Fighting for her Mate

21

Nate put his arms around her. “Hey, no talking like that in front of the children.” His smile lowered to hers and became a proper good-morning kiss. Toast popped up in the four slot machine on the counter and she pulled away. He pulled her back and rubbed his erection across her lower stomach.

She grinned. “If Papa wants his toast buttered then he better help Mama, or he’ll be eating baby food.”

His eyes flashed gold. “Yeah, baby. You bet I want my toast buttered. I’ve got something to spread it with right here.” The babies squealed in their chairs. Nate turned to them and she sought out the toast. “Michael’s really growing, isn’t he? He seems huge compared to Madison.”

“Well, Madison is a bit underweight still. But the doctor isn’t worried. She said she’ll catch up quickly.” She put the toast on a plate then peeled off the butter bowl lid.

“Did the doctor say anything else?”

“Nope, they are perfectly healthy.” She paused, debating whether to ask a silly question. This was when she really needed Barbara around. “Hon, when do wolf babies become cognizant of the world around them?”

“What do you mean?” He flipped the eggs in the skillet.

“I mean…I don’t know what I mean. Maybe I’m just overly worried about screwing the whole thing up.”

He set the spatula on the counter then wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the crown of her head. “Sweetheart, you’re doing an amazing job. Especially since I’m not here to help much right now. The babies are healthy and happy. Everything else we can figure out along the way.” He turned her in his arms to see her face. “Tell me what’s bugging you. What do you think you don’t know?”

She glanced at the babies staring at her. “It’s their eyes. They track me wherever I go. It’s like one of those photos were the person’s eyes seem to follow you no matter where in the room you are. I feel like they ‘know.’ I expect poetry to spout from them or in Matthew’s case, I can see him reciting Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. It’s a little spooky.” She glanced over again to see each child’s focus elsewhere—opposite of what she just said.

Nate gave her a squeeze then proceeded to put the eggs on his plate with the toast. “So our children are way smarter than most babies. I call that a reason to celebrate, not worry.”

Karla sat next to him at the kitchen table. “I supposed you’re right. Still, I’m immensely happy your mom is willing to help with me all the wolfy questions. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“You’d do great, my love.”

Karla wandered into her own thoughts as Jake finished his breakfast. He stood, kissed her forehead, and carried his plate to the sink. “I need to get going if I’m to meet everyone on time.”

“When do you think you’ll be back?”

“Not sure. I’m guessing we’ll check out the club to see it in daylight. Since we’ll be with Aria, we might talk strategies or who knows.” He pulled her to him and backed her to the fridge where he pressed all of himself along her and took her lips in the perfect goodbye kiss. Damn, she loved it when he did this. But she could kick his ass for leaving her hot and heavy.

A gurgling squeal came from the direction of the kids.

With Nate on his way, she turned her focus to the children. Each were sitting quietly, staring at her. “Okay, you guys. You’ve been fed and seem pretty content. Do you want to play or take a nap?” She yawned. “Well, you know what Mama wants.”

All three yawned, like she had. That was too weird. “Good grief, Karla. Get a grip. They were only mimicking you. That’s what babies do.” She scooped up Matthew and headed to the nursery. “Let’s check your diaper then we can all relax.”

After settling Michael and Madison, Karla plopped on the couch and laid her head back. Working as a teacher, Karla was used to getting up early, but now she felt exhausted by nine a.m.

Knocking on her front door woke her. She must’ve fallen asleep. Sliding the chain lock into place, she opened the door to see an unfamiliar middle-aged guy. “Can I help you.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Wolfe. Sorry to bother you. I’m Raymond Sheer. My wife and kids live on the other side of town. We haven’t officially met yet so you probably don’t recognize my face, but we did see you at Aric and Jordan’s wedding.”

He was correct. She didn’t remember seeing him but in reality, she saw so many new faces at the wedding, she wouldn’t remember him if she did. “Ah, well, good morning to you to. What can I do for you?”

His brows pulled down and he frowned. “Oh, Nate didn’t tell you?”

An instant replay of this morning in the kitchen ran through her mind. She didn’t recall anything. “Whatever he was supposed to tell me, he must’ve forgotten.”

“Not a problem. I do security work and he asked me to come over and keep an eye on your house while he was gone today. With the rogues runnin’ around, I guess he’d feel better if a set of eyes and a nose were outside.”

Her body relaxed. She hadn’t realized how keyed up she was from everything going on. The fight at the vamp club last night must’ve unnerved her more than she gathered.

Raymond pointed his thumb over his shoulder at an old red pickup across the way. “I’ll either be in my truck or out and about, sniffin’ for unfamiliar smells. Let me know if you need anything.” He turned toward his truck then stopped and pivoted back. “I hate to ask this of you, Mrs. Wolfe, but do you have a bottle of water I can borrow? I forgot to pack mine from home.”

Karla smiled. “Of course. And please, call me Karla. Mrs. Wolfe is reserved for Nate’s mom.” She laughed. “And even she prefers her name. Be right back.” She closed the door then hurried to the kitchen and back. She reopened the door with the chain attached, then realized the gap was too narrow for the bottle to slip through. “Oops. Hold on a second. I need to take the chain off.”