Page 19 of CADE & ANNA

“How bad is it?”

“Bad. The changing table, dresser, and crib pieces are all mixed together now.”

“How did that happen?”

Cade snarled at the pile of parts. “The instructions were hard to follow, and Stefan’s changing table fell over onto Simon’s dresser, which then smashed my crib.”

Anna covered her mouth to hide her giggle.

“It’s not funny. Now all the pieces are one big pile, and it’s an impossible mess.”

“Oh, babe, you’re so wrong. It’s hilarious. I wish I had seen it.” Anna laughed until she had tears in her eyes.

Even Cade began to smile as his tension lifted.

“I don’t know if we will ever get them assembled; I may have to throw everything out.”

“No! Don’t do that. Rose and I have put furniture kits together before, and El might be able to help, too. Simon and Rose could use a set at the long-stay apartments for the charity.”

“Thomas is meeting me for coffee in the morning to work on the furniture. Would you and the ladies like some help?”

“That would be great. We can pair each of you up with one of us and work as teams. See, we can do these things together.” Anna grinned as Cade leaned forward for a kiss.

Thomas walked into the living room carrying an armload of cameras. “I got them all from that end of the house. If you two are done necking, I could use Cade’s help with the rest.”

“Sure, I can help.” Cade gave Anna one last kiss as he stood to leave.

“I’ll see what we have for dinner while you men finish up. Would you like to stay and eat with us, Thomas?”

“That would be awesome,” he yelled from the master bedroom.

*****

Eight o’clock the next morning, Thomas knocked on their door.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Anna teased her oldest son.

“Coffee, please,” Thomas growled, his normal morning scowl plastered on his face.

“Sure, it’s in the kitchen, help yourself. I swear you are the surliest person I know.” She giggled as he trudged to the kitchen ignoring her.

Without another word, Thomas poured himself a huge cup with cream and sugar. Then he leaned against the counter next to the pot, sipping his drink like he was guarding a national treasure.

Cade walked into the kitchen with damp hair and grinned at his stepson’s expression. “Good morning, Thomas.”

He got a caveman grunt in response as Thomas took another sip.

Cade placed frying pans on the stove. “Would either of you like eggs and bacon?”

“I would love some, please,” Anna whispered against his back as she hugged him from behind.

“Yeah,” Thomas grunted.

“Good morning!” Rose cheerfully called as she came in the front door.

Thomas snorted at her exuberance, which made Cade and Anna laugh. There was no one grouchier in the morning than Thomas James.

“Hey, handsome,” Rose greeted his supreme surliness with a ruffle to his hair and a kiss on the cheek.

“Cut that out!” he snapped as he leaned away from her.

“You are so much fun in the morning, sweetums,” Rose continued to tease.

Thomas refilled his cup and left the kitchen grumbling about calling him when breakfast was ready.

Cade grinned as he handed her a cup. “Good morning, Rose.”

“Good morning. Are you ready for a day of furniture making?”

“Sure am. I’m counting on you ladies to understand those confounded instructions.”

“I’m sure we’ll do fine,” Anna assured him.

It took most of the day, and help from Simon when he stopped by, but the furniture was assembled and loaded in the SUV. Simon and Rose had a young family arriving in the morning with a new baby, and they needed a crib.

Two weeks later

Emma fluttered around the house double-checking the decorations for the baby shower. Everything needed to be perfect. The sound of a car door caught her attention. Peering out her front window, she saw the caterer, Rose hired had arrived. Excellent! He was right on time. She had tossed and turned all night with nightmares of late deliveries and ugly party favors.

The cake had been ordered from her favorite bakery. Fifteen minutes ago, the delivery driver had called to verify directions, so she knew that was on its way, too. The only thing left was the pianist. Sure, having a musician was a little over the top, but this was a baby shower for the future King and Queen. Over the top was standard procedure. The pack members expected a huge celebration and wouldn’t settle for anything less.

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