Chapter 112
Natalie was happy for the early phone call from JJ and all the more happy when she found out that he and Suerro had reconciled. She maintained that there would be no wedding until her son was home, but she was elated that when he returned home, that he and Suerro would finally start to see common ground. The school was very nearly completed. They'd cleared a spot using the trees from that area to build it and Renesmee was always busy with training the teachers that would be working in the school. She'd obtained materials from other state schools to confirm what other children were being taught and wanted to ensure the kids at the tribe received the same if not better education. Suerro was already set as the French/Quileute teacher at the school and he'd be teaching enormous classes of kids in varying ages making sure they understood the language itself and the written language as well that he'd finally mastered.
Kevin and Amber had remained in Washington since returning. Under the circumstances both with JJ being away and Scarlet expecting, they wanted to be with the family. Embry was a frequent visitor, helping out with Heather at night and on the weekends. He was beginning to sow the seeds of opening his own business in contracting. He'd never even really thought about it until Heather was born but once she was, he thought having his own business would be a good thing to do for their future. Amber and Anna had started working towards opening their candle shop. They'd saved up enough at last that they could afford a nice spot in downtown Seattle that was a few blocks away from the Heidelberg and Black Law Firm, which was kind of nice. Anna started joking that if there was a problem, their lawyer was just a block and a call away. Obtaining the lease was a nightmare however. Had they not adored the place so much and the location, they'd have gone with a different realtor. Amber and her mother had walked in with Heather in hand, who was dressed up nice in a cute little purple dress so she was just as dressed up as her mom and grandma, and they expressed their interest to purchase the little shop, but the man refused to sell it to them on the grounds that neither of them had owned a business before despite them explaining numerous times that they'd had their own business in Berlin. Somehow, the realtor found that more offensive and was just short of demanding they leave. Amber hated doing what she ended up doing, but she was so infuriated that she refused to take that lying down, so she and Anna walked right to the law firm.
"Amber!" Lisa smiled and welcomed her when she stepped in. She came around the desk and gave Amber a hug and kiss on both cheeks and also welcomed Anna. "Is everything alright?"
"I just needed to speak to Kevin. He's not in a meeting I hope."
"He's with a client now, but he should be done short-" Lisa was interrupted while the door to Kevin's office opened. He exchanged a few final words with the man before he said goodbye to Kevin and went to Lisa to reschedule. Kevin noticed Amber right away.
"Amber?" Kevin said and approached her and Anna. "Is everything okay? I thought you were seeing that realtor today."
"I actually wanted to talk to you about that," Amber said and then looked at Anna. "Mom, could you hold Heather for me a moment?"
"Of course," Anna said and accepted Heather into her arms so she could find a place to sit and start cooing to her granddaughter in German once Kevin's client had left. Amber and Kevin went into his office and he closed the door.
"Did something happen?" Kevin asked after he closed the door and followed Amber to his desk. She sat on the edge of his desk and Kevin took a seat in his office chair.
"I don't like having to do this," Amber mumbled. "The realtor is refusing to let us buy that property."
"Why?"
"I explained that it was just mom and I running this business and he asking if either you or daddy would be managing. We said no and he said I shouldn't be wasting my time with business when my business is raising my daughter and being a good wife. It didn't help when we told him we'd run our own business in Berlin. I think that cooled him even more."
"Really?" Kevin sighed and picked up his phone pressing one button. "Lisa," Kevin said, "Do me a favor and hold my calls. I need to leave the office for a bit. I'll be back in fifteen minutes." Lisa affirmed she'd do as he asked and Kevin stood up.
"I don't like asking you to do this," Amber mumbled. "If it weren't such a good spot, I'd think it better to find another property but-"
"It's no trouble, Amber," Kevin smiled and kissed her. "You have the deposit you were going to give him?" Amber nodded. "Okay, good."
Kevin led Amber with him out of the office asking Anna to keep an eye on Heather while he and Amber had a little word with the realtor. They walked the few blocks to the realtor's office and Kevin walked into the office calm as ever while Amber still felt rather uncomfortable. She almost like a child that had her feelings hurt on the playground and she'd gone and told her daddy. She thought about the property she and her mother were wanting to buy. It was quite literally perfect. It looked almost exactly like the shop they'd had in Berlin and, strangely, there was something comforting about it. It also had excellent foot traffic and was within blocks of a bakery that she knew handled brides all year round. If she and her mother could start a working relationship with that bakery, it would help their business exponentially. Remembering that, she was able to make herself swallow her pride and let Kevin help her with her business. Just this once.
"Can I help you, sir?" the young man at the front desk asked, remembering Amber but not the man before him.
"I'm Mrs. Black's lawyer," Kevin said. "I'm here to have a little chat with," Kevin looked at Amber, "what's the realtor's name?"
"Mr. Shaw," Amber mumbled.
"Mr. Shaw," Kevin said and looked at the young man again. "Might you direct me to his office?"
"Sure," the young man said nervously. He was new Kevin could tell. He'd need to get himself used to people's lawyers barging in making demands in this line of business. He goes to an office and then returns to his desk. "He said he'd see you."
"Thank you," Kevin said and looked at Amber. "Have your deposit ready."
Amber couldn't fight the smile that crept onto her lips. He smiled at her back before going to the office and closing the door behind him. The young man looked between them a second.
"Is he your husband?"
"Yes," Amber said. "There are perks to being married to a lawyer."
"I would say so," he said. In Mr. Shaw's office, Kevin and the man in question remained professional and Mr. Shaw even welcomed him and asked Kevin to sit.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Black," Mr. Shaw said. "I've heard of you, naturally. I have clients that are lucky enough to have you as their lawyer."
"You're about to have another," Kevin said. "I'm here regarding a woman and her mother that came in earlier in reference to the property on Stewart Street."
"Ah, yes," Mr. Shaw said. "Allow me to ask if my assumption is correct that you're the young woman's husband?"
"When we're home," Kevin said, "At the moment, however, I'm her lawyer. Now, Mr. Shaw, I can understand your position. Our little girl is just shy of a year old and she's nothing short of a handful, not that we're complaining."
"She was very cute," Mr. Shaw said. "You must be very proud."
"Oh, I am," Kevin said, "I'm especially proud of her mother, though. This wouldn't be the first time my wife and mother-in-law owned and operated their own successful business. Surely they mentioned they owned their own candle shop in Berlin?"
"Indeed," Mr. Shaw said, suddenly uncomfortable. "I wouldn't want to offend you, but….well, Germans aren't exactly savory."
"I see," Kevin sighed. "My wife actually isn't German. At least, not as far as we're aware. She was adopted by a German couple, but she was born in Château Thierry. That's where we met during the war. She was very, very young at the time. Me a sergeant at 15 and Amber just a little girl whose mother and grandparents had died."
"My goodness," Mr. Shaw said.
"Anyway, Amber's mother and father are a German Jewish couple and they could never have their own children, so they adopted Amber and they were gracious enough to allow Amber and I to keep in touch. I was worried about her, you know. Never thought she'd be my wife, but life's funny that way," Kevin lied a little. "As I said, her mother is a gifted candle artist and painter. She finally started her own business when they'd moved to Berlin. They'd been trying to escape the growing Nazi group that had overrun their home town of Munich. All the good it did, but that's beside the point."
