Raised Mateless (On Hold)

Chapter 10

 "Dakota Ryan Foster. If you don't get up here, right this minute, you will not be going out tonight at all!"

I heard the frustrated sigh from the hallway and before I knew it, Dakota came barrelling through the door. He ripped off all his clothes and jumped into the bathtub. I blinked, amazed at the sight in front of me; that went faster than I thought it would.

Dakota pouted as he splashed the warm water in the porcelain tub, flicking the bubbles that floated toward him.

"That's a good boy," I cooed, smiling softly at him. "Are you excited to go trick or treating with Grandpa?"

Dakota's head bobbed with impatience and excitement, as he slicked back his brown hair with his hand. "I'm going to go from Mr. Weaver's house all the way to Grandma's!"

I stiffened slightly at the mention of Ryan's mother, Diana; she was a piece of work. She adored Dakota, but saw him as a replacement for Ryan rather than her grandson. I wasn't sure what was worse; Alpha Foster completely ignoring the existence of his grandson or Diana pretending her son had been reincarnated.

I forced a teasing smile onto my face. "Baby, you know their house is nearly a two hour walk from here. Wouldn't you get tired?"

"No! I could walk to China if I had to!" He exclaimed.

My smile settled into something more genuine from my amusement. "But you'd expect Grandpa to carry you back home."

The determined glint in his eyes faltered, as his stormy grey eyes turned back to me. "Wouldn't he?"

"Sorry to say this, but I don't think so bud. Sorry," I said chuckling, grabbing the tear free shampoo and massaging it through his hair.

We fell into silence after that; Dakota humming random tunes from TV commercials while I washed his hair free of any shampoo and conditioner.

I then reached down to grab him from the bathtub and quickly dried him off. I wanted to make sure he was completely dry before slipping on his Halloween costume.

Dakota broke free from my arms, running to his room, and returned with a bundle of clothes in his arms.

"Here Momma, can you help me?" He asked. I let a small smile creep onto my lips, as my heart melted. Quickly, I tucked him into the little furry suit, did up the zipper and pushed up his hood. He was dressed up as a little brown bear. A Kodiak bear, most likely.

"You look adorable, bud." I cooed, pitching his checks, before smoothing out his little brown ears.

Dakota looked up, his costume's bear face falling off his head. "Momma, the Kodiak bear can weigh up to fourteen hundred pounds and be up to ten feet tall!" He exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement. "I'm scary, Momma, not adorable."

"My mistake then; you’re very scary!" I replied.

I had to bite back a grin at the smug look on Dakota's face. I reached over to the sink, grabbing my make-up case, and moving Dakota to sit on the edge of the tub as the water drained out.

I used my black crayon eyeliner to give him a black nose and solid black eyes.

"Do you think we could go see Daddy soon?"

I froze at the question. Dakota had never once asked to go see Ryan, nor did I have any recollection of a reason for him to ask now. I knew the anniversary of his death was in less than a month but Dakota didn't.

Even when Dakota first started asking questions about his father in the last year we kept it basic. He knew his father had passed away in a car accident and loved him very much. But I didn't feel comfortable explaining everything to him until he could understand the weight of the situation.