Page 68 of Cold Foot Croc

“I have mine downstairs,” Sasha said, already heading for the stairs.

A few seconds later the words, “Holy shit,” echoed up the stairs. “She’s a crocodile. She’s a crocodile. She’s a motherfreaking crocodile!”

The excitement was catching, and the women were chattering happily. Raynah was just looking up at him with such vulnerability in her eyes.

“Those jackals couldn’t touch her if they tried,” he murmured.

Raynah closed her eyes, and her shoulders shook with her soft crying as she leaned her head against him and let him hug her up tight. He couldn’t imagine the emotions that were surging through her right now. He couldn’t imagine the relief. The baby that she’d lost in Cold Foot was a little girl, and a crocodile, and now Raynah would have the chance to teach, and raise, and love, and protect her little sister. She wouldn’t be reminded of the dad constantly, because this little girl was like Raynah, not the Jackal.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he promised her. “You’re both safe. You can just be happy.”

She sniffed, and her breath hitched in her throat as she eased back and settled the baby in his arms. He sat there on the ground, near the nest of sticks and leaves Raynah had built, holding this perfect creature that had come from something so dark, with the woman he loved nestled against his ribs. She’d done so good. So fucking good. Strong woman. She’d been through hell to get to this moment, and she was glowing.

Sasha brought the rest of the guys up the stairs, and they took turns meeting the baby, peeking past her little blanket, saying their greetings, and then backing off to sit in a loose half-circle around them.

And he got it. He got it. Garret could see the draw of Crews. They were a makeshift family. It didn’t matter if they fought and bickered from time to time. All that mattered was that when push came to shove, they had each other’s backs. None of them would’ve let those jackals near Raynah and the baby. All that mattered were moments like these.

The Cold Foot Crew had a new gem. They had a new treasure to protect.

They had another Cold Foot Croc, and Garret could just see her future, with an amazing mother in Raynah, and aunties and uncles who would guide her and spoil her and protect her.

And she would have Garret.

He didn’t care that she wasn’t his child by blood.

She was the child of his heart.

Chapter Sixteen

What else did she need?

The last two days had been a whirlwind of emotion, but she had something she needed to do now.

She needed to Change.

Garret had offered to take her to a lake he’d found off the beaten path. He would keep hikers back and take care of baby Breah. She was packing the baby’s things now, and waiting for Garret to come pick them up. Dylan was going to meet them there so he could meet the baby. Garret said he’d bought a bunch of presents for her already.

Breah was fussing in her crib, so Raynah leaned over it and picked her up, cradled her close. Raynah stooped to rearrange a couple of sticks she didn’t like the look of. She’d put her nesting debris around the crib, opened up the loft room, and put the partition away. Garret had dragged a bed in here yesterday from the furniture store so she had somewhere comfortable to sleep and heal up.

She liked the bed more than she thought she would. They had plans to go shopping for the living room furniture, and also the sitting room furniture, next week when she was feeling a little better. She was more comfortable using some of the money Damon had gotten for her, if it meant providing a good home for Breah to grow up in.

After tonight, and after years of not being able to Change into her crocodile, she had a feeling she would feel like a million bucks. The crocodile would speed her healing and vanquish this tense, humming, suffocating feeling that had consumed her body for so long. She hadn’t been able to Change in Cold Foot Prison thanks to the meds they made the shifters take, andthen she couldn’t Change for the rest of her pregnancy in order protect the growing baby.

Tonight she would finally,finallyfeel water against her scales again. Excitement snaked up her spine, and Breah reacted with a soft cry.

“It’s okay, baby. Everything is okay. I’m just ready. Someday I’m going to teach you all about this stuff. I’ll teach you to swim when you are older. You can swim with momma. I will teach you all about the water.” And teach her about right and wrong, and protecting loved ones, and checking herself, and growth, and being a good person, and being a strong woman. She would be honored to teach her all of it.

Like her mom had done for Raynah.

Raynah studied her baby’s sweet face as she rocked her back and forth.

She still had the phone number memorized.

She might not live there anymore, or hell, she might not have the landline anymore. That thing had been ancient when she’d lived there. Mom probably had it disconnected years ago.

But Raynah had the number memorized.

She chewed on her lip. Emotions bubbled through her just thinking about hearing her mom’s voice.

---