Page 38 of Claimed By the Baker Alpha
My wolf reacted to what Hawthorn said, reminding me he was the one who’d confirmed I was carrying a baby in my belly. I assured him we didn’t forget and we’d told Abi about his special skill.
Abi wanted to taste some of the dough, "To make sure Daddy didn’t make a mistake." She giggled and tasted it and declared it the best dough ever.
Hawthorn put the cookies in the oven and the bakery was filled with the familiar smell of baking. I made the icing while my mate helped our daughter ride her tricycle in front of the bakery. I had white for the muzzles, and black for the eyes and noses plus red and yellow.
The three of us decorated and Abi tasted more icing than she placed on her bears and I reminisced about being alone on a bus and running from a future I didn't want. And now I had everything.
"What are you thinking about?" Hawthorn asked.
"How I never expected my life to turn out like this.”
Hawthorn set down his piping bag, grabbed Abi and we group hugged. "You gave me all of it. You know that, right? I was just existing before you showed up. You made me live again."
"And then you had me." Abi knew our story well.
"Ta da." Hawthorn pulled out a plastic teddy bear cookie and I groaned remembering how we’d exchanged a crying baby for the non-stop squeak, squeak, squeak on our first Christmas.
Our daughter grabbed it.“Daddy got this for me when I was tiny and I made a lot of noise."
That was an understatement.
We took photos of Abi with her cookie toy, the cookies and the three of us together. These were the moments I wanted to remember forever.
We’d cooked late on Christmas Eve so we only had to lay the table and heat up the food. Our guests started arriving at five. Mrs. Trent came with a pie, and Benjamin brought wine and stories about his own kids' first Christmases. Marg had knitted Abi a new sweater that our daughter insisted she wear. Adrian arrived last with bottles of wine and sparkling cider and congratulations on the bakery expansion.
We ate in our large dining room that fit everyone comfortably. The table was full of food, conversation andlaughter. Abi asked to be excused after she’s eaten and she sat in front of the fire and watched her favorite animated movie on my tablet.
"To Hawthorn, Zale and Abi.” Adrian raised his glass. "May we all share many more Christmases together."
"Hear, hear!" everyone chorused.
After dinner, we brought out the teddy bear cookies. Everyone exclaimed how cute they were even though we’d made them every Christmas since Abi was born. Mrs. Trent got a little teary.
"I remember when you made these while you were nesting," she said. "I knew you were pregnant. And now look at your beautiful girl."
After we put Abi to bed and the guests departed, we sat in the glow of the Christmas tree lights. Outside, snow was falling over the quiet town. The same snow that had been falling the night I arrived, lost and alone.
I had a mate who loved me and a daughter who was the center of our world. The community had claimed us as family and the bakery was thriving. It was a life I'd never dreamed possible.
"What are you thinking?" Hawthorn asked.
"That I'm happy."
"Good." He pulled me off the sofa. "Let's go to sleep." We crawled into bed and wrapped ourselves around each other.
"I love you," Hawthorn murmured against my hair.
"I love you too."
"Remember when you showed up at the bakery, shivering and sick, and I brought you upstairs after finding out you had no heat in your room? I knew then I was in trouble."
"Good trouble, I hope."
"So very good."
Back then, I'd been running. But I was home now and I was never leaving again.
