Lying in bed when I first wake, my mind flits from Holden to Thomas and then to Kai. All the flirty conversation, heated looks, and the memory of Holden’s teeth on my neck make my toes curl inside my blankets, but Princess’ plaintive meow has me sitting up and looking around for her. She’s not on the bed next to me, and my heart starts to race when she meows louder. It sounds like it’s coming from the side of my bed. Looking down, I find her lying in the clothes that I had stripped off last night. She looks up at me and meows again, the sound almost urgent. Throwing back the covers, I slowly make my way out of the bed so as not to startle her, and when I crouch down next to her, there's a little wet bundle lying next to her side.
Scrambling around, I get my phone off the bedside table and message Declan to come quickly before moving back to pet her, cooing words of encouragement to help relax her.
It’s not long before my door bursts open, Declan rushing in with an enclosure in front of him. Putting it down, his eyes almost bug out of his head when he sees me. Why is he looking at me and not as his precious Princess? Frowning, I look down. Crap, I’m naked again. I’d forgotten that in my excitement of seeing her in labor.
Jumping to my feet, I hurry to my wardrobe to put something on, feeling his eyes following me all the way. I throw on a fresh t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants then hurry back out, caring more about Princess than the embarrassment I should be feeling right now. He’s picked her up, clothes, wet bundle, and all, and put her inside the enclosure. He’s sitting next to it, muttering words of encouragement to her. Princess is busy licking the wet bundle beside her, occasionally pausing to lick Declan’s hand as he strokes her.
“Did you have an ultrasound done on her? Do you know how many kittens she’s carrying?” I ask, sitting down on the bed so I don’t disturb their moment. Right now, she doesn’t seem to be in any distress.
He looks up from her, a broad grin on his face. “Four. They usually have less in their first litter than they do in following ones.” He looks back down, so I don't have to hide my eye roll or the smile that crosses my face at the slightly lecturing tone in his voice. I cannot believe they still don't know I’m a vet. Honestly, with all of their money and connections, I’d expected them to dig into my personal life ages ago.
Standing up, I pat him on the shoulder. “Alright then, Grandpa, I’m off to get a coffee. You want me to bring you one too?” It’s only now I’m noticing he’s shirtless and looks like he too just rolled out of bed. Shame he sleeps in shorts... or maybe he just remembered to put some on before he left the room. Unlike other people who will remain nameless. Me. I’m nameless.
Leaving him and Princess to it since they seem to have it under control, I head to the living area. Each step is punctuated with a yawn and a stretch, my body and mind still not ready to be totally awake. Not watching where I'm going, I just about run straight into Cecelia.
“Oh hey, shit, sorry. I didn't see you there,” I blurt out, and she grimaces as she rubs the foot I stepped on when we collided.
“Clearly,” she says in a haughty voice.
I look around her for Dad, but he’s nowhere to be seen. “Where did you come from?” I ask curiously. I hadn't seen her anywhere during the commotion last night; surely, she would have come out if she had been here when all the noise was going on.
“I got here a little while ago. Brad wasn't coming into work today, but he still needs to sign a few things, so I brought them out for him to read over.” She steps around me and starts to head to my dad’s bedroom, but I move in front of her.
“Is Dad not awake yet?” She tries to sidestep me, but I won't let her, earning an annoyed huff that gets nothing but an eyebrow raise from me.
“No, he’s not, you little brat. Now get out of my way so I can go and wake him. He won't mind at all.”
A throat clearing behind us has her paling slightly when she looks over my shoulder. “Oh, I beg to differ, Cecelia. Head on back to the living room and he will come out when he's ready. Better yet, I'm sure all of that stuff can be emailed. Itishis day off after all, and if it had been important, he would have done it yesterday.” Declan's voice brooks no argument, but I'm close enough to see the silent fury flashing in her eyes before she pastes on a smile and simpers at him.
“Of course, Declan, I’ll just pour myself a coffee and wait.”
