I narrowed my eyes and glared at her. “Now I have to kill my cousin.”
She leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips. “He’s got nothing on you, though. Shapeshifter or not,” she whispered that last part so that only I could hear.
Savannah, having met Chael long ago, knew the secret about that side of our family.
“Hm, so you’ve been keeping this cousin of yours away from me?” Lena asked Gabriel.
“Fuck yeah,” he answered.
We all laughed, unfortunately forgetting that there were sleeping children in the room.
While Aiden stirred, he readjusted himself so that he lay on the edge of the couch instead of in Savannah’s lap. However, baby Lonzie decided to make his disapproval of our disturbance known.
He awakened on a scream.
“He’s got a powerful set of lungs,” Savannah said. “Can I?” She held out her arms and looked over at Jodi.
Jodi hesitated. “He doesn’t normally take to new people. Especially when he’s ornery like this.”
“Just like his mama,” Micah said.
Jodi glared at Micah but handed Lonzie to Savannah.
“Hey there,” she cooed. She rose to her feet. “Are we pesky adults being too loud for you?” She stroked the side of his face and bounced him on her hip. “Or is somebody teething?”
Lonzie, though not completely pacified, began to quiet.
“We’ve got teething rings in the freezer.” Jodi started to stand, but Savannah held her hand out.
“I’ll get it.”
I watched as she carried Lonzie in the direction of the kitchen. A beat later, I heard her opening the door of the freezer.
“That’s what you wanted, huh?” She continued to talk to him in a soothing voice while she held the cold teething ring to his mouth.
He’d completely mellowed out. Savannah swayed from side to side, comforting the baby, and soon, he began dozing off again.
Though the scene before me was a sweet one, it caused my chest to hurt. A pain I believed I’d successfully suppressed over the years resurfaced.
I sat there and watched my wife cradling a baby in her arms. She cooed and held him close, creating a safe environment for him. Secure enough that she lulled him to sleep without breaking stride, unperturbed by his earlier screams.
Memories of white walls, sterilized rooms, and the sound of Savannah’s cries assaulted me. I felt battered by the reminder of the son that we never got to hear cry or scream from teething.
I stood abruptly and ignored the three heads in the room that shot my way. I needed air. I felt suffocated by the memories firing off in my head.
The memories were too much, and I needed some space. Before I knew it, I was at the first door I could find and exiting the house. I ended up on the front porch of the house.
Only after a long while of pacing back and forth in front of Micah’s home did I finally start to breathe regularly again.
My body felt like someone ripped it inside out.
I heard a noise behind me but didn’t turn around. When Savannah began stroking my back, some of the hurt in my chest began to ease.
She didn’t say anything for a long while. I knew I should’ve explained what the hell that was all about, but I didn’t have the words.
“You know, it took me years before I could even stand the sight of babies.” Her voice was soft, consoling. “Especially mothers holding their babies or playing with them.”
Finally, I turned to face her. “How did you get over it?” I asked, grateful I didn’t need to explain myself.
