Page 38 of Ronen (Sweet Alps Legacy #1)
He also had another pair of fated mates in England he wanted to interview, as they had been away on holiday before he had returned home, and missed speaking to them.
Mason turned to look at me, a silly little grin on his face. “Is that true? Am I the first?”
“Ignore anything Rory tells you. But yes,” I sighed. “Only because I refuse to subject most people to these heathens.” Looking around, I asked, “Where’s Nana Maeve? Maybe she can control the lot of you.”
“In the dining room, opening the wine.” Grandma Mary told us, hurrying back over to relieve Sammi from her stirring.
“And that’s where you’ll find us,” I announced, dragging Mason out of the kitchen, down the hall and into the large dining room .
The long table sat twelve, but there were two other tables set up with chairs around them. The buffet already had a table runner on it, decorated with colorful Easter eggs, and all the tables had matching tablecloths.
“Nana,” I walked over to where she was pouring a small glass of wine for herself. “I want to introduce you to Mason Caldwell. He’s my…ah…”
Well, I hadn’t thought of how I wanted to introduce Mason to my family and had skipped over it when I’d done the kitchen introductions. I didn’t want to announce we were fated at a family holiday.
Maybe when we told everyone we were pregnant. In a few weeks. Or months. Sometime soonish.
It appeared the only people who had heard Mason announce to the world we were fated after his fall, surprisingly hadn’t spread the news around town.
At least not to my family, since I had yet to receive any phone calls or texts from any of them related to that.
My phone had remained shockingly quiet the last few months.
Even my parents, who usually knew everything, hadn’t said a word to me about it.
Nana turned her amused emerald green eyes to us, bringing the wine glass up to her lips to take a sip. “Your…friend?”
Nodding, I said, “Yes, that.”
“Good to formally meet you, Mason,” Nana Maeve told him, nodding to the many, many bottles of wine set out. “Help yourself.”
She winked at him, “Always better to deal with holidays with some red. I think I saw one of the boys bring some beer in too, if you prefer. ”
I snorted at her use of “the boys”, knowing she meant my dad and uncles. She and Grandma Mary still referred to them that way, even though “the boys” were in their late sixties.
Like in the kitchen, the French doors in this room were opened to the side lawn. Becca stood in the doorway, one hand on her lower back, her face tilted up to the sun.
“You doing okay, little mama?” I asked her quietly, and she gave me a sweet smile.
“Just very pregnant,” she laughed. “I’m ready to have this baby, but someone says I have at least another month.”
She directed her comment, along with a narrowed glare, in the vicinity of Logan. He in turn just grinned brightly at her and popped a deviled egg in his mouth.
Swallowing, he told her, “I call it like I see it. Don’t blame the messenger. That pup needs a little more time in the warmer.”
“Ronen?” Becca asked, her brown curls bouncing as she tried to look down past her belly. “Can you confirm that I still have feet? Rory says I do, but we all know she can’t be trusted. I haven’t seen them in so long I’m doubting myself. I trust you to tell me the truth.”
Bending at the waist, I made a big show of looking at her feet, announcing, “Two feet accounted for. Are the two different colored shoes a fashion choice?”
“Rory!” she yelled, hands on her hips. “She put my shoes on me.”
“I’m just kidding, I swear!” I told her, holding my hands out in front of me, and laughing. She huffed, swatting at me, but her smile was bright.
“What?” Rory popped her head into the doorway, “What’s wrong? ”
“Nothing,” Mason assured her, “just Ronen trying to be funny.”
“I’m very funny, thank you very much.”
“Whatever you say, honey.”
Face falling, I glared at him, and gave him a warning look, “No.”
I took another few minutes to introduce Mason to my Uncles Lachlan, Brendan, and Ryan. He already knew my Uncle Quinn, as they greeted each other warmly.
When I gave him a questioning look, Mason just shrugged. “I like Quinn’s coffee.”
“And my cookies,” Quinn grinned, “Mason spends a ridiculous amount of money at The Sweet Spot every week, but that is not a complaint.”
“Well, they are good cookies,” I agreed. “Did you happen to bring any?”
Suddenly the thought of chocolate chip and toffee cookies sounded so good, my mouth nearly watered.
“I brought an assortment of desserts,” Quinn assured me. “Like always.”
“But are there cookies?”
Quinn scowled at me. “In your entire life have there ever not been cookies?”
“Just checking.”
Was I having my first craving? Because all I wanted right now were those cookies. No wonder Becca had Quinn smuggling them to her. I totally got it now.
