Going by the laughter, they knew where Bitty was … and they found her in the billiards room. Bella was on the sofa, and their girl was playing hide-and-seek with Nalla among the pool tables.
Bit was so carefree, darting from one place to another, moving quickly, but not so fast that Nalla couldn’t catch her and feel the triumph of winning from time to time. For clothes, the toddler was wearing a jumper with a big strawberry on it, her yellow eyes sparkling like sunshine, and Bitty had on one of Mary’s blue fleeces, the thing so big, it flopped around her arms and torso.
As he and Mary watched the playing, the scent of their sorrow was so thick, his nose filled with the acrid burn of it—and Bella must have caught the stinging smell, because she looked around sharply.
Her face went from hopeful to resigned.
“Girls,” the female said as she got to her feet. “I, ah, I think it’s time for Nalla’s bath. And Bitty, your parents need to talk to—ah …”
“Hey!” the girl said as she saw them. “How are—”
She frowned. Straightened from her tickling crouch. “What’s wrong? I don’t have to go back to Havers’s, do I?”
“No, honey.” Mary walked forward and gave Bella a brief hug. “But we need to speak to you.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No.” Rhage nodded at Z’s shellan as Bella scooped up her young and disappeared with sadness. “Not at all. You want to sit down with us, please?”
“All right.”
And then the three of them were on the leather sofa that faced the big TV, Bitty in the middle. On the screen over the fireplace, an episode of Seinfeld was muted. It was the one with Kramer’s Junior Mint ending up in the surgical patient. One of Rhage’s favorites.
He felt like smashing the television to pieces.
“What is going on? You’re scaring me.”
Rhage cleared his throat and looked at Bit. When he came up with a big, fat nothing, he had to get to his feet and pace around. It was either that or find a baseball bat for that redeco job.
Mary picked up the slack, like she always did, and he hated the way he let her down. But her voice was admirably steady.
“Honey, do you remember … when you were talking about your uncle?” his shellan said. “You know, right after your mahmen went unto the Fade. You told me he was coming for you?”
“Yes, but I didn’t really think he would.” The girl’s beautiful brown eyes went back and forth from Mary, who was beside her, to Rhage, who was making a lap around the nearest pool table. “I’d never met him. I was just … hoping someone wanted me. And then you two did and everything is okay now. I have my home.”
Mary took a deep breath.
And when she stalled, Rhage knew he needed to man up; he couldn’t leave this all for Mary to handle. Walking over, he knelt down in front of the girl.
“Well, actually, he contacted us. See, Mary tried to find him for you before you came to live with us, because it was the right thing to do. When there were no responses, we were sad for you, but happy for us.”
Bitty frowned and edged back from him. “Wait … he’s here. He’s alive?”
Mary nodded. “He is and we just met him. He seems very nice and very sincere. And he’s really interested in meeting you.”
That frown on the girl’s face became deeper and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, I’m not going to. I want to live here with you guys, and the Brothers and Lassiter. Nalla, L.W., and Boo and George. This is my home.”
Rhage rubbed his face. “He’s your family, sweetheart.”
“You’re my family.”
“Bitty,” Mary started. “He’s your mother’s brother—”
Bitty burst up from the sofa and wheeled around on the both of them. “This is because of my arms and legs, isn’t it. You guys don’t want to deal with a kid who might be a cripple after their transition. You don’t want me anymore because I’m broken—”
“Bitty!”
“Not at all!”
But the girl wasn’t hearing either one of them. “You want me to go away! Fine! Just throw me out!”
With that, Bitty ran out of the room. And damn it, he and Mary were right on her tail, scrambling in her wake as she hit the foyer and kept on going.
“Bitty, stop!” Mary said as they all headed for the grand staircase and started a frantic ascent. “Bitty, that’s not what’s going on—”
The girl stopped halfway up and turned around again. “You don’t love me—you never loved me! You don’t care—”
Rhage’s voice thundered out of him, exploding so loudly, it nearly shook the house: “Lizabitte! You will not address your mahmen in that tone of voice!”
Hellllllllllllllo, inner father, he thought numbly.
And yup, that shut everyone up. Froze the females where they were, too.
Even made some poor doggen outside of Wrath’s study drop her duster and duck for cover.
And apparently, he wasn’t done laying down the hammer.
He took the steps two at a time until he was on Bitty’s stair, and leaned down so that they were eye to eye. “I understand you’re upset. We’re upset, too. This was not part of the plan we had for any of our lives—but this is where all four of us are at. He seems like a nice male and he is your blood and you should meet him. I don’t blame you for being emotional, and Mary and I are going to support you through all of this. But I will not have you ever thinking that we don’t love you like you were our own. You are not defective. You are perfect and smart and a blessing to everyone who knows you. And we will love you forever.”
There were so many other things he could say: You’re the only child we’ll ever have. I am dying on these steps just like my Mary is. We are going to be nothing without you.
But that was grown-up stuff. Things that he and Mary were going to have to work through.
They were not Bitty’s problem and he was not going to make them her concern.
Abruptly, the little girl burst into tears. “I don’t want to leave you guys.…”
Mary wrapped her arms around Bitty. And Rhage wrapped his arms around both of his females.
As a unit, they sat down in the middle of the grand staircase … and cried.
THIRTY-NINE
Axe ended up leaving Novo at The Keys after she found a likely candidate—in fact, it was that human woman Axe had been with a number of times, the one with the nipple piercings and the Cruella de Vil hair. Knowing that his fellow trainee was in good hands—namely, her own—he nodded at her, pointed to the exit, and got a nod in return.
For the first time in recorded history, it was a relief to get home—and damn, he was in a hurry to get clean. The second he walked in the front door, he dumped his black cloak on the back of a chair, and went directly to the shower.
Even though he hadn’t had sex or even touched anyone, he wanted to scrub every inch of his body before he saw Elise.
The hot water and all the soap was a godsend, and he spent a lot of time with his head back under the spray, the delicious rush pouring down over his face and his chest. He was just about to step out when he sensed he was no longer alone in the cottage. Sure enough, a soft knock sounded out.
He started to smile. “You’re early.”