“No, go back to the office. Unlike him, I'm sure you have plenty of work to do.” He crosses his arms, and she ducks her head, that fury flashing briefly again.
“Ok, if you could just tell him I was here...” She turns and leaves, her heels silent on the carpeted hallway, but I notice she’s limping quite drastically. Jesus, I hadn't realized I’d stepped on her quite so badly. I should feel a little guilty, but I don’t. I follow quickly after her, my gut telling me I need to make sure she actually leaves and doesn't double back somehow. Declan stays behind, heading back into my room to check on Princess, most likely.
Leaving my wing, I reach her just as she pulls open the front door and storms out, slamming it shut behind her. The noise echoes through the house, and I quickly rush forward to watch as she gets into her car and floors the gas, sending rubber burning over the cobblestone until she hits the drive and gravel goes spewing out behind the car. She must be holding her hand on the horn too because it blasts out as she zooms down the driveway. I watch in amusement as the car fishtails slightly and she desperately tries to correct it before it can careen into one of the fences running along the driveway or one of the big trees. As she disappears, out of the other wing thunders the rest of the Summers siblings in various disarray, all looking like they have been rudely awakened.
“Fuck, what was that?” Kai groans, leaning against me to peer over my shoulder at the now empty driveway.
“Just Cecelia,” I answer, watching Thomas hurriedly hide his gun behind his back. I wave a hand at him, unfazed. “You don't need to hide it. Guns only scare me in the hands of the wrong person, and I don't think that’s you.” He gives me a little nod of acknowledgment.
“God, that bitch woke me from a perfectly good daydream about me and three wolf shifters,” Jacinta mutters, a little disoriented.Huh, did she steal one of my books?That has me raising my eyebrows, but it’s Jaxon’s reaction that breaks the ice and has all of us laughing.
“I don't want to think about you with one wolf shifter, let alone three.” He shudders and returns the way he came, mumbling under his breath about flea treatments and needing giant pet doors.
Oliver and Holden try to leave at the same time, running into each other then doing this awkward back and forth dance before they manage to coordinate. Holden gets past first and hurries away. We all watch the interaction with interest, and I turn to Kai once they're out of earshot. “What was that about? They were funny last night too, after everything settled down.”
Kai and Jacinta snort while Thomas just watches them, concern fogging his eyes. “Thatis them being idiots, and it’s been going on for years,” Kai explains, wrapping his arms around me all the way. “Harlow, it's too early. Come back to bed and snuggle. I’ll sleep so much better if you're with me.”
A shiver runs down my spine as he nuzzles into my neck, but I untangle myself and push him away reluctantly. “As much as that sounds good, I need coffee, and Declan is back to being a birthing coach in my bedroom. I promised I’d bring him coffee too.”
“Kittens!” Jacinta squeals like a little girl, a look of pure joy crossing her face. As much as I hate to admit it even though a part of me is definitely less hostile than before, she’s much prettier when she smiles. She runs off in the direction of my room without a backward glance, and Thomas rolls his eyes with a groan. “Declan is going to be useless all day now. Come on, let’s put on a pot of coffee so at least he isn't a complete grizzly.” Thomas heads off to the kitchen, tucking his gun in the back of his gym shorts, and Kai blows me a kiss before returning the way he came.
By the time I reach the kitchen, Thomas has already filled the coffee machine with water and is just dropping in the grounds. Mrs. Hayton doesn't seem to be anywhere around, so I'm guessing she’s probably busy elsewhere at the moment. Heading to the cupboard, I'm grabbing some cups when I hear Dad's voice.
“Was that Cecelia I just saw drive off? What was she doing here, and why did she feel the need to use the damn horn?” Dad grumbles adorably as he takes a seat at the kitchen island.
“Apparently, she had things for you to read and sign.” His eyes widen slightly, coming together in a slow blink like they’re still blurry from sleep but he's still trying to focus.
