Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Rory

Bringing Bay and Sireen back home was the best thing he'd done in a long time. He'd missed the little girls' laughter, their eagerness for every single little thing around them. They were smart toddlers and generally happy babies. They loved nursery school, adored being outdoors, and were always interested in trying new foods and learning new things.

Bay had a set of blocks that was her favorite and she and Sireen made intricate towers that seemed well advanced for toddlers.

He'd waited until after dinner. He made sure to cook the pork chops and keep them under a cover on the opposite side of the table, well away from the mashed potatoes and salad he'd made as sides. Fraiser suggested a can of tuna for the salad, but Rory knew he'd have to do better. He had discovered that Callisto wasn't a vegetarian, she just didn't eat meat, but fish and seafood she was okay with, so that gave him something to work on. Maybe he could take Fraiser fishing, catching dinner fresh would show he was making an effort, wouldn't it? While it was a ridiculous notion for a butcher to want to cut down on his meat consumption, he did concede that regular bears subsisted mainly on fish, nuts, and berries, so perhaps having a few nights a week where he cooked vegetarian or pescatarian dishes might be a good idea.

He'd never once shied away from a challenge, and he had to see Callisto's arrival in his life as a challenge and not an annoyance.

He didn't know one single thing about his mate. She and Sophia spent most of their evenings hidden away in the room that was now theirs. He had no idea what they were doing to fill up so many endless hours.

He'd hoped that bringing the twins back would help the women warm up to him. The fact that he did want that and not just for Sam's sake, said that somewhere in the past three days, he'd changed his mind about something. He just didn't really know what it was. Honestly, a peaceful household was better than a tense and silent one. He desired happiness for his children and now Callisto and Sophia were part of that happiness. Maybe that's all it was.

As soon as he set Bay down and Fraiser put her sister on her feet next to her, both twins raced straight for their block bucket. There were enough woodworkers in Greenacre that the blocks had been carefully and painstakingly homemade. They'd been cut and sanded into all manner of different shapes, and they came in a huge wooden box. They weren't painted, but they were oiled with something he'd been assured was food safe and the lovely grains of the wood showed through.

The girls started throwing blocks out of the bin, laughing and chattering excitedly. They weren't saying much yet, but he wasn't too worried about it. It would come in time. They had their own language of babbles that they understood perfectly with each other. It was pretty much the same from what he'd seen of the other twins and triplets in Greenacre. They shared a special connection and a unique language.

The door creaked open down the hall. It had squeaky hinges and he clearly heard it. The twins didn't stop what they were doing, already kneeling down together to start on a fresh tower, but Fraiser froze in the middle of the living room. He focused on the hall, and when a shadow appeared, whipped around and pretended he wasn't studying the space like it was the most fascinating scrap of architecture he'd ever seen.

Rory suppressed a smile when Sophia and Callisto walked into the room side by side. It had taken far less time than he thought.

Sophia was bolder, while Callisto hung back. She surveyed the situation with caution, like there could be hidden dangers lurking in the room, but Sophia squatted down immediately beside the girls.

"Hey there! What are you building?"

"Bwa," Bay cooked. She had lovely dark curls and sharp gray eyes. Gray, not blue.

Sireen had perfectly straight hair, but it was dark like her sister's, and she had the same gray eyes the color of spring clouds all gathered up at once to give that cleansing warm rain.

"Bwa," Sireen agreed.

"Blocks," Sophia decoded. "Yes. Very good. She picked up a rectangular block. It was small in her hand, but huge in the girls' tiny ones. "Would you like to put this on your tower? I think the squares and rectangles would make a good base." The girls looked at each other. Neither moved. Sophia held out the block. "Rectangle." She picked up others, naming the shapes in turn. "Cone. Triangle. Square. Cylinder."

Bay and Sireen cracked big smiles. They wore identical black shirts and blue leggings that looked like jeans. They sported bare feet since it was warm out. They weren't identical twins, but their features were quite similar, and their smiles were exactly the same. Wide, eager, and completely adorable. They seemed fascinated, like Sophia was speaking another language.

"We learned shapes in school," Fraiser encouraged, kneeling down and repeating them for the girls.

