The Dragon’s Chance by Jessie Donovan

Chapter Seven

The next morning Sylvia found Jake sleeping in the rocking chair with Sophie cradled in his lap and took a second to memorize the scene.

Sylvia had fallen asleep shortly after Jake had gone to check on their daughter. It seemed she had Jake to thank for getting even more sleep after her nap.

And it only made it clearer how much Sylvia had been struggling to take care of Sophie on her own. Maybe if she were in her twenties instead of forties, she'd have had enough energy to do it without a problem. However, while she wasn't an aged decrepit yet, she wasn't exactly as spritely as she once had been.

Sophie must've realized her food source was near because she woke and gave a half-hearted cry. Her father stirred, but Sylvia scooped up Sophie and placed a hand on Jake's shoulder. "Go get some proper rest. I'll take care of her now."

He blinked sleepily up at her. It was barely dawn, and even though the time change had probably screwed up his internal clock, she had a feeling he wasn't usually a morning person anyway. Running restaurants—especially those in big cities like San Francisco—meant working late into the night.

Still, he tried to blink his eyes a few times. His voice heavy with sleep, he said, "I'm fine. I can stay up to help you."

She smiled. "Aye, I know you could. But get some actual sleep, Jake. Yesterday was a long day, after all." He opened his mouth to protest again, but she added, "Besides, I was thinking of an outing today, aye? And I can't have you asleep if we do that."

He stretched his arms above his head, some of his joints popping. "An outing, you say?"

She nodded. "Aye. But I won't say more until you get some sleep first. Think of it as an incentive. Well, if you like surprises. Which, admittedly, I don't know if you do."

And just like that, Sylvia was back to doubting everything again.

Her dragon said, Stop worrying.

Jake spoke before she could reply to her beast. "Most of the time, yes, I like surprises." He searched her gaze as he stood, as if he was trying to figure out what she had planned. However, Sylvia merely raised her brows and shook her head to say she wouldn't tell. He finally sighed. "Okay, I can see you're not going to tell me anything, no matter what. But just don't let me sleep the whole day. I want to spend more time with Sophie."

A part of her still couldn't believe Jake had accepted his unexpected child so easily. She really did need to learn more about his family.

However, her daughter moved her mouth in a way that told her she was hungry. So Sylvia settled in the chair and lifted her shirt. Once Sophie began suckling, she replied, "Aye, of course I'll make sure you don't sleep the day away. Now, off to bed with you."

He smiled at her half-hearted order before kissing her cheek, touching Sophie's head, and then stumbling out the door, revealing how tired he still was.

She hummed, and in no time at all, she'd fed Sophie, changed her, and headed downstairs with her youngest in tow. Sylvia had barely started making breakfast when she heard the front door opened and a few beats later, Emma walked into the kitchen.

Emma looked around slowly and wiped her brow dramatically. "Whew, good, it's safe. I don't need to walk in on my mum and her male going at it like rabbits in the kitchen."

She growled, "Emma Lucia."

Her middle daughter grinned at the use of her middle name. "I'm allowed to poke fun. I already told you I like him." Emma swiped an orange from the bowl of fruit on the counter and began peeling it. "Although you look heaps better today, Mum. I don't care if it's having help or a magical healing cock that did it, but I'm glad."

Sylvia sighed and decided ignoring Emma's prods to be the best course of action. "You all helped as much you could. But Sophie melts in Jake's hands, so aye, it's been nice having him here."

"And not for his odds-defying human cock? I hope you used what I left in your room. Otherwise, it may take just the one night for me to get another sibling."

Her dragon laughed, but Sylvia ignored her inner beast. She merely stared at her cheeky daughter a moment before deciding to ask something neutral. "Why are you here so early, Emma? You never get up so close to dawn at this time of year."

Emma shrugged. "I have something to do today that requires an early start. And no, I'm not telling you what it is. It won't kill me, though. And Logan, as well as the MacKay brothers from Seahaven, are going with me too."

At the mention of Logan, Sylvia resisted a frown. She'd long ago noticed that Logan Lamont loved—or at least thought he was in love with—Emma. Her daughter, on the other hand, seemed oblivious. She thought of him only as a friend, like a brother.

Maybe Sylvia needed to talk to Logan and see why the poor lad tortured himself. He'd had a hard enough time with his brother's years-long disappearance. Aye, his brother had come back with his mate in tow, and the two brothers were close again. But still. The lad deserved someone who appreciated him.

Her dragon snorted. And you tell Emma not to meddle.

I rarely meddle. But Logan needs to move on. Emma has no interest in him, and he deserves better than to hold on to hope. After all, he knows they're not true mates.

And that doesn't always matter. You mated Arthur at seventeen, without knowing if he was our true mate. Aye, it worked out that way in the end, learning it was true when we hit twenty, but even if it hadn't, it wouldn't have mattered.

Male dragons could recognize their true mates—their supposed best chances at happiness—once both parties were at least twenty. It was part of the reason her own father had tried to convince her to wait to mate Arthur.

But in the end, she'd prevailed. And her beast was right—she wouldn't have cared if Arthur hadn't been her true mate or not. She replied, But Emma and Logan aren't me and Arthur. The lad wants a family. I can tell by the looks he gives his brother, mate, and child when he thinks no one is looking. Emma is far from that point. She thinks having a bairn means pawning it off on a relative to watch it.

Emma's voice interrupted her conversation with her beast. "If you're planning a rescue party with your dragon, just stop. I won't be going further south than Inverness, and I know these lands."

Sylvia forced herself to focus on the present. "Faye and Grant cleared your outing?"

She nodded. "Aye. One of the MacKay brothers is a Protector. Add in that Logan is a nurse, and we have the bases covered—both security and medical care." Emma finished her orange and added, "Besides, I'm more interested in what you're going to do today, Mum. Are you going to stay home and ravish your human whenever Sophie's asleep?"

Sylvia rolled her eyes. "No. I'm going to show him my restaurant and maybe go to the old stone broch nearby, if the weather is good enough."

"The broch? The one where young couples go for a stolen kiss, to make a wish? Or maybe to go and see Jamie's legendary spirit?"

Her youngest son claimed there was truth to the old legend of Loch Naver and the spirit who guarded it. For once she was glad her children weren't all under one roof since Jamie's siblings teased him to no end about it. "If the spirit shows, then that'd be brilliant. But I just thought to share a bit of Lochguard with Jake. Being spring, the weather isn't great, and I can't exactly take him up to the coast or to the Isle of Skye without probably facing lots of wind and rain."

Emma grunted. "Aye, I suppose." She went to the refrigerator and took out the ingredients for sandwiches. "I'm going to make some lunch to take with us. Do you need some?"

"No, thank you. Although if you could keep an eye on your sister whilst I finish cooking breakfast, that would be great."

And so, as they went about normal routines, it was hard to imagine much had changed from a few days before.

But it had. And not just because Sylvia kept smiling as she remembered Jake's kisses or him sleeping with Sophie in his arms.

Her mood was better than it had been in ages. And Sylvia was determined to make the best of it.