Page 6 of The Dragon’s Surprise (Tahoe Dragon Mates #7)
Chapter Five
L exi had liked the dragon teacher, Oscar Forrest, immediately. He was an older dragonman in his sixties, but didn’t have a bias against all humans like some of the older dragon-shifters did, in Lexi’s experience. Plus, he’d spent the last hour answering Ethan’s questions as best as he could.
But as the boy’s stomach rumbled, Lexi spoke in the next pause. “Ethan, we should go so we can get some dinner. Jenny said there’s a restaurant here that serves pizza.”
The dragon teacher nodded. “It’s true. And it’s wood-fired, so it’s even better.”
Ethan frowned. “What’s wood-fired?”
Lexi answered, “That means it’s made in a special type of oven, but don’t worry, it tastes amazing, definitely better than frozen pizza.”
The boy’s stomach rumbled louder, and Lexi bit back a smile before saying, “I’m hungry too, so say goodbye to Mr. Forrest, and we’ll get some dinner.”
Ethan said, “Thank you, Mr. Forrest, for helping me.”
“No problem, Ethan. I’ll see you again tomorrow, and don’t forget to bring more questions to ask me, okay?”
The boy nodded, and after Lexi thanked the teacher, they headed out of the classroom and toward the exit. She asked, “What do you think of Mr. Forrest?”
“Well, he’s nice, and he taught me a lot already.”
Ethan hesitated, and Lexi said, “I think you’ll have fun at school, but we won’t rush it, I promise. And maybe you’ll make friends at the playground after dinner.”
“So we can still go?”
“Yes. It’s nearly summer, so it stays light out for a long time. That was the rule I always had as a kid—we didn’t have to go home until the streetlights turned on.”
He bounced in place and cheered. “I like that rule! And I can’t wait to see the playground.”
She smiled and was about to ask what kind of pizza he liked when they exited the school and nearly collided with Kyle. Without thinking, she blurted, “What are you doing here?”
It sounded harsher than she’d intended, but he merely shrugged. “I wanted to check on Ethan and see if he had any more questions about being a dragon-shifter.”
Ethan spoke up. “Oh, I have lots and lots. But first we’re getting pizza for dinner! A special fire kind, or something. But you should come with us.”
Lexi was about to say he didn’t have to when Kyle smiled. And for a second, she stopped breathing. The man was too handsome by half when he relaxed, even just a little.
Don’t think about him like that, Lexi. Just don’t.
Thankfully, he spoke and distracted her. “Only if Lexi doesn’t mind. I know it’s been a long day.”
His gaze met hers, and his pupils flashed a few times. If she could only better read this man, but she supposed keeping his emotions tightly controlled was essential for a doctor. “You’re welcome to come, if you like.”
Ethan jumped up and down. “Yay, it’ll be fun. Come on. Where are we going? I’m hungry.”
The boy took Kyle’s hand with his free one, and for a second, the dragonman froze. Maybe inviting him to dinner had been a bad idea, even if it had been Ethan who’d done it. And yet, the last thing she wanted was to force anything.
But then Kyle tightened his grip around Ethan’s hand and nodded toward the left with his head. “The clan restaurant is this way.”
They all started walking, and Lexi glanced at Kyle’s profile and then at Ethan. Even if the boy’s hair was a lighter shade, they had the same nose.
While they had a lot of physical similarities, their personalities were so different. And before she could think better of it, she blurted, “Were you just as serious as a child?”
Maybe she should regret it, especially as Kyle turned his head and arched an eyebrow. However, it was her job to better know Ethan’s family. That’s why she’d asked. It most definitely wasn’t because she wanted to know more about Kyle himself.
He replied, “No.”
But that was all he said, and an awkward silence filled the air. At least until Ethan asked, “Does it hurt to change into a dragon?”
Kyle shook his head. “Not really. It’s a little strange at first, as your body and bones grow bigger. And it can hurt if you and your dragon don’t work together. So you have to do your best to become friends with him now so you can be a good team later.”
Ethan glanced at the ground and kicked a rock ahead of them as he said, “My dragon’s kind of stubborn and loud and keeps trying to tell me what to do. I’m afraid to make him angry.”
Kyle stopped and crouched down in front of Ethan.
“The way he’s acting right now is pretty normal, but you have to tell him when it’s too much.
If you don’t, he’ll get spoiled and it will be harder to become friends and work together.
So maybe the next time he talks or shouts or throws a tantrum, ignore everyone else and talk to him. ”
“But won’t people think I’m weird if someone talks to me and I stand there, not listening or answering?”
