed as dragon-shifters, so I don't think you're going to have any problems with actual dragons, Dawn. It's almost like you know how to put dominance into your voice."
She smiled. "I'm just a mum, nothing more."
He wanted to kiss his mate and tell her she was so much more than that, but Daisy tugged at his shirt and asked, "Don't you want to help me with my room, Blake? I never finished my tour, and I want to show you some things before we pack them up. I have some really brilliant pictures of dragons, and a few books you guys didn't buy me. Not to mention some of my own little dragon creations. I mean, wouldn't it be brilliant to have four wings instead of two? Or imagine if you could breathe fire?"
He suspected no packing would get done for a while if Daisy had her way.
Dawn murmured, "Go. She just wants to share her life with you."
After nodding, he kissed her quickly before following Daisy into her bedroom.
And for the next thirty minutes, as he'd predicted, no actual packing took place. However, he learned more about Daisy and grew a little more confident that he could be her stepfather without too many missteps along the way. Especially once he gently nudged her to start packing, and she actually listened to him.
His crash course in fatherhood was going better than he'd ever thought possible. Maybe by the time his baby was born, he'd be ready for it.
His dragon snorted. Babies are different. Even I know that.
Ignoring his dragon, Blake focused on the positive and helped Daisy with whatever she needed.
Dawn watched Blake and Daisy from the doorway for a few minutes, loving how Blake was patient with all of Daisy's stories.
In her experience, most adults tried to find excuses to get away from her daughter. But Blake was making an effort, and that meant the world to her.
However, once Daisy spotted her and asked if her room was already done, Dawn went into her old bedroom and sat on the bed a second to look around her now old life.
It was mostly drawings from Daisy, pictures of them together, and a few paintings she'd done years ago.
Even though it had been only her and Daisy for so long, she could easily see more pictures of Blake with the three of them. And as she placed her hand over her lower abdomen, she smiled. It'd be four of them soon enough.
With the whirlwind of activities from the frenzy to the DDA paperwork to her mating ceremony, Dawn had rarely had a moment to think about her life changing. And yet, she didn't mind. Despite having lived in a city her entire life, she already missed Stonefire and the surrounding lakes and hills.
Which reminded her that she needed to start packing or who knew when they'd be able to go back to their new home.
Dawn didn't know how long she worked on packing up her things when Blake entered the room and immediately pulled her back against his front. He kissed her neck and murmured, "You should take a break."
Leaning into his solid chest, she smiled. "You worry too much. As I've told you before, the pregnancy and carrying to term itself was never the problem for me, just the conceiving."
He nuzzled her cheek. "Still, I don't want to risk it."
She turned in his arms until she could loop hers around his neck. "I can't sit on a pillow for nine months, Blake. If Dr. Sid tells me to, then I'll listen. But you dragonmen have a reputation for being overprotective, and according to Evie, it's my job as your mate to keep you grounded."
He grunted. "Ask Evie how well that's worked for her with Bram."
She raised an eyebrow. "Well, this is a new side to you."
He cupped her cheek, and she barely resisted leaning into his touch. "You, Daisy, and the baby already mean so