Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 26: Chapter 26
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Between Leo and Eva's demands on my time, I was exhausted. Eva continued to demand that I switch with her during the day. Leo had me working from the crack of dawn until late at night as his personal maid.
The only rest I got during the days were my shifts in the library. The archivists took pity on me, and gave me the lightest tasks. They also checked my work because sometimes I was so tired the words blurred on the page.
It was inevitable, really, that I would slip up. I was just juggling too many things at once. I couldn't keep up no matter how hard I tried.
It happened while I was, yet again, doing laundry. I'd managed to squeeze just a little time between my chores to pull out one of the healer's texts from their hiding spot. I was so excited to finally get to study the words of another healer that I lost track of time.
I also didn't notice that I had forgotten to switch out of Eva's shirt and add my scar make-up. I was switching identities so often that the details sort of blended together in my mind.
The dryer finished and I stood up, tucking my book into it's space. Just as I rearranged the detergent bottles, the door opened. Leo stepped inside, his eyes flaring briefly gold as his vision adjusted to the dim room.
“Eva? Why are you in the laundry room?” Leo asked.
He thought I was Eva? I stared at him like a deer in the headlights of a car.
“I, uh.” Why would Eva be in the laundry room? I honestly didn't think she knew which machine was the washer and which one was the dryer.
“Eva?” Leo stepped closer.
I had to think fast. If he figured out I wasn't Eva, while I was dressed as Eva, he'd figure out the whole ploy. And then Eva would kill my mother and Leo would exile me from the pack.
“I was looking for Tessa,” I explained. “She likes to hide out in here.”
“Why would she hide in the laundry room?” Leo asked. “She's always doing laundry, it's the first place anyone would look for her.”
I wouldn't always be doing laundry if anyone would help me.
“It is. I never said she was smart,” I said with a shrug. “But she's not here this time.”
“Do you have any idea where else she might go?” Leo asked.
The smart thing would have been to admit ignorance and let him go off on a wild goose chase. But I was tired, and rattled by my mistake.
“I'm not sure,” I said, “I could help you look for her, though. Since we both need to find her.”
“Thank you,” Leo said. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “You look tired. Is everything okay?”
“Oh, it's just fatigue,” I said, “The pup's been active lately.”
Leo grinned. “That's great!” He looked at my face and shook his head. “I mean, it's not great that you're tired. That's rough. I meant it's great that the baby is healthy and moving a lot. I...”
I laughed a little. I couldn't help it. “It's okay, I know what you meant. Hey, the pup is kicking, do you want to feel?”
“Can I?” Leo held out his hand like a little kid offered candy.
Damn it, why did he have to be adorable? I took his hand and held it to the faint swell of my belly. It wasn't much of a bump yet, but it was there.
The pup, possibly sensing their father, decided that a little kick wasn't enough. They did an entire roundhouse kick spin. At least that's what it felt like to me.
I couldn't bring myself to mind, though. The wide eyed joy on Leo's face as his hand pressed so gently against my belly was too beautiful. He stared in wonder even after the pup curled up and fell still, tired from their antics.
“Hey, little guy,” Leo whispered. “Or girl. I'm your dad. I can't wait to meet you.”
I smiled and patted his hand. It was such a sweet moment. I wished with all my heart that it wasn't built on a lie.
Leo hugged me. “Thanks, Eva,” he said.
Her name sent a spike of pain through my heart. As if I could forget even for a moment that it wasn't me he loved and wanted a family with. It was her.
“No problem,” I said, “I guess we should start looking for Tessa then?”
“Yeah, I suppose we should,” Leo agreed. “Be sure to tell me if you need to take a break.”
“I will,” I said.
I suggested we look in the library. Leo said, “Does Tessa like to read, too?”
I shrugged. “I guess? She spends a lot of time in the library lately.”
“Well, I did assign her to help the archivists when she isn't cleaning my room,” Leo said.
“Oh that makes sense then. Still, it can't hurt to look there, right?” I said.
“True enough,” Leo agreed.
