Claimed By The Protective Alpha

Chapter 13 First Dinner

LILA'S POV

As I slipped my yellow sundress with daisies on, I couldn't help but keep seeing the broad back of the sheriff.

My face turned flush, and I could feel my cheek heat up thinking about it.

"Even though he had a shirt on, I could feel every muscle," I mumbled to myself as I stood in front of the mirror fixing my hair.

I didn't want to take longer than necessary since he was waiting, so I decided to just put it up in a messy bun.

After I was done, I caught myself staring a little too long in the mirror.

"Get a hold of yourself. There's no way he'd been interested in his niece's friend, let alone a single mother." I said out loud to myself.

After composing myself, I grabbed my phone off the dresser and headed for the door.

As I neared the front door, I could see the broad back of the sheriff through the screen door. I couldn't help but take a second to admire how tall and well-built he was. I bit my lip as my eyes scanned down his back to his butt and muscular thighs hidden beneath his jeans.

As I was lost in my own impure thoughts, I heard a small cough, making my eyes refocus and realize he had turned around.

I immediately wanted to run away right that second, but instead I just took a deep breath and continued walking to him.

When I reached the screen door, he held it open for me. I was shocked for a second before saying a small thank you as my eyes darted to the floor. I could feel my ears burning from how mortified I was knowing he caught me staring at him just a second ago, yet he was acting completely normal.

On one hand, I was happy he was just ignoring it, but I also couldn't help but feel a small ache in my heart thinking he was used to it and didn't care.

At that, I shook my head slightly, realizing that had nothing to do with me. He has nothing to do with me other than give me shelter. His personal life was his own.

I was lost in my own world again as we were walking back, and I didn't even notice he was walking right beside me.

"I see you found Maggie's to be really useful?" He asked.

I was taken aback when he started a conversation. When I looked at him and smiled.

"Yes, they actually had so many options and discounts. To be honest, my son was starting to get annoyed having to wear the same thing for the last few days." I said, slightly embarrassed about that last part.

As I looked up at his face despite it not changing, I noticed his eyes looked really warm when he said, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure one day he'll come to understand everything you decided was for him in the long run."

I dropped my eyes down to the ground, trying to hold myself back from tearing up.

"Thank you for saying that. I really do hope he'll understand." I said in a low voice.

He placed his hand on my shoulder when he said, "There are no thanks needed. Parents have it really hard, let alone a single parent. So just keep doing your best. He'll notice in time."

I nodded, grateful that someone had said what I so badly wanted to hear after uprooting our lives. As we reached the front porch of the house, he let go of my shoulder to hold open the door for me.

As I walked past him, I couldn't help but place my own hand on my shoulder, already missing his warmth. That's when I realized my own hand didn't feel the same. His was bigger, more calloused.

At that second, a small happy voice came running.

"Mom, you look so pretty," Jax said as he hugged my legs. I shot my eyes down at him and smiled, rubbing his head.

"No fair, mommy! Do I also get new clothes? I want to look pretty too!" he said as he looked up at me pouting.

I laughed, looking down at him. "Yes mommy go us new clothes so you can look pretty too. You can try them on after dinner, okay?"

He shot me a bright gummy smile and said, "Yes, I can't wait!"

After saying that, I smiled, and his eyes looked behind me when I noticed the sheriff still standing behind me. I turned to look at him when I saw he was looking at Jax.

"Jax, say hello. This is the sheriff of the town. He helped mommy find the new clothes and buy yummy food for us." I said while patting his back encouragingly.

Jax clung to the side of the dress as he faced the sheriff and said, "Thank you, Mister Sheriff, for helping my mommy."

The sheriff dropped to Jax's eye level and said, "Cain... You and your mommy can call me Cain. Also, it was an honor to help your mommy. So make sure to be a good boy and help your mommy too."

He glanced up at me with his eyes seeking silent permission for what I wasn't sure, but I nodded back in response. He stood up, patted Jax's head, and walked us towards the dinner table.

As we reached the table, Jax grabbed my hand and said confidently, "Mommy, I'm going to be a sheriff too. Mr. Cain is so cool."

I couldn't help but laugh and agree with him.

Cain helped Jax sit on his chair and quietly pulled my chair for me. As I sat down, I couldn't help but blush at how kind he was being. It had been a long time since a man had been this nice to me.

As I sat in my seat, I couldn't help but repeat Cain's name in my head. It suited him so well.

"I'm glad my son seems to still remember how to be a gentleman." Said Sam, who was already sitting at the head of the table.

As I looked at Sam with a smile from the corner of my eye, I could see Cain do an eye roll at that comment.

Cain had taken his seat across from me. Although I was happy I could keep looking at him, I also couldn't help but get self-conscious that he'd see me eat. What if he thinks I eat too much? What if he thinks I'm a pig? I should probably just eat a little then. Come on, he saw my naked body already. He's probably already disgusted.

All these negative thoughts began swirling around my head. That's when I felt tiny electric sparks tapping on the back of my hand. All thoughts stopped, causing me to look down at my hand when I noticed it was Cain tapping his finger on my hand.

I glanced up at him when he said, "Make sure to eat your fill today. You two probably haven't had a homemade meal in a while."

Just like that, all the negative thoughts and disgusted feelings just flew away like they were never there to begin with.