Page 46 of My Demon Manny

Sitting him in his crib, I offered him a different chew toy so I could wash the one he'd taken on his adventure, then walked over to the couch and fell beside Lux, resting my head on his shoulder.

"That was crazy, huh?"

I hummed, feeling like a balloon someone had let all the air out of. The last few days had been exhausting. Nothing had really happened after the day Lux's friends visited, but there had been this expectation... this fear that something might, and we'd both been on guard for a while.

It felt like the danger had passed now, that the dark souls had moved on to some other place, and I suddenly felt like I'd been completely sapped of energy.

My life since Lux—no, since Gunner came into it had become such a whirlwind, and it'd only gotten worse when Lux arrived. I still wouldn't change any of it, of course, but I could still whine to myself a little bit.

"All right, let's eat before the meal I slogged over goes cold," Lux said, and I snorted as I sat upright.

"Of course."

Lux handed me my plate, and then took his, flicking on the TV and turning to one of the monster-hunting shows he was a fan of. He liked pointing out all the wrong and right facts they had about certain supernatural beings, and it was helpful in a way because it taught me more about his world. Or rather, the world I'd lived in without any idea of what was around me.

I'd only taken a few bites when my phone started ringing, and I realized I'd left it in the kitchen.

"Want me to get it?" Lux offered, hand raised with fingers ready to snap, and I shook my head.

"Nah, let it go to voicemail. I'm off work, and I'll call whoever it is back later." I had different ringtones set for people I cared about (Lux, Jerry, and Kat), for people at work, and for unknown numbers, or numbers I rarely contacted, and this was the third ringtone, so I figured they could wait. I wasn't going to let them interrupt my dinner.

"Okay." Shrugging, Lux leaned back into the couch, pressing his side against mine. Smiling to myself, I continued eating, laughing as Lux talked over the characters on the TV, telling them about all the dumb mistakes they were making.

"That's not how werewolves work!" Lux scowled, and I hid my smile behind my hand, loving how engrossed he was getting.

After we'd finished dinner, I took the dishes since he'd done most of the cooking, and he went to feed Gunner his bottle and get him ready for sleep.

Rinsing the dishes and sticking them into the dishwasher, I wiped down the counters, added some stuff we were running low on to the grocery list on the fridge, then grabbed my phone, finding a voicemail waiting for me. I clicked play without paying attention to who it was from, then blinked in surprise at the voice.

"Hey, Archer, it's Maya. Sorry about calling you out of nowhere. I'm going to be in town this weekend for a seminar, and I was wondering if I could maybe come see you? And—and Gunner? I promise I'm not going to try to take him from you, or anything. Only if it's okay with you. Let me know?"

The voicemail ended with a click, and I stared at my phone, unsure what to feel or how to react. I knew on a logical level that Maya wouldn't try to take Gunner from me, that she wasn't that kind of a person, but I was still worried. What if seeing Gunner changed her mind? I had full custody, but could she get it back if she tried hard enough? The courts favored the mother, didn't they?

"Archer? Everything okay?" Lux's voice broke me out of my thoughts, and I realized I'd been staring at my phone for who knew how long.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine."

"Was it a work call?"

Shaking my head, I glanced up at him, then shrugged. "It was Gunner's mom. She wants to see him."

"Oh!" Lux blinked, as if unable to comprehend what I'd said, then shook his head. "Are you going to let her?"

"I suppose so. She said she just wants to see him, nothing more. She's coming to town on the weekend for a seminar."

"Then I guess you have some time before you need to decide."

"Yeah."

"Come on, Gunner's already in bed, and we should grab some sleep too."

Lux wrapped an arm around my waist when I didn't move, then led me to our bedroom. We cleaned up, then removed our clothes before sliding under the sheets. My plan earlier had been to reward Lux for his cooking with some fun times, but I wasn't in the mood now, at all. Lux seemed to sense that, though, because he merely wrapped himself around my back, spooning me as he hugged me close.

I sighed, relaxing in his embrace and leaving all big thoughts for tomorrow's Archer. Closing my eyes, I snuggled into him, linking my fingers with his and holding him close as sleep tugged at me.

Before I fell asleep, the thought occurred to me that Lux would never allow Gunner to be taken from us, and that thought was what finally helped me relax enough to drift off.

Twenty

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