Mason looked around at the various appetizers that were already laid out on the sideboard. “Where might someone find these cookies, if they were looking? Asking for a friend. ”
Lachlan snorted. “He’s got them stashed away somewhere and won’t even tell me. I’m up for the challenge of looking if you are.”
Quinn rolled his eyes at his husband. “As if you can’t get those cookies anytime you want them. Stop acting like you are so deprived of sweets.” He patted Lachlan’s slightly rounded belly. “Because you so aren’t. The cookies, along with the rest of the desserts, will magically appear after dinner.”
Noticing the absence of two important people, I asked, “Where are my parents?”
Having seen their vehicle when we arrived, I knew they were here, but I had yet to see either of them.
Charlie bounced into the room, pointing at the open doors. “Out there, up to fuckery. I tried to watch from my bedroom window, but I couldn’t see all the spots they put them in.”
Waving her fingers between Logan and me, she declared, “I will find more eggs than you both.”
Becca giggled, saying, “I can’t wait to see Ronen’s face. They’ve made some super easy, but they also went around the side of the house, so I lost track of them.”
“What the hell is going on?” When no one answered me, I looked to my Nana for an answer.
She just shrugged and sipped her wine, trying to look innocent and failing miserably.
“We thought it would be fun, since there aren’t any little ones to really have the whole Easter experience. For as many grandkids as we have, you would think the house would be overflowing with babies by now.”
“Hey!” Rory took offense, placing one arm around Becca’s shoulders and one hand on her baby bump. “We’re working on it. ”
Becca elbowed her side lightly. “I’m working on it. You’re being a pain in my ass.”
Rory kissed her quickly. “I had something to do with it.”
Nana Maeve shrugged one shoulder, not looking impressed. “Eh, took you two long enough. You’ve been together how long, twelve years? We’d about given up on you. We’re not getting any younger you know?”
“Here we go,” Quinn muttered, rolling his eyes at his mom’s dramatics.
Rolling my own eyes, I wandered back over to the open doors. Apparently the first time I had stood here with Becca had been one of the times my dads were around the side of the house. And, I hadn’t really been paying attention to the yard.
Because there was no way I could have missed this if I had been. Whatever this was.
Turning towards the room, I gave my nana a horrified look.
“Nana, why does it look like the Easter Bunny took a shit on the lawn? There has to be a hundred plastic eggs out there. Why? Just…why?”
“Easter egg hunt,” Logan declared gleefully, popping a sausage ball in his mouth.
Charlie crunched on some sliced cucumbers, dripping with homemade ranch dip. “There’s money in them. And candy. Not gonna lie; I’m good with getting either.”
“What in the actual fuck?” I shook my head. “No.”
Finn, Wade, and Sammi came in, hands loaded down with platters and bowls of piping hot food, Grandma Mary supervising behind them .
“Ronen, stop your fussing,” she ordered, somehow managing to emphasize the word with the thwack of her cane against the floor.
She had broken her hip two years ago, and had relied on the cane ever since, but it didn’t slow the woman down one bit.
“We–” she gave Nana Maeve an adoring look, “don’t know how many more Easters we have with you kids.
And we miss when you were little and we had egg hunts.
We’re making memories and I expect to not have attitude from any of you.
You will participate, you will find eggs, you will be overjoyed with the gifts the Easter Bunny has put in your baskets, and you will shut your mouth and smile while you’re doing it.
Is that understood or do I need to repeat it for the folks in the back? ”
“Fine,” I huffed, then glared at Mason, when he declared, “I think it sounds like fun.”
Wade cackled, clapping his hands together, then waved a finger between the two of us.
“You two remind me of Finn and me, back in the day. Complete opposites, but I bet you burn the sheets up, huh?”
“Gross! Dad!” Logan yelled, looking horrified at his omega father.
Glancing at Mason, I whispered, “We can go now. Let’s just go.”
Tugging me down into an empty seat at the table, he grinned. “I’m having a blast.”
The next few minutes were filled with people passing bowls and platters around the table, and filling plates. Staring down at the large bowl, filled with my Uncle Finn’s delectable garlic mashed potatoes, I turned horrified eyes to Mason .
Setting the bowl down with a clatter, I grabbed Mason’s free hand, the one he wasn’t using to fork a mouthful of ham into his mouth.
He gave me a startled look, as I pushed my chair away from the table and declared, “I need to talk to Mason for a second. Alone.”