Chapter 41 First date
“Come on in,” Carson greeted when Serena and the kids showed up at his door. “It is good to see you again,” Serena said, smiling. “This is Olivia and Oliver.” She introduced the twins. “Hi,” they said together. Olivia grabbed the back of toys Serena had on her arm and they took off.
“Play quietly,” Serena called “Remember we are inside!” She sighed and gave Carson an apologetic look. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ve removed everything breakable from this floor.” He was teasing her, and Serena laughed lightly. At least he was realistic about the twins. “I brought them enough toys and games to keep them busy while I make dinner,” she said. “The kitchen is this way,” Carson said. He put his hand on the small of Serena’s back and started guiding her into the kitchen. She felt her cheeks redden with a blush from the contact “Thanks,” she said. “What are you going to make?” Carson asked. Serena shrugged, going to the refrigerator and cabinets, seeing what Carson had in the house. “I’ll throw something together with whatever you have,” she said. Carson laughed. “Not following a recipe. That is risky, I love it,” he teased her. Serena smiled pulling some things out of the refrigerator and cabinets. “Would you like help?” “Sure, I need a sauté pan and a knife,” she said. “Also, where are your herbs?” Carson got up. He put a pan on the stove, handed Serena the knife she’d requested, and brought a spice rack over from the opposite counter. “Well, you look like you know what you’re doing,” Carson said. “I don’t,” Serena admitted. The twins ran into the kitchen, Oliver carrying a plane and making engine sounds while he chased after Olivia. “Eww, Mommy is cooking?” Olivia asked, forgetting all about her need to escape her brother,
“Can‘t we eat something else?” Oliver asked. Carson raised an eyebrow at Serena. “Go back to the living room, please,” Serena requested. She shook her head. “It will be fine,” she assured. Carson shrugged. “I’m not worried,” he said. While Serena chopped vegetables and heated the pan, Carson asked her about he:62
recent venture into the human world with Logan. She hadn’t realized how close Logan and Carson were before. Being Alpha and Beta meant they worked closely together on pack business. She could tell by how fondly Carson reacted to her story, they were also friends. Part of her felt a tug of guilt in her stomach Logan had already been so nice to her and offered her so much, and she was on a date with his best friend! At the same time, he was still seeing Holly and hadn’t made any romantic advancements towards
her.
The only real complication with Logan was the kids and whether or not they were his children. She hadn’t gotten the DNA results back from the lab yet. With the prospect of creating potentially romantic relationships with other males, Serena knew she had to get that answer, and then she had to decide what to do with it. If she had another male in her life, then maybe Logan never had to know the kids were
his.
“It sounds like he had a good time,” Carson said. “I’m a little jealous. My time in the human world has been very limited.” “You know, as much as I enjoyed being there for school, nothing really compares to the community and support you get from the pack,” she told him. “I believe that,” Carson said. Serena stirred the veggies in the pan, adding salt and turning the stove temperature down a little.
“You’ve really taken charge with the hospital renovations,” he noted. Serena nodded, moving on to preparing the meat.
“Logan didn’t give me much of a choice,” she pointed out. She went on to tell Carson about the extensive planning, ordering, and research she’d had to do in order to make the renovations and updates work. “I had no idea our facilities were so out of date,” Carson said. Serena scoffed.
“Can you get me four plates?” she asked. He got up from the kitchen table and got her the plates. “Yea, well, believe is. It has been a project, but the hospital and pack will be better for it.” Serena put food on each plate and Carson brought them to the table. “Dinner is ready, kids!” Serena shouted into the other room.
The kids came running in, finding their seats. Serena poured them each a cup of juice. The four of them sat down together, Carson across from Serena and the kids across from each other. It was the perfect dynamic of a family dinner. “You do have a particular fondness for the pack and a directness I like,” Carons told her forthright. Serena smiled. “Thanks,” she said. Olivia and Oliver were the first to bite into their food. “Blech!” Olivia said putting her fork down and guzzling juice. Oliver made a face, and Serena could tell he was trying really hard to swallow. Carson chuckled. “Okay, I’m a horrible cook,” she said. “Oddly, that’s not my concern,” he said, “You’re a natural born leader, and those qualities are hard to come by.” “My mother and father are Luna and Alpha of Starseeker pack,” she reminded him. Carson nodded. “That’s right,” he said. “You come from a long line of leaders. Why’d you leave Starseeker then?” Serena looked at the kids briefly. They weren’t the reason she had left, they were the reason she’d stayed away. “Can I have more juice, mommy?” Olivia asked. Serena got up and refilled her cup. “I have a twin brother,” she explained as she sat back down. “From a young age, Santino began training to take over as Alpha. I wouldn’t say he was the favorite, but he was given a lot of attention and prioritized over me. I wanted to get out, see what I really could do on my own, and have a career my parents would be proud of.” “That’s very impressive;” Carson said with a nod. “In the face of adversity, you chose strength and determination.” ; “You are a good flatterer,” Serena said, smiling across the table. Carson grinned. “I’m also honest,” he said. “This is probably the worst dinner I’ve ever eaten.” Serena grimaced. “I know, I’m sorry,” she said. “Luckily, I have the remedy for that,” Carson informed her. When the plates were cleared from the table, Carson pulled a tub of ice cream out of the freezer. “Ice cream!” Olivia shouted, standing up in her chair. That got Oliver’s attention too. “Olivia, sit down!” Serena snapped. Carson looked at her. “Is it alright if the runts get a sugar rush this late?” he asked. Serena nodded. “Yes, that is fine,” she said. “Thank you for asking.” It occurred to her
that Logan rarely ever asked her permission for things when he was with the kids. He always just assumed it was okay. That had led to their argument when he’d dismissed her parenting authority. It was refreshing to have Carson actually ask. He seemed to understand that he wasn’t an authority figure to the kids and that as their mother, Serena had the final say.
She liked that. “Would you like some too?” he asked. Serena nodded. “Please,” she said. “I could use something nice tasting.”
Around the table they sat again, enjoying their ice cream. Serena was happy that Carson had had a backup plan to her cooking. He was so different than Logan, and
she found that she really liked the way he treated her and her kids. There was a measure of respect for her and her relationship with them that she didn’t feel like she
got from Logan. “I can make you some coffee, if you’d like to wash down the ice cream,” Carson offered when Serena cleared the table of empty ice cream bowls. “Sure,” she said.
“Can we go play?” Olivia asked. Serena grabbed a paper towel and wet it. “Let me wipe you two off, first,” she said. They stood in front of her and she wiped their hands and mouths to get all the sticky ice cream residue off. Then, the twins were off to their toys again. “They are very well behaved,” Carson said while he was making her coffee. “You‘ve always been a single mother?” Serena nodded. As much as she didn’t want to talk about it, she knew that anyone she was getting to know would be interested. “It hasn’t always been easy, but I’ve made it work” she said. She sat back down at the table and Carson gave her a mug of coffee. He sat down too, his face scrunching up. “Something wrong?” Serena asked. “It’s Logan,” he said, holing up a hand. Serena sipped her coffee, figuring Logan had reached out to Carson through the mind link. Whatever it was couldn’t have been that important, because Carson smiled at her and motioned for her to continue her storv.