Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
"What, you mean everyone doesn't shit in their pants? I've been lied to," I joke. We watch as Vordis takes the baby to a back corner. Someone hands him a candle-bowl and he sets it atop a built-in shelf, laying his daughter atop the changing table back there. With so many growing families, a baby station was absolutely needed in the lodge, and as I watch, Rukh heads over with his own little girl in his arms and the two men talk quietly.
It's nice to see so many involved dads, I think wistfully. My memories of my own father were just the occasional check showing up on birthdays—which my mom would promptly snatch up—and a couple of summer visits that never lasted longer than a day. I doubt he ever knew that I left Earth…or that he cared. It's not like that here, though. I scan through the lodge, looking for my mate…and find him with Gail and Vaza. It looks like Gail is fixing two bowls of food while A'tam tosses baby Z'hren in the air and makes him laugh. A'tam loves babies. It's one thing I've never worried over in our relationship—he's more than ready to become a family man.
I chat with Angie and Elly (who's on the other side of me) about babies. Elly's starting to really show, her belly bulging out, and she couldn't be more excited. I glance over at my mate from time to time, but he's busy being a social butterfly and playing with everyone's kids before he makes his way back to me. I don't mind. O'jek fills a bowl of food for me and brings it over, nodding in greeting as he does. Now that I'm officially Shadow Cat, the men of the clan dote on me like they would a sister, which is a weird turnabout. I'll take it, though. I've never had a family, truly, and now I feel like I do, even if we squabble sometimes.
O'jek's roast is lightly herbed and delicious, and no sooner do I clean my bowl than A'tam is back with another round of food. He drops between my legs, moving the leather bag with the pot in it so he can sit between my knees. The conversation turns toward the fruit cave, and we talk about making an excursion out when the weather's nicer. It's not too bad here in the cove, but the farther you get into the mountains, the worse it is. No one wants to be left behind, of course, so we talk strategies—everything from sleds to skis to dragon-back to waiting until the brutal season is over (which no one wants to do).
It's a lovely evening and we talk about nothing at all and everything at once, which is pretty much how it goes every night. Flor eventually shows up, waves at me from afar, and then sits on the far side of the fire, squeezed between Sam and Sessah by the sa-khui group.
A'tam finishes his food and leans against my leg, his tail thumping with contentment against the floor. It's the perfect time to speak up and mention my pottery, but I'm stalling like a dork. A'tam doesn't rush me, but I can feel the excited tension in his body. He's excited…for me.
It's that realization that decides me. "So, uh, do you guys have a minute? I want to show you something."
Angie and Elly look at me curiously. Across the fire, Daisy and O'jek pause, too. I notice that it's suddenly extremely quiet all the way down the longhouse, and all attention is on me. People love a bit of gossip, and I am absolutely one of those people, so I can't judge. I look at the sea of faces—Hannah, Callie, Penny, Steph, Veronica, Lauren—and take a deep breath. I can do this.
Wordlessly, A'tam hands me the bag and then squeezes my knee. I don't have to look at him to know he's giving me a beaming smile of pride. All right, then. Time for me to show what I've got. I pull my ugly little pot out of the bag. "For the last few months I've been trying to teach myself how to do pottery. I…think I may have figured it out."
There's a pause.
I'm not prepared for the rush of excitement in the longhouse. Everyone starts talking at once. Hands reach for the pot, and everyone's so excited. I pass it to the next pair of hands, and then it seems like the entire tribe wants to touch it and exclaim over it. No one's laughing at how crooked it is or how long it's taken me. People pat me on the back or cast incredulous smiles in my direction.
"That's amazing," Liz says as Gail hugs the pot to her chest. "Think of how much easier it'll make cooking!"