"I didn't realize your wife and mother-in-law were Jewish," Mr. Shaw said.
"Oh, yes," Kevin nodded calmly, knowing he had the man where he wanted him. He was relieved this was so easy. "I've seen that candle shop. Every bride in Berlin that was Catholic was a loyal customer. Even non-Catholic couples wanted their candles for their weddings. Then there were bar mitzvahs, bot mitzvahs, communions, she's carved soaps for baby showers. That is until they were forced to leave Berlin and their business to escape Nazi persecution." Kevin stopped for only a second, feeling his throat close at the mere mention of those years, but he continued with his same charming smile. "My point is my wife and her mother are gifted crafters to say the least. I can think of no better store to be added to Stewart Street than a little candle shop run but a lovely little German woman and her mother just down the road from Macy's. Don't you agree?"
"While I can agree that sounds lovely," Mr. Shaw said, "I can't just sell a store to a woman with such a young child. Honestly, Mr. Black. What is your daughter supposed to do while mommy's working? A woman's place, especially a married woman with children, is at home."
"You don't know my wife very well," Kevin chuckled. "Amber's an ambitious type. She's made her own money her whole life. It's one of the things I love about her. She's self-reliant and driven. Perhaps that's just me, but I don't much care for the idea of a woman who has no life outside our children and home. And for the record, my wife has managed to carve candles out of our house even after we had Heather. Frankly, I'd pay for the place myself if it meant we'd get all those candles out of our house." Mr. Shaw emitted the slightest chuckle. "And you look me in the eye and tell me that little girl of mine wouldn't bring in adoring customers in droves eager to play with a cute baby. Especially brides to be."
"Perhaps, but there's still the matter of credit….your wife and mother-in-law don't really have credit."
"My father-in-law works for a bank that's filled with clientele that my law firm represents. Don't you worry, Mr. Shaw. I can bend those little money grubbers to my will rather easily. They certainly owe me for all the legal snafus my law firm has gotten them out of." Mr. Shaw sighed a little and scratched his head.
"You could rule the world; you know that Mr. Black?" Mr. Shaw joked.
"I know," Kevin smiled. "So what do you say? You let me work on some of those other details regarding the bank and you give my wife and mother-in-law the business they deserve?" Mr. Shaw was thoughtful for a moment and shifted in his chair a moment.
"Alright, Mr. Black, you win. If your wife and mother-in-law can put down the $3000 deposit, it's theirs."
"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Shaw," Kevin said and the stood up. "I'm rather sure Amber had that and more."
Moments later, Amber was in the office with them going through the required paperwork that came with the down payment. After Kevin told her to come into the office with that big smirk on his face, she knew it was good news. Kevin called the office saying to hold his calls just a little longer and looked over everything as would be required of him as Amber's lawyer anyway. Anna was happy to find out that they now owned the shop and could start getting it set up as soon as they wanted. She hugged Kevin and told him how happy she was to have him as a son-in-law. And, of course, with Embry a readily available contractor, he was enlisted to build up the shop accordingly. Amber and Anna insisted on paying him for his work and he eventually relented. Since he'd be helping out with the shop, Embry moved up to Seattle for a while staying at Kevin's and Amber's house and they were happy for the company.
"How has Scarlet been by the way? I feel like I haven't seen her in months," Amber said.
"She's alright," Embry said. "She's ready for the baby to be born. Still no word from Kai, but I Scarlet keeps telling Nathan to at least give the man until summer before he goes on the warpath looking for him."
"He's lucky Tamara's dad never did that," Kevin chuckled.
"To be fair, it wasn't for lack of trying," Embry said. "We'd been shipped off by then, so it was too late to give Nathan a piece of his mind."
"Well, in all fairness to Nathan, he does what he can," Kevin said.
"Also," Embry said, "you're not going to believe this, but JJ called a few days ago and apologized to Suerro."
"You're right; I don't believe you."
"Scout's honor," Embry said. "JJ called and told Suerro that he was sorry for how he acted and that he was sorry for being a wedge between him and Natalie and even went so far as to give Suerro his blessing to marry Natalie."
"You're shitting me."
"Kevin," Amber scolded. "Heather," she continued and pointed at Heather who was staring up at him from her little chair at the table.
"Sorry, sweetie," Kevin smiled and kissed Heather's nose making her giggle. "But really? JJ did all that?"
"I didn't believe it either, but yeah he did."
"So does that mean there'll be a wedding soon?"
"No," Embry said. "Natalie won't marry Suerro until JJ's home. We may have a double wedding at that point."
"Oh, right," Kevin said. "What's the girl's name again?"
"Something Korean," Embry sighed and thought a moment. "Own Me? Or Un Me? Something like that."
"I certainly hope it's not 'own me'. That would be an unfortunate name," Kevin chuckled.
"Her last name's So. I know that," Embry said.
"How'd they meet?" Amber asked.
"You know, I actually don't know. He keeps dodging the question."
"Why?" Kevin asked.
"I don't know," Embry shrugged. "We'll find out eventually."
Life back home largely went along like normal. When it was finally April, Scarlet was practically counting the minutes until she finally went into labor. That same month brought a big shock, however: the firing of General MacArthur replaced with General Ridgeway. The general public was not initially supportive of the decision, but President Truman held his ground, stating that his wish was to keep the war in Korea in Korea. Sources said that Gen. MacArthur wanted to take the war to China, but President Truman didn't want to do it and it led to the two men coming to a head and, eventually, the General being fired. Of course, there were also stories circulating that General Dwight Eisenhower would be running for the presidency. All the men among the Quileute that had served in World War 2 agreed that, unless the man were completely nuts of course, they'd vote for him no question. He'd been a good General after all. Then finally, around two weeks after President Truman had addressed American citizens defending his decision to fire General MacArthur, toward the end of the month Scarlet finally went into labor and she immediately regretted wanting it so badly. After several hours of horrible pain and pathetically brief periods of rest, she finally gave birth to a little girl. Luana. Despite his discontentment with Kai, Nathan was happy to have a little granddaughter.
"So this is what it feels like to be a grandpa," Nathan said to Jacob while he was holding Luana.
"It's feel the same way every time after this," Jacob smiled and patted Nathan's shoulder. "She looks like her dad."
Nathan didn't even scoff at the statement. It was true. Her hair curled slightly on her head the way Kai's did and it was very thick even as a little baby. Luana had some of Scarlet's features like her black eyes and nose, but she looked much more like her father. Of course, the addition of a Great Grandchild had Renesmee – in her gentle motherly manner – throwing 'subtle' hints at Kyle about when he and Evalina would have children. It was driving Kyle insane. What was worse was the fact that even Evalina was beginning to get just a little impatient. She wasn't saying it. She wouldn't do that. She knew Kyle's feeling on the matter, but he couldn't help listening to her thoughts sometimes and he knew she was starting to get impatient and want to start a family.
"Evie," Kyle said one night when the two were in bed. Evalina had quite literally just turned the lights off and was getting ready to fall asleep when he opened his mind to hear and heard her pangs of jealousy over Scarlet's little baby.
"Yes?" Evie asked and turned her head remaining on her side. He hesitated a moment with what he'd been about to say and then completely switched gears.
"You helped me a lot when we were helping Scarlet," Kyle smiled. "Had I known how nice it was to have a nurse, I'd have hired one long ago."
