Page 14 of My Pleasure

Keran shook his head, blushing. “I’m a kid, but I know you both are new mates. Me and Nicol will stay here with Grandma and Grandpa.” Then his smile turned mischievous. “I know you have to be alone to have babies.”

Kiera stared at her brother. “Keran!”

Behind him, his mother burst out laughing. “This young man is a genius.”

Hunter turned Nicol in his lap so she could see him. “We’ll never be more than a few minutes away. The house is close by. You can call us any time, day, or night. I’ll buy you both cell phones so you can call whenever you want.” He stopped and thought about it. “We should take them shopping!”

Kiera nodded. “My last job paid out well. We can get them a few things.”

“Huh?” he asked.

“What?”

He pointed to his chest. “I’ll pay.”

“No.”

“Why?” he said, feeling disappointed. “I want to get them toys.”

“They need clothes first,” she countered.

“Okay, so we’ll hit the clothing stores first.”

“I need to budget our spending.”

“Huh?” he looked to his dad. “Huh?”

His dad reached over and took Kiera’s hand. “Hun, you’re scrambling Hunter’s brain. It’s like this. He lives at the Nu estate. He wears unit uniforms. He either has his unit leader or his mother feed him. That boy has been saving for his family for centuries. Now that he has one, let him shop.”

Kiera flushed and looked down at their hands. “I don’t bring much.”

His mother laughed. “Kiera sweetheart, even if it was you, with just the clothes on your back, you’d be more than enough. I’ve never seen Hunter happier. But, you are also bringing us your siblings to love. What price can you put on new family?”

Kiera just nodded absently, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of being provided for. “I’d like to go look at your garden, if that’s okay?” she asked.

His Ma smiled. “Of course, take your time.”

Hunter watched as his mate stood, then walked out of the kitchen.

He shot a look to his dad, who stood and took a drowsy Nicol from him. “Go tend your mate, we have the kids.”

“She always cried when she visited because she didn’t have a lot of money to take care of us,” Keran said, frowning. “Whenever she came home, she was thinner and had dark circles under her eyes.”

Hunter stood and kissed the top of Nicol’s head where she dozed in his dad’s arms. “Is that why you never told her something was wrong?”

Keran looked like he’d been caught, then slowly nodded. “She was already doing too much.”

“Keran, later, when it’s just me and you, will you tell me what was going on?” he asked.

“Will you tell Kiera?”

“Only if you want me to. But, I will say this. I think you’ll feel better if you tell her. Remember, neither you nor your sisters are facing things alone anymore.”

Keran was quiet, but gave a single nod.

“Thank you, for trusting me. Now, I have to go spoil your sister.”

Keran brightened. “Spoil her lots! She needs it.”