Epilogue – Danita
The feeling of little feet kicking her ribs woke Danita before the alarm had even gone off. She groaned, rubbing her stomach. That only elicited more kicking and made her realize how much she needed to use the bathroom. Trying not to shift her Bears too much, she wiggled her way out from between then, going over the footboard rather than trying to climb over one of them.
They had gotten a king-sized bed to replace the air mattresses some time ago, but it was hardly enough room for her and one of the boys, let alone both right now. Despite it getting into winter and not having a reliable heat source for the house yet, they had to keep the bedroom window open at night, or it got just too hot, mashed between the two of them.
After she was finished in the bathroom, she kicked off her old slippers and dressed, trying to be quiet. Her boys were sound sleepers, but if they heard her moving, they'd be pulling her back into bed before she could wiggle into her overalls.
But she was not going back to bed. The alpacas needed to be fed, and the boys still spooked them from time to time if they smelled too strongly of Bear. Besides, she was still perfectly capable of working, even though the two shifters didn't like her doing it.
Now that she was seven months pregnant, they never let her do anything. It was starting to get annoying. But at the same time, it was sweet, and Danita tried to sneak away and do her own work as much to get them to stop her as to actually get the work done. It had become a bit of a game between them now, seeing how far she could get before they caught her.
The air was crisp outside, with the smell of snow that was always present at this time of year. A heavy frost covered everything, coating naked branches, the long, dead grass, the fences. There were even beautiful, delicate patterns of frost on the windows that looked like fairies had come and danced on them.
Danita loved winter. It was just so romantic.
As was usual at this time of day, the alpacas were all huddled together inside their section of the barn, wooly forms pressed together. They would get a good harvest next year. With McGrath gone, she had gotten that mortgage she wanted, enough to pay Amelia back and to survive the winter, along with buying supplies for the spring shearing.
"Hey, fellas," Danita trilled, patting Maria's head as the alpacas followed her from one end of the fence to the other. "How are you this morning? Hungry for some nice tasty hay and mineral supplements?"
The barn door opened just as she was cutting the twine off a hay bale. Her Bears came in, shaking their heads as they crossed the floor.
"You, Miss Valdez, are going to get yourself hurt." Killian jumped past her, grabbing the pitchfork before she could.
Danita put her hands on her hips. "You heard the doctor. A little work won't hurt me or the baby. It might actually help."
Ryan picked her up, cuddling her to his chest. She loved this, the ease with which they could pick her up and carry her around, even this far into her pregnancy. She wrapped her arms around Ryan’s neck and put her head on his shoulder as he began to pitch the hay to the alpacas.
"The doctor may have said that, but I'm not convinced that you didn't pay him to say that." Ryan's voice vibrated through her. "You need your rest, and you need to save your energy."
"I have plenty of energy. For chores, for other things." She nuzzled into his neck, kissing him.
Ryan groaned. "You're going to kill us, woman. You'd have us going all night every night if you could."
"What, can't handle little ol' me?" Danita laughed.
Killian laughed as he started adding the mineral supplement pellets to the alpaca feed. "We haven't been able to keep up with you since we first joined you here. You have more fire and passion than a thousand women. Give her here, I need some of that. It's freezing!"
"We can go back inside as soon as you're done feeding the animals. The rest of the chores can wait." Danita gladly moved from Ryan to Killian's arms and started kissing him instead. "Or we could stay out here."
Her boys exchanged exasperated looks. "It's too cold."
"We can make our own heat." Danita gave them both a sultry look. "The blanket's still out here."
The boys glanced at one another, and Danita could see their defenses break down. Ryan hurried to finish feeding the alpacas while Killian set her down and went in search of the blanket. She grinned as she watched them.
Less than a year ago, it was just her on a broken-down farm with dreams of the future but not much else. Now she had her farm–still not pristine, but workable and being improved little by little–she had her herd of alpacas, she had her boys, she had a baby on the way.
"Got the blanket," Killian shouted in glee, waving it over his head.
Ryan grabbed her by the waist and pulled her towards the loose pile of hay. Danita laughed in delight. Yes, this was better than all her dreams come true.
*****
THE END