"You'd never find one as good as me," Evalina smiled and was already turning to return to trying to fall asleep. Kyle was nearly going to leave it at that, but his nerves kept nagging at him.
"Can I ask you something?" Kyle asked. Evalina turned her head again to look at Kyle.
"What's on your mind?"
"It's more about what's on your mind," Kyle said. "Does it….upset you?"
"Does what upset me?"
"The fact that I keep putting off us having kids?"
"I know you want to open the hospital before we start a family. You made that clear from the beginning so I've no reason to be upset," Evalina answered, but after a brief silence she sighed. "Although, I'd be lying if I said it didn't….frustrate me. I knew when we married we weren't going to have kids for a while but…..I suppose I'm just getting a little jealous."
"You get a full night's sleep. If anything they should all be jealous of us," Kyle said and rubbed his face.
"Kyle, that's not the point," Evalina sighed and finally turned fully so she was facing him on her side in bed. "Look, Kyle, I want to be supportive. I admire what you're wanting to accomplish. You might not be to most sociable person in the world, but you are compassionate and want to be a medicine man your mother and late uncle would be very proud of. I love that about you and I'll gladly stand by you in the endeavor. It's just, I want to start a family. I know you're hesitant, but you'd be a wonderful father." Kyle groaned a little and rubbed his face again while Evalina moved to his side and snuggled up to him resting her head on his chest.
"I'm sure I'd do fine. That's not what has me hesitant. Kids are a lot of work."
"Being a doctor is a lot of work," Evalina said. "Being a nurse is a lot of work. Once you've finished and opened the hospital, it'll even more work."
"My point exactly," Kyle said.
"Kevin runs his own business and soon Amber will too but they're managing."
"They're 'managing' because Amber stays at home with Heather and once she opens the candle shop, she'll probably be bringing Heather with her to work. In our line of work, that's not really an option. Babies are little germ magnates and we can't just carry our kid around the hospital and risk getting the baby or other patience sick or sicker."
"If we had children, would you want me to stay home?"
"That would be up to you," Kyle said. "Sure it's the standard, but then, our family has never really been 'standard'."
"I wouldn't mind it," Evalina said. "At least until the children are old enough to start schooling with your mother."
"You overestimate how many kids we'd have," Kyle sighed. "Just having 1 gives me chills."
"I'd like it if we had two. A boy and a girl. At least try to get a boy and girl."
"I can't guarantee that, Evie," Kyle said.
"I don't need you to guarantee it, Kyle. I'd just like to at least try. I can live with having two girls or two boys. Or maybe we can keep trying until we have both."
"I draw the line at two," Kyle said firmly.
"You say that," Evalina said as she trailed her nail over his chest with a sensual smile, "but you know if I wanted more, all I'd have to do is bat my eyelashes and say 'please' to get you to bend to my whim."
"That would be an abuse of your power over me and that's not very nice," Kyle said, smiling a little. Evalina giggled and kissed his chest.
"I suppose that would be mean," Evalina smiled. They looked at each other until Kyle leaned over so she was on her back and gave her a kiss that she reciprocated. After their lips parted, they looked into each other's eyes a moment. "I can wait until the hospital's established. It's a dream of yours and I'd never think to take that from you, but once that's done, I want a baby."
"I know," Kyle said and rested his forehead against hers. "I know," he repeated.
"Thank you," Evalina smiled and lifted her head enough to give Kyle another kiss.
Around that time in April, Luana was sitting on the beach late at night staring out on the ocean. It was about the time her son would usually return and he'd stopped by Hawaii after leaving Washington letting her know he was changing his routing. "I love her, mom," Kai had said to her that day. "I don't want to be away too long. I'll go to Australia for a bit and then come back here and then to Washington." Luana had been delighted with the news. She'd known Scarlet was special when she met the girl and was eager to see her again. It was nearing the wee hours of the morning when she finally saw a boat approaching in the distance. She needed to go inside once the sun was beginning to come up and the sun was bright in the sky by the time Kai's boat reached the shore. He hopped off, went to his mother's little house and hugged her.
"There's my little boy," she said and petted Kai's head and he sat down beside her and ate the pineapple she'd cut up for him in preparation for his landing.
"Nice to see you too, mom," Kai smiled. "I think I'll stay here a few days then I'll go back to Washington."
"I was surprised you said you'd be returning to Washington so quickly. Will I get to see Scarlet again anytime soon?"
"I'd hoped to bring her with me, but she wanted to stay home with her family," Kai said. "I need to get there soon before they all leave for Brazil."
"Ah, yes, it's nearing that time of year," Luana said. "Assuming her father permits it, do you plan to join them?"
Kai shrugged, "I wouldn't mind it. I've never been to Brazil and I hear it has lovely beaches. I don't know if I'll have even been on land so long, though."
"You only went to Australia, no?"
"Avoided Japan like the plague," Kai chuckled. "With the war in Korea, it's so saturated with American troops and their naval ships that it's hard to find a place to just be alone."
"Did you hear General MacArthur was fired?"
"What? Was he? Why?"
"I've heard a number of theories but the most common one is apparently that MacArthur wanted to take the war to China and President Truman didn't want to."
"And for good reason," Kai said. "As far as I'm aware, the Chinese army has had the U.S. at a forced truce."
"A 'truce' isn't the right word. It's been insanity. We'd apparently pushed the North Koreans far north and nearly had it concurred, but our troops got too close to the Yalu River, China took it as a threat and started helping North Korea and now they're all stuck on their own side of the parallel."
"I see," Kai sighed. "Maybe next time I do my rounds, I'll go to Japan. I haven't been there in a while."
"Perhaps," Luana said. "Though I don't recommend that if you intend to bring Scarlet with you."
"I don't know," Kai said, "she might enjoy Japan."
"I'm thinking about what her father would say if you tried taking her there."
"Ah," Kai chuckled. "Nathan's a good guy. A bit tough, but he's a good father. I can't tell if he likes me or not."
"I'm sure if you make Scarlet happy he likes you well enough, though I won't say your traveling habits might put a damper on his opinion. Have you considered staying in Washington? Or better yet, bringing her here? You're always welcome here."
"I can try," Kai said, "but I love it too much to give it up completely. I'd rather bring her with me."
"I know," Luana smiled and patted Kai's shoulder. "Do you think you'll want more than just a passing fancy with her?" Kai was thoughtful a moment, He realized a while ago that he was in love with Scarlet and the time apart only made the heart grow fonder.
"In their tribe," Kai said, "they propose by way of giving a bracelet and hoping the father gives his approval." There was a silence while Luana smirked. "I don't suppose you still have some shark teeth from that shark I killed do you?"
"I have plenty tucked away," Luana nodded and went into her little house to find them.
Back in Washington, the weather was getting nicer as spring went on. Scarlet stayed home for now but the family was building her a little house of her own along the coast that would be done by the time she and the others returned from their yearly trip south. Scarlet was contemplating potentially staying in Washington though if Kai didn't come back by then. Besides, she wasn't sure she was up for traveling with a newborn. Particularly one that did nothing, it seemed, but sleep unless she was hungry or dirty. Jaedynn was excited to be an aunt. The girl already followed Scarlet around a lot anyway which Scarlet didn't mind, but now that the baby was born, Jaedynn was eager to be the best aunt ever in her own words.
