Chapter Twenty-Five

A month later the new family had settled into a semi-routine. Sofia’s sleeping habits ruled the household, but Ness and Cyrus took days about where one of them was solely focused on her, while the other one took care of household and business chores. Mrs. Hooper’s ready-cooked meals were a blessing, as even with a division of chores, both men were suffering from a lack of sleep. As Ness found, it was impossible for him not to wake up for Sofia’s night feed, even if it was Cyrus who was getting out of bed to tend to her. Cyrus had the same problem, but an afternoon nap helped them most days.

Ness had gone through a couple of days of private reflection after they’d come home with Sofia for the first time. A shift took care of his physical healing, and it was truly sweet that Cyrus bundled Sofia up in a blanket and stepped out into the water, for beastie to have a sniff.

Two days later Ness did the same for Cyrus’s shark, because with Sofia so young, it was still impossible for them to know what Sofia might shift into, or when, and they were both determined Sofia would know their animal sides from day one. As for what she would grow into, it was enough that Sofia smelled of them both. Only time would tell the rest.

But Ness did have a few moments when he was ready to bang his head against a cushion or scream into the void. Carrying Sofia had been physically taxing, and Ness had been so focused on making sure he stayed healthy and that Sofia was safe in his body, the mental side of being a parent had been pushed to one side apart from a few meltdowns.

A body did what a body needed to do, but the mind was a totally different animal, and Ness’s mind had fluctuated from sheer euphoria over having a child of their own to outright panic that they were going to do something as parents that would cause Sofia to hate them for the rest of their lives.

In the end it was Cyrus who pointed out that they weren’t living in isolation. They had regular visits from so many people in Arrowtown, all keen to have a cuddle with Sofia and to impart advice if Ness or Cyrus asked. “She’s being raised in the most positive village imaginable,” Cyrus said. “You know darn well that if Mrs. Hooper thinks I’m doing anything wrong with our precious, she’ll be after me with a wooden spoon and a dose of reality.”

That helped. Ness knew his issues stemmed from his family’s continued rejection, but he didn’t have the time to wish for something that would never happen, not when Sofia just had to grab hold of his finger in her sturdy grip to make his heart sing.

“You’ve got another six applications from money grabbers.” Cyrus held up a sheaf of papers. They were having breakfast, and Ness had just finished giving Sofia her bottle.

“Have they passed the shark-sniffing test?” Ness carefully took the bottle out of Sofia’s slack lips and lifted her up onto his shoulder, gently rubbing her back. He’d learned the hard way if she didn’t burp after feeding, she’d be screaming the house down about an hour later.

“You can’t deny that my nose has worked.” Cyrus grinned. “Going with your gut instinct the moment you read the application could save you so much in lawyer and accountant fees down the track. Take this one.” He flipped one page to the top of the pile. “This husband and wife team claims to have developed a household robot.”

“That’s not unusual.” Sofia gave a hearty burp and Ness smiled. “There’s my angel. You’re such a good girl. A robot’s not something I’d typically invest in though. What makes this one different?”

“Well, apparently it will not only cook, clean, and pour the hard working souls a drink at the end of a busy day, it also comes with an built-in protection device.”

“Definitely not something I’d invest in.” Ness chuckled. “That sounds like something only the rich would ever be able to afford to buy. I prefer to support products and ideas that have a wider beneficial appeal to the general public. It says so on my website, so I don’t know why they bothered to approach my company. Just send them the standard apologies and say no.”

“I think we should go and see these two.”

Ness looked across at his mate to see Cyrus’s typical smirk, and his shark in his eyes. “What have they done? What’s set off your shark senses?”

“Well, you remember those protective elements – the ones built in this robot…”

Ness nodded. “What about them?”

“They’ll warn you if a paranormal is trying to gain access to your home. According to the supporting information their robot can detect most forms of paranormals, such as shifters, vampires, and the presence of magic on any person within five yards of the device. A boon for any non-para household who is concerned about undue influence from devious beings.”

“Oh no. They actually typed that in the application?” Ness couldn’t help laughing. He received requests along a similar vein at least twice a year. “I suppose you’re just curious to see if the robot actually works?”

