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Ava returned with our drinks and then disappeared to bring us our food. I knew for a fact that she rarely left the counter so I knew she was only giving us this special service.
“Thanks, Ava.”
“You need anything else, just holler. Oh, don’t look at me like that. I’m not stupid. You all of a sudden show up at my diner with the whole family? Something happened but it’s not my business. I also remember how odd it was for my husband after he had Phoebe, going out in public again. He barely left the house for six months. Intermittent shopping ventures and working in the kitchen was the way he regained touch with the world. It’ll happen.Slowly.The fact that your Omega left the house today shows how much he trusts you all to take care of him.”
I blinked a few times, never having heard Ava speak about her husband.
“Oh, he’s not dead but he still doesn’t like people. Who do you think helps in the back? And all of the decorations? It definitely wasn’t me and goddess forbid Phoebe try anything artsy. He’s usually home by eight in the morning, working on his own thing until we get home.” She gave us a hearty grin before telling us to eat up and then disappeared behind the counter again.
It felt nice knowing that Kieran’s slow recovery wasn’t abnormal. When the two returned to the table, a faint blush covering Kieran’s cheeks, I knew that whatever Terrence had done had given our Omega a little more courage. Kieran slid in beside Ren, Leo situated over his shoulder. The fact that Kieran wasn’t still patting his back told me that Leo had already been burped and was now happily resting, his little hand tangled in Kieran’s beard.
“Better?” I asked.
“Yes,” he murmured at the same time his stomach grumbled. I growled at him to eat something, knowing that he wasn’t eating regularly. We all shared a little laugh as I piled a few blueberry pancakes, eggs, and sausage links onto a plate before handing it to our Omega.
“Eat.”
“Yes, Alpha,” he joked and I ran my tongue along my upper lip, wondering if I wanted to toy with him. Nothing good would come of it and I’d be stuck with a fucking hard-on while we roamed the little shops. There was not enough space in those dressing rooms and as much as I had no problem fucking Kieran in public, there was no way that he’d go for it. Joel might, though.
When I turned to him, Joel catching onto my line of thought, he just shook his head. “Fuck no. We have babies to think of.”
Even so, I dipped my head to the crook of his neck, rubbing my nose along his gland. My possessive streak had returned but I knew why. It had heightened every time I added one of mymates to the pack and adding an Omega was an entirely different ordeal. My Alpha biology dictated that I protected each of them and knowing that I hadn’t been able to, brought along this need to keep them close and by my side. The same way Kieran had been doing for a while—I just hid it better.
We dug into the food and I was happy to see Kieran actually eating, his eyes darting to Elias every so often. Ava peeked her head out of the kitchen only once to check for my slight nod before heading back in. All in all, it was a rather comfortable outing and my mates were enjoying themselves. Tomorrow would be an entirely different beast to tackle when I refocused my efforts on figuring out the deal with Michael while navigating a full schedule at work.
I leaned back as I cradled my son against my chest, sipping the mimosa that was dangerously low. It had been a while since I had indulged myself with more than Ren’s cooking or the occasional bagel and espresso from the diner. Terrence was giggling as he poked Leo, Kieran’s smile growing as he relaxed. Joel was in his own world, scowling as he pulled out his phone, turned off the screen, and then shoved it back into his pocket.
He hadn’t mentioned much about the strange calls but I assumed they had come from Michael. The problem was that Michael was now in custody so the calls should have stopped. I’d ask him later.
“Want anything else?” I asked, Kieran stiffening slightly. I didn’t want to rush them but I also knew that our Omega needed a little bit of a push. He had found another place where he was comfortable and I was happy about that, however, Ava would kick us out eventually and then it’d either be home or the shops.
He tightened his arms around Leo and then shook his head. “We can go.” When I raised an eyebrow, he didn’t fight me on it this time. “Yellow.”
“Go slow or wait a few more minutes?” I asked.
Terrence leaned a little closer to Kieran, giving him support while we waited for an answer.
“Go slow.”
“That we can do. Why don’t you go ahead and pack up while I go pay the bill? I have it on good authority that you all can walk out the back entrance to avoid the surge of people coming in for the lunch rush.” You would have thought I promised Kieran the world by the way his face lit up.
sixteen
JOEL
Kieran refused to let us hold Elias and Leo while we walked in between the little shops but I had expected as much. So had Ren, preparing the twin sling as we stepped out of the car. It was definitely a sight watching this man hold these small children against his chest, even funnier when both of them dug their hands into his beard. Kieran didn’t care though. He was comfortable and felt safe between the three of his mates. That’s all that mattered to me.
His eyes lit up every now and then when we passed certain stores while I tried to figure out the pattern. Every person had their thing that they enjoyed but Omegas were on a different level with that obsession. Most enjoyed the cutesy, shiny, objects. The plushier the better. They enjoyed nurturing and cooking and providing for their pack. I hadn’t figured out what caught Kieran’s interest. Dr. Ashton told us that we had to askhim what hewantedto do because everything he had done up to when he met us had been out of necessity.
When we passed another shop, it clicked.
Of course.
Kieran might have done things out of necessity, but he truly loved working with his hands. The numerous projects he had started around the old house and then the nursery? I twisted around to look at Isaias who was hiding his laughter. Of course, our Alpha already knew. He came up beside me, “Maybe we'll ask him if he wants to go to work with us at some point. There's still some help needed building the training sets and Kieran has those skills.”
“Really?”
Isaias shrugged. “Our boss is looking for a few extra hands and I’m sure Ren wouldn’t mind watching the babies for a little bit.”
