Daddy’s Innocent Mate: Forced Marriage Shifter Romance (Beaufort Creek Shifters Book 8) by Layla Silver

Author:Layla Silver [Silver, Layla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-06T16:00:00+00:00

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.

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