Chapter 67 SLOW START
GALLAHAN’S POV
Willa went back to sleep not long after we agreed to start over from scratch.
And while I immensely appreciated the positive turn of events, I also knew that it was only a matter of time before our old grievances—the numerous bloody hatchets we had agreed to bury—would come back haunting and hurting us.
But I shoved to the back of my mind, wanting to believe that it was a worry for next time, and that it was in my best interest, as well as my children’s, to just keep the peace and bask in the current moment.
So after I opened the windows to let the chilly morning air in, I laid down on the bed, sliding beneath the blanket.
“Hi, love,” I whispered near Calisto’s wolf ear. “Daddy’s here. The moon goddess listened to you, you know? I’m here now. I can’t wait to properly meet you and your sister when the two of you wake up. Don’t keep me waiting for far too long, yeah?”
As if Calisto had heard me, a small and wobbly whimper left his lips. His brows were tense and furrowed, and a stray tear escaped his left eye.
I immediately shifted closer to him, wiped the lone tear, and whispered assurances. “Sssshhh. Daddy’s here. Daddy will protect you and Gillian, alright? So don’t be scared, Cal. You have me and your Mommy.”
He whimpered once more, and it was louder this time, drawing Willa awake.
She immediately lifted her upper body, leaning her weight on her forearm. “What’s happening? Is Calisto okay?”
The worry in her striking green eyes was apparent, making me wish so desperately that I could take it away and carry all of her burdens for her.
So I said, “It’s fine. He’s fine. Just go back to sleep, Willa. I can handle this.”
“But-”
“Go to sleep,” I insisted. “I know what to do, okay? Trust me.”
But Willa didn’t budge. Instead, she gazed at Calisto with affection and concern as she reached out to sweep his fringe aside. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she tried so valiantly to keep them at bay.
“What have we done, Han?”
My heart would’ve leapt in joy when she called me Han again, but the way her voice quivered with the intensity of her guilt and fear only made my entire chest ache.
“There’s no point in wallowing in our guilt,” I said gently, my voice falling into a hushed volume. “You can’t let it consume you, Willa. Look, we made a mistake, but we’re here to correct it, aren’t we?”
Calisto chose that moment to whimper again. The pitiful sound was shaky, loud, and clearly pained.
This only worsened Willa’s despair. “Han, what’s going on with him?”
“Sssshh… It’s okay,” I said to Calisto while also silently hoping Willa could find comfort from my words too.
I then scooped my small son into my arms and sat up with my back resting against the headboard. Slowly, I positioned my son on my lap and laid the side of his head on my chest. Exactly where my heart was, so he could hear my pulse.
“What are you doing?” Willa asked, both curious and affronted, as she fully sat up to watch me closely like a hawk. “Why would you take him out of the cocoon of ceremonial robes?”
“Because…” I said, a twinge of heartache accompanying my tone. I swallowed thickly and cleared my throat, as if doing so would keep my emotions away from my voice.
And it seemed to do the trick because when I spoke again, I sounded calm and composed.
“Because I know he would want to be held this close. My own father did this for me when my mother died.”
It was quite a vague explanation, one I could only give with my gaze glued on the crown of Calisto’s head.
For a brief, fleeting moment, there was nothing. But then Willa let out a small yet soothing ‘oh’ that left me flooded with relief, since I wasn’t too inclined to share my story at the moment.
I wasn’t ashamed of my past per se, and I wasn’t opposed to letting Willa know about it either. But the story was too heavy for a time like this, and the two of us did not yet have a relationship that was close and strong enough to warrant us to talk about something so deep and so dark.
Perhaps on a better day, she would learn all about it, but for now, it would have to be something I would keep to myself.
So nothing was said after that, and silence filled the room as the sands of time trickled seconds into minutes.
“Oh… I think it’s working,” Willa noted softly after a long while. “He’s no longer whimpering.”
“Hm. And his face is all relaxed now.” I turned to Willa and nodded my head once in encouragement. “Go ahead then. Sleep some more. I’ll keep watch over them, yeah?”
But she shook her head and said, “No. Sleep had left me completely minutes ago. I will just…”
She gestured at me, making me lift a brow.
“Yes?”
“Copy you. I don’t want Gillian to feel neglected.”
“Of course,” I said quickly, feeling like utter crap that I hadn’t showered Gillian the same attention as Calisto.
She mimicked my sitting position, carefully picking up Gillian and perching her on her lap.
“Put her ear right where your heart is,” I instructed as I moved the pillow the twins had been sharing, carelessly throwing it at the foot of the bed. Then I picked up Willa's ceremonial robe and draped it over Calisto.
Satisfied with my handiwork, I then got my own robe and handed it to Willa, who had already poised Gillian’s head where I told her to. “Please wrap this around her.”
“Okay.”
A small smile ghosted Willa’s lips as she gently and tenderly moved Gillian in her arms so she could swathe her properly in my ceremonial robe.
All the while, I kept my watchful eyes on her, taking note of how she was bundling our daughter into the garment that was simply too large on her tiny frame.
Once she was through, I brought my attention to Calisto and attempted to do the same, but somehow, it ended up looking like he was drowning in the thick fabric of Willa’s robe.
“Passable, I hope.”
“Barely,” she quipped dryly, but her eyes were shining with amusement.
“I’ll still count that as a success,” I shot back lightheartedly as I scooted over, moving towards the center of the bed. “Come closer. I want to be near Gillian too.”
Hesitation flew across Willa’s features, dimming the hint of a smile that hung on the corners of her lips. But it didn’t take her longer than a heartbeat before she succumbed to my request. She dumped the other ceremonial robes aside and drew herself near me until our arms were only a hair’s breadth away.
“There,” she huffed, shooting me a sideway glance. “Happy?”
I grinned. “Very.”
But like always, fate proved itself to love interrupting us, because right then and there, a series of soft knocks cut our moment short.