“Well, they’re great, Autumn. Wow. This is just so much. You’re alive, your married, and you’re a mom. It’s incredible. I trust you won’t mind your handsome brother showing these little creatures a few tricks when the time comes?”
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Malcolm interjected. There is only so much a bear can teach a wolf, so Autumn is in charge of bear training. I’m sure she’ll appreciate the help.”
“I sure will. I would love that, Rain.”
“Well, I can’t teach bears or wolves much of anything, but I will be here as often as possible to give them a cuddle,” her mother added.
“I’ll allow it,” Autumn laughed.
Malcolm stood back, watching them enjoy their time together and wishing it could be longer. It had been an amazing day. This was the perfect ending to it. Well, almost. He wished he could take her on a honeymoon, but with the kids, they couldn’t take the time away. They had agreed to delay it until the kids were a bit bigger and then enjoy themselves away somewhere nice.CHAPTER FORTY-THREEAutumn
“Where are we going?” Autumn laughed, pulling at the blindfold across her eyes.
“Hey, stop that. I told you that it’s a surprise.”
“Just a little weekend trip. Clara and Rowanne have the kids under control by themselves now that they are sleeping through the night and can hold their sippy cups.”
“I thought we agreed to wait until they were a few years old to go on a honeymoon,” she said.
“We did, and we are. This isn’t a honeymoon, just a much-needed weekend away together. You’ve been working hard with your classes and I’ve been busy with my new Alpha duties. We could use a bit of downtime together, I thought.”
“Okay. So where are we going?”
“You’ll see soon.”
Autumn laughed. He had told her to pack a few days’ worth of comfortable clothes and her best underwear for his approval, but nothing more. She had no idea where he was taking her, but he was right about them both needing some time together alone.
As much as she loved their little family, she did need a break. She had started taking business classes a few months ago, and, between that and tending the kids, she was getting a bit frazzled, even with the help of Clara and Rowanne, who were only there during the day and early evening now that they lived separately.
They had already told her that they were happy enough to come in and stay sometimes overnight if she needed the help, but she was determined to manage on her own. Other Omegas did this alone, so she should be able to do it on her own as well.
“Alright, here we are,” Malcolm told her.
She felt the new SUV he had purchased to accommodate the kids slowing and turning, then creeping down a road before coming to a stop. She started to remove the blindfold, but he stopped her.
“Nope. Not yet,” he told her. “Just wait there.”
His door opened, and she could hear gravel crunching under his feet before he opened the door on her side of the vehicle and helped her out, walking her across gravel and then grass and stopping her to remove her mask.
Autumn blinked, looking around in confusion. They were at the lake, but the old cabin was gone. In its place was a brand-new log cabin that was bigger, with a deck to one side that jutted out into the water, forming a dock there.
“What happened?” she asked.
“I thought it would be nice to come back to the place where were first fell in love, but I wanted it to be full of fresh memories, so I had the old one torn down and this one built.”
“But it’s been in your family so long.”
“It’s not about the cabin. It’s about the solitude and safety of this place. I made it better.”
“And the tunnels?”
“I had the maze filled and the cellar finished out to form a panic room. Come in and I’ll show you.”
Autumn followed him up the steps, his hand in hers, and stepped in behind him to look around the interior of the cabin. It looked nothing like the old place. There was a large living room area, but it was in the center rather than off to one side.
There were separate rooms for the bedrooms and a kitchen/dining combo with its own pantry. Finally, there was a bathroom that was not located on the old back porch.
“It’s fantastic,” she said.
“Yeah? I’m glad you like it. We can come here anytime we need a short break, or you can come here alone if you ever need a time out for yourself.”
“It’s perfect. Thank you for doing all of this for me.”
“I did it for us,” he said.
“Well, it means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me. The day I met you was the luckiest day of my whole miserable life.