Authors: Anjela Renee
Chapter 24
Cam woke up early to the sun shining in her eyes. A good night’s rest was just what she needed.
She could tell it was going to be a lovely day. She looked over at Richard and couldn't believe her luck of having the man in her bed that she loved. The only thing that confused her was how
he
felt about
her
. Did he love her, too, or was this just a sex thing?
Cam heard crying and got out of bed and put on a robe. She entered her bedroom to find Zoe crying and Lyle trying to give her a bottle.
“I'm sorry. I tried to help the baby.”
Cam lifted Zoe and Lyle followed behind. She changed Zoe and dressed her. She pulled out one of the few outfits Lyle had and helped him dress, too. She thought she would have to enroll Lyle in school and get him some new clothes.
Cam made the kids a fruit plate and eggs for breakfast. They ate together at the table and Cam thought about how she would miss Lyle when they moved to the new house. In only one day, he already felt a part of her family just like Richard.
“Mommy, is Lyle my new brother?”
“No he's not, Sweetie. But don't worry; you will get to play with Lyle all the time.”
I want Lyle to be my brother. I love him.
“I love you, too, baby Zoe,” Lyle responded.
Cam was impressed that Lyle could hear Zoe speaking telepathically. Maybe this meant he would develope more Fae traits. She wondered what Werecat traits he may have as well. She wondered if children could shift.
“Good morning everyone,” Richard said while entering the kitchen.
He gave Cam a little kiss on the head and grabbed a box of cereal and milk and sat down. He smiled as he poured his cereal. Cam smiled to herself at Richard’s good mood.
“Richard, let me make you something; you don't have to eat that.”
“I like cereal. You wouldn't deprive a man of his chosen breakfast, would you?”
Cam laughed before responding. “Of course not. Oh, we need to talk about Lyle. He needs to be enrolled in school. There’s a Fae school, or a Werecat school if you prefer.”
“I can teach him what he needs to know about being a Werecat, but being a Fae? I wouldn’t know where to begin, even with Adrian’s help. I think the Fae school will be the best choice. Maybe after breakfast we can enroll him and then go shopping.”
“Cam?” Lyle spoke up.
“Yes, Sweetie?”
“Are you my mommy now?”
Cam felt her mouth go dry. She loved him but to replace his mother… she never wanted to even try to do that. She never even got a chance to speak up before Richard answered for her. “Cam loves you, Lyle, and yes she is your new mommy. She will be the best mom you could ever wish for.”
Lyle jumped around and happily left the kitchen.
“Richard! I can’t believe you just did that!”
***
Cam left the kitchen abruptly and Richard was unsure why Cam was so mad. He thought she wanted to be Lyle's mother, but maybe he read her all wrong; maybe she didn't want more kids, or a mate for that matter.
Zoe just sat there in her highchair, giving Richard a look.
“I think I just fucked up, Zoe.”
She responded by waving her hands and giving him raspberries.
“Yeah, I know. Are you done eating?”
Zoe nodded and Richard wiped her face and picked her up from the highchair. He carried her to the bedroom where Cam was frantically folding laundry. Angry folding—that was a new one. Maybe she would be interested in angry sex. But by the way she glared at him, he knew that was off the table.
“Zoe finished eating.”
Cam nodded and took Zoe and slammed the door in his face without another word. Richard walked back to the living room and sat on the couch near Lyle, who was happily playing with some hot wheels that Gretchen picked up the night before.
“Is Mommy mad?” Lyle asked, not bothering to look up from playing.
“A little, but only at me; she still loves you.”
“Did she change her mind? Is she still my mommy?”
“I don't know. I’m sorry, Lyle. You still have me. I think we should go register you for school and Cam can have some time to herself.”
***
Richard and Lyle sat in the office at the Fae Elementary. He felt like a kid again while waiting for the principal. He was always a bit of a wild cat and had gotten into trouble a lot.
A green haired woman came out. She was young and beautiful and had an elegance about her. Her hair was in an up-do and she had pointy ears. Her eyes were an almond shape that were extremely alluring. Richard and Lyle followed her to another room.
“I am Ms. Petunia, the principal. I hear you want to register your son. Please sit down. We don't get many Non-Fae enrolling.”
Richard liked Ms. Petunia; she seemed friendly and her green hair made her look like she was ready to go clubbing. Ms. Petunia sat down and waited as Richard and Lyle settled into the chairs. The room wasn’t very big, but looked neat, organized, and smelled like coffee. The desk was crowded with pictures of children. Either the principal had a ton of kids or she truly loved her job and those were the students.
“Yes. I am a Werecat and his mother a Fae.”
“And will the mother be joining us today?”
“She died recently.”
“Oh my. What was her name?”
