Chapter Fifteen

Conrad

Christmas morning started with me hearing Natalie singing, “He came! He came! He came!”

I didn’t need to roll over and look at the clock to know it was far too early to be awake, but that was the way of Christmas. When I came out to the living room, she was sitting in front of the tree, staring at the presents. There weren’t a ton of them—it wasn’t that kind of Christmas; it never was. But there were quite a few, including some I didn’t recognize.

I wasn’t sure how Bert had managed to sneak out and get presents, but he had—or maybe it really was Santa. Either way, it made me smile.

We hadn’t managed to mail the letter, but we had assured Natalie that this was something Bert and I could take care of on our own when the time was right. We didn’t need to include it as a Christmas wish list item. That seemed to make her happy enough.

“Morning, sweet girl. Looks like Santa came.”

“I know, I know, I know! Can we open them? Can we open them? Can we open them?”

“What’s the rule?”

She let out a long sigh. “We have to eat breakfast first.”

“Exactly. Why don’t you put on your Christmas dress, and I’ll take a quick shower.”

That was a tradition we never skipped, no matter whether we were staying home or going somewhere fancy. Even the year Mark passed, I made sure it happened. She always had a sparkly Christmas dress—ever since she was a newborn.

To my surprise, Bert came in the front door. Somehow, in all the Christmas chaos, I hadn’t realized he’d slipped out.

“I was just checking on my brother’s place,” he said, holding a couple things in his arms: a Christmas wreath and a star for the top of the tree. “I didn’t know he had these, but we might as well put them to good use.”

He hung the wreath over the mantel and placed the star on the tree.

“Natalie’s already up,” I told him. “She’s a little excited about presents. And judging by the paper, it looks like Santa was very sneaky this year.”

He smiled sweetly. “He has his ways.”

I walked into his arms, giving him a Christmas kiss and a hug. He leaned into my neck and inhaled deeply.

The first few times he’d done that, it had surprised me. I thought maybe I smelled bad. But then he told me his bear required it—it helped him know everything was okay.

“Looks like you have a surprise for me for Christmas too,” he murmured, kissing my cheek before pulling away.

“Are you going to explain that?”

“Not yet. Why don’t you take your shower? I already hear Natalie talking about how she needs to eat her breakfast. And by the sounds of it, I’m guessing it’s not because she’s hungry.” Bear hearing still took me by surprise. “Christmas rule?”

“Christmas rule.”

Bert whipped up a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast while I showered. He was going to be her favorite—which was fine because he was mine too.

She devoured her breakfast, not wanting to take a second longer than necessary. I couldn’t blame her; she was seven, and there were presents. The only reason we kept the breakfast rule was because if we didn’t, she forgot to eat, and then she got grumpy. And a grumpy Christmas wasn’t a fun one.

“Okay, it’s present time.” She popped up, her mouth still filled with food.

“It’s present time.” The dishes could wait.

She sat down in front of the tree, waiting patiently. I handed her one of the presents I brought with us. She tore into it, thrilled with the doll inside.

That’s when Bert handed me a gift.

“I got this for you. You need it.” He winked.

“Thank you.” I felt bad—I hadn’t gotten him anything. I’d have to make it up to him next year.

I handed Natalie another gift and then opened mine. Inside were socks with built-in, battery-operated warming devices.

“You really have a thing against me having cold feet.”

“Did you not see your foot that first day? It was blue. Feet are not meant to be blue.”

I hadn’t noticed the color, too busy being worried about the lack of feeling. Yikes.

“Well, I love it. Thank you. I wish I had something for you.”

“You do.” He leaned in close and whispered in my ear. “My bear smelled my present this morning. You’re pregnant.”

“I’m having a baby?” I said, far too loudly.

Natalie ran over, dropping her presents from her lap to the floor.

“I’m gonna be a big sister! I’m gonna be a big sister!” At least I didn’t need to worry about her being upset about the news.

I looked to Bert—he was the one with the answers, not me. I didn’t even know it was possible to know so soon. But I trusted both him and his bear.

“Yes, you’re going to be a big sister—the best big sister.” Bert wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “My bear told me this morning.”

“I’m gonna be a big sister!” Natalie squealed. “That is so much better than going to the beach—and so, so much better than a doll. Sorry, Daddy, but it’s true.”

“No, I agree. It’s pretty awesome.” Shocking, but awesome.

We hadn’t planned this, but we also hadn’t done anything not to plan it. In my heart, I guess I’d always assumed we would have a baby one day.

There was still a lot to talk about, a lot to figure out, but the joy and love filling this room told me that it all would work out, that we were going to get our happy ever after, just like in the fairy tales.

“This calls for celebrating,” Natalie declared.

“It’s Christmas—it’s already a day for celebrating,” I reminded her.

“Yes, but this calls for cupcakes. With all the frosting. You can’t celebrate without cupcakes.”

Bert looked at her, dead serious. “Cupcakes without frosting are muffins.”

“See? That’s why he’s my papa. He gets it.” She hugged the two of us.

I loved how she differentiated between her father and Bert. He wasn’t taking Mark’s place; he was someone new, someone who brought all of us together. He was her papa and my mate.

We finished up the presents, Natalie loving each one more than the last, but none nearly as much as she loved the news of her new sibling.

As she put them away in her room, I got out the supplies I’d brought for cupcakes. They weren’t fancy, just a box mix and a jar, but they were going to be delicious.

“Does this mean we get to live here now?” Natalie asked suddenly, catching me off guard. I hadn’t even seen her come out of the bedroom.

“If that’s what your dad wants,” Bert said, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “But if he wants us to stay in the city, we can do that too.”

“Bears do not belong in the city,” she stated matter-of-factly.

Bert laughed and explained that she was right when it came to wild bears. But he also promised that he’d do anything to keep us together as a family and that as a shifter, he’d be fine there. I wasn’t sure how true that was. His bear loved to roam outside, and you couldn’t do that in the middle of the road and not be noticed.

“I think it’s time for a change.” I could easily turn my job remote, and why would I want to live somewhere my mate couldn’t thrive. “I vote we live here.”

“Me too,” Natalie said.

“Me three.”

And just like that, it was decided.

As we made cupcakes, we talked about what it would be like to live here. Bert mentioned turning Natalie’s room into hers permanently and adding an addition to the house for when the baby came.

For the first time in many years, Christmas was filled with hope for the future, love for the present, and an appreciation for the past.

“Merry Christmas, my sweet girl,” I said, handing her a cupcake with frosting piled high.

“Merry Christmas, Daddy. Merry Christmas, Papa.”

Then she looked out the window and said, “Merry Christmas, Santa. Thanks for not letting us go to the beach.”

I had to second her on that one.