“What have I missed?” Slater said as he came in and took Matty out of her arms and flew him around the room.
“Guess what, Uncle Slater? I’m coming to stay the night this week, and I’m going to kick your butt at Skylanders.”
Slater placed Matty on the ground and tickled him. “No one can beat me. I am the games king. Arhhhh hahaha.” Slater tickled Matty until he was screaming for mercy and saying he would let him win at least one game.
Sammy watched the scene as Brock pretended to come in and save Matty. Gwen laughed next to her. Wow. Slater and Brock would be awesome fathers. She was so lucky to have them. As she watched the scene before her, Sammy fell even more deeply in love with her men.
Chapter Eleven
Matty giggled as he slapped his hand down on the Snaps card. “Aunty Sammy, you’re really bad at Snap. You’re going to lose again if you’re not quicker.”
Sammy smiled down at the adorable four-year-old. His brown eyes shone, and his dark curly hair sat in tangles on his head. Gwen had dropped him off a couple of hours ago so she could go on a date with Philip and John.
Adele, Matty’s usual babysitter, was helping Susie and Sandy with their twins. Gwen also didn’t want her mother to know she was dating John and Philip and that she’d secretly called off her engagement. The man Gwen had been engaged to had bowed out happily when he’d learned that John and Philip were Gwen’s true mates.
They all knew Adele would be furious. She’d been excited that one of her children would mate a shifter and keep the bloodlines pure, as she called it. So everyone had kept quiet about the situation. Sammy offered to look after Matty when Gwen went out on late night dates, and Gwen happily took her up on her offer knowing how much she loved Matty.
“I am usually really good at Snap, but you’re just super-fast for me. This will be our last game tonight as your uncles should be home soon, and I need to get up and turn the oven off. I don’t want to burn the roast turkey.” This was the first time since finding out about Greg that they’d left her without one of them.
“Yay! Uncle Brock and Slater will play Skylanders with me before I go to bed.” Matty jumped up, the Snap game forgotten, and ran to the lounge room yelling. “I’m going to go set the Wii set up.”
Sammy laughed at Matty’s antics. He was so cute. She wanted a child as wonderful as he was, someday. Picking up the cards she put them away and went to the kitchen, checked on the roast, and turned the oven off. Turning the kettle on, she got the gravy out, as well as the gravy bowl, and started making gravy.
The doorbell rang, and she glanced at her watch. Seven thirty-five. Later than she’d thought. Her boys should have been home half an hour or so ago. Sammy wondered who could be at the door at this time.
Walking to the front door she looked through the peep hole and almost staggered back in shock. Adele stood on the other side. Crap! What did she do?
“I can smell you. You might as well let me in. I can smell you’re mated to my son and Slater. I see I’ve been neglecting my duties.”
Sighing, Sammy opened the door. Adele pushed past her inside.
“Where is my grandson?”
“In the lounge room getting Skylanders ready to play with Brock and Slater when they get home. I have a feeling he got distracted by the figures and is playing with them.”
Adele nodded. “Is there anywhere we can talk?”
“I was just making gravy in the kitchen. Come on, we can talk there.”
Sammy walked back to the kitchen, cautious of Adele following behind her. Sammy went back to the gravy and started mixing it.
“So what do you want to talk about?”
“This silly notion you have that you can join my family and help my daughter break her engagement. You have made me look like a laughingstock.” Adele poked her finger into her chest this time. “You, little fat human, have changed all my plans by going behind my back.”
Sammy had to stay calm. She could see Adele’s bear flashing in her eyes. Sammy knew if Adele changed she was dead. “Look, I think you need to talk this over with Gwen. I didn’t tell her to break her engagement. She did that all on her own.”
“Gwen would never do that if she hadn’t felt she had the support,” Adele yelled at her.
Sammy tried to keep her voice even as lights swirled around Adele and she grew. “Steven, he was the one who told her to go for it. He said he didn’t want her unhappy. I said I would help where I could, and I love Matty so I offered to look after him.”
Adele changed, her clothes ripping and the tattered remains falling to the ground. She advanced on Sammy in bear form now, and Sammy knew she had to be very careful. Brock and Slater should be here to help her any minute, she hoped. Sammy prayed Matty stayed away. He shouldn’t see his grandmother angry like this.