Page 104 of Dream Mates
The sounds of the boardwalk brought me home. But we didn’t stop for snacks or games, yet. Instead, I walked her all the way down the pier to the railings, the smell of popcorn giving way to salt and fish.
“This is the ocean I used to tell you about. The water iscold.But we can go swimming later if you want.” I held her in my arms, the blue-grey of the ocean stretching out beyond us. To one side was a stretch of beach dotted with beach goers.
She’d always longed to go to the beach, so I’d tell her about it. While I was able to bring her some places in our dreams, the beach wasn’t one of them.
“It’s so clean,” she whispered, looking over the railing.
“Well, yeah.” I blinked. Was the ocean dirty in her world? How sad.
She pulled me down for a kiss. “It’s perfect.”
“Tomorrow I thought we could go whale watching.”
Her face lit up. “Really? I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Absolutely.” For a moment I held her in my arms, feeling the sheer happiness radiating through our bond.
This. I needed more ofthis.Simple silly things, like hugging her while watching the waves.
We took a picture and sent it to Evan.
“What first? Food? I think I should eat something,” she finally asked, gazing up at me with those eyes as blue-grey as the water.
“That sounds like a great idea” I took her hand, and we went back toward the food court, my own belly gurgling with delight at the idea of eating something deep fried. Spencer had us eating healthy.
I looked around, taking it all in. “It’s been a while since I’ve come here. After my grandpa passed we stopped. I miss those summer trips. I would even come for part of the trip if I could back when I was in the military.”
“Really?” She eyed the games of chance and skill as people called out to us.
“Yeah. I don’t know if you remember, but it’s my mom’s family we did this with–not my dad’s. Something special Lexi and I got to do with our cousins and grandparents each year, all byourselves. After our mom left us, I was afraid we wouldn’t get to go anymore. But my grandparents made it clear that not only did they not approve of her abandoning us, that we were still their grandkids. Which meant the world to me after so much upheaval.” I led Grace to the line for funnel cake, popcorn, and pretzels.
She leaned into me, her arms wrapping tightly around me, her head on my chest. “I’m so glad they did that. There’s something about grandparents being like that. My mom had no family that I knew of. But dad–I mean the man that raised me, did–”
“Grace, you can call him yourdadif you feel like he deserves the title. Just like you can feel free to call your mombirth giveroregg donoror whatever,” I assured her.
“Okay. He really did love me–and care for me. When he divorced my mom, he and Grandma still remembered me on my birthday and holidays and stuff,” she said softly. “It took some of the sting out of it.”
“It does. My parent’s divorce cut me deep too,” I said softly.
We got funnel cake with powdered sugar, strawberries, and whipped cream, to share, and sat down on a bench with a view of the ocean.
Grace took a bite and made a face of delight. “So good. We have this in my world, too.”
I took a tiny piece of fried doughy goodness and threw it to the waiting flock of seagulls.
“Your mom… did she leave because she found her soulmate?” Grace asked softly. “I’ve been wondering about that. How it might affect your family if you suddenly found them–and how I could have wrecked things for you and your pack if I hadn’t fit the way I could.”
I planted a kiss on the top of her head. “None of that. Because youdidn’tfuck everything up. You fit.”
Sheabsolutelycould have destroyed us. Which was part of why Brennan had been so wary–and why Evan wanted the integration team involved. I was beyond relieved that it had all worked out.
“It does happen, though, right?” She frowned, shoving another bite of funnel cake in her mouth.
“Sometimes. Usually, if it involves an omega, the Center likes to step in and make sure there’s a compromise and the least amount of fallout. That’s part of why the integration team exists. But there’s nothing like that for betas,” I explained.
She studied me. “Did the Center help with Caroline? She almost joined your pack, right?”
“It should have been a red flag that shedidn’twant the Center involved. They did help us deal with the aftermath–especially Evan.” I sighed, because the effects on him had been horrible. “But Caroline was an entirely different situation than you.”
