“Just got here,” Angelle said.
“Did you have a nice time?” Avaleigh asked.
“I did. Yes,” Angelle answered, smiling dreamily.
“Aren’t you going to say something about how long she’s been gone?” Daniel asked.
Avaleigh looked over at Daniel, then at Angelle, then back at Daniel. “No. Am I supposed to?”
“She’s been gone all day long!” Daniel said.
“Yes. She has. To the creek on our property. Where she goes often — all day long. Sometimes overnight. Why is today any different?”
“Because she wasn’t alone,” Daniel said, keeping his tone measured and calm.
“All that means is that she was even safer than she usually is,” Avaleigh said.
Daniel shook his head as he watched Avaleigh dare him to take it too far, then he simply flopped into his recliner.
“So, what did you two do all day?” Avaleigh asked.
“We fished. I won, I caught more,” Angelle said, laughing.
“Didn’t tell him about the bologna?” Avaleigh asked laughingly.
“Not until later. And we talked, and talked, and talked.”
“I remember when your father and I were first together, we couldn’t manage to talk fast enough. It’s an amazing thing to find someone who’s interested in every little thing about you, and every little thought you have.”
“That’s true,” Angelle said. “I kept thinking that he’d get bored and ready to come back, but every time I gave him the opportunity, a different subject came up.”
“I’m happy for you, baby. I know you’ve wondered for a long time if you would find someone or not. And now to find someone that not only shares a lot of the same interests and outlooks onlife, but to find out that he’s actually your mate… I can’t wait to watch you get to experience that bond,” Avaleigh said.
“Thank you, Mom. It’s a little overwhelming, but it’s also a good thing, you know?”
“Oh, yeah. I know.”
“You don’t have to rush into anything,” Daniel said.
“Will you even be happy for me?” Angelle asked quietly, looking Daniel right in the eyes.
“How could you think I wouldn’t?” Daniel asked.
“Because all you’ve done is make negative comments and make it seem like I’m not smart enough to make a correct decision on what’s best for me.”
Daniel stood up quickly. “That is not at all what I’ve done.”
“Sure seems like it,” Angelle said.
Daniel sighed and scrubbed his hands down his face before he focused on Angelle again. “Over here,” he said, extending his right hand, “is the shy, quiet, afraid little angel that I protected and sheltered since the day she walked into our lives. Over here,” he said, holding out his left hand, “is the beautiful, intelligent, capable, still a little afraid, young woman I still feel the instinct to protect and shelter. All of your life I’ve known you were stronger than you ever knew you were, but all of your life it’s been my responsibility, my honor to watch over you. To give you a safe world to explore at your leisure, when the timing was right for you. I always hoped that you’d fall in love. And I even prayed for you to have a mate because then he’d love you and feel the same protective instincts that I do. And it appears that you have that, but he can’t possibly build a life here. So, I know what that means. And it happened so fast. Just yesterday you were curled up on the sofa with a book, while you watched Gargoyles cartoons. Now you’re considering mating one.”
“He’s a good male,” Angelle said.
Daniel nodded reluctantly. “I know that. I do.”
“I want to go to meet his people. I want to see how they live. See what it would be like to live there.”
“It’s not like it’s right across the street,” Daniel said.