“And maybe you can pick out a mystery novel to read. It's supposed to storm tonight,” I added.
“Oh, is it?” Leo asked. “I guess an evening reading in the sitting room will be pleasant. Would you like to join me?”
It was dangerous to say yes. Eva hadn't asked me to switch in the evening for a while. I had no idea when she would get back from wherever she went during the day. And I had no idea how to explain “Tessa's” absence.
But spending a couple of hours quietly reading with Leo sounded so nice. It would be peaceful. I hadn't been able to just sit and read for pleasure in ages.
So instead of saying I was too tired, I just nodded and said, “I'd love that.”
We went to the library where of course we did not find Tessa the maid. We did both find several books. I recommended an old favorite of mine, a cozy mystery with romantic elements I thought Leo would enjoy.
“Why did you need to find Tessa, anyway?” Leo asked.
“Oh, uh,” I scrambled for an excuse. “I just wanted her to take care of some dry cleaning. It can wait.”
“Dry cleaning?” Leo asked, head tilted.
“Leo, dear,” I chuckled and tugged at one of the ruffles on my shirt, “this is silk. It doesn't go through the washing machine.”
“Oh. Wait, some of my shirts are silk, I think,” Leo said. “I've just been putting them in the laundry basket with the rest.”
“Yeah, Tessa's been sorting them and running them to the cleaners with mine,” I said, which was the truth.
“Huh. So that's why I couldn't find that red shirt you liked yesterday,” Leo mused.
“Uh huh.”
“I'll apologize to Tessa for assuming she lost it then,” Leo promised. “Anyway, I didn't need her for anything super important either. Would you like to go read now instead of wandering the house? It's starting to rain.”
I looked out the window and saw the clouds gathering.
“Yeah, that sounds like a lot more fun,” I agreed.
I spent a pleasant few hours reading in Leo's rooms. After a while my exhaustion caught up with me and I nearly fell asleep in my book. So I excused myself and returned to my room. I fell asleep with the contented rumble of my wolf in the back of my mind. She liked it when I spent time with Leo.
The only rest I got during the days were my shifts in the library. The archivists took pity on me, and gave me the lightest tasks. They also checked my work because sometimes I was so tired the words blurred on the page.
It was inevitable, really, that I would slip up. I was just juggling too many things at once. I couldn't keep up no matter how hard I tried.
It happened while I was, yet again, doing laundry. I'd managed to squeeze just a little time between my chores to pull out one of the healer's texts from their hiding spot. I was so excited to finally get to study the words of another healer that I lost track of time.
I also didn't notice that I had forgotten to switch out of Eva's shirt and add my scar make-up. I was switching identities so often that the details sort of blended together in my mind.
The dryer finished and I stood up, tucking my book into it's space. Just as I rearranged the detergent bottles, the door opened. Leo stepped inside, his eyes flaring briefly gold as his vision adjusted to the dim room.
“Eva? Why are you in the laundry room?” Leo asked.
He thought I was Eva? I stared at him like a deer in the headlights of a car.
“I, uh.” Why would Eva be in the laundry room? I honestly didn't think she knew which machine was the washer and which one was the dryer.
“Eva?” Leo stepped closer.
I had to think fast. If he figured out I wasn't Eva, while I was dressed as Eva, he'd figure out the whole ploy. And then Eva would kill my mother and Leo would exile me from the pack.
“I was looking for Tessa,” I explained. “She likes to hide out in here.”
“Why would she hide in the laundry room?” Leo asked. “She's always doing laundry, it's the first place anyone would look for her.”
I wouldn't always be doing laundry if anyone would help me.
“It is. I never said she was smart,” I said with a shrug. “But she's not here this time.”
“Do you have any idea where else she might go?” Leo asked.
The smart thing would have been to admit ignorance and let him go off on a wild goose chase. But I was tired, and rattled by my mistake.
“I'm not sure,” I said, “I could help you look for her, though. Since we both need to find her.”
“Thank you,” Leo said. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “You look tired. Is everything okay?”
