Alder, Alanea - Fated to Be Family [Kindred of Arkadia 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (6 page)

“There are definite advantages to living in the Pack house,” she said conversationally. In the background, she heard Bran on his cell phone calling in the Pack to help Caleb move.

“One, you always have people on hand to help you move. Plus, there will always be someone there to watch over the boys. You’ll be able to sleep at night without worrying about someone coming to get them.”

Caleb started to move around the room as if swaying to unheard music. “Is that right? Maybe we should take advantage of one of these babysitters tonight,” he said, nuzzling her neck.

“I second that,” Bran yelled from the sofa as he watched the two of them dance while still on the cell phone.

Kate giggled. “I know the perfect babysitter, though he isn’t pack,” she said, smiling.

“Who?” Caleb asked, curious.

“Rian. He is dying to babysit. He absolutely fell in love with the boys.”

“Do you trust him?” Caleb asked.

She nodded with a serious expression on her face. “More than I trust certain pack members. I swear the Raymonds hates me.” She rested her head on his broad and solid chest. At five feet ten, it was rare to find someone who made her feel delicate and feminine. With his height and strength, Caleb made her feel protected and precious. She felt a low rumble in his chest and looked up.

“They better not give you any issues in front of me,” he said, growling. A second growl was heard as Bran stood and joined him, his cell phone conversation finished.

“It’s an ongoing issue since Kate wasn’t born in the pack. There is a couple, the Raymonds, who are vocal against Kate. I gave them the ultimatum yesterday to adapt or get out.” Bran walked up behind Kate and wrapped his arms around her waist, effectively sandwiching her between them.

“I can’t promise not to hurt someone if they disrespect my mate,” Caleb said.

Bran gave an evil grin. “You don’t have to worry about politics and maintaining the peace between pack members. All I’m going to say is get some good punches in for me and don’t do any permanent damage.” He winked at Caleb, who laughed.

“The pack should be here in an hour or so,” Bran said happily.

Kate jumped down. “Come on, Caleb. We should start packing anything personal you don’t want anyone else handling. We can put all that in the SUV before they get here.” She looked around at the dingy parlor. “Not to be funny, Caleb, but what is actually yours here?”

Caleb rubbed the back of his neck.

“Not much actually. Besides being the only property for sale in the area, I liked it because it came fully furnished.” He gestured to the living room, where most of the furniture was still covered in sheets.

“I was only able to tackle the parlor, the master bedroom and the boys’ room.” He paused.

Kate guessed the reason for the look of sadness that crossed his face. “We can get the murals done again. Who did you get to do them? We can call them tomorrow.” She took his face in her hands. She was surprised when he started to blush clear to his hairline.

“I did them,” he mumbled.

Bran looked up from where he was squatted down, dangling a toy elephant in front of the boys.

“You painted those amazing murals? Why the hell are you working in a bar slinging bottles?” Bran demanded.

 
“When I moved to town there wasn’t a high demand for art, but there seemed to be a high demand for alcohol. So I did what I had to for the boys.” He shrugged.

“If you could quit working at the bar and concentrate on painting, would you?” Bran asked.

“I won’t let you support me,” Caleb said, shaking his head.

“I’m not saying for you stay at home and eat bon bons, Caleb. But you could raise our sons and dedicate time to your art. You could end up selling pieces and get placed into an art gallery. It’s a waste of your talent to be handing out beers when you could be painting masterpieces like I saw in the nursery,” Bran said passionately.

Caleb blinked and then a slow smile spread on his face.

“Masterpieces, huh?” He seemed to think about it for a long moment. “I won’t leave Mojo high and dry, but if you’re serious about letting me paint, I’d like to give it a try. I was going to resume painting when I was living with the leopards. This isn’t too different. But, Bran, if things get tight, let me know. I’m not afraid of hard work,” Caleb said, seriously.

Bran smiled and clapped a hand on his back. “I don’t think that will ever be an issue.”

“I saw the Pack house. I’m assuming money isn’t too big of a concern,” Caleb said, heading toward the nursery.

Bran exploded into laughter and then two sets of giggles joined him. Caleb shook his head and he joined Kate as she headed to the nursery to start packing.

* * * *

Kate was folding tiny shirts and pants when Caleb returned with some empty boxes.

“They were still in one of the unused bedrooms. I hadn’t gotten around to throwing them away,” he said sheepishly, handing her a cardboard box.

“I can’t imagine having much time to do anything. Between work and the boys, well, in this case, it worked out for the best.”

Kate moved stacks of clothes to a box. Her eyes went to the murals around the room. Each leopard had its own distinctive markings, setting it apart from the other leopards painted. The attention to detail was amazing. Her gaze kept wandering back to the smiling face of the woman holding younger versions of Landon and Lucas. Was this Renee, the woman who her mate had loved enough to give her children? She peeked sideways at Caleb, who was filling his cardboard box with toys. She bit her lip. She wanted to ask but didn’t want to dredge up bad memories. She cleared her throat and he looked up.

“Umm, is this Renee?” she asked pointing to the picture.

His eyes softened and he nodded.

“That’s how I remember her best. Smiling and holding the boys. Painting them has helped with the grief. In a way it’s like they are still around us,” Caleb said.

“What was she like?” Kate asked, turning her attention back to the clothes. She was afraid to look at his face and see the love he had for another woman there.

“Renee was a pain in my ass,” Caleb said then laughed.

Her head shot up. “What?” She couldn’t believe he’d said that.

“Renee and I loved each other, but not to make it sound too weird, it was more like a brother and sister love than if we were lovers. She knew how to get under my skin and she loved to do it. She would pull some prank and then sit back and laugh, just like that.” He pointed to the wall.

“What kind of pranks?” Kate asked, setting her full box aside. She was curious as to what would drive Caleb crazy.

