Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
Daddy’s Innocent Mate Chapter 8

Francine

It wasn't like me, sleeping in the forest.

It wasn't like me to do a lot of things, but here I was cracking eggs over a skillet while a ten-year-old bear cub flipped pancake batter in a pan. Drops of batter hit the counter, sending a ripple of laughter through the kitchen.

I wasn't even mad about the mess. "Don't forget the bacon."

"Dad likes sausage with his pancakes."

My thankful grin traveled with me to the fridge. "Ah, thanks for that, Archie. Let's get that going too."

The two of us hustled about the kitchen preparing plates while my heart raced excitedly. Elias would be awake soon. When we got back from our nap in the clearing, we went right to bed, curling up under the sheets without bothering to put on any clothes. Save for my underwear, I hadn't been particularly stingy about sleeping in clothes. That hadn't happened since college.

The sausage sizzled while the eggs crackled. Both were tended by my mindful hand while I played the events of the evening over and over again in my head. Disbelief took over. Then sheer amazement.

I'd slept with a man without sleeping with him. Who would have thought that sharing a bed would give me the best sleep in the world? "Can we do a picnic today on the beach?"

I turned to Archie who had piled the pancakes on a spare plate next to the stove. He stood up on his toes and gave me his best grin. Goodness, how could I say no to him?

I beamed. "Of course! We can take your homework with you."

He groaned. "But, Miss Elwyn..."

I waved the spatula toward the table. "Set a place for your father and come back for the rest."

"Yes, ma'am."

Though he sounded totally defeated, he carried a smile between the stove and the table. Elias appeared shortly after the table was set and I kissed his cheek as he passed me, watching as he deliriously made his way to the coffee pot while grumbling something about energy.

I chuckled as I sat at the table. "Morning."

Another grumble. I took that as his way of greeting me.

"Archie suggested a picnic on the beach," I said while lifting my fork to dig in. "Want to go?"

"Sure, yeah. Great."

My heart ached. The dismissive way he blurted those words made me feel flat and uneven. Nothing about that tone made me want to spend time with Elias. Why would I waste another moment if he was just going to be void of excitement?

I stared at my cheesy eggs. I didn't have s*x with him. That's why he's acting like this.

While my own defeat settled into my system, Elias sat next to his son and shoveled food into his mouth. If any words had been spared in my direction, I wouldn't have heard them because my thoughts were far too loud for me to hear anything in my environment. Elias and I had shared a moment in the forest.

But it was clear now that it was only a moment. And nothing more.

What else should I expect? He's only doing this to get it over with, right?

The food didn't taste as good as it had smelled when it finally made its way to my mouth. After breakfast, I drifted listlessly to the bedroom to pack some things for the picnic. Elias could mope and trudge around all he wanted, but I wasn't about to let his son down just because he was acting like a totally cold jerk.

Somebody had to be a good parent here. It looked like it was going to be me today.

Easy, Franny. He just told you about Geraldine last night, I heard my mother's voice say. A loss like that hurts even if they weren't dating at the time of the raid.

A sigh came with me to the dresser where I grabbed a bikini and changed quickly into it. I gathered some towels, some snacks, and bottles of water. As soon as I had everything set up, I didn't have to wait long for Archie to sprint out of his room at top speed in his bear form, wearing a pair of swim trunks. How he'd managed to keep those trunks on during his shift was beyond me.

I cackled when he raced into the living room. Elias groaned and pointed at the bedroom. "Young man, you better not be ruining my swimsuit just so you can swim like a bear in the ocean!"

My laughter doubled.

"Archibald!"

Archie growled and raced back to his room. When he reappeared, he was wearing a different set of trunks that fit him in his human form while dragging a towel behind him. He stomped past his father wearing a disappointed look. That was a refreshing sight. I thought Archie only acted up in the classroom. But it turned out he was just as wild at home.

"Willful," I joked as I walked past Elias to grab my sunglasses. I winked. "Just like his father."

***

Foamy waves smacked the shore with plenty of seaweed and jellies to spare. I dug my toes into the hot sand and tilted my face to the sun. This was just what I needed after such a confusing morning. "Fran, can we build a castle?" Archie asked. "Dad said we could use those buckets."

He pointed to the plastic buckets sitting near the edge of the blanket. Elias must have grabbed those before we left thirty minutes ago. I nodded with a smile and grabbed one, instructing Archie to collect some water from the waves. "Be careful of those jellies!" I called after him.

Behind me, a chuckle broke through the roar of the waves and the whipping wind. I turned my right ear toward Elias, who had been standing behind me for some time now without saying a word.

He cleared his throat. "I'm just shocked that he's listening to you."

"Why's that?"

"Because he's like me."

Laughter bubbled from the depths of my soul. I patted the space on the blanket to my right while turning back to the ocean, not worrying about whether or not Elias would join me.

But I was pleased when he did decide to join me.

He relaxed with his legs extended, bright white scars lining his shins and knees.

I tapped his left knee. "War?"

"Yeah, war."

"And that one?"

He huffed like he was about to start chuckling. "Well, that was an extreme skateboard accident."

"From what?"

"You know that full flip Tony Hawk tried to do?"

My features flattened. "Elias, no. You didn't try it too." But the way he smiled told me that he had. I shrugged. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Because I love extreme sports."

"I bet you're the guy who likes swimming across the ocean to other countries."

He tilted his chin proudly to the sky. "Did it twice."

"No."

"I've jumped out of airplanes, climbed mountains without gear, scaled cliffs."

I shook my head with a nervous laugh. "I couldn't be with someone who did that all the time."

Silence struck the space between us when Archie returned. While the comment hadn't been too serious, I knew it had hit Elias like a rejection. It was a strong statement about us-about the fact that we were literally just trying to get this thing over with and move on with our lives. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

And the only reason I knew the impact was because I could feel the shift in his energy. When had I started being able to do that? We were barely days into this arranged mate thing. We only knew so much about each other.

Is this how it happened for the others? I thought. Or am I just doing it wrong? Should it be quicker?

Archie and I got to work on the sandcastle. Elias hung back for a bit until one of the towers toppled onto his lap. A split second of tension was all it took for Archie and me to stop laughing-until Elias roared and playfully jumped to his feet to announce that he was a dragon preparing to destroy the castle.

My heart thumped in my chest when Elias tackled us both. We rolled around in the sand, Archie squealing with amusement as he tried to wiggle away. The hold Elias had on us felt like that of an affectionate father, one that made me think about the way he'd held me in bed the night before when all the world was asleep. He was back.

"Took you long enough," I whispered once the laughter faded. Archie sprinted off toward the water in his bear form. Torn clothing littered the ground. "I thought you were going to ignore me forever."

He went quiet as he looped his arm around my waist. "Yeah, well..."

"Well?"

"We should get back."

Hope fled the moment he stood up. Was he really reverting back to his cold shoulder routine? What in the world had I done to deserve it? Men like Elias were jerks, true, but I hadn't taken him for the kind of self-absorbed pouting bastard who would get weird about not hooking up.

As fear slid into the cracks that hope had left behind, Elias helped me up from the ground. He called Archie over to clean up the bucket mess. The three of us quietly gathered our belongings and headed back to the house, carrying the silence like a weighted blanket the whole way.

Nothing would break him out of his funk. I just had to get used to it.