“Oh, wow!” He slumped on top of me, his hand still working my knot, my come sticking us together.
“Right?” I could barely think about the mess we were making, just how content I felt to have experienced that with Sully.
“Yeah, that’s—“
I held him close. “We can do that again whenever you like.”
His head came up so he could meet my eyes. “You really enjoyed it?”
“Sully, there’s no faking a knot. I loved it.”
“I love you.”
“And I love you. Gimme a minute, and I’ll get us cleaned up.”
“I’ll do it.” He eased out of me carefully. Petting my hole, his eyes fixed on it, he asked, “Okay?”
“Perfect,” I answered with a grin.
He jumped off the bed and ran to the adjoined bathroom for a cloth to clean us up. “Let me play alpha!” he cried with a giggle.
Life with Sully would never be boring.
The kids kept him busy between his part-time shifts at Rosie’s. He was just helping out over the summer season until his pregnancy neared the end. The café‘s owners were aware he was expecting, so they’d promised to keep an eye on him and not let him overdo it. That made me feel better about having him away from me where I could look after him.
I liked the owner and her mate. Both of them genuinely seemed to care about Sully’s wellbeing. They offered to take care of him without having to be asked. They were also on our side against some of the town who distrusted me for being a dingoshifter. Whenever I went in to say hello, they always had a smile for me.
Sully’s mom was actually the first to call him and apologize. “Honey, I’m sorry about how I reacted. How is mated life treating you?”
“Good. So much is happening here,” he said, a tentative smile on his face.
“I’d love for you to tell me all about it. We owe you both an apology. We shouldn’t have reacted like that.” His smile grew. It felt good for her to admit how she had hurt him. “You deserved a better response, but we let our past cloud our judgement. You’d never be with anyone who was harmful just because they were your mate.”
Being the bigger person, Sully forgave her immediately, holding nothing back. He regaled her with stories about the little things I liked to do to show my love for him. He told her how I made him a strawberry smoothie each morning because he missed coffee, but it made him nauseous. Having something sweet instead of his favorite drink made him feel better.
He also told her all about the kids, well, the stuff he could share without problems. How they needed a tutor for their magic because Ginger had vanished into the wind once more. He told her the kids wanted to go to schoolinstead of being homeschooled because they wanted to make friends.
She pulled through there.
Vicky, Sully’s mom, was a well-connected woman. She knew everyone in town of importance, at least in her opinion. Once she came to visit us at the house with Danny, her mate, I knew she was fully onboard with our mating. She stormed into our little world, ready to make up for the false start. I respected the hell out of her for it.
My moms loved her after a few minutes of tense silence. It only took Berry asking Vicky if she liked to bake, and then the ice was broken.
Rowan was the one who charmed Vicky, though. They just clicked when Rowan impressed her with his plant knowledge. The three of them, Vicky, Rowan, and Berry, were as thick as thieves in the vegetable patch, within minutes of Rowan explaining how he taught Berry everything she knew. Her magic meshed with the plants, making them grow beyond anything Rowan could do himself. Vicky was in awe of them.
She found a magic tutor for them that afternoon. With their help, the kids could be enrolled at the local college and school, givingthem the chance to make friends for the first time.
By spending time with his son and Sandy, Danny gave my moms the opportunity to pack, now that we were settled. They hadn’t wanted to leave with Sully upset over how things were with his family. Now both had apologized, they were ready to head home. Besides, the house was almost done, nothing still unfinished was anything I couldn’t manage myself.
The day after his parents’ visit, his sister came by. She marveled over the house, was welcoming to the kids, and warm to me. I liked her instantly. She brought her kids with her and they soon had a game going with their new cousins in the backyard. It gave me hope for their time at school.
When it was just the adults on the back porch, Vanessa announced, “I’ve been talking with Trisha over what she found in the town charter. We’ve called a town meeting tomorrow. We’d like it if you came.”
“Last time I spoke to Trisha, she didn’t have much. Is it worth holding a meeting?” Sully wondered aloud. His best friend was a regular visitor to the house and had helped us find a crew willing to fix up the road. We had a weekmore of the bumpy track before the new road was laid.
Vanessa’s grin was shark-like. “We had a breakthrough after Orson’s return to Haenvale. His great-great-grandfather was mayor once upon a time. I think you’d be surprised by what we’ve learned.”
“Any hints?” I asked.
