Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71497 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71497 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Ice cream?
No, cake.
Heart attacks were definitely cupcakes.
Chapter 15
Talon
It was some kind of alien intervention.
Glancing at everyone in the living room and nodding a greeting like it was nothing, I set my duffel bag down by the doorway. As soon as Kenzie had brought me into the living room with his sweet smile leading the way, the first thing I’d seen had been his friends scattered around the room all doing their best to look relaxed and all failing.
Yep, I should’ve expected it.
The way my boss had been giving me the side eye most of the afternoon said something had gotten interesting in the alien community, but since I hadn’t been eaten yet or beamed up, I’d decided I wasn’t going to worry about it.
I probably should’ve worried about it.
“I’m not sure I made enough dinner for everyone, cutie. But I think it will work.” Ignoring the way the one human in the mix kept giggling as Kenzie made the introductions, I brushed off the curious stares and focused on Kenzie. “Do you have any rolls or biscuits in the freezer?”
That’d help stretch out the stew to feed a crowd.
“Yes, I do.” Kenzie’s smile turned up a notch and he took a step toward the kitchen. “Let me go—”
“No, don’t get distracted.” Boyd rolled his eyes and I had to fight the urge to laugh. Wrangling Kenzie was like herding chickens. “Sit down.”
Kenzie rolled his eyes before I had a chance to remind Boyd that he had to be nice. “He’s just worried. Ignore him.”
Worried?
“I’ll do my best.” Giving Kenzie a quick peck, I kept hold of his hand and led him over to the empty chair in the middle of the half circle that was obviously meant for me. “But how about we get whatever drama is getting cooked up out of the way and then we can have dinner and playtime later?”
“Oh, I want to play.” Lorne quickly lost all interest in the intervention and slid forward on the couch cushion. “Can we play trains? Oh, let’s play Barbies. I want to dress her up in the ball gown again.”
“I want Ken in the ball gown, personally.” Alick’s helpful idea had Kenzie giggling and getting the littles delightfully off track.
“Yes, oh yes, he needs new clothes. I can do it.” Kenzie rocked back and forth on his feet and gave a smile that had his eyes lighting up again as he aimed his excitement at me. “I won’t stab myself, Daddy. I’ll be careful and I’ll find a pattern and it’ll be—”
“Good grief, how do you get sidetracked so quickly?” Boyd groaned, rubbing his hands over his face as his head fell back. “And for fuck’s sake, stop doing that. There’s no way he thinks you’re human.”
Oh, this was an intervention I could get behind.
“Half the town isn’t human.” Pointing out that fact just to shut them up for a moment, I sat down in the chair and pulled Kenzie onto my lap. “Ms. Dobbs has spent the last week floating every time she sneezes and my boss blows up coffee machines when he gets frustrated.”
That got more giggles from Alick and Lorne, but Kenzie was smiling and wiggling on my lap like he was one laugh away from being little. “Ms. Dobbs is naughty. I’m a very good boy, Daddy. I have very good control and I’d stay home if I didn’t look human.”
As Boyd groaned again, I nodded and kissed Kenzie’s nose. “I’m glad you would make better choices. She worried the librarian and someone is going to need to explain a few things to him too.”
That made Kenzie giggle and he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “We’ll send Boyd. He thinks the librarian is cute.”
Boyd looked like he was trying to decide if he was going to kill Kenzie or hide under the couch. “Stay on track and stay big.”
Neither of those things would happen, so we all just ignored his ridiculous instructions.
“I think that’s a very good idea, and I agree—you’re a very good boy and I’m a very lucky Daddy.” Giving Kenzie a quick kiss on his cheek, I ignored our audience and focused on the fun part of the conversation. “What should we play later?”
As Kenzie wiggled and planned, Boyd interrupted again. “No, we’re supposed to have a real conversation so I can report back to the council that he knows and isn’t freaking the fuck out.”
Kenzie just giggled. “He said a naughty word, Daddy.”
That didn’t help Boyd’s mood at all, but I was glad Kenzie wasn’t worried.
“He did. Should we make him stand in the corner?” The laughter coming from Alick and Lorne said they were well on their way to being little too and Boyd looked like he was losing his mind. “He’s grumpy too.”
“And he was naughty earlier and said you might be afraid of me.” Kenzie shook his head like that was ridiculous. “He was trying to make me worried, but you’re my Daddy.”