Page 53 of His Treasured Mate
“Nice. That’s a tradition I can definitely get behind.”
“Maybe. We’ll see how it all turns out.”
Deciding it was time to rejoin the others, I got up and got dressed. No sooner did I pull my pants up, than the door burst open.
Cammie led the way, carrying Lilah, with Audrey and Willow hot on her heels.
“Mommy!” Lilah squealed, lunging for me.
“Hi my sweet girls. How was your sleepover?”
“It was fine. Can we lie down with you for a while before we have to leave?” Cammie asked.
Since the storm, she’d been sleeping with us every night. And that meant that in the wee hours of morning, Audrey would wake up and find her missing, so she would get her sisters and the three of them would join us, too. It was sweet, but also getting old.
Last night was her first night without us since all of this began. I felt bad that I hadn’t even thought of it before now.
“Was everything okay?”
“Yeah. We just missed you and Dad,” my big girl admitted.
Cammie always played it tough, like nothing bothered her, but I knew that wasn’t true. Beneath the tough exterior she tried to show others was a wonderful, sweet, caring, sensitive young woman.
“Are you okay?” I whispered.
She snuggled next to me and yawned. “Better now that you’re here.”
Before I could ask anything further, she was snoring.
Thomas ended up quietly taking the younger girls out of the room while I rested with Cammie. I wished I knew what was bothering her so much.
I let her sleep for about an hour. The picnic was about to begin, and I knew neither of us wanted to miss it.
Thomas
Chapter 14
Each time the family got together was different. This time we’d all decided to keep things low key and just spend the weekend together. When I thought back to the morning I’d had, I wondered if maybe that wasn’t the best idea after all.
I knew everyone was looking forward to this picnic, though. It was a day of family time at the park. Chairs and blankets littered the ground. There were games set out and lots and lots of food.
“Thomas, how about a round of corn hole?” Chase yelled.
“Not a good idea,” I warned him.
“Oh, come on.”
As a rule, I didn’t play these sorts of games. My wolf was far too competitive, and I won at all costs. This wasn’t the time or place for that.
“Where’s Lily?” Elise asked.
“Taking a nap with Cammie. I figured I’d let them sleep and just bring the other girls over.”
“From what I heard, you’re the one who should be sleeping.”
I groaned. “I’m not sure I’m going to live this one down.”
“Why? What happened?” my mother asked.