Pancakes
By Nalini Singh
Lara rose to an empty space in the bed beside her and the smell of something delicious wafting in the air. "Mmm." Pulling on a pair of loose yoga pants and a T-shirt, she sighed at her crazy morning curls and decided since Walker had already seen the wild mess more than once, she might as well just run with it.
Walking out, she found she was the last one up, the children digging into pancakes. Her mate was at the stove, wearing only those sexy pajama bottoms she liked to tease him about, tied with a string tie low on his hips. The lean muscles of his body made her mouth water--especially when her own body twinged in happy memory of the way he'd played with her this morning.
She tousled Toby's hair and smiled at Marlee, then wrapped her arms around Walker from behind. "You should be wearing an apron--what if you get a burn on your chest, hmm?"
Twisting to look over his shoulder, her mate smiled slow and gorgeous. "Then I'll get my personal healer to kiss and make it better. "
Lara rose on tiptoe, stole a kiss before letting him concentrate on the pancakes. Pouring coffee from the fresh pot, she sat down at the table, talking about nothing in particular with the children, her wolf utterly content.
Chocolate sauce around her mouth, Marlee ate the last bite on her plate. "Can I have another pancake please?"
"On its way," Walker said with a gentleness she'd only heard him use with the youngest in the pack. "Toby, you, too?"
"Can I have five more?"
Lara's lips twitched. Poor Toby. He'd hit the "hollow leg" phase of growth, was showing distinct signs of having inherited his height from the maternal side of his family--meaning he'd hit six feet plus like Walker and Judd. Right now though, he was all bones and tangled limbs. And stomach.
"Marlee."
Marlee scrambled off her chair at her father's call, taking her plate to the counter to receive the fresh pancake. "Thanks, Daddy."
It was crystal clear to Lara that whatever hurts Marlee had survived in the Net, whatever scars she bore, about one thing she was dead certain--her father's love for her. Toby was the same. Regardless of the fact that Lara had never heard Walker use so much as a pet name, much less an endearment for either child.
Lara understood exactly how they felt--Walker's love was a steady, enduring flame, surrounding them all. No matter the storm, that flame would never flicker. "Want me to help syrup it up for you?" she asked Marlee, after the girl had made her selection from the toppings available.
"Yes, please." A cheeky smile that told Lara the boys would have their hands full when Marlee grew up.
She squeezed maple syrup over the pancakes while Marlee helped herself to some of the strawberries Lara had cut up, and Toby's stomach growled. Laughing, Lara reached over and tapped his nose. "Did you eat the fruit I left out for you last night?"
"Yes. And the box of crackers." He jumped up the instant Walker moved to lift out the first large pancake, had half of it in his mouth before the chocolate sauce hit it.
Licking up a bit of maple syrup that had gotten onto her finger, Lara glanced at Marlee. "We should invite Ben if he's up."
Marlee's face turned mutinous. "No."
Blinking, Lara glanced at Walker, raised an eyebrow. He shook his head, his gaze intent. Next, she looked at Toby--who stopped inhaling his food long enough to say, "They had a fight."
"Toby!"
Toby shrugged. "Sorry Marlee-Barley, it's not like it's a secret you and Ben aren't speaking to each other."
Still glaring at her cousin, Marlee took a bite of her pancake. And refused to say another word on the topic to anyone, no matter how gently Lara asked. Deciding to let it go for now, since Marlee clearly felt antagonized, she glanced at Walker as he put more pancakes on Toby's plate, sent him a message with her eyes, received a slight nod in return. They'd wait until Marlee was ready to talk.
A few minutes later, her mate put two pancakes on her plate. "Banana and walnut, as ordered."
Blowing him a kiss, she doused the pancakes in syrup, added some strawberries, and stood to top up everyone's drinks as Walker sat down with his toast. She tempted him into trying a bite of her pancake, but he wasn't impressed.
"It tastes like chocolate syrup."
"Your palate is obviously unrefined."
Marlee giggled, Toby grinned, and it was a wonderful weekend morning with her family.
Nalini Singh, Pancakes
(Series: Psy-Changeling # 10.80)
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