"Jaedynn, don't poke her," Scarlet scolded gently and took a hold of Jaedynn's hand. Luana was sound asleep after her morning milk and Jaedynn wanted to play with her and started poking little Luana's tiny forehead. She slept through the whole thing to Scarlet's great relief. "She's sleeping. You can hold her if you want."
"Okay," Jaedynn said and Scarlet carefully helped Jaedynn hold Luana properly. Once she was holding her, Jaedynn went to the TV and turned on the channel that showed cartoons.
"Not so close to the TV, baby girl," Nathan said and pulled Jaedynn away by taking a hold of her shirt and pulled her away a little.
"Daddy," Jaedynn protested but didn't fight Nathan and stayed where he'd put her, especially when Nathan sat on the floor behind her to watch cartoons with her.
Deciding she needed a nap, Scarlet asked Nathan and Jaedynn to look after Luana for her while she went upstairs. She tiptoed upstairs to stay quiet. Ada María, Ariel and Gabriel were all sleeping still having not returned home until two in the morning after completing their shifts at the inn. Scarlet fell asleep in her bed near immediately upon her head falling on the pillow, but she didn't know how long she'd been sleeping until she felt Jaedynn gently wake her with the sound of Luana's soft cries. It was her hungry cry. They'd all learned real quick what Luana's 'hungry' cry, 'dirty' cry and 'tired' cry sounded like. Scarlet was awake in an instant and Jaedynn sat on Scarlet's bed with her while she fed Luana. Every time Scarlet looked at Luana, she instantly thought of Kai. She really did look so much like her father and it made Scarlet smile. She was eager for him to come back. She just hoped he wouldn't be too shocked when he found out he was a father.
After finishing her midmorning milk, she took another nap but after she needed a changing, she remained uncharacteristically alert which Jaedynn was delighted about. She played hand games with Luana with her little niece on the floor and made Luana giggle herself to tiredness until she fell asleep on the floor. It was Jaedynn's naptime anyway, so it all worked out. While her daughter was asleep, Scarlet went outside to the shore to breath in the breeze. It was an over casted day and there had been rain earlier, but it had stopped raining by noon. Since it was noon, a number of kids were playing around in the water having been given an hour out of the new school Scarlet's grandmother had established.
She watched the kids playing outside together with her Aunt Rosalie, Alice and Esme keeping a close eye on the youngest kids. While she was staring, she thought she caught a familiar scent on the breeze and looked in its direction, but she couldn't see anything in the distance so she returned her attention to the kids on the beach. It was another twenty minutes before she heard a familiar cry coming from her dad's house. Another hungry cry. Scarlet stood up and gently dusted off her dress getting ready to go back inside until she heard someone behind her.
"No hello for me?" Kai's voice came behind her and Scarlet turned suddenly to see him smiling at her.
"Kai," Scarlet smiled and went to him to hug him and gave him a kiss.
"That's better," Kai said after their lips parted. He kissed her again. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," Scarlet smiled, but the tender moment was interrupted with a renewed cry from Luana and Scarlet looked towards the house.
"Everything okay?" Kai asked.
"Yeah," Scarlet nodded. "We need to get inside. Come with me?" Kai smiled at her with a nod and accepted her hand so she could lead him inside.
"Look who finally turned up," Nathan mumbled to himself when Scarlet walked into the house with Kai while Luana was still crying upstairs.
"Daddy, be nice," Scarlet said and looked at Kai. "Come upstairs with me?"
Kai nodded, not really thinking much about the baby crying upstairs. Scarlet led Kai upstairs with her and went straight to her room where Luana's crib was and went to get her. She felt Kai let go of her hand and she could almost feel him going stiff as she picked up Luana and went to her bed and breastfed her. She focused on Luana getting her situated until she latched on. The crying stopped the instant Luana had what she wanted and the cry was replaced with little noises of appreciation for her lunch. Scarlet was smiling down at her and then finally looked at Kai, but she was nervous suddenly. Kai looked like a deer in headlights and he'd not moved from the doorway. She waited, hoping that maybe he was just trying to let it sink in.
"She's mine isn't she?" Kai mumbled, feeling stunned and slightly dizzy. Scarlet nodded and it made Kai's heart rate skyrocket and he started trembling.
"Are you upset?" Scarlet asked nervously.
"I…I don't know how I feel," Kai said and started pacing a little. "Oh, wow," he said and kept looking at their daughter, still not sure he believed his eyes. He wasn't blind. The moment he saw that little baby, he knew. She looked just like him and, even if she didn't look exactly like him, who else would the father be? Of course she was his.
"Kai?" Scarlet asked nervously again and Kai looked at her and then at their daughter.
"This has never happened before," Kai said. "I'm sorry, I'm just…I'm shocked." Kai paced another moment rubbing his face trying to gather his thoughts. He really didn't know how he felt. His gift for Scarlet was burning a hole in his pocket now it seemed. He finally sat down across from Scarlet sitting on Jaedynn's bed trying to think. He rubbed his head a moment and looked at the baby again. His baby. It was still sinking in and when he looked at Scarlet, he could see his silence and apparent discontentment was upsetting her, but he wasn't discontent. He wasn't sure what he was. "What's her name?" Kai finally asked.
"Luana," Scarlet answered and Kai chuckled a little.
"Mom will be tickled pink when she finds out," Kai said. After that, Luana started pushing away indicating she'd had enough milk for now. Scarlet got herself covered back up and lifted Luana up to her shoulder and gently patted her back. "When was she born?"
"25th of April," Scarlet said. "She'll be a month old in two more days." Kai nodded and took a deep breath while scratching the back of his head. Then he looked up at her again.
"Can I hold her?" Kai asked. Scarlet finally smiled with a nod and walked to the other side of the room sitting beside him on Jaedynn's tiny bed and gently handing Luana over to him.
Kai was rather confident this was the first time he'd ever held a baby before and he was scared he'd drop her. Scarlet reassured him and kept her hands close for comfort while he held his daughter and looked at her. He couldn't believe how tiny she was. He brought his legs together so he could rest her on his lap and made sure she was comfortable before looking at Scarlet.
"Can you get me a glass of water?" Kai asked. Scarlet nodded and went to get some water and she put it on Jaedynn's nightstand for him. "Thank you," he said.
Once he had water, he started playing with Luana's feet to make sure he had her attention and once he did, he used the water from the glass to start playing with. Right before Luana's tiny face, he created a tiny man and woman from the water and had them dancing around together with his feet tapping a drum beat singing a little Hawaiian nursery song for her. Scarlet sat beside him and smiled while she watched him entertain Luana. Luana was clearly amused by what Kai was doing and he kept her amused for about ten minutes before the excitement was too much for her and she wanted to sleep. Once Luana started whimpering, Kai nearly dropped the water from panic but Scarlet got her in her arms and brought her to her crib so she could sleep.
"Did I do something wrong?" Kai asked.
"No, no, she's alright," Scarlet smiled. "She was just tired and getting cranky. She tires easily I'm afraid, but that's normal for her age."
"Okay," Kai said and Scarlet returned and sat beside him. "When did you find out you were pregnant?"
"A few weeks after you left," Scarlet said. "You got me right before you left," she tried to tease, but Kai wasn't really amused.
"I'm sorry," Kai said. "I should have been here. If I'd known, I swear I would have been."