Kyle smiled, his pupils flashing, as he replied, “Here, that’s pretty normal.
And you just saw my eyes flash, didn’t you?
” Ethan nodded, and Kyle continued, “Well, eventually you learn how to have short conversations with your dragon at the same time as talking with others. It’ll seem hard now, but the more you do it and get to know your inner beast, the easier it gets.
That’s why you have to stand up to your dragon and treat him as an equal, and ask him to treat you the same. ”
“An equal?”
“Yes, as in you both get to talk, always discuss if he wants something you don’t, and you try to make promises to each other to do things. Dragon-shifters call them vows, but it’s like a really important promise.”
“A special promise?”
“Yes. And once a dragon-shifter makes one, you always keep it. That’s very important.”
“There are a lot of new, important things, huh?”
Smiling, Kyle nodded. “Yes, but soon you’ll be a pro, and maybe you can help the other dragon children understand humans better, too.”
Lexi wondered if Kyle’s words would trigger something about Ethan’s past, but the boy merely bobbed his head. “I’ll try. And the next time my dragon is loud or tries to tell me what to do, I’ll talk back.”
Kyle ruffled Ethan’s hair, and Lexi softened toward the dragonman. For the first time, she was starting to see the doctor side of him that handled people who were injured or scared or unruly.
Under all that grumpiness and curtness was a kind, patient man. Although why he tried to hide it sometimes, she didn’t know.
Kyle looked up and noticed her staring at him—no doubt like some ninny—and she cleared her throat. “Shall we keep going? I’m starving.”
Ethan said, “Me, too! I’m hungry.”
Kyle nodded, stood, took Ethan’s hand, and led them toward the restaurant.
And Lexi most definitely didn’t look at Kyle’s profile again, no matter how much she wanted to. One of the strictest rules of her job was that she couldn’t dally with a dragon-shifter. She’d be fired immediately, and then she wouldn’t be able to help any of the orphans.
Besides, it wasn’t as if anything would happen with Kyle, anyway. She was just being silly and should maybe listen to her sister’s advice about dating again.
So for the rest of the walk, she remembered all of her training and focused on the consequences of acting like an idiot around a handsome dragonman. By the time they reached the restaurant, she had everything under control.
Which was a good thing since as soon as she, Ethan, and Kyle entered the restaurant, all eyes went toward them and the room fell silent.
Kyle maybe should’ve realized arriving with Ethan at his side, giving everyone a view of his mini-me, might’ve been a bad idea.
He hadn’t intended to share Ethan was his son so soon. Eventually, everyone would figure it out as the boy looked too much like him to be anything else. However, he was still deciding what to do with the boy and only hoped everyone wouldn’t mention to Ethan that he was with his birth father.
His dragon spoke up. None of the gossips are here. And no one will want to hurt the child.
Makayla, the youngest sibling of Chris North—one of the clan’s Protectors—helped her parents run the restaurant. She walked up to him and said softly, “Thank you for saving Eli.”
He’d barely saved Eli in surgery that morning. Regardless, Kyle never felt comfortable being thanked for doing his job. So he merely nodded. “You should thank your brother for getting Eli the help he needed so quickly. Your brother saved his life.”
“Chris reacted about the same as you, meaning he brushed it off, but I’m still grateful for you both.” Ethan squirmed a little, and Makayla glanced down, smiling as she asked, “And who’s this?”
“I’m Ethan.” He paused, glanced around, and said, “I’m a dragon-shifter, too.”
Makayla’s pupils flashed a few times, and she winked. “Well, that’s a pretty awesome thing to be. Of course, I’m a little biased, since I am one, too.” She looked at Lexi. “Although humans are okay, too. Well, most of them.”
Ethan spoke up. “Lexi is nice and kind and patient. She helps kids like me.”
The dragonwoman put out a hand to Lexi. “My name is Makayla North. I’ve heard about you but haven’t had a chance to welcome you yet. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Lexi smiled and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, too.” Ethan’s stomach rumbled, and Lexi added, “We heard you have some delicious wood-fired pizza, and I think Ethan here is impatient to try it.”
The other woman raised her brows. “Well, then, a growing dragon boy needs his food. Trust me, I know, I have three older brothers. Follow me. We have one of the best seats toward the back, where you can watch them make the pizzas.”
“Really? I want to see! They said it was a fire pizza.”
“Wood-fired, yes. A recipe from my grandmother, one people have tried to steal forever, but have never got.”
As Makayla guided them toward the back of the room, Kyle nodded at various clan members. While some of them glanced between him and Ethan, no one blurted anything, thank goodness.