“I’ll see what I can do because, right now, I’m not doing anything worthy of vicarious living,” Rebecca said.
“Can we get some of the cake this time? That coconut cake last time smelled divine,” Ashby said, sighing.
For the last cake attack, they had made nearly a half dozen cakes to help Rebecca seduce Aleks. Rebecca nodded.
“Come on, onward to the library and then you can drive me home since Mr. Prickly Bear is at work. He can come find me later. Bye, Ma!” she yelled, grabbing her purse. She, Ashby, and Nicholas stood.
“Come over tomorrow, Kate, and hopefully we’ll be able to swap stories,” Rebecca said, winking.
Kate laughed and smiled at Bran and Caleb, who were giving her worried looks.
“Deal! Save me some of that coconut cake. It sounds good,” Kate said.
“Sure thing!” and the three turned and left. Kate stood and walked over to the counter to stand between Bran and Caleb. She stuck her hands in the back pockets of their jeans, grabbed each of their asses, and squeezed. They both let out a low growl and turned to her before looking at each other, surprised expressions on their faces.
“Well, that’s new,” Bran said, shaking his head smiling.
“What?” Kate asked.
“I can feel the effect you have on Caleb. I’m assuming from the look on his face he can feel your effect on me, too,” Bran said.
Kate gave a wicked smile. “Double your pleasure, double your fun,” she quipped.
“Indeed.” Caleb leaned forward and captured her lips. She returned his kiss before stepping back.
“Come on, we have a lot to do today, including shopping! I want to get a ton of toys for the boys! I still have the credit card, Bran.” She patted her back pocket. She walked over to where the boys sat, waving their tiny blue plastic forks.
“Come here, boys. Give Mama a kiss, too,” she said, reaching for Landon.
“You’re not their mother,” Caleb said, frowning.
Kate froze and she turned to face Caleb, she felt her chest tighten painfully and her stomach begin to knot as she tried not to let the tears she felt forming in her eyes fall. Her body ran cold at his sudden rejection.
“I know I’m not their real mother, but I’m their mama now,” she said quietly, unsure of how to read Caleb’s abrupt, stony expression.
“It’s just that we had to move once to get away from the ones who killed their leap and mother. Now we had to move again because it wasn’t safe for us to be alone. They have had so much taken away from them already,” Caleb said sounding frustrated.
Kate stepped away from the table. “I understand. I’ll help Rebecca at the library and meet you at home later,” she said, and walked out of the diner.
Rian looked up at Caleb and gave a low, long hiss. Damian echoed with a low growl.
“Caleb, the only reason I haven’t put you on your ass is because I understand that you and the boys have been through a lot in a short amount of time. But that was not her fault. None of this is our fault. Don’t take your frustrations and insecurities out on the woman I love. Fate gave her to both of us for a mate, but that doesn’t mean instant love, trust, or understanding and it doesn’t make us mind readers. If you don’t tell us something is bothering you, we won’t know.” Bran stepped past Caleb toward the door.
“I’m heading back to the house to take care of pack business. Maybe you should take the afternoon and straighten your shit out because if you ever hurt her like that again, mate or not, I will punch you.” Bran stormed out of the diner.
Caleb looked up to see the entire diner giving him unfriendly looks. Rian and Damian especially were giving him the evil eye.
“Here’s a to-go box for Mojo. You were heading there anyway, weren’t you, Caleb?” Ma said, pushing forward a plastic bag holding four Styrofoam boxes. Caleb nodded. He picked up the bag and turned to Rian and Damian.
“Are you two still willing to watch the boys this afternoon?” he asked.
Rian turned his nose up and huffed. “Of course we are. Kate is our good friend and she asked us to do her a favor, so we will. Because, to set you straight, as much as we love the munchkins, we don’t know you from Adam and we’re not doing this for you.” Rian gestured to the boys. Damian nodded.
“Maybe when you’re out there pulling your head out of your ass, think on this. What would your mating be like if Kate didn’t want to be their mama or didn’t want to turn her entire life upside down for cubs that weren’t her own?” Damian said quietly.
Caleb walked over and kissed each boy on the head. He nodded to Rian and Damian and headed out of the diner.