Page 47 of Not Your Ordinary Shifter

Grant ignores him and walks toward the house. Looking over his shoulder, I reach out. Connor jogs up and takes my hand. This is what I’ve always dreamed of: a family.And now I have it, with two men who started off as strangers yesterday.

Today begins our forever.

Epilogue

GRANT

“Grant!” Reece calls out from the back porch. “The girls are getting antsy.”

“We’re coming!” I reply, sticking another candle into the cake.

Today is the twins’ fifth birthday. And I couldn’t be happier.

Charlie’s daughter, Madison, places the last candle into the pink icing. She loves to help whenever possible. As the oldest of all the children, she takes her job very seriously.

Charlie whisks her off the chair she’s standing on and back outside. She giggles as he tickles her. When we found out Reece was pregnant with Kelly and Kate, Kimberly and Charlie built a cabin half a mile down the mountain to give us more room in the house.

They are now pregnant with their third child.They visit every day, and we always dine at least once a week together.

Connor picks up the cake. “Get the door.”

I rush to get ahead of him and push the door open for him. He passes through, carefully balancing the cake. Walking out onto the porch, I stop beside Reece’s chair and kiss her cheek. She smiles up at me. Our youngest coos in her arms. LittleMichael was born four months ago. Kelly and Kate are playing in the yard with Charlie’s son, Henry.

“Cake time!” I announce.

“Finally,” Kimberly huffs.

She leans up in her seat at the table the best she can with her protruding belly. Her gaze is fixated on the cake Connor set near her.

Mind linking Reece, I say,I thought when you said girls, you meant our twins, not Kimberly.

Reece’s giggles play in my head as she walks over.I meant all three of them.

Connor snorts having heard us. The children clamor onto the porch. Charlie and Madison corral them so they don’t dive headfirst into the cake as they rush over to the table.

It’s strange to think there was once a time when our house was childless and quiet. That changed when Kimberly came along, and then Reece. Our herd went from just Charlie, Connor, and I to lively and filled with love. It was a lonely experience waiting for Reece to come into our lives, but I’d willingly wait an eternity knowing what I do now.

Connor lights the five candles on the pink and purple cake decorated in butterflies. Our voices ring out across the mountain as we sing happy birthday. Kelly and Kate’s blue eyes sparkle with excitement.

This was definitely worth the wait.

I take Michael from Reece so she can help Connor distribute the dessert; I smile down at his sleeping form. It’s amazing how deeply he rests. Kelly and Kate wake up to a pin dropping. The wisps of blond hair atop his head remind me of his mother. While the girls resemble Connor and I with dark hair, Michael was blessed with his mother’s striking looks. He’s definitely going to be popular with the ladies one day.

I’m dreading the day I have to fight men off our daughters. Fingers crossed they don’t start dating at the same time. Connor will be difficult to keep at bay when one of them brings a date home; two may make his head explode.

I heard that,Connor grumbles, reading my mind.

I chuckle. It’s way too easy to get to him sometimes. When we finish eating, the girls take their new dolls and accessories up to the treehouse with Madison. Since they’re shifters themselves, we’re not really worried about them falling off the ladder or hurting themselves. They have great reflexes. Henry grumbles, but follows them, not wanting to be left out.

“I’m going to lay Micheal down in his crib,” I say as the others begin to clean.

“No.” Kimberly yawns. “I will.” She slowly gets up from her seat and waddles over. “I need a nap too. I’m borrowing your bed.”

“I’ll wake you when it’s time to go,” Charlie tells Kimberly.

She nods, then takes my son and heads inside. Reece picks up the leftover cake.

“Want to help me put this away?” she asks.

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