“I can’t reveal that information, as the grandparents don't want any connection known. I’m sorry, Ms. Petunia, but I need help. I can’t instruct him in the way of the Fae and I’m hoping your school can help fill the gap.”
“Your son seems like a very well behaved little boy. We would be happy to have him. I think perhaps a mentor he could meet with once a week to help with any Fae related personal issues. Here are the forms for enrollment. We follow all state regulations. Fill out what you can. He will start tomorrow at 8:30 a.m.”
“Thank you, Ms. Petunia. Things have been hard for Lyle. I hope going to school and making some new friends will help.”
“I will see you tomorrow, Lyle. Don't forget your thinking cap,” Ms. Petunia joked.
“Bye.” Lyle waved as they left the building.
***
Richard buckled Lyle in and quickly scanned the forms and found a school supply list. He decided to get right to it and headed to an office supply store. Richard walked the isles with Lyle in the cart, holding the list. He grabbed some crayons, hand sanitizer, tissues, markers, a few folders, and a backpack. He looked over the list again and grabbed the remainder of the supplies on the list. Lyle looked like a kid getting toys, not school supplies.
“Well, I think that’s it.”
“Think we have enough stuff for school?”
“Yeah, we have so much stuff, Daddy. School is going to be so fun.”
“Oh wait, a lunch box.”
Richard had to walk to the other side of the store again and started browsing the various styles and characters. Lyle picked one up with a Star Wars character on it, and then finally school shopping was finished.
That wasn’t so hard.
He walked toward the register when his phone started ringing. He could see it was Gretchen and after last time he decided he better answer it.”
“Richard! What did you do? Cam is angry cleaning.”
“Oh crap. I thought it would stop at angry folding. She’s pissed at me, so I took Lyle to get enrolled in school and to do some shopping.
“Get home. You need to fix this—pronto.”
“I still have some shopping to finish, but I will be home as soon as I can.”
Chapter 25
Richard and Lyle continued browsing the racks at the department store. Richard didn’t even know what size Lyle wore. He spotted a sales clerk and waved her over.
“Hello there. How can I help you?”
The sales clerk was very young, probably early twenties, and her name tag said Laura. Laura had chestnut colored hair and blue eyes. He could tell she was a paranormal, though he wasn’t sure what kind. “This is the first time shopping with my son; I don't know what size to get.”
“Let me check his clothes he’s wearing.” The sales clerk checked the collar of Lyle’s shirt and the back of his pants. She frowned. “No tags.”
“Those were handmade, I think.”
“No worries. Let me grab a few sizes, and we can have him try them and figure it out. Now what are we looking for?”
“He starts school tomorrow, so he needs everything.”
“This will be so fun,” Laura squealed.
Richard watched as Laura grabbed t-shirts, and jeans, and everything in between.
“What’s your name, cutie pie?” Laura asked Lyle.
“I’m Lyle. What’s your name?”
“I’m Laura. Can you put these on by yourself?” she asked.
“I want my daddy to help.”
Richard took the clothes and went into the fitting room with Lyle. They tried on several sizes and dozens of styles. Finally, they had a whole wardrobe picked out complete with socks and underpants.
Laura rang them up at a register nearby. Richard wasn’t sure why, but he felt a need to reach out to her. She was young and if she was a paranormal in need of guidance he wanted to help.
“I can tell you’re special, Laura.”
“Um, thanks,” she replied.
“I’m a Werecat and Lyle here is a Werecat and Fae hybrid. I can tell you are something more than human.”
Laura looked scared, but in a small whisper of a voice she answered Richard. “I’m not sure. I wake up in the woods naked sometimes. It scares me and I don't remember how I got there. I’m adopted, so my parents, well, I don't want them to be scared of me.”
“Here, Laura; this is my number.” Richard scribbled his number on an old receipt and handed it to her.
“I think you may be a Were or a shifter of some sort. I can help. Just give me a call and I will do what I can.
***
Cam continued her crazy angry cleaning. She couldn’t stop. Zoe was in her crib for a nap, but she couldn’t stop cleaning. Gretchen tried stopping her, but she couldn’t sit still. She was scrubbing the kitchen floor, thinking it wasn’t clean enough. Cam heard the door slammed shut and then voices. She knew Richard was back. Cam knew it was time to get on her big girl panties so she came out from the kitchen and Lyle ran up to her and hugged her.
“I'm going to school and I gots lots of stuff.”
Cam couldn't help but feel a little better already just having Lyle nearby, excited to see her, but that still didn't get Richard off the hook.
Gretchen came into the room and could see the tension between Cam and Richard. “Hey, Lyle; I was going to go for a run. Want to come with me?” Gretchen asked.
