18. Gage

We studied the new room Mr. Lucas had "given" us. It was empty, unlike when he "presented" us with the new cabin.

"That was kind of him, letting us choose the furniture for the nursery." I inspected the paint and made sure the windows fit properly.

Kind didn't come close to what the elderly man had done for us, and we could never repay him, but I wondered if he didn't have any idea how to furnish a nursery.

But then I always suspected it was Harry's magic that infused everything he and his uncle did. Cedric used to think about it all the time until I told him he'd never get an answer. Or he might, but it might not be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

"Harry has a shop that sells all things baby."

"He does? How did I not know that? The town isn't that big, and I've been online looking at baby paraphernalia and nothing popped up here."

"Or he might have sold it." I was measuring the windows for curtains. "I think he did. Maybe."

"What's the name of the shop?" He took out his phone, ready to do a search.

"No idea, but I can take you there. It's not far from their house. Logan, Griffin's mate, works there." He'd met them when Mrs. Ambrose had a dinner for some of the couples Harry and Mr. Lucas had matched. I had sat at the table and didn't have a panic attack at being with so many people. And I enjoyed it!

"Okay. Let's go now."

It was Saturday afternoon. Riverford was never what I called bustling, but families would be at the park with their kids, buying groceries, or running their children to soccer practice or piano lessons.

I wanted to have the nursery done and everything bought before Cedric got too big. And he hated doing anything last minute.

I drove Cedric's car, as the inside of my pickup hadn't been cleaned in who knew how long, and we pulled up outside a building that Cedric had to have driven past previously. There was no sign on the front, no indication it was a baby store, or even a store.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" he asked

I nodded. As a shifter I wasn't as taken aback as he was when unexplained events happened. I'd known Mr. Lucas for years, so what Cedric considered odd, I thought of as run-of-the-mill.

We walked up the path and the front door opened. Logan greeted us.

"Congratulations. You must be excited at having twins. We also have twins."

Cedric raised a brow at me, and I shrugged. It wasn't a secret he had two babies inside him, and Riverford was a small town, but he wasn't used to everyone knowing his business.

"Take your time." Logan pointed out both rooms, one of which had furniture and equipment and the other clothing. We started with equipment, Cedric holding the phone with the checklist.

"Why can't the baby sleep with us?" I examined the cribs, checking if they were sturdy enough.

"It's not safe, besides, our little ones have to learn to be independent."

Wild bears did that with their cubs.

"I like this one." I pointed to the drawers under the plain white crib. "Those should hold everything a baby needs."

Logan and Cedric shared a glance.

"You have much to learn. Wait until you see how many onesies are on my list." But he agreed, the plain white crib was a good choice, and Logan checked he had two in stock.

"Did you want a changing table?"

"No, we"ll be happy with our babies the way they are. We won't want to change them," I said absentmindedly as I checked out the strollers.

"Gage!"

"Huh?" I looked from Cedric to Logan. "I was kidding. It was a joke." I squeezed Cedric's arm. I wasn't really the joking kind, and perhaps my dry sense of humor took him by surprise.

"I have a double stroller out back." Logan vanished into another room.

"How much business does this place do if they don't advertise?" Cedric whispered to me.

"Harry told me people come from the surrounding towns and even the city to buy from here." There was a large shifter community online that Cedric wasn't aware of.

"I'm pleased we don't have to buy from a website.

Logan brought out the stroller, and it was the brand Cedric wanted. He showed us how to fold it and unfold it. We looked at one another. I'd need some practice sessions before I could do it without cursing. Cedric told me horror stories about videos of new parents with a crying baby trying to unfold the stroller.

"Did you want that changing table?" Logan asked again.

Cedric didn't, saying he'd decided on a dresser with a changing mat so we could use the dresser when the babies were out of diapers.

We bought a rocking chair, car seat, baby bath, sling, and crib bedding.

When we moved into the other room, I examined a pack of diapers. We'd had the discussion about disposable or cloth, and both of us wanted to do our bit to preserve the environment.

But we agreed that if we were sick or the babies weren't sleeping and both of us were exhausted, we could use the biodegradable disposable diapers.

I picked up a packet, and Cedric shook his head. "More." I grabbed another. "More."

I made a face. "Babies are tiny. How much do they poop?"

"A lot," Logan and Cedric said together.

"Maybe they should try pooping in the woods," I muttered.

"Another joke," Cedric explained to Logan.

We piled onesies, blankets, burp clothes, soft toys, and sleepers times two on the counter. We'd need most of our salaries this month to pay for this haul.

But when Logan toted up the amount, it was much less than we expected. Cedric had been to colleagues' baby showers and had an idea of what baby paraphernalia cost.

I didn't question Logan. What would I have said? That I wanted to pay more?

Logan said the bigger items would be delivered tomorrow, and I packed the smaller things in the car.

Once home, we marked out where we would place the furniture, and we washed and dried the clothes. Yet again, I sent up a silent thanks to Mr. Lucas for our new home. I couldn't imagine having to wash everything by hand.

The next day the furniture arrived. Cedric was eager to get everything in place, and we spent all afternoon setting up the room. Once we were done, we stood back and admired our handiwork as the sun set.

We high-fived one another. All we needed was the curtains, and Mrs. Ambrose had a friend who would make them if we purchased the fabric.

"Does it seem more real now that we have the nursery almost complete?" I asked as we ate dinner I'd picked up in town because we were too exhausted to cook.

He nodded. "Can I be honest?"

I reached out and took his hand. "Always."

"It's daunting being pregnant and wondering if I'm going to be a good dad, but we have to be dads times two."

"You will be an amazing father. I see how you eat well, exercise, you talk to the babies, you read up on child rearing techniques and behavior. You care about our children, and you'll be a great father."

"Awww." He threaded my fingers through his.

"Besides, babies love bears, and my beast does too. I can shift and rock them to sleep while you rest."

"You can teach them about the forest like you did with me."

"I can, but I gave you a crash course, love." I gathered the dishes and told Cedric to take a bath while I cleaned up.

"Forget the dishes. They can wait." He crooked his finger at me. "We have a big enough bath for two."

I tore into the bathroom and ran the water, filling it with the bubble bath Cedric liked, though I still used my yucca soap when I bathed alone. I helped him in, admiring his cock and his little rounded tummy, and we both sat in the warm water, letting it soothe our aching muscles.

"We won't be able to do this when the babies arrive." Cedric rubbed his foot over my length.

"Why not? I think they'll be too young to notice hanky panky in the bathroom."

Cedric giggled. "Hanky panky? You've been around Mr. Lucas too much."

Maybe I had, but there were worse things.

"Time and energy, babe. We won't have much of either when the twins arrive," he explained.

"In that case, we'd better get up to some hanky panky right now." I winked at him.

"I like the way you think."

I pulled him onto my lap.