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My heart swelled with feelings of contentment and pride at the little life I’d created. Seven years ago, I'd left my home with nothing but a truckful of tools and some pawflower seeds.
Now I had my own family, a farm, and a purpose.
Iris finished eating and got the squirmies, never one to lay still and just be.
I carried her back inside and set her on her play mat on the floor so she could practice rolling over and getting up onto her hands and knees. Este and his family were coming to visit the following week, and I fully expected Iris to start crawling while they were there, in her attempts to keep up with Sammy and Adrian.
Mateo had come out to help after Iris was born, staying for almost two weeks by himself before Este arrived with the kids. You could have knocked me over with a feather at how much I enjoyed having a full house with all those people. That was when I realized that working with the boys had also been good for The Quiet in me too.
I'd become better at managing it, at learning to enjoy being with people despite it.
Este's family had been coming out every couple of months since, sometimes just Mateo, sometimes the whole family. Mateo and Este loved to play with Iris, and I had a feeling that being around her was making them think about having another.
She was pretty cute, it was undeniable.
The boys were in love with her, too. When they were with us, Joe and I got to enjoy more time to ourselves because they were always eager to babysit. We usually had to track Iris down, only to find one kid or another wearing her on their back while they tended to the pawflower, or they would shift into their fur and roll around in the grass with her climbing all over them.
Joe was more anxious than I was about what type of shifter she would be. I thought he wanted her to be a coyote so she'd fit in with the pack and not end up as an outsider like he was. At the same time, I thought he kinda wanted her to be a fox so he didn't feel so alone in our family.
So when she first shifted and was an adorable little coyote, I almost felt bad for Joe. But I could see his excitement and pride regardless.
With Iris entertained for a few minutes, I fixed Joe's coffee and brought it into the bedroom. I snuggled up beside him and nuzzled behind his ear. "Wake up, Daddy."
Joe was Daddy, I was Papi.
He opened his eyes and smiled, then reached toward the coffee. “Be careful. It’s hot.” I handed it to him.
He sat up and took a sip. "How's Iris?"
"Great. Can you hear her?"
We listened to her babbling from the next room. Then the sound of the door opening, and several pairs of feet shuffled to the coffee maker.
I raised my eyebrows. "The boys are here."
Joe smiled. We listened as they took turns saying good morning to Iris. Dylan went straight to fixing breakfast for his brother and the two other young coyotes who had recently joined us.
Joe had been teaching them to cook for themselves, which was enormously helpful.
"We're pouring the foundation today, remember?"
"I remember. I might keep Iris with me for this one."
"Okay. I'll come check on you at lunch." I gave Joe a kiss. "Want the baby?"
He nodded excitedly. “Always.”
I went and swooped Iris up out of Dylan's hands. "Iris is staying home today."
They collectively sighed with disappointment, then gave Iris little tickles and kisses.
I was beginning to learn that The Quiet was more common than I'd realized, or maybe it was just our pack. Sometimes I wondered if Este might even have a touch of it.
As more boys joined us, we needed more room to house everyone, so the boys and I were building a large bunkhouse for them with a big kitchen, a couple bathrooms, and guest bedrooms. They'd still have the small cabins we'd built last fall, but having a space for people who needed more community was important.
With so much labor on hand, we even put in a second crop of pawflower. It was beginning to feel like the sky was the limit for our little farm.
That evening, the boys went down for a swim in the lake, and I ran a bath in the outdoor clawfoot tub for Joe and Iris. I watched them splash around, then Joe handed Iris to me so he could lie back and relax.