Bay clapped when he was done, like it was a performance. Sireen turned and stared at Callisto, who still hung back.

Sophia grinned at them. "I'm Sophia. So-fee-ah. This is Callisto. Cal-iss-toe. She can do magic." She held up her hands. "We communicate like this because Callisto can't speak. They call that being mute. She was born like that. We learned in school how to make signs to talk that way instead."

Rory frowned, but he turned his face away from Callisto before she saw. School? School like the girls went to at two years old, or school as in kindergarten? If that was true, how had she communicated for the first five or six years of her life?

Sireen squealed and lurched forward, grabbing Sophia's hands like they truly were magic. Bay watched carefully, waiting for the trick.

"I'll show you," Sophia promised. "Or maybe Callisto would show you and I can tell you what she's saying."

The girls' heads swiveled to Callisto. She still hung back, uncertain, but Sophia nodded, and she stepped forward.

She wasn't wearing a fancy white dress, and she didn't have that glorious red gold hair done in fancy braids that she'd worn at the mating ceremony. Now her hair was pulled back into a tight, somewhat severe bun, at the nape of her neck. She was dressed all in black. Nearly all of her was covered, but the clothes were tight enough to cling to her muscles and curves and Rory's mouth went dry.

The rest of his body reacted somewhat differently when she walked, swaying so delicately with each step. She didn't look like a warrior goddess advancing on those girls. She was softer, her light green eyes mossy and not hostile.

She knelt down next to Sophia and held out her hands. She let the girls see that they were just regular hands by showing them her palms, wriggling her fingers, flipping them to the back. They were good hands. Strong and capable. They were beautiful and Rory found himself momentarily transfixed. He had to shake himself out of it before anyone noticed him looking. Thankfully, Fraiser was watching both the girls and the women.

"Every movement means something," Sophia explained. What's something you'd like? How about grass. Let's do grass."

Callisto made her hand into a loose claw and put it up in front of her face. She nearly rubbed her wrist against her chin when she moved it slightly.

Holy shit, that's amazing! He never would have thought that grass could look like that.

"And sky," Sophia said.

Callisto put her palm flat and started at her waist, sweeping it up into the air past her face.

Sireen and Bay both clapped that time.

Sophia reached for Sireen's little hand. She helped her make the sign and then she did the same with Bay. "Sky," she explained again.

The girls laughed so hard that their bellies both shook, and their cheeks got pink. Callisto smiled softly at them while Sophia laughed as well.

"It's different, I know, and it takes time to learn, like any language, but it's not impossible. It's really quite beautiful."

"It's fascinating." Fraiser spoke up finally. "I'd like to learn. Will you teach us when you have time? Just like this? A few signs a day?"

"Of course!" Sophia replied eagerly.

Callisto seemed less enthused by the idea, but he was starting to learn that she was far more closed off than Sophia. She might hide her real feelings as naturally as taking a breath. Just because she didn't show it didn't mean that she didn't feel something.

Then again, maybe she just straight up hated him.

But no one could hate babies. That slight softness, the corners of her lips turned up, the sparkle in her eyes that was so hard to catch—that meant something.

He realized he was studying her, trying to puzzle her out and quickly looked away before she caught him doing it, and the regular disdain she showed him came flooding back. She might even take it as an act of war and challenge him to combat. Her bear kicking his ass—he was a butcher, and he was damn good at what he did, but he wasn't a soldier—was the last thing he needed.

Although the thought buzzed through his bloodstream until he felt his temperature and pulse both spike.

"How about a snack before bed?"

The girls shot up from the floor so fast it was like it had just turned into scalding sand. "Snaaaa!" Bay shouted, racing to the kitchen.

Was two still classified as a toddler? He called them toddlers, but they raced around with more speed than a cheetah trying to catch its meal.

"What do they normally have?" Sophia beat him to the kitchen, looking at the cupboards. "I can help." Callisto joined her in the kitchen, crossing her arms. "We can help," Sophia corrected.

"Crackers or yogurt. Some cheese. A glass of milk warmed up."

"Okay. We're on it."

"Can I have crackers and cheese too?" Fraiser joined them, half joking and half serious. He scooped Bay up and swung her onto his back, dropping down into her favorite horsey position. Sireen pouted until she got a turn and by the time both girls had several rides, a stack of cheese and crackers was waiting on the table, along with two small cups of milk.