“Oh, it's just fatigue,” I said, “The pup's been active lately.”
Leo grinned. “That's great!” He looked at my face and shook his head. “I mean, it's not great that you're tired. That's rough. I meant it's great that the baby is healthy and moving a lot. I...”
I laughed a little. I couldn't help it. “It's okay, I know what you meant. Hey, the pup is kicking, do you want to feel?”
“Can I?” Leo held out his hand like a little kid offered candy.
Damn it, why did he have to be adorable? I took his hand and held it to the faint swell of my belly. It wasn't much of a bump yet, but it was there.
The pup, possibly sensing their father, decided that a little kick wasn't enough. They did an entire roundhouse kick spin. At least that's what it felt like to me.
I couldn't bring myself to mind, though. The wide eyed joy on Leo's face as his hand pressed so gently against my belly was too beautiful. He stared in wonder even after the pup curled up and fell still, tired from their antics.
“Hey, little guy,” Leo whispered. “Or girl. I'm your dad. I can't wait to meet you.”
I smiled and patted his hand. It was such a sweet moment. I wished with all my heart that it wasn't built on a lie.
Leo hugged me. “Thanks, Eva,” he said.
Her name sent a spike of pain through my heart. As if I could forget even for a moment that it wasn't me he loved and wanted a family with. It was her.
“No problem,” I said, “I guess we should start looking for Tessa then?”
“Yeah, I suppose we should,” Leo agreed. “Be sure to tell me if you need to take a break.”
“I will,” I said.
I suggested we look in the library. Leo said, “Does Tessa like to read, too?”
I shrugged. “I guess? She spends a lot of time in the library lately.”
“Well, I did assign her to help the archivists when she isn't cleaning my room,” Leo said.
“Oh that makes sense then. Still, it can't hurt to look there, right?” I said.
“True enough,” Leo agreed.
“And maybe you can pick out a mystery novel to read. It's supposed to storm tonight,” I added.
“Oh, is it?” Leo asked. “I guess an evening reading in the sitting room will be pleasant. Would you like to join me?”
It was dangerous to say yes. Eva hadn't asked me to switch in the evening for a while. I had no idea when she would get back from wherever she went during the day. And I had no idea how to explain “Tessa's” absence.
But spending a couple of hours quietly reading with Leo sounded so nice. It would be peaceful. I hadn't been able to just sit and read for pleasure in ages.
So instead of saying I was too tired, I just nodded and said, “I'd love that.”
We went to the library where of course we did not find Tessa the maid. We did both find several books. I recommended an old favorite of mine, a cozy mystery with romantic elements I thought Leo would enjoy.
“Why did you need to find Tessa, anyway?” Leo asked.
“Oh, uh,” I scrambled for an excuse. “I just wanted her to take care of some dry cleaning. It can wait.”
“Dry cleaning?” Leo asked, head tilted.
“Leo, dear,” I chuckled and tugged at one of the ruffles on my shirt, “this is silk. It doesn't go through the washing machine.”
“Oh. Wait, some of my shirts are silk, I think,” Leo said. “I've just been putting them in the laundry basket with the rest.”
“Yeah, Tessa's been sorting them and running them to the cleaners with mine,” I said, which was the truth.
“Huh. So that's why I couldn't find that red shirt you liked yesterday,” Leo mused.
“Uh huh.”
“I'll apologize to Tessa for assuming she lost it then,” Leo promised. “Anyway, I didn't need her for anything super important either. Would you like to go read now instead of wandering the house? It's starting to rain.”
I looked out the window and saw the clouds gathering.
“Yeah, that sounds like a lot more fun,” I agreed.
I spent a pleasant few hours reading in Leo's rooms. After a while my exhaustion caught up with me and I nearly fell asleep in my book. So I excused myself and returned to my room. I fell asleep with the contented rumble of my wolf in the back of my mind. She liked it when I spent time with Leo.
End of Surrogate for My Brother-in-law Chapter 26. Continue reading Chapter 27 or return to Surrogate for My Brother-in-law book page.