“I agree with David,’ Norm said, sending a smile his way.
Glancing over at his Pooh bear, Theo grinned. “Sounds good…three parties…so how should we do this?”
“How about David and me doing it?” Quin asked. “Since Theo is getting ready for his wedding and Ki is in charge of planning that, it only makes sense for us to plan the three pup showers. What do you think, David? Are you in?”
“I’d love to,” David answered, “but I don’t know how much help I’ll be since it’ll be the first time I ever did this.”
“Pffh, don’t worry,” Quin said, “I haven’t either, but one time, when I was looking at one of my mom’s magazines, there was this article about planning the perfect party and it even included a to-do list, telling you what to do and when. I saved it because I had a feeling it might come in handy one day.”
“Oh,” David said, exhaling in relief, “that’s good…I have a lot of experience at following instructions.”
Dropping his shirt after his pup had settled down, Kieran said, “Perfecto! Now, where were we before we were interrupted by Logan Jr.”
~/~/~/~/~
Glancing up when his study door opened, Jackson grinned as his mate entered the room. “Are the pups in bed?”
Sitting down on the love seat, Steel said, “Yes, finally. I don’t envy Cody and Dylon at all…Jessica is pure Alpha and when she’s not happy, everyone knows it.”
“What happened?”
“She didn’t like the sleeping arrangements,” Steel said, snorting. “I moved the portable cribs into Daniel’s room so it would be easier to reach them if there was a problem.”
“Ahh, she wanted to sleep in her room,” Jackson surmised.
“Oh, no, she was perfectly happy to be in Daniel’s room as long as she could sleep in his crib with him.”
Chuckling, Jackson replied, “I can’t wait till she begins to date. I have a feeling Dylon and my brother are going to have a tough time with her following their rules.”
“Maybe…or she could be like me. My parents never had to worry about what I was doing,” smirked Steel.
“Uh-huh. Maybe I should ask your mother about that,” Jackson said.
Deciding it was better to change the subject than to invite further scrutiny of his teen years, Steel asked, “What’s the latest on Willow?”
“Zane has a new lead, so they plan to follow it up early tomorrow morning.”
“And Josiah? Is Zane keeping an eye on him?” asked Steel.
“Yeah,” Jackson said, joining his mate on the love seat, leaning against him. “I’m waiting to see what happensafter Hunter talks to his uncle. If my cousin’s plan to call his bluff on a challenge works, Josiah should be getting an email canceling the meeting between them.”
“Slate asked me if there is any news about a temporary chef. He’s worried about Dakota,” Steel said.
“Shit, I forgot to ask Oracle for a recommendation…I’ll do it tomorrow,” Jackson said, “Why is your brother worried?”
“His mate is having a Dire wolf pup,” Steel replied, shaking his head.
Batting his mate’s chest, Jackson said, “I know that, smarty-pants…I was just wondering if there’s anything else.”
After hearing the nervousness in his mate’s voice, Steel pulled Jackson onto his lap, wrapping his arms around him. “Babe, there’s nothing else. Colton and Ian are very much involved in Dakota’s pregnancy, making sure Mac is on top of everything. The likelihood of what happened to you, happening to Dakota, is slim…you know that. What did Ian say…the chances are one in a million?”
Burying his face against his mate’s neck, Jackson inhaled Steel’s scent, letting out a sigh of relief as the calming pheromones flooded his body. Logically, he knew his mate was correct, but emotionally, Jackson couldn’t help but worry about his brother. There was still that one chance things could go south for Dakota and that’s what he couldn’t get out of his mind.
Rubbing Jackson’s back, Steel felt the tension in his mate’s muscles. Since there wasn’t anything he could do about Dakota, he kept moving his hand gently in circles while pressing some kisses against his mate’s forehead until he finally felt Jackson relax. “By the way, there wasa lot of laughter coming from Theo and Norm’s bedroom when I passed by after getting the pups to sleep.”
Smiling at that, Jackson said, “That’s good news…Zane was worried about leaving David alone at night. According to my brother, David has trouble sleeping without him.”
“Did he say why?”