“It could be fun. We should get them to bring their prototype to Vegas next time we’re there.” Cyrus nodded eagerly. “It could be a very enlightening interview, don’t you think?”

“Just remember Jimmy the carpet guy has retired.” Ness tried to see what Sofia was doing. “Is she asleep?”

“Yep.” Cyrus put the papers down and reached over, plucking Sofia off Ness’s shoulder. “I’ll go and put her down for a nap, while you set up an interview time for this couple. I really want to meet them. Like really, really want to.”

He’s still a gangster at heart, Ness thought fondly as he went to find his laptop. Apparently he’d left it on the living room coffee table. A knock on the door had him diverting course, and he went to open it, his head tilting and his heart rate increasing as he saw who was standing there. “Hal. Blade. It’s lovely to see you both. Did you want to come in?” He stood back from the door, opening it wider so they could both come in.

“Cyrus is just putting Sofia down for a nap. Come on through to the kitchen. We’ve just had breakfast, so you’ll have to excuse the mess, but the coffee pot’s hot.”

“Thank you.” Blade seemed stiff and unsure of himself, but both men followed Ness into the kitchen.

“Have a seat. How’s Ethan doing?”

Ness glanced at the table to see Hal signing. He’s growing so fast and gets into everything. Levi is looking after him today so we could come here.

“It’s nice to see you.” Ness said, turning back to the coffee pot. “Your contacts for the pool were really helpful. I never realized it was such a process, getting one put in.”

“My mate said to tell you that you have yours in a lovely spot,” Blade said. “Does it have a deep and shallow end? It looks bigger than ours.”

“Yes, we made ours double the size because Cyrus was hopeful my beastie could join him in the water too. We do that occasionally. My shifted form can stand in the saltwater shallows for a short while, but after a time it gets uncomfortable on their skin, and we can’t breathe under saltwater the way we can in freshwater. Cyrus and I work it now that one of us will shift, and the other one will swim in human form in either the lake or the pond. Sofia hasn’t decided which one she likes yet – she seems happy to splash in either the pool or the lake, but it’s very early days yet.”

Taking the coffee pot over to the table, Ness quickly refreshed the milk in the milk jug and got some sugar from the pantry along with another couple of mugs. “So why are you here, not that it’s not lovely to see you, because it is. But…”

“I owe you an apology.” Blade met his eyes squarely. “I was rude and made assumptions about you and my father the last time you visited the house. As my mate has reminded me constantly, I changed considerably from the man I was before I met my precious Hal, and it was wrong of me to not give my father the same opportunity.”

“That took a lot of balls to say.” Ness studied his stepson. Blade was more like his father than he realized. “I appreciate it. Thank you. As far as I’m concerned it’s water under the bridge and I know both Cyrus and I would love for your family to be a part of our lives going forward in any way that works for you. But I sense that you have more to say to Cyrus, because when it’s all said and done you barely know me at all. Hopefully we can change that in the future.”

He tilted his head toward the doorway. “Your father is getting Sofia settled. Go left down the hallway, third door on the right. Take as long as you like. Hal can update me about Ethan and Levi while you’re gone.”

Blade gave his mate a long look, and Ness imagined they had a mind link. For a moment he was quietly jealous, an emotion he quickly swept away. He and Cyrus could have a mind link of their own, but that same action could result in Cyrus getting pregnant, and as neither one of them were ready for that yet… Never say never, though.

As soon as Blade had left the room, Ness grinned at Hal. “So…baby Ethan? I guess he’s not a baby anymore. He’s probably walking by now. You said he’s moving around and getting into things. What sort of things do I have to look forward to with our Sofia?”

Holding up his hand, Hal reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. I’ve got pictures, he signed, clicking on his screen.

“Oh, wonderful. I can’t wait to see.” Scooting his chair around, Ness peered over Hal’s shoulder as he clicked into a folder on his phone. “Thank you Hal,” he said softly in case other ears in the house could hear.

Hal’s smile was all the response he needed. “Oh, my goodness, what has Ethan got into there? He’s covered in what looks like green flour. Was he trying to bake a cake?”