"Are you upset?"
"No," Kai said, "I'm surprised. Although, it's not as though we were careful, so I probably shouldn't be."
"I'm normally pretty careful too so it took me by surprise. Though, for the record, if anyone had to get me pregnant, I'd prefer it were you."
Kai chuckled a little, "Thanks I guess." He looked at her and smiled earning a smile back from her. "Were you upset when you found out I got you pregnant?"
"No," Scarlet said. "I just hoped you wouldn't be upset you got me pregnant."
"Now that it's starting to sink in," Kai said, "it's not so scary." He shifted a little and the gift in his pocket poked him. "Shit," Kai cursed after jumping a little from the pain.
"Are you okay?" Scarlet asked.
"Yeah," Kai said. "I guess we're doing this a little out of order but, hey, better out of order than not at all right?"
"I'm not sure I follow," Scarlet said. Kai huffed a little.
"You know," Kai said, "I'd planned on doing this all romantic." Kai reached into the pocket of his loose fitting torn jeans and pulled out the bracelet he'd made while in Hawaii.
It was a bracelet he'd crafted out of thin strong string that tied together shark teeth. It was the teeth of the shark he'd defeated so long ago. He'd filed down the sharp point of the teeth for those that he'd used to create the band of the bracelet, but the other teeth that he made look like a flower remained as sharp as they'd been when the shark had them. The largest teeth made up the outer petals and the smaller teeth made the inner petals all tied and braided together with that string and a teeny tiny conch shell right in the center of the shark tooth flower.
"When I returned to Hawaii after I'd left you, I told mom I was in love," Kai said. "The longer I was aware, the more I loved you. When I left Australia and went back to Hawaii, I decided I'd make you a bracelet, so I made this for you." Kai put the bracelet around Scarlet's left wrist tying it so it was secure. Since her mother's bracelet was made with shells, it complimented her mother's bracelet beautifully while she wore it on her right wrist.
"Kai," Scarlet said, "are you asking me to marry you?"
"I know I'm not really doing the best job of it, but yes, I am," Kai smiled and Scarlet became teary eyed before she threw her arms around Kai's neck and he accepted her into his arms.
"I love you," Scarlet said.
"I love you too," Kai answered and kissed her cheek.
"Did you give my daughter a bracelet or a throwing star?" Nathan asked sarcastically and made the pair jump and look right at him where he stood against the doorframe.
"Daddy," Scarlet scolded while Nathan walked over to get a better look at the bracelet.
"Not bad, kid," Nathan said. "Once you're ready, we'll talk to Kyle about a moon ceremony. May be late before we can get to it, but he'll make it happen."
"Do you think we could wait until I can bring my mother?" Kai asked. "She'll want to be here. Besides, she'll want to meet her granddaughter anyway."
"And how long will that take? A year?"
"I'll be back in a week tops," Kai said. "I just need to get to Hawaii, tell mom, and we'll leave same day. Same instant more likely. You can even time me."
"I might just do that," Nathan said and then looked at the clock in the room. "You have until 1 o'clock next Sunday."
"Wait, now? Can't I stay a week at least?" Kai asked.
"You're just eating into your travel time, kid," Nathan said. Despite Scarlet's scolding, Kai eventually agreed and they walked to his little boat down the coast. He gave Scarlet one more kiss before sailing off promising he'd be back in a week's time.
"Daddy," Scarlet said when Kai was gone.
"Don't give me that look," Nathan said. "He's not off my shit list until he comes back and marries you."
"Daddy, you're really not-"
"No, no, no, don't go there. If Ada weren't in the picture, I would've married Tamara, but she is and I didn't. What am I supposed to do? Marry them both? We made up an arrangement that works for all of us. You and Kai, on the other hand, only have one another to contend with so he can marry you."
"I still wish you'd be nicer to him," Scarlet said.
"Honey, if I scare the boy off from being a little mean, then he doesn't deserve you."
"He's not a boy, daddy. He's older than you."
"Is that supposed to be a point in his favor?" Nathan asked sarcastically.
Scarlet groaned in irritation and walked back to the house without another word and Nathan followed close behind her. Kai rushed to Hawaii as fast as the winds and his power would allow and got home in around 2 days.
"You're home early," Luana said when Kai came up to her little house. "Is everything alright? She didn't say no did she?"
"No, she said yes," Kai said. "We just need to, uh, hurry things along a little."
"Ah," Luana said and stood brushing her dress. "So what's my grandchild's name?"
"Her name's Luana, after you," Kai said with a light chuckle.
"Very good," Luana smiled. "And how old is she now?"
"About to turn a month old," Kai said.
"Wonderful," Luana said. "I look forward to meeting her. Does she look a lot like you?"
"I'm afraid so," Kai joked.
"Don't say such things. I'm sure she'd beautiful just like her father," Luana said and gently pinched Kai's cheek. "We'll leave right at nightfall."
"Okay, mom," Kai said. "The sooner the better. Nathan's not too pleased with me."
"I wonder why?" Luana joked and kissed Kai's cheek. "It'll be fine, Kai. Given his daughter's with child out of wedlock in today's society, he's entitled to be a little cranky with you, but so long as you correct things, he'll not stay mad much longer."
"I hope so. I have until Sunday at 1 to get back. I don't know what the penalty is if I'm late, but I'd rather not find out."
"Well, why didn't you say so?" Luana asked and grabbed a blanket. "I'll hide under the blanket. We'll leave now."
Kai couldn't help but laugh a little and they went to his boat and started the trip back to Washington. Luana was able to help get them there faster since she could operate the boat at night while Kai slept and they arrived back in Washington Saturday evening. They went straight to Nathan's house and knocked. When Nathan answered, Kai smiled.
"I believe I'm early," Kai said.
"Don't get too pleased with yourself," Nathan said and then looked at the woman with bright red eyes. He smiled politely. "You must be Kai's mother. Luana right?"
"Yes, that's correct," Luana smiled and accepted Nathan's hand in a shake. "I assume you're Scarlet's father? Nathan?"
"Yes, that's me," Nathan said and stepped aside so Luana and Kai could enter.
"Now, on to important things. Where's my grandbaby?" Luana asked.
"I've got her here," Scarlet said as she came down the stairs with her daughter in her arms sound asleep.
"Oh," Luana grinned and took the little baby in her arms. "She looks so much like you did when you were a baby." If she could, Luana might start crying. "Is she a good sleeper? Good eater?"
"You bet," Scarlet sighed. "She's always doing one or the other."
"Good girl," Luana praised. "I shall be a more frequent visitor naturally."
"I look forward to it," Scarlet said and hugged Luana. Luana adjusted her granddaughter in her arms and kept staring at the little girl.
"I think Lulu," Luana said. "Yes, that's perfect. My little Lulu."
"You're her grandma; you can call her what you want," Kai said.
"Next the two of you make a child, you'll be so kind as to tell me right away," Luana teased her son and tussled his hair. "So when are you marrying Scarlet?"
"That's up to our medicine man," Nathan said. "We can probably bug him now."
"At this hour?" Luana asked.
"He's my brother," Nathan said. "I can bother him whenever I want. We're getting a house ready for Scarlet and the baby. It's not done yet, but it will be soon. You're welcome to stay with us as long as you like of course."
