of planes as they
came and went. It was kind of weird. Sometime later, Greg tapped me on the shoulder.
“The boys want to say hi. You can say no.”
I shook my head and took the phone from him.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi, Uncle Charlie!”
They must have had the speaker phone on because I could hear them all equally clearly. Greg had three kids—
Bobby, Henry, and Lucas. I sent them cakes and other sweet treats pretty regularly. They’d decided to adopt me
as their surrogate uncle. I’d had no choice in the matter. Not that I’d minded.
“How are you all?”
“We need more cake!” Lucas, the youngest, said.
Even over the phone, I had no trouble telling their voices apart. One plus side of being an arctic fox was that I had
excellent hearing.
I laughed. “I’ll make you some as soon as I get back from my tour.”
“That’s ages away,” Lucas moaned.
“Two months.”
“Yeah. Ages.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“We got to see Dad on the TV yesterday,” Henry, the middle child, said. “He looked very mean.”
“Your dad’s not mean.”
“He is when he’s being your bodyguard. No one’s ever gonna hurt you while you’ve got our dad with you.”
“But we miss him,” Lucas chimed in.
“I know, buddy. He misses you too.”
“I’m in charge while Dad’s away,” Bobby, the oldest, said.
He and Lucas were both alphas, while Henry was an omega.
“No, you’re not,” Henry objected. “Papa’s the boss.”
“No, I’m the boss!” Lucas said.
“Why don’t you take it in turns?” I suggested.
“In turns?” Lucas asked.
“Yeah, you know, like when you’re playing a game. Bobby can be in charge today, Henry tomorrow, and then it
would be your turn, Lucas.”
“I want to be in charge today,” Henry objected.
“Charlie said I was in charge.” I could hear the pride in Bobby’s voice.
“I’m sure you’re all being a big help to your papa while your dad is away.”
“We are,” they chorused.
“I’m helping cook,” Bobby said.
“That’s great.”
“Yeah, and Papa is teaching me how to bake, just like you.”
“Then I hope I get to try some of your baking when I get home.”
“You bet!”
“Would you like my no-fail cake recipe?”
“Yes, please!” Bobby exclaimed.
“I’ll give it to your dad, but there’s one condition,” I warned.
“What?”
“Whose birthday is next?”
“Papa’s.”
“You have to bake your papa a birthday cake.”
“I will. Cross my heart,” Bobby said solemnly.
“Deal.”
“You’re the best, Uncle Charlie.”
I blushed, which was ridiculous, as the kids couldn’t see me. Getting praise from them was one of the best
feelings ever.
“I’m tidying my toys up every day,” Lucas said, obviously not wanting to be outdone.
“What about you, Henry?” I asked. “What are you doing to help out?”
“The washing up,” Henry said in a grumbly tone. “I hate washing up.”
“So do I.”
Greg was making apologetic eyes at me, but I waved away his concern. I enjoyed speaking to his boys, just like
I loved hearing about Jesse’s twins and seeing photos of them.
“Maybe you could offer to read Lucas a bedtime story instead?” I suggested. That way Henry could practise his
reading too.
Greg raised his eyebrows at me.
“Great idea!” Henry said enthusiastically. “I’ll ask Papa if I can do that instead of washing up.”
“Bye, Henry.”
In the background, I heard their papa talking. “Boys, it’s time to let Charlie go. Say goodbye.”
“Papa says we have to say bye,” Bobby said.
“We can talk again soon.”
“Really?”
“Yup. Whenever you want. Just call your dad and ask him to talk to me.”
“Yay!” they chorused. “Bye, Uncle Charlie!”
Once they’d hung up, I handed the phone back to Greg.
“Sorry about that,” he said.
“Don’t be. They’re great. You know I love them. Apparently, I have to do lots of baking when I get home.”
“Oh, the hardship.”
I laughed and went back to staring out the window. More than ever, I was looking forward to actually getting to
know the twins. One day, while cooped up in a hotel room, I’d spent a bit of time researching how I could safely
hold, feed, and change them. The consensus was that I’d need to do as much as I could at floor level, just in
case I had a seizure. It was good to know it would be possible if Jesse and Isaac were okay with it. If they were
okay with Austin and me.
Austin wanted another chance at being a dad. I smiled. He would be an awesome dad. I knew he didn’t think he’d
been a good father to Jesse, and maybe in many ways, he hadn’t been, but in other ways, he had. He’d raised
Jesse by himself. He’d loved Jesse with all his heart, even if he hadn’t