Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
That was the Wren I knew…and it explained a few things…and it also gave everyone in the room enough gossip to last for at least the rest of the day.
“There are squirrels too?”
Oops. Our nervous nurse was never going to recover.
“Don’t explain that either.”
It was going to be an interesting day.
****
“So…” Daddy hadn’t managed to eat anything while we were at the diner, so I handed him the breakfast sandwich I’d gotten to go. “Couple of bites.”
Then we’d get him out of his shock and hopefully ready for the next meeting. All I was currently getting through the bond was stress and surprise and a few fuzzy Star Trek images.
Daddy had a very good imagination, but I wasn’t sure what was going on unless Wren had decided to share some kind of new kink. I didn’t think that was reasonable, though, because no one would’ve let us leave without asking more questions.
The only ones we’d gotten were about squirrels and the spreader bar…and of course…their thoughts about who should go through the portal and how that would work.
It was good to see that the locals agreed with our plans so far, but it was frustrating we didn’t have more plans. Daddy especially didn’t like that part, but we were making progress. He didn’t seem to remember that part until he ate the sandwich, though.
“Your meeting.” Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, he blinked and came back to life. “I didn’t catch most of it. Wren was. His. That.”
Wren’s mate was what?
“It’s his mate, right?” My question was simple enough that it got a nod from Daddy right off the bat. “It’s good he found his mate. We’re going to start there. Your family can’t be too frustrated because it’s a mate bond. That’s the most important thing. Period.”
Even my family couldn’t complain too much about that.
Being able to focus on one thing at a time seemed to help Daddy and he took a breath that made him steadier. “Yes. That is the most important thing. Wren has a mate. He has a mate that seems to be nice. He was nice when we met him.”
That was a great start really.
“He seemed open-minded too. Wren needs that and it seems like the guy has someone who can answer his questions now.” Wren probably liked being able to teach his Daddy how to be a Daddy. “That’s good too.”
Nodding slowly, Daddy stood straighter. “Yes. He was clearly curious about the kink stuff and nothing we’ve heard from Wren over the past couple of days says they’re not a good fit. Wren has been a very happy little squirrel.”
That sentence made Daddy smile, and I could feel some of his stress easing.
“See? That’s a great start.” Squirrel acceptance wasn’t always easy. “I have questions about that part, but I can ask them later.”
And I got an even bigger smile from Daddy as he shook his head. “Yeah, that should be the most interesting part of the conversation but it wasn’t.”
The more I got to know Daddy’s family, the more I realized that did not surprise me.
“He even figured out when to gag Wren. That shows he’s open-minded and smart.” And had the ability to handle his mate. “He also hasn’t pissed off the locals yet either. He said he was from…from somewhere else, right?”
Had he said where he was from?
“I should remember that but I’m giving myself an out because I’d just met you.” That had been slightly distracting, so I didn’t feel bad about it. “I remember he was nice, though, and he was curious. Steady even when things were weird.”
“Things were weird, alright.” Daddy started shaking his head. “And yes. I don’t think I gave him enough credit for being steady under pressure.”
“This town is weird and the portal just makes everything more confusing right now.” I liked chaos and crazy, but not everyone was used to it. Just because I had a high insanity tolerance didn’t mean other people weren’t more sensitive.
Daddy barked out a laugh and another Star Trek image flashed through the bond. One of the blue aliens from the early show if I was reading the image right.
Why was he…
Daddy hadn’t…
“Daddy?” As we approached the building where the council met, I slowed us down to nearly a crawl.
“Yes?” Daddy kissed my head but I heard him quietly mumble about not giving the guy enough credit as he straightened.
“Where is Wren’s mate from?” I really should’ve asked that question more clearly and sooner.
Daddy sighed.
“Merritt.” Wren’s bubbly voice had us coming to a halt and had Daddy sighing again. “You have to see my costume. Daddy got it for me. Meet my Daddy. I’m so cute. You missed it but that’s okay. You were busy.”
Dragons above.
“No.” Wren’s Daddy frowned at his happy boy and gave him a perfectly firm Daddy voice. “Even I know we don’t talk about any of that around other humans.”