Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
Daddy’s Innocent Mate Chapter 10

Francine

I was still tingling on Monday afternoon while Archie and I walked home. My attention had been stolen all day, fleeing right back to Friday evening when Elias and I had fallen onto the couch together. Every doubt that had arisen because of his strange behavior had been stamped back into the ether. Because the weekend had been spent in something like marital bliss. Where he had once been ignoring me, he now gave me extra attention, encouraging me to crochet more instead of shoving my nose into a book. Though that sort of comment would have prompted an argument in the past, it had actually caused a more playful banter to erupt between us.

All of our fights had been turned into silly jabbing matches. Even Archie had taken up a helmet with us, opposing certain chores and attempting to barter for better rewards at every turn. Elias joked that Archie took after him with his argumentative nature-and I couldn't have argued with that at all even if I'd wanted to.

My lips curled into a smile when Archie took my hand. He'd been doing that more often on our walks to and from school. It warmed my heart a thousand times, satisfying a part of me I didn't know existed, a motherly side that I'd never anticipated would take flight. "Fran," Archie said while tugging my hand, "do you ever miss your house?"

I chuckled lightly. "Well, it was more of an apartment than a house. But yes, sometimes I miss the overgrown backyard."

"Where did you live?"

"In a house with Laurencia. We had separate apartments. I think she's trying to do some gardening in the yard, but it's not going very well."

He squinted toward the sky. "Is that the funny lady who sits in the dark on the porch? She smells like weird smoke."

"She's not weird, Archie. She's just a little awkward with socializing."

"What's socializing?"

I adjusted my books in my arms. "It's when you go talk to people."

"About anything?"

"Yep, about anything. When you're in class with your peers, you're socializing. It's something we all do. Some of us are better at it than others."

He nodded. "Shannon says she gets nervous with socializing."

I smiled warmly. "Yes, that's how Laurencia gets. She's anxious about social situations. Being in dim light or darkness helps her concentrate better on the conversation."

"I don't think I ever get nervous," Archie announced proudly. "I want to be like Daddy and jump out of planes one day. I can't be nervous if I want to do that."

Anxiety danced at the edge of my spirit. "Jump out of planes?"

"Yeah, he's really good at it! He's doing it this afternoon with Uncle Wendell."

"Oh, he didn't mention that."

He swung my hand lazily. "Daddy said I could go if someone took me. Can you take me, Fran?"

I bit my lower lip nervously. Did I really want to see Elias jump out of a plane?

No, but I also didn't want Archie to miss something he wanted to do. I had to swallow my anxiety and put on a brave face.

Even if I didn't agree with what was happening.

***

The landing zone expanded in every direction, lush green grass sprouting up toward what appeared to be a brand-new warehouse. Sunbeams streamed between the clouds, illuminating patches here and there, showing me the red outline of the target, near where we stood close to the building.

Archie clutched my hand. Sweat coated my palm, making it difficult to hide the fact that I was an absolute mess about this whole thing. How could Elias think this was exciting? I just felt like fainting.

But Archie was entirely too pumped to notice that I was sweating bullets. He raised his fist in the air and hooted loudly when the plane came into view. The sound of the engine vibrated the sky. No other planes were around. No other people were around save for the man who ran the whole heart-stopping business.

He was muscular and thick, wearing a white collared shirt tucked into khaki slacks and aviators over his face. A coarse brown mustache guarded his upper lip that stretched when he smiled up at the sky. Goodness, how could anyone be excited about someone's potential death?

"Any minute now, ma'am!" the man yelled over the roaring skies. "Keep your eyes peeled!"

Archie bounced excitedly while I clutched invisible pearls. What kind of man would put their mate through this nonsense? My fingers flew instinctively to my neck where Elias had marked me, and it made me think of where I had marked him. If what Blake claimed was true, then Elias would be fine, right?

He had to be fine. There was no other option.

The way my heart leaped into my throat made me cover my mouth. I didn't want to dampen Archie's enthusiasm with my worries. Besides, he was just a kid. Why would I poison his mind with anxiety when he barely had any at all? The kid was braver than me in so many ways. I admired his strength.

I just wished I could bottle it up for myself for moments like these.

When the plane was within range-as the manager to my left loudly explained-Elias and Wendell would jump.

And jump they did.

They were like tiny ants in the sky sailing toward us for a few seconds until their parachutes popped up. Both of them drifted toward the landing zone, their laughter and hollering growing louder as they descended. Once the plane had passed, Elias and Wendell fully emerged, their shapes growing more normal by the second.

Elias was the first to land on his feet. His parachute billowed behind him and then flattened, puffing in random places while it deflated. Wendell landed seconds later with his parachute doing the same. Just as they ran toward each other, Archie and I broke out into a sprint.

I swore my heart was about to launch out of my chest. How could Elias do something like this when he knew I worried about things? And how could he not tell me that he was doing something like this? Didn't he trust me?

Seconds felt like hours as I tried to run to Elias. Archie was chuckling up a storm as he raced ahead of me, jumping into his father's arms at top speed. Elias fell back into the grass with a surprised guffaw. The closer I drew to him, the better I felt. And then soon I was on the ground too, smothering his cheek with kisses and choking back sobs of relief.

Why had I ever been worried? He was fine now. He was perfectly at ease. Though his heart was still hammering away in his chest from adrenaline, he was fully functional and barely had a scratch on him. According to Archie, he did stuff like this all the time. It didn't make sense for me to get so wrapped up in doom about him dying or getting gravely injured.

Still, I couldn't help the way I wrapped my arms around them both and clung for dear life. Nothing could happen to them. I wouldn't let anything happen to them. They would always be safe with me.

"Fran?" Elias croaked. "You're blocking my airways, babe."

I released him instantly, jumping up from the ground and yanking him with me, tugging them both back into my arms and trying for the second time not to let the tears take hold. They lodged in my throat, clogging up the tunnel that should have transported words of praise and affection.

But I could barely get a breath in or out. I was swamped by the cortisol still wrecking my system. This kind of stress couldn't be allowed to continue. I couldn't possibly handle watching Elias doing something like this again. Even the thought made me want to sob violently.

This wouldn't be happening if I was still living by myself, I thought.

The force of that thought nearly knocked me over. While Elias triumphantly lifted his son and kept his spare arm around my waist, I couldn't help wondering if my body would be going through the same levels of stress if I hadn't been paired with Elias. True mates felt everything, right? Then I should have felt Elias long before we were ever announced as a pair.

It was hard to test that theory with his bite on my neck. Most people had glossed over pointing it out, but I knew they were looking, even when I chose to wear one of my many fashionable silk scarves to keep their nosy eyes away.

Something as bold as a mate's mark couldn't be hidden. But I didn't think of it as a mark by a mate. I thought of it as a proclamation. For somebody like Elias would never bruise his pride by letting a woman like me--a woman he was paired with-go without something to keep her in line with his family.

Did his ex-girlfriend experience the same thing? I wondered. Is that why he keeps her picture over the television?

Insecurity washed out whatever relief had sprung forth at Elias' safe landing. After untangling myself from his muscular arms, I invited him and Archie to walk back to the car. We had to get home. We had to talk some things out, especially if he was going to keep doing these great feats of danger. If he was going to claim me as his, I couldn't lose him to an accident that could be avoided.

I just wasn't sure how to talk to him about it.