Page 5 of Still Singing To My Heart

“Maybe in a few years,” Blake said from the doorway and we both startled apart. “Let Joy find her mate, true or otherwise. Let Lee get a bit more frustrated with practicing medicine when he wants to just research. I’ll get them to move with us.”

“Really or are you placating me?” Duke asked.

“Not placating you. I’ve thought about it. I think maybe we’d have stayed if not for the madman,” Blake frowned. “It would be nice to come home.”

“But Uncle Lee has to come too.”

“You stayed here for Blithe,” I pointed out.

“I like it here now, though,” Duke said.

“We do too,” I nodded. “We just have to put a lot more thought into moving. You were single and didn’t have a kid when you did it. Even if we could say yes today it would take a while to plan.”

“I know. I just---” Duke said and didn’t finish his sentence for a minute. “It’s not about having help with the baby even. It would just be nice to see you two more often.”

Blake crossed the kitchen and reached around Duke to turn off the sink. He turned our kiddo around and hugged him tight. For the first two years of his life, it was mostly just him and Blake. Sure, Blake had help, but before we met he was infamous for not wanting to be away from kiddo for one second longer than he had to. He spent nights crying after Duke decided to stay in Heartville, but we’d never tell Duke that. Kids were supposed to grow up and be able to make it on their own if you raised them right and that’s exactly what Duke was doing.

“I will talk to Uncle Lee about it again,” Blake promised him. “Dara being here is a big selling point. Sure, Bane could work in family medicine. I’m sure Dara and Rex would welcome the help, but Lee could be free to just do his research. It would still take a long time for a lab to be built properly. We’re not talking about weeks or months here, baby, but we’ll try to visit more.”

“Thank you,” Duke said, squeezing his dad tight.

Chapter Five

Blake

From the Journal of Blake Knight-Darnel

The rest of the house is still out cold. We’re all set to leave in a few hours and it breaks my heart to think of staying or to think of going. Once, a stalker followed me all the way out here. Before that, before Psycho Roger, I wanted to be here where I felt the closest to my parents. In the end, I went home to Lee. Before, home was where he was, because Duke was little and moved where I did. Now, it’s not so simple. I know years of medical service have worn on Bane who talks about changing careers every other week. Mostly in a joking way – I think it’s in a joking way at least. Maybe it’s Mage Street that he and my brother need a break from.

Either way, staying is impossible right now. The rest of our kids – our kids who are still too little to take care of themselves – are counting on us to come back and I can’t let them down. Would never let them down on something so big. I always do my best to be everywhere on time for them. I never want them to feel like I forgot about them. At the same time, the idea of leaving Duke and Duchess breaks my heart. Why do kids grow up and leave home?

Maybe it breaks my heart so much because I never left home. Well, not in the way Duke and Blithe did. My parents died and then my brother disappeared. Then I left to find him. Did I miss out on a milestone that would make it all make sense? Would I understand it better then? I’m not sure, but I gotta get moving or we’re not going to have time for breakfast before we have to leave.

***

Jonah was unusually quiet during breakfast. Even over our mating link his wolf was mostly silent besides commenting on the fact the bacon could’ve been crispier. Thankfully, the furry hottie kept that between us because I didn’t want any of the kids to get their feelings hurt.

After breakfast we had just enough time to double-check that we packed everything, hide some new towels in the linen closet to ensure Duke had enough, and hug everyone goodbye. Duke hugged me so hard, I thought he might crush me before he let go. He was always a big hugger like that but somewhere along the way he went from my tiny baby boy to a giant of a man who I still sometimes saw as that little boy trying to fly away after Fred or me.

Duke walked with us to the Other World gateway and Jonah even let him carry the bags without an argument. Was he sick? Not feeling well? Something was up with my alpha, and I wasn’t sure what, but as soon as we were out of earshot of our kid, I was sure as hell going to find out.

Duke hugged us both again and I kissed him on his cheek saying that I’d text him when we got home to let him know we got there safely. I always wanted the kids to text one of us when they got home and now that he and Joy were grown, I tried to do the same for them. I didn’t want anyone to worry. I didn’t want to leave anyone in the lurch. I lived in that lurch after Lee disappeared. Sometimes if I didn’t see him for a few days, it felt like I was right back inside that old lurch. My therapist would say that was an emotional flashback. I wasn’t sure what I’d call it, but I hated it and never wanted to make anyone else feel that way.

We made it through the first gateway without a problem. We slipped past the little crowd gathered up chit-chatting without anyone asking Jonah for an autograph. It was a game we played any time we went anywhere in public. Some fans caught on and said it made him an asshole, but my guy didn’t owe them every second of his life and one autograph was never just one autograph. Maybe we would be better off moving to Heartville for that reason.

“Maybe we just want him more to ourselves,” my wolf piped into my thoughts, his voice deep and husky.

Yep. He was horny. I was too. Well, as horny as someone could be having spent the weekend visiting their adult child and grandchild and was about to go home to greet their house full of kids. Sometimes, sex and romping were put on the back burner. That was just the way of life and as long as I got my Jonah cuddles every night, I could deal with it.

“This way,” Jonah said, tugging my hand in the wrong direction.

I’d made this trip enough to walk it blindfolded and still get to my destination as long as no one got in my way.

“Wrong way, babe,” I laughed and tugged him in the other direction.

“No, it’s not,” he grinned. “Come on.”

“Huh? Jonah!” I laughed. “We don’t have time to get lost. The kids are expecting us home any time now!”

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