Page 6 of Roman
I shrugged. “I think so, but I haven’t tested any of them. They said they were raspberry-filled.”
Philip leaned over and grabbed a maple iced donut. “Oh yeah. Maple and bacon.” He took a bite and moaned. Knox sighed and shook his head when I looked at my brother-in-law.
“Sorry,” I told him.
“Don’t be. We stop in and get donuts every Saturday morning.”
“What?” Phineas said. “You’ve been holding out on me? Why haven’t you been sharing them? It wouldn’t be much for you to bring some up when you come up to Treasure Ridge for our Saturday meals.”
“We’ve tried. They don’t last long enough to make it to the evening,” Knox said. Philip turned around, and although I could no longer see my brother’s face, I had no doubt that he was glaring at his mate.
“You’re coming up for the bakery thing next weekend, right?” Phineas asked.
“That was the plan, yes.”
Knox touched my shoulder, and I moved to sit in the chair he directed me toward.
“I really can’t wait for the bakery to reopen,” Phineas said. “Philip is lucky that he lives down here. There’s nothing for us on Treasure Ridge.”
“Sweetheart, I would have gotten you donuts anytime you wanted them. All you had to do was say something,” Ramsey told Phineas as he cupped my brother’s face. He leaned down and kissed him on the forehead before he stood back up.
“It’s not the end of the world if I don’t have donuts.” Phineas sat down in the chair Ramsey had pulled out for him. “I just like them.”
I looked down and bit my lips to keep from smiling. I knew for a fact that both of my brothers had a fondness for donuts. It was why I’d brought them with me.
“These are good,” Philip said around a bite of donut. “Not as good as the ones you used to get us from the council bakery, but they’re really not bad.”
I nodded slowly. “I’m not sure what happened with the council’s bakery, but I’m sorry it closed. It hasn’t been shut down long, has it?”
“Almost two months, actually,” Ramsey said. “The couple and their daughter who were running it ran into some issues. The council thought it would be better that they move on.”
I knew instantly that there was more to that story than he was saying. Most likely, he simply couldn’t tell us what exactly had happened.
“That’s not the full story, but Ramsey won’t say. All I know is I wasn’t allowed to leave the mountain for a few weeks, and Knox brought Philip and their twins up to us every weekend for family dinners.”
I glanced between Knox and Ramsey and realized that they had done what they needed to in order to keep my brothers safe.I appreciated that, but I was also a bit hurt because I’d not been clued in that there was something going on. I wasn’t an enforcer though, and I no longer worked for the council directly.
I cleared my throat. “Everything is all right now though?”
Ramsey stared directly at me. “It is, yes. The council has hired one of the new enforcer’s brothers to run the bakery. He’s going to be getting some help from a few others, from what we’ve all heard, but there is going to be a party of sorts to celebrate it reopening. A lot of the enforcers like their sweets, and they’ve been without for some time.” Ramsey chuckled. “That, and they are trying to make the guy feel welcome.”
“It’s a big deal to suddenly move from one realm to another,” Phineas told his mate as he looked over at him. Hazel made a noise, drawing all of our attention. She was glaring at her fathers, who weren’t paying attention to her. Knox came to the rescue, though, and placed a large spoonful of diced fruit on the tray of her high chair. Next came small bites of steak and, of course, a cup of milk.
She dove right into her meal, grabbing bite-sized pieces of food and then shoving it into her mouth. Knox added some small bites of salad, which was her next choice. It was good to see that she was eating a variety of foods.
“Would you like steak or chicken?” Knox asked me as I continued to watch my niece eat as if she’d not been fed in a while. I knew differently, but that was simply how shifter children were. I glanced around, noticing that nobody else had been served yet.
“Whatever is left is fine with me,” I told him. “Please see to Philip and Phineas first,” I added.
“They’re both having chicken,” Knox said as he used the tongs to place a pair of chicken breasts on each of their plates. “Did you prefer steak or chicken? Ramsey wants a steak, and I have more than enough for you to have either.”
I glanced around and wondered when things had become so formal and awkward between all of us.
“Truly, whatever you have,” I told him. “I appreciate the invite.” I handed my plate over, and Knox took a large steak and placed it on it. “Thank you.” I took the bowl of salad that Phineas was holding out toward me and offered my brother a smile.
Once we all had plates piled high with food and all of the babies were happily eating their small bites, things seemed to finally relax between all of us. Of course, Ramsey continued to send me glares every so often, but I knew that was in part simply who he was. But also, he wasn’t a fan of me. He and Phineas had scented each other first, and it had been a bit difficult for me to accept that one of my little brothers had found their mate and would be starting an entire new life with someone. He absolutely adored my brother and their daughter though, and that was all I could ever ask for either of my brothers.
“So…” Phineas said suddenly. “How’s teaching going? Are you enjoying it?”