"Thank you, Nathan. That's very kind," Luana smiled. "You take care of business with the Medicine Man. I shall attend to Lulu."
"Lulu," Nathan chuckled a little, "I like it." He gently brushed a finger over his granddaughter's cheek affectionately. "I think we'll call her Lulu."
"If you were so opposed to Luana, you should have said something to begin with," Scarlet grumbled.
"No one is opposed to naming my little Lulu after me. Quite the contrary. I'm abundantly pleased, but it can get so confusing," Luana pointed out.
Shortly thereafter, Nathan, Scarlet and Kai went to Kyle's house and made him answer the door. There was actually a moment of nostalgia for Nathan when Kyle answered. Just like Sokajili would have been, Kyle was not the least bit pleased to be disrupted at such an ungodly hour on a night when he wasn't on patrol over something as non-pressing as a moon ceremony. Though after a 'gentle' bout of Nathan's brand of persuasion, Kyle finally let them in and performed the moon ceremony.
"Nathan, as Scarlet's father, do you approve the union?" Kyle asked at the correct portion.
"If I must," Nathan said.
"Yes or no, Nathan! It's too late for me to have the patience for your jokes," Kyle groaned.
"You have a time of day where you have the patience for my antics?" Nathan teased.
"It's a narrow, narrow window," Kyle glared. "You usually miss it."
"No kidding," Nathan laughed. "Yes, I approve."
"Now was that so hard?" Kyle grumbled and proceeded. After completing the ceremony, Kyle said, "For greatest happiness and prosperity, you must marry under the slivered moon."
"When's that?" Nathan asked.
"In four nights," Kyle said. "So you have time. Now out of my house. I'm performing a surgery first thing in the morning and I'd like some sleep."
"Who's having surgery?"
"That's confidential, Nathan," Kyle said.
"Oh, wait, I remember now," Nathan said. "Someone's getting a vasectomy?"
"Nathan!" Kyle growled.
"Alright, alright, you don't tell your little brother anything," Nathan joked.
"I'm not relaying other people's medical history to you. It goes against the Hippocratic oath."
"I didn't take the Hippocratic oath."
"Well, I did," Kyle said. "Now out. I need some sleep and frankly so do the rest of you." Scarlet and Kai were already getting ready to leave, but Nathan stayed and told them to get going home claiming he wanted to 'bug his brother' a little longer. "Honestly, Nathan, I'm not in the mood," Kyle groaned when they were alone.
"I can tell," Nathan said. "Something wrong? You've been a little crabby lately." Kyle didn't answer. He looked as though he was opening his mind. Once he appeared satisfied with whatever he'd been looking for, he sighed.
"Evalina wants kids."
"What else is new?" Nathan said.
"She really, really wants kids," Kyle said. "We talked about this and she said she'd wait until the hospital is established officially. But that'll be another few years."
"How much more do you need?"
"I've got most of our permits, but there are a few more kinks I'm trying to work out. Not to mention getting everything built. It's going to be small at first, but it'll need to expand the longer it's around. The tribe's only going to grow, especially with better medicine available."
"And she's not willing to wait?"
"She said she is," Kyle said and rubbed his eyes, "but she's appeasing me. She doesn't think I realize it, but I know she's just appeasing me. She also has an underlying thinking that I just don't want kids at all and I'm putting off establishing the hospital on purpose."
"Oh come on, she knows better than that," Nathan said. "About establishing the hospital I mean. Not wanting kids, on the other hand, she's a bit on the nose about that one."
Kyle groaned, "It's not that…..I just don't want kids now. I've wanted to make this hospital a reality for years and it's finally coming to fruition. I don't want kids right now until I've accomplished what I want. It's not that I don't want kids per se, it's just they're not really high on my list of priorities. The problem is they're a lot higher on Evie's list than mine."
"Can't you hurry things along?"
"I'm hurrying as much as I can, but the legalities are more complicated. And, sadly, I'm forced to use a lawyer that's not related to me. I'm sure Kevin would have gotten things done faster were he able, but he's not familiar with the medical field. I needed a lawyer that has a background in medicine and can act as my attorney if it's needed. Kevin's not a malpractice attorney."
"Are you required to have a malpractice attorney?"
"Of course," Kyle said. "I'm confident in my abilities as a doctor, but you never know."
"Couldn't Kevin just become a malpractice attorney?"
"Afraid not," Kyle said. "Malpractice requires a lot more training."
"Have you considered just going ahead and having a kid anyway? It's not like you'll be any less busy once you've opened that hospital."
"I'm not ready to be a father," Kyle said.
"If you're waiting to be ready, you never will be. You should know that," Nathan said.
"I'm already responsible for the health and wellbeing of our whole tribe. That's enough on my shoulders without-" Kyle stopped suddenly and groaned while rubbing his face.
"That's definitely never going away," Nathan said. "Not unless you step down as Medicine Man, but who would even replace you? Mom? She's got enough on her plate with the school and frankly I think she likes it better than she ever liked being the healer."
"I know," Kyle said. "I don't want to step down. I never said that. I prepared my whole life to take on this role and I take pride in it. So much so that if I'd never imprinted on Evie, I'd still be single and prefer it that way."
"That's no fun," Nathan said.
"There's more to life than sex, Nathan," Kyle said bitterly.
"And there's more to life than working yourself to death," Nathan said. "Look, it's up to you and Evalina, so do what you think is best. But, if you really want my advice, the more you keep putting off having kids, the scarier you're making it and it doesn't need to be that way."
"A lot coming from you," Kyle said. "Every kid you get makes you more and more stressed out."
"Look, being a father's a lot of work. But I wouldn't trade it. When Tomoe and I had Scarlet, it was terrifying, but you've just got to 'do' as it were. I thought the more kids I had it would get easier. Not even fucking close. It just keeps getting harder. I still wouldn't trade them for the world, though. Sure: when you become a father, you're not the most important person in your life anymore. Sure: you need to take a back seat in your own life and you need to weigh your priorities, but it's worth it in the end. I think so anyway. I'm a better man thanks to my kids. And if you just take the plunge as it were, I think you'll discover you'll be a better man for it too."
"How deep," Kyle groaned.
"I said my piece. You can or cannot take my advice. It's up to you. After all, I'm just the little brother. What would I know, right?" Nathan joked. "I'm going back to the house. I'll talk to you later, okay."
"Sure," Kyle said.
Nathan finally left the house leaving Kyle alone in his office where they'd performed the moon ceremony and started thinking. He looked at one of the many, many pictures they had from their wedding day. They were all over the house but his favorite was the picture on his little counter with his essential oils and remedies. It was a picture taken of them when they'd been at the altar. He remembered that exact moment because it was the moment she'd said 'I do' to him and her smile was beautiful in that picture. A natural smile that she only gave to him. All their other pictures in which she was smiling was the smile she gave to the rest of the world; that breathtaking smile that showed her happiness, but the smile in this picture held a love and longing no other smile did.
He picked up the picture so he could look at her. She'd been too good for him over the years. Patient and loving, never nagging him or demanding they start a family even though he knew she wanted them. The other night when he'd pushed about it had been the only time she'd made any utterance of her frustration of the matter and it made him feel selfish. Granted, a desire to provide the best for the tribe in the long run is hardly a selfish endeavor, but maybe he was being selfish to put his dreams far ahead of Evalina's even if that wasn't his intent. She'd promised she'd wait and if he asked it of her, he knew she would, but she didn't like it. It was starting to weigh on her and Kyle knew it. Another thought occurred to him. Once that hurt, all the more so because he'd only just now thought about it: they'd not had sex in months. Months.