“Sure,” Lyle responded excitedly.
Lyle and Gretchen left the house, leaving Richard and Cam alone. All Cam wanted at that moment was to get away from him. She wanted to stay mad, but it was really hard when he was giving her that smoldering fuck me smile.
“I'm still mad at you,” Cam blurted out.
“Sit. We need to talk about it.”
Cam sat down but still felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin. “I fucked up, Cam. I’m sorry.”
“Richard, I just can’t be with someone who won’t let me make my own decisions. Kieran was like that; he made all the decisions when we had sex, what I should wear, who my friends should be. I didn't realize how suffocating it was until I was free of him. I never want to live like that again. I need to be able to voice my own opinions and to have them be respected. I love Lyle, but you need to let me decide if I want to be his mother, not you.”
“I'm so sorry, Babe. I was just being a stupid jerk.”
Richard took Cam into his arms and kissed the top of her head. She felt warm in his arms and he wanted to show her how much he loved her, but didn’t want to seem like he had a one track mind.
“I was just thinking that we need to go on a date.”
“A date?” Cam asked.
“Yes; a night out. Just us alone, no kids. We need time alone and I'm sure Gretch would love to watch the kids.”
“Well, I think that sounds like fun.”
“It’s settled. Tonight I am going to woo you, madam.”
“Woo? Well then, I better start preparing now as I've never been wooed before.”
“Tonight you get the Richard experience. Be prepared to be impressed and to be mine,” he said while giving Cam a one eyed wink.
Cam couldn't help but to laugh hysterically. She loved it when Richard was playful and funny; it was one of the main reasons she loved him. She suddenly realized what she was thinking. She loved him, she really loved him. What should she do? Should she tell him?
***
Cam was in her bedroom with Gretchen getting ready for the Richard experience. Gretchen was beyond excited to babysit so they could go on a date. Gretchen had put out several dresses for Cam to borrow. She ran over to her mother’s house and borrowed a few since she doubted petite little Cam would fit in her clothes. Luckily, her mother was supermodel thin so the mini dresses would work.
Cam finally settled on a low cut, sleeveless, emerald green dress with a little sparkle along the trim. It was just stunning. For her shoes, she just wore her own—a pair of black strappy sandals. Gretchen did wonders to her hair, somehow taming it all up on top of her head with a couple stray curls for effect.
“Gretchen, do you think Richard could love me?”
Gretchen stopped fussing with her hair and sat down facing her friend.
“The first night you came to live with me, Richard came over.”
“I remember.”
“He immediately knew you were the one before he even laid eyes on you. Your scent was all he needed to know. Werecat males are drawn heavily by scent. I didn't want him to scare you, so I made him promise to back off.”
“Gretchen, I love you like a sister, but I wish you hadn't done that. I would have let him have me the moment we met,” Cam explained.
“Tonight I'm going to tell him I love him and I hope he feels the same.”
Gretchen hugged Cam and began crying. “I call dibs on the matron of honor in the wedding.”
“Why don't we wait and see if he loves me back before we plan the wedding?”
Gretchen looked up at the knock on the bedroom door.
“Cam, are you in there?”
“Yes; come in.”
***
Cam stood up at the same time as Richard entered the room. Richard was speechless. The way she looks all dressed up was amazing. He already thought she was stunning, but all dressed up just brought it to a whole other level.
“You are smoking hot,” Richard said to Cam while trying to control his desire for her.
Gretchen smacked her brother upside the head. “You dumb oaf; tell her she looks beautiful.”
“Gee, Gretch. Cam, you are beautiful and I am so excited to give you the Richard wooing experience.”
“The Richard experience; are you kidding me?” Gretchen laughed.
“Don't be jealous, Sis. Oh and be sure to put both kids to bed in Cam’s room. And you might want to wear earplugs; it’s going to get noisy tonight.”
Gretchen groaned and made a gagging sound. “You have got to be kidding me. Are you going to put up with that, Cam?”
“Don't wait up,” Cam replied, smiling. She was perfectly okay with an evening ending with lovemaking. And hopefully by the end of the night he would tell her he loved her, too.
Richard took Cam by the hand and put a jacket on her and led her to the living room where Lyle was playing with Zoe. Adrian was sitting on the couch nearby watching ESPN.
“Daddy, are we going bye bye?” Lyle asked.
“Not this time, kiddo. I'm taking this beautiful lady out. Aunt Gretchen will watch you, so be good.”
“Oh,” Lyle said. The look of disappointment on his face was evident.
Cam leaned down to Lyle. “You have school tomorrow, so you need your rest. You will have fun with Zoe and Aunt Gretch.” Cam gave Lyle a kiss and hug and that seemed to cheer him up a little.