Lost Paradise (35 page)

Chapter
Fourteen

As the sleepover I’d been dreading
approached, I made trips back to my house to mow the lawn, and weed
a little bit. While I could have asked Warren to do it, I still
thought of this as my home. It mattered to me that the guests
coming find it presentable, if not enviable. Theo did his part out
in the woods, using my tractor and wood-splitter to begin laying in
a wood supply for us. As it was, by the time I would be able to
help him we’d likely end up cutting the last of it ankle deep in
the first snow.

Theo was still adamant about moving back in
here in the fall. Danial hadn’t said another word about it, but he
held me tightly now when we slept. There had been more than one
afternoon that he had joined me in my now daily nap. I clung to
him, too, no more anxious than he to part ways after so many months
of being together.

I was also concerned about Elle. Sometime in
the last few months, she had matured from looking about nine to
thirteen. She had gotten taller and leaner, and there was a sway in
her walk that hadn’t been there before. Her clothes she picked out
and favored were all tight, and when we went shopping, guys as old
as eighteen noticed her. When I glowered at them, they stayed away,
but I knew they wouldn’t for long. Her body was developing slowly,
most of it lean muscle, but the curves were emerging. Soon,
sleepovers were not going to be enough; it would be dates and
boys.

When I brought up my concerns to Theo, he
brushed me off, saying that she was too young, and that there were
no young men at Danial’s home, so there was no reason to worry.
That only made me worry more, because there were single male
werefoxes there. Even if they were a decade older, they were still
male. And no matter what anyone said, they were not getting taken
care of by anyone like Serena. So a few days later, I mentioned
something to Danial.

Unlike Theo, he took me seriously. “I’ll talk
to all of the single males,” he said, his eyes glinting red. “I
doubt anything would happen, Sar. Elle is still too young to be
thinking about that.”

I gave him raised eyebrows. “We don’t know
how old she is, really. And this has more to do with hormones
anyway.”

“I understand that. You’re right, the time is
going to come soon when she needs to begin to look for a mate.”
Danial sighed. “She faces the same problem that Theo faced years
ago. There are no werecougars in the Northeast. She’ll have to go
west.”

“She could change someone,” I said, sitting
down across from him, suddenly tired. “It worked for Aspen.”

“John was an unusual man,” Danial said,
running his fingers through his shoulder length hair. He had
stopped cutting it short for me months ago, when I’d told him I’d
liked him just as he was, and it shone from his earlier feeding in
the light from his desk lamp. “It’s hard to find a human who is
accepting like you. It’s easier for weres to find one who already
is one of their kind for a companion. And turning can fail, if it’s
not done right.”

“Mom!” Elle yelled, snapping me back into the
present. “Susan’s here!”

It was the day of the sleepover. Susan had
arrived, and Violet was right behind her, both of their parents
following.

The moment I met Susan, my worry for Elle
increased. She wasn’t the plain, reserved girl Violet was; Susan
was a knockout like Elle was becoming, with teenage arrogance in
her dark blue eyes. Her mom was of the same type, a bleached blond
with too much makeup, her overly dressy clothes expensive and
tasteful.

“Violet, Susan, you can go right in to Elle’s
room. Hi,” I said brightly. “I’m Sar.”

“Hi, I’m Diane, Susan’s mother,” she said
coolly. “I’ve got to be going, I’m afraid.”

I politely exchanged pleasantries, thinking
to myself that we weren’t the same kind of woman. Diane didn’t
spend her days getting her hands dirty, and had probably never
wanted to. But that was fine; likely I’d never have to see her
again.

Cathy, Violet’s mother, was just as nice as I
remembered. After chatting with her a few minutes, I saw her out,
and then went to check on the girls.

The rest of the night went well, in spite of
my worries. Elle and her friends spent most of it in her room
giggling. But as Susan felt no desire to wear Elle’s choker, and
Violet had tried it on already, that problem didn’t repeat
itself.

In the morning, it was Violet who woke first.
When she wandered out into the kitchen, I offered her breakfast,
which she readily agreed to. With a smile, I lifted out a newly
done pancake, and then began putting fresh pancake batter into the
pan.

“Where are the dogs?” Violet asked shyly.
“Something didn’t happen to them, did it?”

