Chapter Thirty-eight

Bram had been right. Izabella had clung to him all night, pressing her body against his. Nuzzling against his neck and chest. At one point, she straddled his leg, half laying on top of him. The worst was when he’d actually dozed off, to wake up with her back pressed against him. She fit in his arms so well. Her head was just high enough for him to rest his chin, and her rear… he sighed. Even now, with her barely touching him, he was still rock solid. He wanted to bury himself in her sweetness.

Devon stirred in the bed, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes. “Daddy?” He was surprised to see Izabella laying in the same bed as them.

“Shhh.” Bram said, sitting up himself. He made hand motions for Devon to be quiet. To not wake her up. He got out of bed and went to his closet, where he realized he was running out of lounge clothing. Maybe he should have someone pick some up for him. He grabbed the sweatpants he had on the day before, when Izabella had first come to meet them. All his t-shirts were dirty. He looked back at his bed where Izabella was tangled up in his shirt and sheets.

His mind went back to the night before, and he really hoped she was just as bold today. He didn’t need much. Even just a quick drink from those sweet lips would be enough for now. Bram chided himself for not taking the kisses. It’s not like he would have been taking advantage with just that. Stepping into the walk-in closet, he closed the door, changing. He looked through his shirts, but he wasn’t about to put on a collard one with sweatpants, so he opted to go shirtless instead. It was a good excuse anyway. She couldn’t get angry if he lent her his last clean shirt, right?

“Why was Izabella in your bed last night, dad?” Devon asked, rummaging through the fridge.

“Well, she was afraid to sleep alone. Last night really scared her, and I wasn’t going to lay awake all-night listening to her cry when all she wanted was to be with someone.” Bram explained, leaning against the counter. “Do you want me to make you something bud? How about some pancakes?”

“Yeah! Will you make bacon too?”

“Check the freezer, see if we have any.” Bram’s phone buzzed on the counter. Lifting it up, there was a text from Tyler. *Heading to your house. We need to talk.*

Bram frowned. That was always an ominous text coming from him. *Do you have any t-shirts you could bring that I could use for the next week or two?*

*No. I’ll send someone to pick some up for you. They’ll drop them off later.*

That would have to be good enough. Dropping his phone on the counter again, Bram started shuffling through the cupboards. He was sure that he had seen some mix for pancakes in here somewhere. It was the one thing he always asked to have on hand, since it was the first thing he’d ever made for Devon, and it was one of the few things he could make on his own.

“Dad?”

“Did you find the bacon?”

“Yeah,” he dropped the frozen meat next to Bram’s hand, “Why is she allowed in your bed and none of the other nannies were?”

“Because, Izabella’s a lot different. And she was really scared yesterday. Those guys really did hurt her buddy. We’ll have to make sure we’re extra-nice these next few days so that she doesn’t feel weird about anything.” Bram poured the mix into the bowl and went to the fridge for the milk and eggs. “Also, I think I really like her, Devon. This isn’t going to be the same as the other nannies.”

“Does that mean she’s going to be my mom?” Devon looked up at him in excitement.

Bram’s hands were up and waving the thought away as quickly as possible. “N-no! I mean… no… I… need more time to figure all that out. You know it’s complicated.”

“Then make it not complicated.” Devon shrugged, pushing a stool over to where he could help break the eggs into the bowl. “When a man and woman fall in love, they have babies… I could have a little brother!”

“Devon! Stop. I haven’t even known her for three whole days. Too soon, kid. Too soon. I’m also pretty sure she wants to get married. In a church. I can’t really do that. I also can’t have kids, not with a woman. I would need to adopt another punk like you.” He mussed his son’s hair.

“I don’t care. I will take a little brother like me. I just want a brother.” Bram laughed as Devon struggled to stir the mix and a puff bloomed in his face. When the boy blinked up at his father, four coated his little face.

“Well, what about a sister?”

“I thought you didn’t like having girls around?” Devon made a face. “I want a brother that I can play with. Girls are gross.”

“I’ll remember to tell Izabella that.” Devon glared at him, but Bram decided to change the subject. “You know, we do need to figure out your birthday. So, notes I have is that you want to do something with the kids from your orphanage. An outing if possible, and rather than buying you presents, you want to get things for your friends. Right?”

“Well, I did just get a VR just because we were at the store. I would rather get fun things for the kids. It sucks playing with old balls or not having enough blankets when it’s cold.” Bram nodded, adding notes to his phone.

“Do you want to go pick out those things yourself?” Bram asked.

“Yeah. It will mean more to them, right?” Bram couldn’t help but smile. It would mean a lot more if they knew he picked out each one individually.

“I think so. We need a list of their ages and genders. Maybe something that tells us what each of them want the most.” Bram smiled. Flipping his phone open. He still had the orphanage in his phone. “Will you be okay if I call them and see if they’ll send me some information while I make the pancakes?”

“Yeah. Can I talk too? Or help with the pancakes if you’re busy?” His blue eyes shined up at his dad.

“Sure. I’m going to need all the help I can get.” He pulled out a pan, placing it on the stove. As he was dialing the phone, Izabella walked into the kitchen, looking disheveled.

“I’m sorry. I slept too much.” She rubbed at her eyes.

Bram put his finger to his lips as a voice on the other end of his phone answered. “Thank you for calling Sundance Orphanage. How can I assist you today?”

“Good morning. My name is Bram Stoker. I adopted a young boy, Devon, a year ago from you. I was hoping to get some information, because my son would like to see his friends there and bring something each of the kids would like. His adoption date is in four days, I’m hoping someone can help me figure out what each of the children want or need, so that we can try to bring them gifts to celebrate his adoption.”

Bram spoke with the woman who ran the orphanage while also making the pancakes. Izabella joined in, working on the bacon. As Bram was talking, he pulled out a little notepad and started taking notes. Izabella moved in, taking over on the pancakes with Devon’s help. Bram was still on the telephone when Izabella and Devon brought the food to the table. “Okay, that sounds great. And you’ll email me details for the children. Yes, we’ll be looking at next weekend. I’ll talk with Devon and email you back once I have more of the details worked out. Alright. Thank you.”

“So, they’ll email me the details of the kids and give us a list of needed or wanted items. Maybe we should also go through your room today and you can pack up anything you don’t need or want anymore.” Bram set his phone aside, making a plate. “Thank you for taking over. I hope you slept well?”

Izabella smiled up at him, “I did. Thanks to you. I hope the bed wasn’t too crowded.”

“I don’t know if you realized it last night, but you pretty much slept on top of me.” He chuckled.

Izabella blushed, reaching for the maple syrup. “I’m sorry. Did I keep you awake all night?”

“No. It was fine. Other than Devon, I haven’t cuddle with someone all night long in ages. It was actually kinda nice.” He couldn’t help but smile at her. A knock on the door interrupted his teasing. “That’s probably Tyler.”