The girls were messy eaters, but Callisto came behind them when they were done, wiping the table with a dishcloth.

Rory noticed how she liked to be clean, and he tried to make sure he picked up after himself. It would be one less thing to bring on her wrath.

"Faaa!" Bay pointed to the bouquet of flowers as she was getting a wipe down. Face and hands were quickly swiped off with a second clean cloth.

Fraiser noticed the flowers as well. He gave him a questioning look, which made Rory's face heat like when he'd stepped into the house with them. He wasn't quite sure what he'd been thinking when it came to that bouquet, but the whole thing made him feel a little silly now. Callisto certainly hadn't appreciated the romantic gesture, even though it wasn't supposed to be that. Romantic. He'd just been trying to be nice. That had always been so important to him, that he was a good person who did right by his family, friends, and clan.

"Flowers," Sophia said, signing the word for the girls. Callisto finished wiping faces and hands.

Fraiser scooped up both girls, one on each hip. He walked them to their room. They weren't great about bedtime but after they settled, they were down for the count all night long unless someone got a tummy upset or a wet diaper. He was excited about the prospect of potty training.

Despite their wriggling and squirming, Fraiser was a pro at getting diapers changed and getting the girls into their sleepers. With how many babies Rory used to watch and how many Fraiser had helped with, he'd make a great dad one day if he ever wanted kids of his own.

After, he helped the girls brush their teeth. He had an unending amount of patience.

They were met in the hall by Sophia and Callisto.

"Can we help get them to bed?"

It looked like nothing else in the world was more important to Sophia. Callisto kept her expression guarded, buts he nodded slowly.

"Absolutely." Fraiser handed the girls over. Callisto took Bay like she might break her, but not because she was inexperienced holding a child. She pulled her in close to her chest, automatically smoothing a hand over her dark hair.

He watched as the girls were laid down in their cribs, side by side in the tiny room. They each had a favorite stuffed animal and blankets that Lily had sewn herself just for them. Sewn. Quilted? Rory wasn't sure which. He didn't know anything about that. If he got a hole in something, he had to live with it or throw it out.

He could cook a few dishes, but other domestic arts were beyond him.

After the girls were tucked in, he and Fraiser stood out in the hall while Sophia turned off the light. "Goodnight, sweet angels."

There were a few whimpers as the door closed—left open a crack for the hall light to enter in—but Bay and Sireen settled down fast. He could tell just from the sound of their breathing as he stood and waited. Callisto and Sophia stood there too.

Eventually, Fraiser drifted off to his room with a nod goodnight.

"Goodnight," Sophia whispered. She took Callisto's hand and led her to their room. The door closed quietly.

Rory washed up in the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and took his place on the couch. He stripped down to boxers and a t-shirt before pulling the quilt over himself. He should really invest in a hide-a-bed or a murphy bed or something a shade more comfortable than the damn couch which he was far too damn large for. The cramps and cricks in his back and neck were only growing worse each day.

He noticed the blocks had carefully been picked up and put away, but he wasn't sure who had done it or when. Callisto? Sophia? Probably not Fraiser. He was a great kid, but toys were often left around the house for days. His room was a disaster zone, and he was glad he kept the door shut. He'd probably be mortally offended if Callisto went in there and tidied things up. He was a great kid, but he was still a teenage boy and that was his space.

Rory wanted to analyze the day and the changes it brought, but he found that his eyes were heavy and as soon as he closed them, even though the couch was damned uncomfortable, he still found himself getting pulled under.

A rough shove at his shoulder startled him awake.

He nearly flew off the couch, flustered in a fit of blankets and pillows. He scrambled up, coming face to face with a pair of grave green eyes. They watched him without blinking. Callisto never flinched even though he'd startled into wakefulness like a wounded animal. His chest was still heaving. He yanked the blanket around his waist. Something about letting her see his naked legs seemed too… intimate in a really weird way.

She thrust a notepad with a handwritten sentence, the letters large and blocky, in his face.

TELL ME ABOUT THE PEOPLE OF GREENACRE. I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING.