Chapter 7

Chapter

Seven

J ake was on day three of trying to be…pleasant.

Nice might be a stretch too far, but every day, he was taking Grant to someone's house: Logan's, Bea's, Amber's. Not Lars's, because he'd still overstepped there and was being chastised silently for it, which, didn't that make him grit his teeth?

And every day, Samuel was there to see Grant, like he'd earned some kind of visitation rights by simply existing.

Jake had to admit that Samuel was great with Grant. Really good with him. And Grant adored him.

He was licking his wounds, and Jake knew he should get over it. He had shit to do. He had guardian business to take care of. His section of the wing was probably feeling neglected. But dammit, he was not about to leave Grant alone with Samuel and all these people who should have had his back and didn't.

He was the one who'd grown up in Oro Escondido. He was the one who'd served faithfully, first as Jason's assistant and then as a guardian.

So why was everyone yelling at him?

Jake sighed, smiling at Grant as he cooed when Jake put him in the SUV. "Going to see Samuel, huh? I know you like that."

"Da." Grant made grabby fingers at him, and he leaned down to let his son pat his cheeks. He had a feeling when Grant did that he was trying to smooth out his frown lines, so he smiled harder.

"You, I adore."

"Da-da-da-da."

"That's it, buddy. Sing for your Da."

The snow was starting to thin out, so today, he was heading to meet Lars and Samuel out on the rim of the wing, out on the highway at the Golddigger Grill. Lars was wanting hamburgers, apparently.

Jake wasn't going to even get into how he felt about being at Lars's beck and call…

He pulled in at the restaurant's little back lot, then pulled Grant out so he could go inside, diaper bag over his shoulder.

Lars was out there, waiting for him, which was weird. "Hey, it's slick going right up here. Samuel even fell, so I just thought I'd warn you. I don't want you to fall."

The temptation to snap no? was huge, but he managed not to, because honestly, that was very kind of Lars to come out here and wait in the cold.

"Thanks, man, do you mind holding Grant for me while I get up there?"

"Sure, of course. Come here, lovely boy." Lars took Grant from him and helped him off the slick slope. Then he handed the baby back without question. "Thanks for indulging me," Lars said. "I'm grindy. I need something decadent and bad for me."

Jake wasn't sure what to say to that. He wasn't sure what to say to Lars about anything. Sometimes, he thought Lars wanted to make up. Sometimes, he thought Lars hated him.

And then there was that fucking Samuel guy.

His head was pounding.

"No problem, I like their pizzas here." And Grant was getting used to going out—every day.

Jake thought he liked Logan's house best because the other babies were there. The rest of them he was kind of indifferent to. He liked Jason's house of course, because of the grandbaby.

But Grant and the twins had a special relationship.

They headed into the restaurant, the rush of heated air making him shiver a little bit, the snow on his pants and boots melting away. They wiped off their shoes and headed in where Samuel was waiting, the man wrapped in a huge coat.

Honestly, someone needed to outfit this guy. Those shoes were just not appropriate for wintertime.

Maybe Lars could do it.

Of course, that thought just made him growl even harder.

What was wrong with him?

Samuel lit up when he saw Grant. "Hello, little one!" Then he inclined his head at Jake. "Dragon."

"Omega," he acknowledged. Jake sat Grant's carrier down, then shrugged out of his coat before unstrapping Grant, who waved his arms and called to Samuel.

"Am! Am!"

"Here I am," Samuel said, picking up Grant.

"Eeeeee." Grant made the best noise, and Jake sighed. How could he be mad at that? Grant was so happy to see the guy.

"Well, look who's out and about." Lila came to hand out menus, her smile lighting up the room. "Hey, buddy," she told Grant. "Such a handsome little one."

Samuel beamed. "He is amazing, isn't he?"

"Yep." She raised an eyebrow at Jake, and he shook his head. Surely, she'd heard the gossip about how Samuel had come to take Grant, which he would fight tooth and nail. He would let people come and visit, of course. That was the letter of the law.

But no one was taking his son away.

Samuel had colored ribbons running through his hair today, and Grant was playing with them.

"Hello, this is Samuel de Lamar Samuel, Lila. Lila owns the grill here, and she makes the best hamburgers in the entire world. Samuel is Susan's sister. And isn't that a tongue twister?"

Samuel glanced at Lars, a smile playing around his mouth. "Well, it's less of a tongue twister because Samuel is Susan's brother. But Susan was my sister…"

"Right." Lars winked at Samuel, and he wanted to just hit something. "Samuel is staying with me. We're having the best time."

"Oh, well, welcome. Susan was an amazing dragon. We miss her and Jolie every day."

"She was amazing. I wish I'd gotten to meet Jolie. I would have welcomed her into our family."

Jake doubted that very sincerely. Jake had heard Susan talk about the wing she'd come from—hidebound, conservative, absolutely unwilling and unable to change. Jolie would have hated it.

Grant curled into Samuel, just jabbering away. He'd be damned if it didn't look like Samuel was listening. He knew it wasn't true. There were very, very few, if any, words in that stream of nonsense, and none that were actually understandable. But it did seem as if Samuel was understanding.

"Samuel is a hot tea drinker, Lila. He'll take Earl Grey with sugar and lemon, no cream. And I think I would like a Coke."

It infuriated Jake that Lars knew all of these things about this dragon. It made him even madder that he was pissed, which in turn made him mad because he didn't want to be angry, and it didn't make any sense.

So what if Lars was into tiny, skinny, and silver? He wasn't.

Samuel glanced up at him, the look oddly hurt, and then he glanced away, going back to talking with Grant about goddess knew what.

"You said you were going to have the pizza," Lars said after Lila left. "They have one that's got jalapenos on it. That sounds really good, and if I hadn't wanted a burger so badly, that's what I would go for."

"I can share. We can get a couple of different kinds," Jake heard himself offering. Somehow he felt as if he had to make up for that pained expression Samuel had given him.

Samuel's face brightened. "I would like that, thank you. That way I don't have to—" He broke off, flushing.

"Commit, if you don't like it?" Jake asked.

"Yes. Some of the chiles are too spicy for me."

"Ammmmmm." Grant grabbed Samuel's chin.

"Yes, little one. Samuel. That's me." Samuel kissed Grant's little grabby fingers.

That was…cute. Okay, it was cute. So what? Jake looked at the menu, which hadn't changed in at least five years. He wasn't one to hold onto being mad. So what was his deal here?

Fear.

He hadn't known Susan was connected to a powerful dragon family. What if they really could take Grant away? It would kill him.

I don't want to take him. I just want to love him too. He's happy with you.

He blinked at Samuel. "Are you sure?"

Lars tilted his head. "Is he sure about what?"

"He says he doesn't want to take Grant with him." Jake never looked away from Samuel. "I mean, he's your nephew too. Of course you can love him."

Okay, stop being so mean . "Well, I'm glad we've come to an agreement. I'm not looking to take your son. I'm just here to be the other half of his family."

"And what are you going to do when I have a mate?" Whoever he chose for an omega wasn't going to know what to do with this little dragon.

Samuel seemed to get just the tiniest bit smaller, and he shrugged. "I don't know. I'll still be his family, I'll still be his Uncle Sam. It'll still be okay." What are you going to do when I find a mate here? When I am getting loved by an alpha and have a place here?

The idea of Samuel having a mate here stoked a fire deep inside him, and he rumbled even as Lars nodded. "We're going to find him a house. I'm thinking in the wing close to the school. There are some very cute little apartments there."

"And what are you going to do for money? Do you work?"

"Yes." Now Samuel was angry. Jake could see it in his eyes. "I'm a librarian and archivist."

"We have no need for anything like that. Here, we have Amber."

"That's different. That's a store. We need something inside the wing."

Jake shook his head, opened his mouth to speak, and Samuel interrupted him.

"Then I'll find something else. Or not. Money is not one of my problems. Don't worry, Guardian. I won't sponge off your wing. I am not the enemy here. I have means."

"But what are you going to do when you don't bring the baby to your parental home?" How was Samuel going to stand up to his parents?

"Is that what you want? You say you don't want Grant to go, but is that what you want?"

"No, no, I want you to go." As soon as he said it, Jake knew it was a mistake. "That's not what I meant." He stopped and sighed for a second, trying to dig himself out of yet another hole. "I want this worry to go away. This is hard enough raising a child on your own. I don't want to worry about whether or not you're trying to steal him."

"I'm not trying to steal him. That's why I'm here. I'm going to inform my parents that it is in the child's best interest to remain in this wing and that I will remain here and fulfill our duty for raising him half time."

Samuel blew out a hard breath before continuing. "He'll be here in the wing. You won't have to worry about letting him go flying halfway across the country or what have you."

"I don't want him gone even part of the time. Not overnight. And I don't know you yet."

Samuel slammed his hand on the table, not enough to scare the baby, but just enough to make Jake pay attention. "What do you think I am doing here? I am trying to make it so that we are all used to one another. I have not asked you for anything. All I have done is be here as it is our duty to be present. I am meeting you in neutral ground."

"I didn't—" he started.

"Stop." Samuel shook his head. "I have not asked to have the child overnight. I haven't asked to have Grant unaccompanied. I am making friends and I'm trying to be decent with you. I have moved my entire life here to this wing where I do not have a place and where no one obviously wants me, so that Susan's child can know his other family. And yet you sit there and you judge me and dislike me and push at me."

He hadn't been given a choice, had he?

Have I? He swore that was Samuel's voice.

"If you have a mate, then I will rejoice in your mating with you, and I will be at your wedding and I will help Grant learn to love your mate, I will keep Grant when you go on your honeymoon."

Jake opened his mouth to speak, but Samuel refused to let him get a word in edgewise.

"I am not the enemy. I'm just trying to do what's right. And I'm tired of you being mean to me. I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for Susan to die. I didn't even get to know she had a baby while she was still alive."

"And don't you wonder why?"

"Every motherfucking day," Samuel hissed. "Every day, I wonder why she couldn't have called me, even if she didn't want to call them. I was a good brother. I never got to meet Jolie, but we spoke. We wrote letters. I don't know why. But I do know that whatever happened, it wasn't my fault. Have you ever wondered why she was prevented from telling me?"

Jake blinked.

He hadn't.

He hadn't even thought about that.

What if she had written? What if she had tried to let Samuel know, and no one told Samuel. How awful that would be?

How awful it was .

"No." He shook his head. "No, I hadn't thought of that. I'm sorry. That had to hurt very badly."

"It did." Samuel's eyes glimmered with tears. "We didn't know she was gone. We didn't know she had a son. What if we hadn't found out? I wouldn't have got to meet Grant. I wouldn't have had a chance to come here, meet you, Lars, everyone." Samuel offered him a tiny grin. "Can we share pizza?"

"A couple of pizzas maybe, and burgers. Oh, let's get sliders." Lars literally bounced. "We can get potato skins and jalapeno strips, two pizzas, and sliders."

"And onion rings?" Samuel asked.

Jake rolled his eyes. "French fries, once they cool off. Grant would love it if we got French fries."

"Then we absolutely have to have French fries," Samuel agreed. "I'm not here to take away from your family. I just want to have a part of Grant's too. It doesn't have to be bad."

"No, no, of course it doesn't. We'll work this out after lunch." Even if he didn't want to.

Goddess, he didn't want to. He wanted to just squeeze little Samuel until he squeaked.