26. Rory

26

Rory

R ory got back home right before Eva brought the kids back. None of them looked happy.

“What happened?”

“They wouldn’t talk to me,” Eva said, sniffling. “I tried to ask them about what they liked to do and what their favorite movies or books were. The only thing they said was that they liked to hang out with Savvy. They refused to order ice cream.”

She wiped the tears from her face. Cat and Drake stood nearby watching. Neither of them looked sorry. Rory wasn’t about to get on them about their behavior.

“Can you blame them?” Rory asked. “You took off when they were toddlers. You never called and you never visited. Hell, you never even sent them a postcard on their birthdays. If you hope to have any kind of relationship with them, then you are going to have to be patient with them. You will have to spend time with them and understand that they don’t know you and they don’t trust you.”

“Should I even try?” she sniffled.

“That’s up to you, but if you’re going to walk away, do it now before they do get used to seeing you around and get attached to you.”

She sighed and said, “I’ll be back tomorrow. If they change their mind and decide that they want to hang out before then, I’m staying at the Angel’s Creek Inn, room 223.” She paused and said, “Unless I can stay here until I find a place to live. I could be close to the kids.”

“Not going to happen,” Rory told her. “Come on, kids. I want to talk to you about something important.”

He didn’t even watch her drive off. Once again, he marveled at the fact that he felt nothing but complete indifference for her. There was no love, no hate, no disgust, just absolutely nothing.

“Are you mad at us?” Cat asked.

“No, why would I be?”

“Because we made that woman cry,” Drake said.

Rory wasn’t going to correct him and make him call Eva “Mom.” She didn’t deserve the title.

“I already told you guys, that while I think you should give her a second chance, I’m not going to force you to. I’m not going to be mad if you decide not to, although I think that someday, you might regret not giving her a second chance.”

Both kids just stared at him. He thought about using his telepathic ability to find out what they were thinking but decided to let them work out their own feelings. They would come to him when they were ready.

“If you aren’t going to yell at us, then what do you want to talk about?” Cat asked.

“I know that you love Savvy. I do, too. I want to ask her to go through the mating ceremony with me. That would make her your stepmother instead of your nanny. Would that be okay with you?” he asked.

“Yeah,” they both yelled at once.

“She’s already just like a real mom,” Cat said. “That’s why we love her so much.”

“Can you guys stay with Amy, Rosa, and Colby while I go talk to her?”

“Yeah,” Cat said.

“Can we have some ice cream?” Drake asked.

Rory simply started laughing. He couldn’t remember when the last time was that he laughed so hard.

He was a little nervous as he drove to Beth’s and Conner’s house. Rory was certain that Savvy loved him. She was his fated mate – she had to love him, right? However, he also knew that she had been incredibly hurt by what she thought she heard.

Beth opened the door when he knocked. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she glared at him. “What do you want?”

“I want to see Savvy. I need to talk to her.”

“Don’t you think that you hurt her enough? Just leave her alone.”

“Wait. You aren’t pregnant anymore. Congratulations,” Rory said.

“Thank you. Go back to Eva and leave Savvy alone. She’ll talk to you when she’s ready.”

“What she heard was a huge misunderstanding. I told Eva that Savvy was my fated mate and that I intend to ask her to go through the mating ceremony with me.”

Rory pulled out the ring box and showed Beth.

“I’ll take you to her, but you had better hear me well. If you hurt her, I swear I will stop your heart. You will be dead before you even know what hit you.”

Rory could tell by the look on her face that the witch meant every word that she said.

“Follow me,” Beth said, relenting at last.

Savvy was sitting in the living room, holding a baby in her arms, singing softly to him. Beth walked over and took the baby from Savvy and said, “You have a visitor.”

Her face paled and she nodded.

Rory sat in the chair across from her. His heart thundered in his chest, and he was shocked that the palms of his hands were slightly sweaty. He couldn’t remember a time in his life when he was this nervous.

“I know you heard me say that I always loved Eva. And for the longest time, I did. Then, at one point, I realized that I didn’t anymore and she meant nothing to me. That’s the part you didn’t hear me say. The other thing that you didn’t hear me tell her was that I was in love with you and whatever I thought I felt for her was nothing like what I feel for you. I told her that you are my fated mate and that I intend to ask you to go through the mating ceremony with me. You would be my mate and the mother to Cat and Drake.”

Savvy stared at him as though she wasn’t sure that she understood what she was hearing.

“Eva is the biological mother of our kids. I honestly don’t know if she really is going to stick around for very long. The kids don’t seem to want to have much to do with her. What I do know is that they love you. When I asked them what they thought about you and me going through the mating ceremony and you being their stepmother, they said that they loved you as their mother. I know that you love them, too,” Rory said.

He got down on one knee and opened the ring box. “Savvy, would you do me the honor of going through the mating ceremony with me?”

“It’s about damned time that you stepped up to the plate and did the right thing by her. I thought I was going to have to get a shotgun and force you to marry her. It’s only right, you know,” Cassia said. “Besides, her depression and hurt was going to kill me.”

“You aren’t big enough to hold a shotgun.” Rory laughed.

“I’ve got friends that are,” Cassia said.

“Hush up, Cassia.” Savvy laughed. “Of course, I will go through the mating ceremony with you. I’m in love with you, too.”

“Tell him the other news,” Cassia said. “Tell him. Tell him.”

“I need a flyswatter,” Savvy muttered.

“You can’t kill me. You need me too much,” Cassia said.

“What’s your news?” Rory asked.

“According to Taryn, I’m going to have a baby,” Savvy said.

“The ten-year-old thinks that you’re pregnant?” Rory asked in disbelief.

“The very powerful witch who is never wrong about such things believes that I’m going to have a baby. She even told me that the baby is a girl and will be both a wolf shifter and a powerful witch,” Savvy said.

“That is amazing. When were you going to tell me?”

“I just found out last night,” Savvy said.

“Woohoo,” Rory said. He picked Savvy up and whirled her around in a circle.

He pressed his lips to Savvy’s and the rest of the world disappeared as he told Savvy how much he loved her, with all of his heart and soul in that kiss. There was so much love that mere words could never express.

Beth, Conner, and Taryn had been eavesdropping. They came into the living room and congratulated the couple.

“I will help Mom with Zane,” Taryn said. “I know that Cat and Drake want to be with you.”

“Zane?” Rory asked. “Can I hold the baby?”

“Sure,” Beth said, grinning.

He gently held the baby and smiled at the precious face. “Welcome to the world. You have the second-best family in the entire world.”

“Second best?” Conner asked.

“Yep. Savvy and I have the best,” Rory declared.

That night, as he, Amy, Colby, Rosa, Savvy, Cat, and Drake gathered in the living room to play a game of charades, Rory realized that he was the luckiest man in the world. After the kids went to bed, they made sweet love together.

It was slow love-making, where they explored each other’s bodies with their hands and mouths before their bodies and soul combined as one. After they had both reached ecstatic heights, he held her close to his body with his arms around her. She fell asleep, and Rory smiled, content to just listen to her breathe until sleep overtook him.