Page 33 of Shielded By My Mate

10

Mira

Five Years Later…

“Don’t let her eat the flower!” I call as Ansel chases our daughter across the backyard.

“I’m trying!” he shouts back, laughing as two-year-old Maisie squeals and toddles away from him as fast as her chubby legs can carry her.

She still has the bright yellow dandelion clutched in one fist. Every few steps, she tries to shove it into her mouth, but she can’t quite manage it while running. I press a hand to my belly and laugh as Ansel finally catches her, sweeping her into his arms.

“Got you, little cub.”

“No!” Maisie cries, giggling as he nuzzles her round cheek. “Down, Daddy!”

“You were about to eat a flower.”

“Yummy.”

“It is not yummy.”

“Daddy try,” Maisie says as she holds it out to him.

Ansel looks over at me.

I raise an eyebrow. “You heard your daughter,” I tease. “Daddy has to try it.”

He narrows his eyes at me, but a smile tugs at his lips. He pretends to take a bite, making an exaggerated gagging sound. Maisie dissolves into laughter, dropping the flower as she claps her hands.

My chest warms at the sight of them.

Five years ago, I didn’t know what a real home felt like. I thought it was four walls kept so clean and cold that no one could ever get comfortable inside them. I thought family meant people who shared your name but never shared their hearts.

Then I woke up in the back of a truck, ran through a forest, and crashed straight into Ansel.

My life has never been quiet since.

Thank God.

Ansel carries Maisie over to the blanket beneath the trees. Our four-year-old son, Ben, is lying on his stomach beside me, studying a line of ants with complete fascination. He inherited Ansel’s brown eyes and my black hair, along with enough energy for three children.

“Mom,” Ben whispers urgently. “They’re carrying crumbs.”

“I see that.”

“They’re really strong.”

“They are.”

“Stronger than Daddy’s bear?”

I glance up at my giant husband. “Definitely.”

Ansel snorts as he settles Maisie on the blanket. “Your mother is telling stories again.”

“I never tell stories.”

“Last night, you told them I screamed when I saw a spider in the bathtub.”