Page 14

14

IN NAT’S SECRET HEART

Duke flinched. “Fuck!”

“Wanda!” Nat squawked in horror, yanking her away from his boss. “Oh gods, oh gods. I’m sorry!”

Maybe Duke had changed his mind, and he was going to fire Nat.

Nat hauled Wanda over to the other side of Duke’s bed, looking over warily.

Duke huffed, rubbing his eye. He was smiling.

“Why are you smiling?” Nat asked.

“Because you’re funny.” Duke grinned. “I have two kids, Nat. They’ve done worse.”

Nat blinked. “They have?”

Well, he knew that children could be little terrors, but... Duke was Duke. He was the big boss. And a firefighter. And a rescuer. He was fierce.

How could Duke’s children have done worse than poke him in the eye?

“Mallie kicked my shins the other day while she was throwing a tantrum,” Duke said dryly. “She regretted it afterward. And Teddy colored all over the work documents that I was supposed to sign. He was mad that I wasn’t spending enough time with him.”

Nat cringed so hard. “Oh, no.”

But Duke only shrugged. “I would much rather they feel safe with me, able to act out and trust that they’ll still have a place here, rather than them being too afraid of me to be themselves.”

For a long moment, Nat couldn’t find any words.

Because that? That was exactly the sort of person he wanted to be Wanda’s Papa.

But Duke didn’t have space in his life for much else right now.

Just because he wants to protect me doesn’t mean he’ll fall in love with me, Nat told himself sternly. It was hard not to feel disappointed, though.

“You’re a really great dad,” he said weakly.

Duke cracked a smile. “I’m glad you think so. You’re an amazing dad too, Nat.”

His gaze darkened. Nat ducked his head to hide his blush. “What, um. What are those trophies for?”

Duke’s smile fell immediately. He looked awkward. “That’s something no one needs to know about.”

“But they’re on your wall!”

“Because I haven’t invited anyone into my bed in a very long time,” Duke said dryly. “Until you.”

Nat blushed. “Okay, I won’t ask.”

“He’s embarrassed by them,” Hubrie sang faintly.

“Shut up, Hubrie,” Duke muttered. But his ears turned a darker red.

“Are you blushing?” Nat couldn’t help asking.

“No,” Duke said.

“He’s lying,” Hubrie yelled helpfully. “His pulse skipped!”

“Fuck off,” Duke growled at the door.

“Wa!” Wanda said.

Nat froze. Duke turned to stare at her, then at Nat.

“I hope she wasn’t trying to copy me,” Duke said slowly.

“Me too,” Nat said. “That... That would be bad, wouldn’t it? If a swear word was her first word.”

“Wa!” Wanda said again, looking utterly proud of herself.

Nat buried his face in his hands. “Oh, gods.”

“That was just a sound.” Duke said it like he was trying to convince himself. He looked guilty, too.

Nat snorted. Then he began giggling, and he couldn’t stop. Even Duke cracked a smile.

“We’re getting out of bed,” Duke decided. “And having breakfast, since I don’t think we’re getting any more sleep.”

* * *

Teddy and Mallie watched owlishly when they walked into the kitchen together.

Teddy giggled. Mallie elbowed him and frowned.

“What is it?” Duke asked.

“Mal says Mr. Nat is your boyfriend,” Teddy announced.

“Shh!” Mallie hissed. “If you say it, it’s not gonna happen!”

Nat stared at them in dismay. He hadn’t even been employed for two days. Why was his life one mortifying incident after another?

Duke cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Teddy, Mallie. Mr. Nat and I are still discussing things. It’s rude to talk about people’s relationships right in front of them.”

“Can we talk about it in our room?” Mallie asked curiously.

Duke sighed. “Yes. But do it quietly so we can’t hear.”

Teddy leaned over and whispered in Mallie’s ear, “I think they’re gonna have lots of babies.”

Nat was glad he wasn’t swallowing any water.

“Teddy,” Duke said dryly. “Do that in your room.”

