“Can you help him?” Hayley asked the sea dragon shifter. “What’s he saying?”
John chuckled under his breath. “That it turns out theory is a lot more difficult than practice.”
“Mr. Griff?” Danny tugged on Griff’s feathers, his upturned face serious. “Think of cookies, Mr. Griff.”
Griff looked down at the boy…and shimmered.
“My boy,” he said, gathering Danny up. He turned to Hayley, pulling her into his embrace as well, his face shining with joy and wonder. “My mate.”
He held them both in his strong arms, and she knew he would never, ever let go.
EPILOGUE
Hayley
Three Months Later…
“Mommy, Mommy, Da’s here!”
Hayley froze, her pulse spiking with anxiety. By court order, she was required to allow Reiner access to Danny, but until now he’d meekly followed every condition she’d set. His visits with Danny were strictly supervised, either by Griff or one of the other firefighters on Alpha Team. He wasn’t allowed to return Danny a minute late…or pick him up a minute early.
So what was he doing turning up a whole hour before his scheduled time?
Does he know Griff is still at work? Does he think he can snatch Danny and run before I can call for help? Has he just been biding his time all along, only pretending to be contrite and reformed?
“Da! Da!” Downstairs, Danny’s feet charged for the door.
“Danny!” Flinging aside her hairbrush, Hayley sprinted for the stairs. “Don’t let him in!”
She stopped on the landing, her mouth dropping open.
“I don’t have to let him in.” Danny paused just long enough to shoot her a single baffled glance. “He’s got a key, Mommy.”
Then he leaped up into Griff’s outstretched arms. “Hi Da! Did you have a good day at work?”
From the dumbfounded expression on Griff’s face, this was the first he’d heard of this new name for himself too.
“What?” Danny looked from him to Hayley and back again, evidently confused by their stunned silence. “You said I didn’t have to call you Mr. Griff anymore.”
“Aye, but…I thought you’d just drop the ‘Mr.’,” Griff said, rather weakly.
“I thought he meant Reiner was here!” Hayley’s heart was still hammering with shock.
“Hmm.” Griff cocked an eyebrow at Danny. “Lad, I’m afraid this might get a little confusing.”
Danny rolled his eyes at their obtuseness. “Katie at school has a Daddy and a Papa, and no one finds that confusing. So Daddy’s Daddy, and you’re Da. That’s okay, isn’t it?”
Griff looked up at Hayley, his golden eyes silently echoing Danny’s question.
“Of course that’s okay,” Hayley said, to both of them. Blinking back tears, she came down the stairs to embrace them both. “That’s more than okay.”
“Ugh.” Danny wriggled, squished between them. “Let go, Mommy. Da stinks.”
A rich chuckle rumbled through Griff’s chest. He released Hayley, and let Danny slide to the ground. “I bet I do. Sorry, lad. You’re going to have to get used to it, I’m afraid.”
Griff did indeed reek of smoke. When he’d left this morning, his firefighter’s uniform had still been pristine, but now it was covered in scuffs and smudges. There were streaks of soot at his hairline where he hadn’t quite managed to wash up thoroughly before coming home from his shift.
He looked tired, and sweaty…and utterly filled with a deep, quiet joy.