His arms circled my waist, his head resting on my chest as he made soothing noises. Once, I’d have thought that might be annoying, but nothing this omega did ever held negativeaspects. He knew just what Ty and I needed for our comfort and happiness, and made this place a true home.
“You’re overthinking, alpha. It’s not that complicated. Our new family is being entrusted to us not because we have the right number of rooms or the correct color dollhouse. And much as I hate to say it, because I love those tiger shirts now, I don’t believe they helped us find one another. Or at least that they were necessary. If you’ll recall, the matchy-matchies scared me for a minute there. Even sitting at the exact seat probably didn’t matter.”
“Right.” He’d explained that at one point. “But the dream was important.”
“Yes. It got you to watch for me. You sat there for three years, two nights a week, and never gave up. In that silly, falling-apart tiger shirt, on that same barstool because you believed in Fate.”
“I did, that’s true.”
“And now…we have our family arriving soon. Fate is rewarding you, and by power of association, your mates, Ty and me, with the honor of caring for these four children. Because we have enough love to go around.” He rubbed his cheek on my shirt. “We will need more room later. We’ll either add on or build a bigger house…whatever. When that time comes. But for now? These are little kids. None of them want their own room. I see how they cling to one another when they come to the library.”
“Maybe they can all share that bigger bedroom?” I was starting to feel a little better. How could I not in Penn’s arms? “Two sets of bunks? Or we could just use both and put two in each…the baby will be in our room for a while anyway?”
“Now, you’re on it. I have an idea. Let’s get Ty and go shopping right now. We can buy the beds and other furnitureand anything else we can think of today. What we forget, we’ll order online after they get here tomorrow.”
“What am I missing? Group hug?” Ty came up behind me and enveloped us both in his warm embrace. “Did I hear something about shopping?”
We filled him in on the plan and fifteen minutes later, piled into the car and made the day of a furniture salesman on commission, probably made their month. We all worked, all had an income, and now that we shared my home, our expenses were not high. Certainly we had enough for the furniture, bedding, and other necessities.
Looking at the order form, with its extensive list, I tapped the counter. “And you promise everything can be delivered tonight?”
“It’s all in stock, and with what you just paid? If necessary, I will rent a truck and bring it myself. These are lucky kids.”
We hadn’t given him a lot of details, just that we were new foster-to-adopt parents and a little overwhelmed.
“Hey, did you buy clothes? Were you given sizes? We’ve had quite a few foster families shopping here, and in most cases, they spoke about the sad wardrobes their new children brought with them. Often not even in suitcases or anything.”
We all stared at one another. Toys, furniture… Penn shook his head. “We have the sizes, but not yet shopped for those. I didn’t…”
“Would you like the name of the children’s store my mate works in?”
And off we went. Penn confirmed that the little ones had worn the same clothes often, and they were, “Not in much better shape than the tiger shirt, the original one.”
Since the first store had been on the pricey side, making me wonder how many foster parents could afford their prices, I had a little bit of concern about his recommendation, but when wearrived, not only was the salesman’s mate waiting at the door for us, she immediately signed me up for their discount program—“With four little ones and a baby on the way, you’re going to need it”—she led us right to the clearance racks.
Penn immediately took over, stepping in to share what he had noticed about the kids’ taste when they visited the library and the sizes we’d been given, and working with Cindy, our new best friend, to put together a basic wardrobe for our new family. The car was stuffed with bags, but it wouldn’t be enough. “Next trip, bring your kids, and they can pick out the rest,” she’d said on our way out the door. “I’m dying to meet them. They are going to have the best new parents.”
She didn’t know us well, beyond our wallets and concern that they like their clothes, but her comment still gave me a bit more confidence.
After being up most of the night getting their room ready, we tumbled into bed just before dawn only to get a text at eight a.m. informing us our fosters would be arriving in an hour. Thus ensued a scramble to shower and dress and get the frozen chocolate chip cookies we’d bought on our last shopping trip, into the oven so the house smelled welcoming.
“Do you think they’ve had breakfast?” Ty asked. “Should we have bought cereal?”
“We can do better than that if they’re hungry,” Penn said. “Eggs, bacon, pancakes…French toast? Once we know what they like, we can place a delivery order as well.”
And so, when the van from Shifter Services pulled up out front, we were lined up on the porch like servants waiting to greet the new masters of the manor.
It seemed an apt comparison.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ty
As soon as I came in the front door, my new little family all ran up to greet me with welcoming cries. “Daddy. Daddy.”
The house smelled wonderful. Dinner was cooking. Freid walked out from behind the open kitchen counter. For a week now, I’d been coming home from work to this. A home. A family. And more warmth and love than I’d ever dreamed possible.
“Daddy, look what I did.” Miles, the four-year-old turtle, held up a picture torn from a coloring book of a fire truck he’d colored green.