“She absolutely loved pranks where she put things in motion and then sat back and watched them unfold. One time she hid one sock of each set we had for the boys then asked me to get them ready to go out for a walk. So I got them dressed and went to put socks on and couldn’t find any matches. Not a single damn one. It didn’t help that as I was putting a sock on Landon he would pull it off and throw it when I was trying to find its match. Finally I turned to her, exasperated, only to find her laughing with her hands over her mouth and tears streaming down her face. After that I would get the boys ready, but she had to put on the socks and shoes.” Caleb placed his box on the floor.

“I think I would have liked her,” Kate said, looking at the other faces.

“You sound surprised.” Caleb started on packing up the blankets and towels.

“She was absolutely beautiful and she was the mother of your children.” Kate left the sentence to hang between them.

Caleb looked up and saw Kate biting her lower lip. He put the box down and was quickly at her side.

“Yes, she was beautiful and, yes, she was the mother of my children, but she wasn’t my mate. I knew that. I have kept my heart set aside for one woman, my mate. I’m an all-or-nothing kind of guy, Kate. I’ve dated, but I kept things light and simple. I let the women know up front that the relationship wasn’t long-term and I never fell in love. You are everything to me. You’re gorgeous, sweet, and kind. I bet that even if I hadn’t been your mate you still would have offered to help with no thought about repayment.” He tilted her head back and looked her in the eyes.

“I’ve waited my whole life for you, Kate, I may not be completely in love with you now, but I know I’m falling fast.”

He leaned down and grazed her lips with his. She sighed and stood on tiptoe in an attempt to capture his lips. He stood up straighter and smirked down at her.

“Patience, Kate, I’ll be in charge of your pleasure.”

He felt his jeans shrink when her eyes became unfocused and she gave a breathy little sigh. He knew then and there that Fate had paired them correctly. She responded to him beautifully. He also knew that having Bran there would just add an entirely new dimension to the lovemaking. He cleared his throat and stepped back. She took a deep breath smiling up at him. She pointed to another face on the wall.

“Who is the older man?” she asked, starting a second box for the clothes.

Caleb gave a bark of laughter. “That old bastard was Renee’s father, James Langford and he hated me. I mean hoped-I-would-die kind of hated me.” Caleb picked up a blanket and folded it.

“What! Why?” Kate asked.

“Well, he had it in his mind that she would mate within the leap and stay home and raise lots of grand-babies for him to dote on, being the good little wife,” Caleb said.

“Let me guess, she hated staying still.”

Caleb nodded. “The only reason we were able to meet in Nepal is because her mother, before she died, made her father promise to send Renee to school. She was in graduate school when we met. She lived every day to its fullest, knowing that someday she would have to return to the leap and give birth, staying until her children were grown. She was wild and crazy, always wanting to try something different. She could have had another ten years to herself before being asked to reproduce for the leap, but her father made sure she was one of the first asked. So she asked me to be the father, knowing it would drive him crazy.” He smiled.

“The look on the old man’s face when we showed up and she announced that I would be the father of her children was priceless. But he couldn’t dictate who she reproduced with, so we made arrangements with a local fertility clinic and then the boys came along.” He placed another blanket in the box and picked up a washcloth. He gripped it tightly in his hands.

“I knew he hated me but never really paid attention. Most of the leap accepted me and I made quite a few friends there, but I could never seem to get on his good side. One day I was in the kitchen with the boys when I offered Landon some orange juice. I was the only one in the house that drank it, so it was like my own personal stash. The old man was just coming into the kitchen and knocked the glass away from my hand, spilling a little on Landon. I remember just staring at him in shock when an odd smell started to come from the spilled orange juice. He just stood there, clutching his chest and breathing hard. He had poisoned the juice and I had almost given it to my son. It would have made me violently ill. It wouldn’t have been deadly given my age, weight, and height. But Landon was so young and tiny.” Caleb stopped and threw the washcloth into the box, taking deep breaths as his old anger returned.

“It took Renee and four other leopards to get my hands from around his throat. When Renee learned what had happened, she threatened to pack up the boys and leave. The old man just broke down right there in the kitchen. I think it shocked her and a lot of the leap members. He was one of the Elders in charge of the leopards and to see him come so completely undone…” Caleb shook his head and took a deep breath.

“After that we settled into an easy truce. He loved the boys with every cell in his body. He would stay up with them and feed them. He spared no expense when they set up their nursery. I think seeing what his hate could have done really turned things around for him. When I got home the day of the attack I found his body in the hallway in front of the boys’ room. I still don’t know if he knew the room was empty when he died since I had snuck the boys out for the photos.”

Caleb looked over at Kate to see tears spilling over her cheeks. She opened her arms and he eagerly wrapped his arms around her, needing to feel the warmth of another person after reliving the worst day of his life.

“It’s awful what he was going to do to you, but you could see how much he loved them. It’s in the way you painted his eyes.” Kate
 
turned in his arms so that they both faced the mural.

“It’s why I don’t want the boys to forget him. He loved them both so much.” Caleb rested his chin on the top of her head. He loved the fact that she was tall for a woman. He didn’t have to reach down to kiss her. He didn’t know how Aleks Arkadion did it. His mate was tiny.

“Who are they?” she said and giggled. He looked to where she was pointing and smiled.

“That is Rafe and Rashin. Personality wise they were like your Rian and Damian. Fun-loving and goofy, but loyal. They were Renee’s littermates. They used to tease Renee about all the things they were going to teach the boys to do. They were my best friends besides Renee. I never found their bodies, only a lot of blood and fur in their rooms. I knew they put up one hell of a fight.” Caleb continued to hold Kate, letting go of the feelings of grief he had been holding in. He didn’t realize how much he had needed to talk about his leopard family until now.