Kyle knew Evalina's cycles to a tee and could look at the calendar and know where she was and if it was safe to have sex. In the past several months, the only nights she seemed to be in any mood at all where nights where it was too risky. She wasn't doing it on purpose. He knew that. Those were just the nights she was most in the mood. He'd pleasure her, sure, but he wouldn't go much further than that. After a few times of doing that, she'd stopped trying to get him to do anything with her. He couldn't believe he'd only just realized that was happening. Suddenly that smile in their wedding photo was too much to look at. Kyle groaned and looked at their calendar. It was late in the month. She always got her period around the first of the month without fail. She'd be fertile now.
Kyle looked around his little office, at their portraits of Italian cities and all their wedding pictures and their niceties. He left his office and took a moment to look around their house. It had never felt so empty. It was decorated enough that such a feeling seemed impossible but it did. He looked at the kitchen where he'd seen Evalina a million times making coffee and those little cookies he loved so much. She'd improved leaps and bounds in her cooking skills since they first met. It was a miracle the woman hadn't made him fat by now. He went to the dining table and sat where he always did. Would it really be so awful to have someone else at this table with them? Evalynn or Caleb. Those had been the names they'd said they liked even back when Kyle was adamant he wasn't ready for kids. He left the dining room and went to the living room where they had other family pictures. Every one of the boys and Natalie had copies of their old family photos. Kyle hated the way he looked in them. When he was little, he always stayed close to Renesmee while Nathan and Kyle were more open and independent. Mommy's little scholar. As long as he could remember.
Then he saw the old pictures Evalina had from her childhood. They didn't have many, but there was one of her when she was a girl and it was when they'd been at the Vatican one year for Christmas long before the war. Kyle left the living room and finally returned upstairs to their room. As he went, he passed the guest bedrooms they had. Rooms that had a specific purpose in mind when they were built that were being wasted and left void of anything except the bare essentials. When he finally got to their bedroom, Evalina was sound asleep in bed lying on her back, her face to the side and peaceful. The blanket was under her breast with her right arm placed above them and her left hand near her face, her long brown hair splayed over the pillow. A vision of beauty as always. He got into bed beside her and kept looking at her as he got tucked under the covers. He finally fell asleep staring at her only to wake up bright at early to the smell of coffee before he had to go straight to work.
Kyle kept thinking about it the rest of the day. It was all he thought about. He'd had to go into the city for a few hours to see patients and then returned home to see other patients, dominantly children that had injured themselves in play, pregnant women and the elderly members of the tribe. People were getting the tribe ready for Kai's and Scarlet's wedding and he'd briefly got to meet Luana (Kai's mother) before he had to get back to work. Despite the busyness, he kept thinking about what he and Nathan talked about. When he finally returned home for the day, Evalina was already home and she was getting something ready for Kyle.
"There you are," Evalina smiled. "I'm sorry, I just got home not long ago myself, so I'm getting dinner started now."
"That's alright," Kyle said quietly and started getting comfortable. He changed into jeans and a clean shirt upstairs and wound up staying in their room for a while just thinking. He looked at their calendar again. They still had time. He could either leave it alone or he could surprise her.
He was interrupted when he heard Evalina call his name, so he went downstairs to dinner she'd warmed up for him. They sat together at the table and traded stories about their day. Just like all other nights. He wondered if she was getting bored. Was she getting tired of routine? Given their line of work, this was the only part of their days that were routine. Kyle tried acting normal and cleaned the dishes for Evalina while she went to their living room to read. Kyle was able to see her reading one of the latest medical texts they'd gotten, particularly the one on child development. Kyle almost sighed out loud. He knew better than to assume it was for anything but education, but he felt like it was a giant hint. Once the dishes were cleaned and put away, Kyle meandered to the living room where Evalina was reading on the couch.
"Anything interesting?" Kyle asked.
"Theories in child development, but they're just theories at this stage," Evalina said. "Before getting really into the sciences, I never realized there was so much uncertainty to it."
"It's a complex field," Kyle agreed and sat beside Evalina on the couch. "Have you been able to read anything enjoyable lately?" Kyle tried to joke.
"I had read The Catcher in the Rye the other day," Evalina said. "I think your mother's having some of the older kids reading that for study."
"Isn't that more of an adult book?"
"It's about a teenager dealing with his qualms and loneliness," Evalina shrugged. "It's certainly no Anna Karenina but when I suggested the kids read that, she thought it was too thick a read for them to all get through."
"Where is Karenin by the way?"
"I let him loose an hour ago to hunt," Evalina said. "He'll probably be back home soon. Why? Did you need to send a letter?"
"No, I was just curious," Kyle said. He looked at her while she continued to read. If she was losing her patience with him, she was hiding it extremely well. He took a deep breath but kept it extremely quiet and, finally, moved closer to Evalina. She didn't react to him until she felt his lips press against her skin and she trembled. "I've been thinking," Kyle finally said and kissed her neck again.
"About what?" Evalina asked.
"I was being selfish," Kyle said and brought a hand to Evalina's bare knee. "You've been so patient with me and I've given nothing to deserve it." Kyle kept moving his hand up Evalina's thigh closer and closer to her core. He heard her heart rate start to accelerate and her breathing start to become slightly swallowed. Kyle gently pushed Evalina onto her back on their couch, taking the little magazine from her hand and plopping it on their coffee table so he could hover over her while he started touching his fingers against her sensually.
"Kyle," Evalina sighed, "it's really late in the month."
"I know," Kyle said and kissed her. She kissed his back almost shyly until Kyle pulled his lips away from hers. "I know I'd said we'd keep waiting but," Kyle kissed her again, "maybe we could use the pitter patter of tiny feet in this house. From kids that are our own I mean." He was surprised when he saw her eyes welling up just a little.
"Really?" Evalina said.
"Really," Kyle grinned lovingly at her.
Evalina took Kyle by surprise when she brought her lips to his suddenly, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Their tongues dueled and soon Evalina was forcing Kyle's shirt over his head, parting her lips from his only long enough to get his shirt over his head and kissing him again. Kyle started unbuttoning the front of her dress, pulling it off her shoulders until her chest was bare. They rolled together until they were on the floor of their living room very nearly hitting their coffee table, not that they'd have cared if they did.
"You realize," Evalina said between kisses she was planting on Kyle's neck and chest, "you'll have to give your mother the satisfaction of us having children early."
"She can have it," Kyle said and turned so he was atop her and removed her dress and panties in one motion before leaning down over her again to kiss her. She reached down to his belt and pants trying to pull them away. Then Kyle pulled his lips from hers and started kissing down her neck to her chest, down her belly to her hips until her reached her core.
"Kyle," Evalina whimpered, "please don't tease me."
"Oh, I'll tease you," Kyle said before finding her clitoris and using his tongue to torment her. When Evalina moaned, Kyle grinned. "I like teasing you."
"You're so cruel," Evalina whimpered.
"Keep that up and I'll give you a reason to call me cruel," Kyle chuckled and kept licking her flesh, adding his fingers so he could touch the small rounded spot inside her that made her cry. Evalina brought her hands to Kyle's hair running her fingers through it the way she knew he liked.
