3
Peppa
After three days of nearly endless hours in the kitchen to make sure nothing would go wrong on opening day—even though I darn well knew something always went wrong the first time customers stepped foot into a restaurant—the big surprise ended up being completely out of my control. Trinity went into labor with the twins a full month early before we even had the chance to officially open the doors. Not that we had any room for more customers with all of Trinity and Damon’s families, plus the Timber Ridge alpha, beta, their mates, and children taking up every available seat in the place.
She’d tried to pretend nothing was wrong, but the moment Damon realized she was having contractions, he’d carried her butt out of there. Their parents and Trinity’s sister, Tabara, had followed them to the hospital, promising to keep everyone updated. The rest of her crew stuck around to eat dinner before heading out a little more than an hour later to meet the baby.
We had plenty more customers to fill the seats that emptied and kept turning tables until closing. I hadn’t been able to get away until after visiting hours were over, so I didn’t make it to the hospital until the next morning. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one of the precious babies as soon as I walked into her room. “Oh my gosh, they’re so tiny and perfect.”
Trinity was glowing as she smiled up at me from the bed. She folded back the pink blanket covering the baby in her arms so I could see better. “This is Greenlee.”
“And this is Nyx.” Damon angled the baby wrapped in blue so I could get a peek at his face.
“Girl.” I whistled as I dropped onto the chair next to the bed. “You’re setting the bar high for the rest of us, opening a restaurant and giving birth to these two cuties all in the same night.”
“Want to hold her?”
I barely let her get the question out before I reached over to snag the baby from her arms. “I thought you’d never offer.”
Damon chuckled behind me as he paced the floor, rocking his son back and forth. “You’ve been here for maybe a minute.”
“Can you blame me for being anxious to cuddle one of these sweeties?” I whispered in a soft voice so I didn’t disturb the precious bundle I was holding.
“Nope.” He flashed me a grin. “Just so long as you understand that you won’t get to keep her for long. It’s been like a revolving door around here with everyone wanting to spend time with Nyx and Greenlee.”
I stroked my finger down Greenlee’s cheek. “I guess I lucked out that nobody else was here to hog this beauty before I got a little time with her.”
“While you’re enjoying all those baby snuggles, tell me how last night went,” Trinity urged. “I hate that I missed out on all of the excitement.”
“Yeah, because we didn’t have enough excitement of our own,” Damon chuckled, shaking his head.
Trinity glared at her mate, so I distracted her by bragging about how well things went at Timber Treasures last night. “I know it’s only been a day, but the restaurant is already a smash hit. I think just about everyone from the pack stopped by for dinner, along with a ton of people from the neighboring towns. We didn’t have a single dish returned to the kitchen, and the waitstaff was thrilled with how much they made in tips.”
“I’m not even a tiny bit surprised everyone loved the food. You knocked it out of the park with the menu, and the team you brought with you is better than I ever hoped to hire on my own.” She lifted her hand for a high five but smacked my palm gently so I didn’t jostle her daughter.
“The entire team nailed it last night, not just the ones who came down from Chicago with me.” Greenlee let out a little whimper, and I started to sway her from side to side.
“Trade me,” Damon growled as he reached out to take her from me before gently placing Nyx in my arms.
“Any complaints about the menu?” Trinity asked after I got comfortable again.
Focusing on wild game that most people weren’t familiar with would have been a big risk to take in a small town if Timber Ridge hadn’t been full of shifters. Most restaurants that served exotic meats were in bigger markets or areas where people took their hunting seriously. With their freezers stocked full of venison and buffalo, they were open to giving the wilder side of game meat a try. But with the number of humans we’d served last night, I understood her concern. “Nah, I heard a few under-the-breath comments about the zebra and python, but nobody asked to speak to the chef or anything. They mostly stuck with beef and bison, but a few humans were brave enough to give the alligator in a blanket and yak filet a try after they saw the plates served to a member of the pack.”
“Nice!” She leaned against the pillows and quizzed me on everything else that had happened. Our back and forth didn’t end until someone shoved the door open and stomped into the room. I cradled Nyx closer to my chest to protect him from the big guy with dark hair that was overdue for a cut and intense brown eyes that were frantic until his gaze landed on me.
Trinity and Damon didn’t seem surprised by his entrance, but my lips parted on a shocked gasp as our eyes met. Neither of them reacted when he moved across the room and bent low to take Nyx from my arms. I didn’t know who this guy was, and I didn’t appreciate him ending my time with the baby. Glaring up at him as I reached out for Nyx, I grumbled, “Hey.”
He ignored my complaint, turning to Trinity to place the baby in her arms. I was sorely tempted to kick him in the shin. “I wasn’t done holding him.”
When I turned back to him after seeing how quickly Nyx snuggled into his mama’s arms, he flashed me a smug smile. “Don’t worry, mate, you’ll have your own cub to hold soon enough.”
Mate?
I’d been breathing in the sweet baby smell ever since I got here, and it took a moment for his scent to overpower theirs. My brain was still trying to catch up, and Damon was the first to react. “You’re my brother’s mate?”
“Damn straight she is,” the guy confirmed as he tugged on my hands to pull me out of my seat.
I crashed against his chest and smiled shyly up at him, my body feeling as though it was coming to life for the first time ever. “Hi.”