Startled, I replied, “No, um, they’re at
Elle’s other father’s house. I wasn’t sure whether Susan liked big
dogs.” I dished some butter onto the pancakes, the handed her the
plate. “They’ll be here if you visit again. Syrup is there on the
table.”

“I don’t know if Elle will invite me again,”
Violet said softly, taking the plate. “They were talking by
themselves a lot of last night.”

At their age it was so easy to feel excluded,
and to hurt others with a careless word or gesture. “Elle likes
you, Violet,” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. “Of course,
she’ll invite you again.”

“We don’t see each other very much anymore,”
Violet said sadly. “She’s in another dance class now. Whenever I
invite her anywhere, she says she can’t go. We mostly just talk on
the phone now.”

This was the first I’d heard of Elle being
invited anywhere by Violet. Even with Danial’s protectiveness of
Elle, we had to start letting her spread her wings. She was rapidly
becoming a woman. “Violet, you go ahead and keep asking Elle,” I
said, giving her a smile. “Her other dad almost never lets her out
of his sight. But I think that if you want to meet her at the mall,
or at the movies, she can probably go, at least once in a while.
I’ll talk to him, okay?”

“Okay,” Violet said, giving me a tentative
smile.

After the girls went home, Elle went back to
her bedroom, and began packing her stuff up. I went after her with
a purpose, Theo following me, his expression a little mystified
over my intense expression.

“Elle, I need to talk to you,” I said,
sitting down on her bed. Theo came in behind me, and leaned against
the doorframe. “Violet’s worried you no longer like her,” I said
gently. “Is it true?”

Elle gave me a guilty look. “She seems so
young, Mom. Susan knows so much more.”

“What does she know?” Theo said, giving her
narrowed eyes that said he could guess the answer.

“She knows about boys!” Elle said excitedly.
“She said she’s kissed this one she knows, who’s sixteen—”

Theo’s eyes had gone yellow. Mine would have,
too, if I were werecougar. “Elle,” I said firmly. “You are too
young yet for boys.”

“Damn straight,” Theo growled. “You are maybe
eleven, Elle. You aren’t dating until you are sixteen. And even
then, I’m not letting you go out with anyone that I haven’t met and
approved first.”

Elle got up off the bed and faced us. “I’m
old enough,” she said suggestively, her eyes rebellious. In her
tone was her mother Tawny’s boldness, as clear as a bell.

Stay calm, Sar. Breathe. You knew this was
coming
. “Enough,” I said calmly. “I think you are old enough to
be given some more freedoms—”

Theo looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“—
but I want you to remember something.
Danial has many enemies, as does Theo. There is never going to be a
shortage of people who might like to kidnap you—”

“Yeah, I know, and torture me!” she said,
rolling her eyes. “I’ve heard it all a million times—”

I grabbed hold of her roughly, and shook her.
“You are a young woman, Elle,” I said sharply, my eyes flashing.
“There are other things that can happen to you now that you aren’t
a child anymore. As you just said, you
are
old enough.”

Elle’s face went white, and tears formed in
her eyes.

“Sarelle,” Theo said, aghast at my
implication. “You shouldn’t say that to her.”

“Don’t cry!” I said sternly to Elle, ignoring
Theo. “Just remember what I said, and be careful. Don’t trust boys
that aren’t your own age, Elle. Or any men besides Brian, Aran,
Ivan, Terian, Theo, Danial, Devlin, or Lash.”

Theo growled when I included Lash, but I
didn’t take it back. Lash might be an ass, but he was not going to
hurt a child. At least, not Danial’s adopted daughter.

Elle nodded. “Okay.”

I hugged her tightly. “Don’t be afraid of
men. I know that might seem at odds with what I just said. I just
want you to understand that some men are not going to want what is
best for you. I want you to find one who does, who respects you and
treats you well. And I want you always to be conscious that just
because you think someone isn’t going to hurt you, it can still
happen.”

Theo put his hand on my shoulder, and
squeezed a little. “Your mom is right.” He went to Elle and hugged
her. “I wish she wasn’t, but the world is sometimes a hard place,
Elle. We love you, and we want you to be safe.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Can I go to the
mall next weekend?” she said finally. “Violet asked me, before she
left. Dad always says no. Maybe Theo could chaperone—”

“Yes,” I said, glancing at Theo. “Terian will
tail you, Elle. You won’t know he’s there, but he’ll watch you. But
if he does come up to you and tell you it’s time to go, you have to
agree to go with him without a fuss. Understood?”

