“Of course I do, but don’t we need towels? I could go get towels and snacks, a bottle for the baby, and then come back?”
“Oh, shit, baby. I never even thought of that. I just hopped in. Let me go. It won’t take me a sec to get pants back on.”
“Nonsense! Take the baby! He’s losing his mind! He wants in the water so bad.” Theo smiled at him, the look at once fond and warm and amused. Theo seemed so happy.
He wasn’t sure he understood—not really. How could he be the one to make this man satisfied?
Of course, he wasn’t going to look a gift wolf in the mouth.
Theo stripped Gael down, the baby wiggling and rolling as he fought to get to Liam, and then handed the little one over.
“I’ll bring a clean diaper, towels, a bottle. I’ll bring a load of stuff. Maybe we should leave some towels here for when peoplecome to swim. Maybe a chest to store things in.” Theo looked around. “We are going to share this with the pack, yes?”
“Of course we are.” Even if part of him wanted it to be private, the bigger part of him knew that this was a boon for the pack—a warm, fun, relaxing place to be.
It also occurred to him that if no one knew the pool was here besides the pack, then if something should happen, this was where they would all meet.
A safe haven that was theirs and theirs alone.
“I’ll be right back. Have fun. I’ll go get things.”
Liam watched Theo leave, his smile growing as he watched the baby in his arms try to swim.
Little chubby arms and legs were running, splashing, hands hitting the water with a fury. The baby’s face was transformed in a huge openmouthed smile. His little eyes squeezed shut tight as he squealed and laughed and played.
The entire sound filled the area, ringing and making the lights get brighter as if they were energized by his joy.
He couldn’t believe it, but this little one, he had been skin and bones only a few seasons ago. Gael had been on death’s door, and now look at him. He was fat and happy, joyous, thriving.
Liam had to laugh right along with Gael, and he held his arms out as he moved over to the baby. “Do you want to come with me and go deeper, sweetling?”
Gael cooed, and Liam picked him up. “Now you can’t do this on your own,” he said. “You have to be careful, but I’ll take you out there.” He waded out as far as his chest, holding Gael up above the water and letting him just flail for all he was worth.
Such a sweet baboo. And the water was so wonderful on his skin. As soon as Theo got back, it would be perfect again.
Gael squealed when Theo came back in minutes later, clearly trying to swim back to him. So Liam waded over and handed off the baby. “He really wants to be with you.”
“He’s taken to you extremely well, though. You’re his papa.” Theo told him. “Don’t worry. He trusts you, or he wouldn’t have gone out there with you in that water. He would’ve screamed and screamed.”
“I know, I’m not upset.” Liam looked around. “How could I be upset in this setting? It’s amazing.”
“It is. I can’t wait to show the rest of the pack, but right now, I kind of want this to just be for us. Is that bad?”
“No, love. It’s not bad at all. This is our moment; we’ve worked hard for it. I wonder how this happened. I know Rory, Dean, Jameson, and Keegan have told me stories about how when the dragons needed something, it appeared to them. But it just seems like this wasn’t here, and then suddenly it was.”
“I don’t know, but it’s wonderful. It’s an amazing, safe, warm, wonderful place.”
“It truly is. I’m starting to feel like this is really our home, sweetie.” He grinned at Theo and then turned over onto his back and swam off into the middle of the pool.
The baby stayed with Theo, laughing and splashing, and Theo began to sing, making Gael coo and burble.
This was what it should all be about, Liam thought. This was what it meant to have a pack. And he was getting used to the idea more and more every day.
He worried that Theo would be lonely, that this whole thing was too isolating. But Theo seemed perfectly happy, completely at peace with where they were.
So he was going to try to stop worrying. The only thing that had caused him stress was the fact that one of his brothers had a wife who was not happy where she was. And why would heattribute that to Theo if it wasn’t true? He just needed to stop looking for trouble.
“You’re all right?”
