Epilogue
Asher turned to his captive audience. "And this is the line you slice, right down the middle." He pointed at the invisible line that separated the trout in two vertically. Sitka, his oldest daughter gave a yawn while their youngest, Juniper fell asleep. Only Fawn, the middle child, paid close attention. She obviously knew that it was never too early to learn how to clean a fish. He worked the knife down the fish's body, careful to keep the blade away from his infant daughters. He held the recently split fish up, flaying the two sides open. "This is what it looks like on the inside," he explained. "You'll need to scoop all of this out."
"Asher!" Caleb's voice rang out through the park. It was only a matter of moments before Caleb found them by the lake that was in the middle of the park by their apartment building. Caleb took in the sight. Asher, kneeling with a bloody fish in his hands, opened up to show the guts to their three daughters, all still in their stroller. "Asher," Caleb said, clearly trying to not laugh. "You can't fish this lake. Not within city limits. You need a permit."
"That's ridiculous," Asher said, looking out on the water. No one ever fished these waters. If he had spotted a lot of people, he would have stayed away, for fear of over fishing. No one was ever here. So why couldn't he snag a couple of trout for educational purposes? Some aspects of city life would forever remain a mystery to him.
Caleb slid up beside him, stretching up on his tip toes for a gentle kiss. "Don't you think they are a little young for fishing lessons anyhow?"
"Nonsense, look at little Fawn, she is giving me her full attention."
Caleb's eyes found their middle child. He cocked his head to the side. "I think she is pooping. Yep, look there is a smile."
Sure enough, an unpleasant aroma filled the air. "Her pooping face looks like her thinking face."
"Doesn't everyone's?" Caleb looked around, most likely for their diaper bag. He spotted it and began pulling out the necessary items.
Asher set the fish down, washed and sanitized his hands before picking Fawn up, stepping between Caleb and the diaper changing items. "Time me," he said.
"I don't think you'll get any faster than fifty-five seconds," Caleb said doubtfully.
Asher narrowed his eyes at the challenge. "We'll see." He set Fawn down on the changing mat and took a deep breath. "Go," he said.
Asher remembered back to that time when he had been jealous of Caleb for getting diaper changing practice without him. Asher had gotten plenty of practice since then and took it as an opportunity to improve as a person. His movements were as efficient as they would be if he were doing any task in the woods. "Done," Asher declared, lifting Fawn to his face for an after-diaper kiss. He looked at Caleb, waiting for him to tell him his time.
Caleb smiled wide. "Fifty-two seconds," he said, whistling low.
"I can go faster," Asher said. He'd done a double wipe when a single would have been sufficient. He looked over at Sitka and Juniper with giddy anticipation. He'd have his chance. Soon.
Caleb burst out laughing. "How did I win the mate lottery?" he asked.
For a moment, Asher just sat back, staring at his boy's happiness like it was his own. Because it was. Not like he owned Caleb's happiness. More like, when Caleb was happy, he was as well.
"Stop looking at me like that," Caleb demanded, his tone dipping down to sultry levels. "We already have three kids."
Asher gathered his mate in his arms, kissing him deeply.
"Do you think Glenn is okay up at the homestead?"
Asher growled. "Please don't mention another man seconds after I have kissed you."
Caleb gave him a playfully naughty wink. "My apologies, I forgot to wait the required amount of time to appease your possessive masculinity."
Asher gave him a little swat on the bottom, just like Caleb was clearly hoping he would. "Glenn is capable. The last time I spoke with him he seemed confident that the homestead was clear of booby traps, but wanted to do some more work before coming down. I think he has the outdoor bug. Or he just likes the wolves a lot." Everyone had been happy to hear that the runt had made a full recovery despite having a variety of broken bones as well as being severely dehydrated and malnourished. The coyotes had also retreated, licking their wounds apparently. No one thought they were gone for good but with their alpha injured, everyone would get a nice break. Conner and Felix had plans to reach out to the coyote pack and Asher was content to allow them the reigns on that little problem.
Caleb shrugged, trying to make it seem as if he wasn't as worried for his friend as he was. "We'll see him soon enough at the pack celebration."
Asher managed to not groan at the mention of the huge party looming ahead. It was all anyone spoke about these days. Pippen and Stella were nervous wrecks over how much preparation they had put into the meal planning. Every shifter in the area was invited, as an opportunity to build friendships between the packs. It was a good idea in theory, but Asher was just now getting used to the one pack. He wasn't keen on adding more.
"You could fake an illness," Caleb said, reading Asher's face correctly. "A sick baby? Isn't that why people have kids? For the permanent, unquestionable excuse to get out of social events?"
Asher smoothed his hands down Caleb's arms. "That isn't why we had children," he said, hugging his mate close. The afternoon sun peaked through the trees, making Asher's little slice of heaven glow in golden sunlight. It would still be months before they were able to go up to the homestead, and even then, they couldn't stay forever, but Asher found that the realization wasn't as stressful as it had been before. Home was where Caleb was, was where their daughters were. Asher counted himself lucky that he had met his boy and that Caleb would always be his baby to save.
THE END <3