Everleigh’s eyes were heavy and she allowed sleep to take over.
She slept hard for a few hours, into the evening. When she woke up her stomach was growling. She needed food. She usually wouldn't waste money on room service, but it was necessary.
"I'm hungry, Mommy," Eliza chimed in.
"I'm ordering us some food." She ordered two hamburgers for herself and one for her daughter along with an order of chicken fingers. Her daughter might be a shifter, but she still liked the same food that human kids ate.
Within thirty minutes, the food had arrived and Everleigh made the decision to tell her daughter the truth. "Honey, I have something important to tell you."
"What is it?" she asked, through a mouthful of chicken.
"You know Roman, right? You know how he likes to hang out with us?"
"Yes. I'm glad he's back!"
"Yes, me too. One of the reasons that he's been hanging out with us is because…” Why was this so hard to say? She forced the words out. “You're very special to him."
"Why? Is he family?"
"Yes, he's family."
"Is he an uncle?" Eliza asked.
"No. He is your father."
Eliza put her milkshake down. "My father? Like a dad? Like Jenny's dad?"
Everleigh didn’t know who Jenny or her dad was. "Yes."
"But he doesn't live in our house. Tommy's dad doesn't either.”
“No, he doesn't, but he's actually going to be moving closer to us.”
That actually hit something else inside of her. He was willing to give up his entire life to move to a place where there weren't any big packs to speak of. Even if there were, he would not be Alpha. He was willing to give up his position to be with her. That was a real sacrifice. She couldn't imagine many other male shifters being willing to do that.
"Can he live in our house? Is he going to come to my kindergarten graduation?” Eliza asked with french fries hanging out of her mouth.
"Of course, he can come to your graduation.” She ignored the part about them living together.
“I do! I want him to come.” The way shifter kids thought was not too different in most ways from human children. Her daughter might have some uncomfortable questions for her later on, but maybe five was just too young think of them.
Eliza would think of Roman only in the ways that directly related to her life. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe she would not remember a life without him. She was certain there would be questions when Eliza was older, but she could deal with them.
Everleigh still wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to do about mating.
Was she ready to take a leap of faith and allow Roman into her life after he had hurt her so badly? He did seem genuine. And being willing to give up his Alpha spot was a massive deal.
What was best for her daughter? She wasn't sure. What was best for her? She wasn't sure about that either. Her impulse was to tell him yes. Absolutely yes. But he had not asked her about formally mating. He had only brought up moving.
Had he wanted to say more? She was just now starting to realize that he had been planning to come to her home to surprise her with the papers when she had run. She was, however, relieved that he had been so supportive about her decision. Anything less would have been an automatic no for her. She was glad he realized how absolutely crucial it was that he back her up with Sutton.
He had asked and it sounded like the choice was hers. How long would he wait?
All of that was swirling in her mind while her daughter danced around the room. “I'll have someone to take me to the father daughter dance!”
She had not realized her daughter had been worried about that. There were other children who did not have fathers. But most of them had a stepfather or an older brother or an uncle or a grandfather who would take them. Her daughter had none of those. So this had been weighing on her little mind and she'd never said a word. Everleigh would have to do a better job of knowing what her daughter's concerns were. Maybe she hadn't been asking the right questions.
After their busy day, her daughter soon fell asleep on top of the covers with her clothes on. That was fine. It would give Everleigh some time to think. She felt pretty certain that she could not allow Roman to give up his Alpha position.