Page 21 of Claiming the Shifter's Heart

“Shut up! He is an icon, I’ll have you know,” Della defended her music choices.

Samantha doubled over with laughter this time, clutching her stomach as she wheezed.

“Stop making fun, heifer,” Della snapped.

“I’m not, I promise. This is perfect!”

Della tossed a pair of socks at her and gave her a dirty look as she started gathering her Elf costume.

“Sam? Della? Should I get Maya and the babies in their coats now?” Aunt Eileen shouted from the kitchen.

“Um, yeah, thank you. I just have to change,” Della replied.

“We’ll be right there Aunt Eileen, we’re just having a dick-scussion!” Samantha said, and Della slapped a hand over the woman’s mouth.

“A what?” the older woman shouted back.

“Nothing! Go ahead and get the kids in their coats, thanks,” Della replied, shaking her head at Sam.

“What? It slipped! OMG—that’s what he said!”

Samantha followed Della into her bedroom, shaking with laughter. Della just snorted.

“Good Lord, I can’t believe it, Sam. Your inner child is a twelve year old boy!”

“Yeah, well, this twelve year old boy wants partial credit for getting you two together. After all, it was my lingerie that did it!”

Twenty minutes later, Della arrived at Manning Farms an hour early for her shift along with Aunt Eileen, Samantha, Michael, his daughter Maya, Sean, and Janie. She didn’t know how she got so lucky to be adopted into this wonderful family, but she was grateful.

They’d readily welcomed Della and her children with open arms from the very first day she’d arrived in Maccon City. Ever since, they’d gone out of their way to include her and the kids in every family adventure they had.

Della’s own family had never treated her kindly. In fact, many of the Crows she knew seemed devoid of emotion, and made her feel like there was something wrong with her for being so needy for attention whenever she’d craved hugs or praises as both child and adult.

Della had always been a hugger. She feared her children would grow up without love, like she did. But that was a momentary panic.

Della loved her children with all her heart. She hugged and kissed them at every opportunity and told them constantly how important and special they were to her.

Some children didn’t like affection, but hers did. Thank the Lord. It didn’t hurt at all that Janie and Sean seemed to love being cuddled by their mama.

Della grinned as she followed the kids as they darted from one tree to the next in one of thecut your ownfields. Manning Farms was truly a winter wonderland, and this was perfect.

She and Samantha already planned for the kids to help with her tree decorating tonight while Della worked, and tomorrow afternoon, they would tackle theirs. She would bring their Christmas tree home on the top of her car tonight.

“Ooh! Mommy, I like this one!” Sean said, stopping in front of a whopper of a tree.

“Um, I don’t think we can fit that one in the car, Buddy,” she said, smiling at her boy.

Maya had already picked one for their house and Michael was cutting it down with a handsaw—the only kind allowed on any of the Manning Farms lots.

Made sense. No one wanted a chainsaw massacre at Christmas time, and Della had already seen a number of accidents with these during her stint there as First Elf.

“But Mommy, the roof is so high in the living room, and I really want it. Janie does too,” Sean said, and his lower lip quivered adorably.

Her heart squeezed as she looked down at her boy. NO was hard to hear, but sometimes, it was necessary.

Della squatted in front of him, aware of her Elf costume, and not wanting to bend over. She figured flashing her butt was not exactly the family friendly environment the farm was going for.

“Sean, I really want to get you that tree, but Mommy’s car is too small to hold it. How about we show Janie some others?”

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