The kids stood up, their little faces bright with speculation.

“I meant after breakfast,” Duke added. “Sit down and eat.”

“Aww!” Mallie said.

But they sat down, spooning cereal into their mouths as they watched Duke and Nat ease a squirming Wanda into her high chair.

“If you have a baby together, is it gonna be both a raccoon and a demon?” Teddy asked.

Nat whimpered.

Duke twitched. “Like I said, Mr. Nat and I haven’t discussed that between ourselves. But yes. If a demon and an animal shifter were to mate, their baby would probably be half of each species.”

“We don’t know a lot of people like that,” Mallie said thoughtfully. “Most people are just one species.”

“That’s because people tend to date within their own species,” Duke said. “But sometimes they date someone who’s a different species.”

And now the kids were eyeing Nat and Duke again.

“Is there something I can feed Wanda?” Nat asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

“Oh! Cook made several things for her.” Hubrie gestured at the fridge.

Duke helped to lay out the stacks of plastic containers that Cook had prepared. There were boiled eggs, boiled pumpkin, soft pasta, slices of banana, and even little florets of soft broccoli.

Nat scooped a little of each onto a plastic plate for Wanda; Teddy and Mallie watched with great interest.

“Why does she get all the things?” Mallie asked.

Nat peeked at Duke. “I don’t know. She usually gets a bowl of boiled pumpkin, or egg. Not... a spread like this.”

Duke looked sheepish. “I asked Cook to help me spoil your little cub.”

Nat’s heart skipped. “I—I would’ve said you didn’t have to, but this is something Wanda needs. Thank you.”

Duke smiled warmly, and Nat wanted to walk straight into his chest.

He really, really wished Duke could be Wanda’s other dad.

“I want all the food too!” Teddy said, stopping Nat from doing something he shouldn’t with his boss.

“You do get all the food, kid,” Duke said dryly. “You get a few different dishes in every meal. But Wanda won’t be here every day, so I had Cook make her a bit of everything.”

“That’s really kind of you,” Nat said, humbled.

Duke’s gaze darkened in a way that said, I didn’t do it to be kind .

Nat blushed. Duke’s answering smile made his stomach flip.

“Here, would you like to try some of Wanda’s food?” Nat said when the kids continued to stare. Wanda was smushing pumpkin into her face. “Be warned, though: It doesn’t taste quite like your food.”

Teddy and Mallie held out their spoons; Nat portioned out some pumpkin for them.

“Ugh,” Teddy said when he tasted it. “It tastes like nothing.”

Mallie made a face too. “I’m not jealous anymore.”

Nat laughed quietly. “I haven’t had the chance to cook Wanda some seasoned food. Spices are expensive! So she’s used to eating blander food, and Cook knows this because I told her yesterday. But now that I have a job, I’m hoping to introduce her to some tasty food.”

Duke growled. When Nat looked at him, Duke seemed surprised, as though he hadn’t expected himself to make that noise. “If you need help with food, don’t hesitate to ask me,” Duke said. “Or if you need help with anything at all.”

He dropped his pointed gaze to Nat’s belly, and Nat blushed.

Teddy and Mallie nudged each other and giggled.

Before Nat could react, Wanda smacked her spoon. It went flying across the kitchen, sending bits of egg and pumpkin everywhere.

“Sorry!” Nat scrambled to clean it up.

“It’s fine,” Duke said. “Save the cleaning for later. She’s going to do that a lot more before she’s done.”

“Food fight!” Teddy cried.

“No food fights,” Duke said firmly. “Not unless you’re the ones cleaning up.”

“Aww,” the kids said.

“They could have a food fight in the backyard,” Nat offered quietly. “If you use seeds and food that’s safe for birds and other animals, they’ll bring their friends and come clean up for you.”

“I like Mr. Nat,” Mallie said.

“Me too,” Teddy added.

Nat ducked his head. And Duke watched him consideringly, all the way through breakfast.