Kyle kept pleasuring her until he was just short of bringing her to orgasm. He heard her breath and heart quicken the closer she came and felt the walls of her core start quivering, so he knew she was close. Once he'd obtained his signs, Kyle stopped abruptly and started kissing his way up her body and once he was able, he slipped inside her in one firm stroke. When he had, she clutched to him tightly and moaned, biting at his shoulder. His mind actually went blank for a moment once he was inside her and the slight pain of her biting him was enough to bring him back so he could start moving. He reached down so he could move her legs around so they were on his shoulders and he could have her at an angle he knew she loved, taking a hold of her breast with the other hand resting on the floor to keep himself upright while he kept thrusting.
As he watched her face contort with pleasure as she moaned his name, he couldn't believe he'd not noticed it had been so long since he'd made love to her. He watched as her long nailed fingers desperately clutched onto the carpet with her hands above her head with her free breast bouncing deliciously with each thrust. If he just kept going like this, he'd have her crumbling in minutes, but he wanted to extend the moment. So Kyle stopped, readjusting her so he was leaning on his heels and held her up in his lap and started bouncing her up and down on him until she took over the rhythm. She latched her lips onto his while she moved on top of him and he even leaned back so she was completely on top of him and in complete control. He lifted up his hands again so he had one hand on her breast and the other on her hip. She planted her hands on his chest for greater balance and didn't slow her pace until Kyle felt her inner walls clutch around his erection. Kyle turned them over so Evalina was on her back and kept moving while she clutched onto him moaning his name until he finally reached his own climax.
The two of them laid on the floor for a minute basking in one another. Kyle rolled back onto his back pulling Evalina with him so her head was resting on his chest. For just a moment, he was taken back to when they'd first met in Naples. He remembered one of the many times he'd leave the base and come to the ocean view house to see her. It was technically their house now. They had the keys and could go whenever they wanted to. Evalina really wanted to return one day and spend Christmas in Rome like when she was younger. He remembered one evening when he'd been there around Christmas time. It was just before New Year's. They'd made love in front of the blazing fireplace and she'd worn his uniform jacket afterwards while she made him some dinner. She'd made something very simple at the time: a platter of cheese and fruit that didn't require more than cutting. He looked at Evalina who was smiling against him.
"Can I ask a favor?" Kyle asked.
"What's that?"
"You know where my uniform is right?"
"I do," she said. "Why?"
"Would you put on my jacket?" Evalina lifted her head to look at Kyle and grinned before sitting up and the standing, going up to their room to the closet. She found Kyle's uniform jacket and put it on with nothing else underneath. By the time she came back downstairs, Kyle had started a fire in the fireplace and had put his jeans back on. He looked at her once she was at the bottom of the stairs. "Just as I remembered," Kyle grinned.
"I think," Evalina said, "when I'm a few weeks from delivering, I want to take a picture of myself like this. It'll be just for us of course, but I think that would be beautifully don't you? A little baby bump poking through while I'm wearing your jacket?"
"I'll have to find a portable camera," Kyle grinned and approached her, taking her in his arms and giving her a kiss.
"How about I make you a little platter of cheese and fruit for old time's sake?" Evalina asked.
"Maybe tomorrow," Kyle said and kissed her again, "but only if you're making it in my jacket."
"Naturally," Evalina said and kissed him again. They continued to kiss until after several moments, Kyle lowered Evalina to the ground and they made love again on the staircase.
Kyle and Evalina agreed they'd keep their decision to start trying to themselves until they knew for sure she was pregnant. Evalina was confident and Kyle was too, but he still preferred to be sure and they wouldn't know for sure, at bare minimum, seven days after conception. And truth be told, that could theoretically be any of the times in the past several days they'd actively started trying. The pack knew of course, but they were to keep quiet about it, especially where Renesmee was concerned. The tribe was far more occupied with the wedding anyway. Luana got to meet the entire family all the while spending nearly every moment with her little Lulu. Everyone was beginning to call her Lulu thanks to Luana. Even Scarlet was beginning to call her Lulu. When the time came for the wedding, it was far more romantic than Scarlet pictured it would be. Ever since Kai had returned and met their daughter, everything had felt a lot like a shotgun wedding, but when the two of them were sitting before the unlit pyre together following ceremony it felt romantic and not at all rushed. Once the fire had been lit and they all had to dance around it, Scarlet and Kai danced together with Lulu in their arms.
"I admit I never pictured myself getting married," Kai said holding Scarlet and their daughter close. "But if I had, I'd have pictured it on the beach."
"It's not a traditional wedding if the couple doesn't get married on the beach," Scarlet smiled and accepted Kai's kiss as he lifted her off the ground and spun her around. He looked at Luana, or Lulu, and she was sound asleep.
"That little girl could sleep through anything couldn't she," Kai chuckled.
"Not being hungry," Scarlet giggled. "She won't sleep through being hungry."
"So after this, it's just us in a room for three days?"
"Daddy said he'd let us have the house to ourselves for three days," Scarlet said. "Although I'll warn you that I'd like a little break from having children for a while."
"That's fine with me," Kai chuckled. "I want to get to know Lulu first."
"I'm still mad at your mom about coining that," Scarlet said but she was smiling.
"If we ever have more kids, we'll be sure to consult her first so as to avoid this," Kai said and kissed her.
Another month later, the little house the family was building for Scarlet was done and they could move it. They didn't stay in the house a day, however, before it was time for their summer trip to Nevada and then to Brazil. Since Kai was curious, he came along with the family. It was shortly after they'd left that Kyle and Evalina announced they were expecting. That same day that Kyle and Evalina had made the announcement Renesmee was in bed staring at one of their family photos back when Kyle was just a little boy.
"What are you doing?" Jacob asked as he was getting ready to go on patrol.
"Just looking at our old pictures," Renesmee smiled. "We should take another one soon."
"We take one for Christmas every year," Jacob smiled and came over to the bed so he could lean over her and kiss her cheek. "We'll take another this Christmas. Soon, there will be too many people in the family for us all to fit."
"Alice will make sure that doesn't happen," Renesmee said. "Even if it takes a really wide shot."
"They'll just keep getting wider I guess," Jacob said and kissed Renesmee again. "So you're happy Kyle and Evalina are having a baby?"
"I'm ecstatic," Renesmee answered.
"You'd better be for how much you nagged the poor kid," Jacob chuckled and gave her another kiss.
"I wasn't nagging, Jacob. I was simply encouraging him to start his own family. It's made the lot of us so happy and I think it will make him happy to."
"Of course," Jacob chuckled again and crawled into the bed so he was beside her. "How long has it been now? Since we got married?"
"48 years," Renesmee said. "You'd best start remembering, Jacob. Our fiftieth is just around the corner."
"Feels like it's flown by," Jacob smiled and kissed Renesmee's neck. "So not this coming January, but the January after that."
"January of '53, we'll have been married 50 years," Renesmee smiled. Then she giggled and rubbed her face. "Oh, no. Kevin will be 50 that October won't he?"
"Ah, yes," Jacob chuckled. "I'll have to remember to rub his nose in that one." Renesmee giggled with him and cuddled up with him until it was time for Jacob to finally go on patrol.