Page 11 of Meet Me in the Stars

PART TWO

Chapter Six

Fred Moonscale

36 Years Later

The sun danced through the cracks around the shades. One of the egg brats must’ve dragged me onto the sofa or into one of the guest rooms after my dragon knocked my ass out. The bedroom door swung open, but my eyes weren’t willing to open yet. My dragon was still out cold. I waited for him to stir or grumble or something. He did that a lot in his sleep since Lotus had to leave us.

“Grandpa!” A little voice cheered.

I blinked, forcing my eyes open, even if the giant beast were still asleep. Fuck! The whole house smelled like Duke, his cousin, and their mates. The little girl standing on her tiptoes beside the bed was doubled. I was seeing double. Probably slept a few years. That was to be expected. That’s how dragons dealt with things we couldn’t process. Hell, I still hadn’t processed it. Who had brought me to Heartville, though?

“Good morning, Duchess,” I grinned at my grand egg brat.

“I’m not Duchess! She’s old!” Only one of the double-visioned girls giggled. “I’m Drea!”

“I’m Dana!” The other one piped up.

“Huh?” I blinked.

“It’s okay Grandpa. They said you might sleep forever. We’ll get you juice!” Drea cheered.

“Morning juice!” Dana echoed her.

“Dad?” Duke’s voice cut through my ears, and he appeared in the doorway as both girls ducked between his legs to race down the hallway.

“Duke?” I blinked, forcing myself to sit up.

Someone had stolen my shirt and dressed me in plaid pajama pants with jack-o’-lanterns overlaying the crossing lines. Now that the bedroom door was open the whole world smelled like autumn.

“It’s me,” he nodded, taller than ever.

Dragons kept growing as long as they lived. How long had I been out?

“Just over thirty-six years to the day,” Duke answered reading my thoughts over our family link.

“What?” I blinked.

“Yeah,” he nodded, smelling unsure of what to say. “It’s been a while. Dara, he’s the doctor here, if you don’t remember, said you’d probably have woken up sooner, but I had Uncle Lee and Bane hook up IVs and feeding tubes after it was clear this wasn’t a little nap. Thankfully, they live here too now. So, that was easier to get done.”

“In the house?” I blinked. “Where are we?”

“You’re in Heartville. It got to be too much for Sequin and Daliah. They worried too much seeing you every day like that. So, Teddy brought you here. He lives here too. Well, next door to us. Sequin and Daliah come to visit a lot. They just left last night,” he said, grinning like he’d won the lottery. “Don’t be mad at them. Not everyone can handle everything.”

“I’m not mad. I was sleeping. Didn’t need them to babysit me” I shook my head and rubbed the back of my hand over my eyes. “Are they yours or Teddy’s?”

“The girls? They’re mine. Both little dragons with some coyote fur to keep their bellies warm,” Duke beamed talking about his kids. “Duchess had her first last year. Teddy is still single. He’s dated, but he’s back to saying he’s just going to wait on his true-mate. Daliah and Sequin haven’t met their true-mates either. I feel like I’m giving you the preview trailer of our lives.”

“Thanks for that, kiddo,” I swung my legs off the bed and wiggled my toes. “Thirty-six years, huh?”

“Yeah. There were a lot of suggestions for how to wake you up, but Teddy and I made the executive decision to just let you sleep it out. We didn’t know what else to do with everything that happened. Sequin tried to wake you up when the Cromwells’ door came, but you didn’t budge. We’re all okay. They’re not mad either. They get it. At least I think they get it. I’m not as close with them as Teddy. I know that isn’t what you want to hear ---”

“The Cromwells?” I squinted in the sunlight.

“Lotus’s parents,” Duke said as if I had lost my memory instead of taking a nap.

“I know who they are. They’re really gone? Thought that old man would live forever.”

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