“Sure!” Elle said happily hugging me.

What I didn’t add was that I would be giving
a description of Violet to Terian, because if Elle was planning on
meeting Susan instead, Elle wouldn’t be making any more trips to
the mall without me as a chaperone.

* * * *

Danial hit the roof, of course. “What were
you thinking, Sar?” he yelled. “She’s not going alone, even with a
tail.”

“Elle is getting older, and in another few
years, it’s going to be time for college, Danial,” I said firmly.
“You need to loosen the apron strings.”

“Elle is not tied to me,” Danial glowered. “I
just want her to be safe.”

“Terian will watch her,” Theo soothed. “Sar’s
right, we have to let her get her feet wet. She can’t live here
with you for the rest of her life, no matter how much you want her
to.”

Danial grumbled, but after talking about it
at length, he agreed that it was a good decision. While I was
relieved that the sleepover had gone so well, and he’d come into
agreement with us over Elle, I was nervous about what was still to
come. Elle wasn’t the only child who was changing fast.

During July, Theoron had aged another five
years. He outgrew his clothes almost overnight. Now he was as tall
as Elle, also made of lean muscle, and the spitting image of
Danial, save for my green eyes. He was going to break some hearts
with his stunning good looks and the inherited charm that was just
beginning to make itself felt in the way he asked for things with
easy smiles. He wouldn’t be running around with horns and a tail
ever again.

While I found it sad my little boy was
growing up so fast, I was also relieved. He would have the strength
of his father, and my ability to walk in the daylight. And I had
enough to worry about as the day of the birth of my twins
approached.

* * * *

I knew something was wrong the morning of
August second, when I was making tomato soup for Theo. He’d asked
me to, as his mother had made it for him when he was little. I’d
agreed before he casually mentioned he didn’t have the recipe.
After trying recipes all that week, I finally came up with one that
was right, or at least was close enough, according to Theo. As I
was stirring the paste into the broth, I began to get warm, then
hot.

Theo came over to me, worried. “What’s wrong,
Sar? You’re sweating like you’re in the sun.”

“I’m too hot,” I replied. “Probably from
being in the kitchen.”

“Go lay down,” Theo said, taking my spoon.
“I’ll check on you in an hour or so.”

I went to our bedroom to lay down, thinking
he was overreacting. When I woke up, I was slick with sweat, and
too weak to move. “Theo!” I said as loudly as I could.

Theo didn’t hear me in the kitchen, but
Danial did, working in the study above. He came down the stairs
quickly and into the bedroom. One look at me had him yelling for
Theo.

“You’re burning up,” Danial said, laying his
hand against my brow. “When did this start?”

I tried to get closer to him. His skin was
cool, wonderfully cool against mine.

Theo burst in. “What’s wrong?” Then he saw
me. “Danial, what’s wrong with her?” Theo shouted. “She’s got a
fever.

“This happened before to her,” Danial said.
“But never this late in the pregnancy. Call Devlin right now.”

Theo hesitated. “Maybe we should call
Camlyn.”

“Call Devlin now,” Danial roared at him. “Get
him here now!”

Theo left. A few minutes later, Devlin came
in the bedroom, embracing me immediately. His body was also cool,
marvelously cool like ice water on a one hundred degree day.

“What happening, Danial?” Devlin asked,
worried. “She’s far too warm.”

“You said he’d know,” Theo said as he came
in, irritated.

“Have Titus teleport Stephen here,” Danial
said to Devlin. “If you don’t know, we need him to tell us what’s
happening.”

Titus was dispatched to Stephen. A few
minutes later, Stephen showed up, looking disgruntled. He checked
me over thoroughly. “She’s too hot,” Stephen said.

“That’s genius,” Theo growled. “What’s
causing it?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Stephen replied.
“We’ve got to get her temperature down, or she’ll not only lose the
children, she’ll lose her life. She’s a hundred and three degrees,
and her temperature is rising.” He turned to Devlin. “Get ice and
run cold water in the bathtub—”