Naughty Elf: Twinkle (Santa’s Naughty Elf Mates)

8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Monty

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” I greeted Twinkle with a kiss and a cup of hot chocolate as my tired mate wandered into the kitchen. I knew he was worn out after our three-day marathon and let him sleep in. He yawned and scratched his head. His hair stuck up in all directions which let me know he was still half asleep .

“Good morning.” He took a sip of his drink. “Mmm, nothing better than hot chocolate first thing in the morning.”

“Nothing, huh? I could think of a few things that beat that.”

“Naughty bear.”

“That’s because I’ve got a sexy mate. Santa filled my stocking with the right toy.” Twinkle nearly shot hot chocolate out of his nose. “You’re not too sore are you, sweetheart?” I wonder what would be safe to use to help with any discomfort. Grace will know, I’ll call her and ask.

“A little bit, but it was worth it. It’s not too bad, I promise.” Twinkle hissed as he took a seat.

“Not too bad huh? Your reaction says otherwise.”

Twinkle blushed. “I put some lotion on it, but I promise I’m fine.”

“You know, you can tell me anything, right?” That’s the second time I’d had to say that and wondered how many more it would take before the words sunk in.

“Yes, and right back at you. I don’t want it to get like it was again, Monty. If something’s going on, we need to talk about it. I thought you hated me.” Twinkle teared up and it took all I had not to drag him back to bed and remind him how much I loved him .

“My love, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell I could ever hate you. I love you to the moon and back. I can’t apologize enough for my actions. It was extremely difficult to be around you without ravishing every inch of your body. You deserve better treatment than that, especially for your first time.” Though I wasn’t quite sure I’d been successful in that regard. I recalled quite a few roars that escaped and the bed scooched across floor which reminded me, I better check and see if the floorboards were damaged.

Twinkle’s giggle warmed my worried heart. “You properly ravished me, and I thank you for that.” The little imp winked at me. “I do have a question though, are there any other aspects to this whole mating ritual that I should be aware of? Or was consummating it the only step?”

Jesus, Monty, did you ever speak to the poor guy beforehand? Way to break him into your world. Talk about failing miserably. “Not as far as mating goes. My brothers and sisters had weddings. That’s more a human world thing but some want it. If that’s something you want, we can definitely do it.” Would he want a formal proposal?

“I would love that, further down the road. We don’t need to rush into it when we already know we're mates.”

“This is true, but I wouldn’t mind putting a ring on it.”

“And being the it in that statement, I wouldn’t mind accepting your shiny new ring. ”

Decision made, now to get Momma involved. She would love this and would hopefully keep the secret to herself.

It was my turn to be the one with their mind going a million miles a minute. From finding the perfect ring for Twinkle, to watching that gorgeous man walk down the aisle toward me. Who would’ve ever thought this grouchy old bear would fall head over heels for a shiny Christmas star.

I whistled away as I whipped up a bowl of oatmeal for Twinkle and topped it with just enough cinnamon sugar that was the right amount for him but would’ve had the rest of us running laps to wear off the sugar high. I placed the bowl in front of him and took a seat and proceeded to shovel down a stacked plate of bacon and eggs. When was the last time I really ate? Considering how little we came up for air these last few days it was no wonder I was starving.

“Twinkle, I’m gonna run down and see Momma. Did you want to come with me?” As much as I loved taking him everywhere, I hoped he would say no, because I wanted to run my plan by her without him overhearing.

“As much as I love your mother, I kinda just want to hang out around here and relax and play with Tina if that’s okay? ’

“Of course, it is, sweetheart.” I gave him a quick peck and grabbed the bag off the hook by the front door I used to hold my clothes in while I was shifted. It would sure feel good to stretch my bones after being in bed for as long as we had been. “I love you. I’ll be back soon.”

“Oh, that reminds me, maybe I should get a cell phone. When you took off the other morning and forgot to leave a note…” Twinkle side eyed me, and I got the point. “I got scared. It would be nice to be able to get a hold of you if I had to.”

“By all means, I’m sorry I hadn’t thought of that sooner. I’ll take care of that for you while I’m out and about.”

“Thank you. Love you too,” he shouted over his shoulder as he dropped to the floor and rolled around with Tina. Those two were adorable. I stripped down, put the clothes in the bag, went outside and shifted and took off at a run toward my momma’s house. I couldn’t believe how excited I was about this, and the potential Twinkle could be with child.

Didn’t take me long to get to my folk’s house in this form. I’d never clocked myself to see how fast I ran as a bear, but I might consider it at some point. My brothers and I used to race one another when we were younger. Should’ve had dad time us then so I had something to compare.

I shifted just outside their house and dressed before I walked inside. Their door was always unlocked and us kids had a come any time open invitation. We were all raised here, my brothers, sisters, and I, and Momma said it would remain our home for as long as she lived there.

“Mmm, not sure what you’re baking but it smells wonderful.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure of our oldest son’s visit?”

Dad was perched in his usual spot, the recliner, flipping through the TV channels.

“Well, I wanted to run something by you.”

“Would it have anything to do with the last three days of you and Twinkle holed up inside your house? I heard there was a lot of snarling and growling going on.” One guess who told Dad that…Kody.

Like father like son, neither of them had a filter nor knowledge of what personal space meant.

“Not gonna talk about what I do with my mate behind closed doors, old man.”

“Don’t you old man me. I can still take you.”

I rolled my eyes and made sure he saw. “Dream on, old man.”

“You two stop it,” Momma called out. “Here, take a seat and have a piece of cake and tell me what’s on your mind, Monty. ”

“Twinkle and I were talking about stuff. Come to find out he’d like to get married someday.” Mom swooned. The woman loved weddings.

“So, I wondered what you would think about helping me pick out a ring so I can propose, properly.”

The woman screamed so loud I had to hold my ears.

“I’d like to keep my hearing if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, hush you. Yes, I absolutely will, and I’ve got the perfect jeweler for you to use in town.” She rambled off things about jewelry I had no clue about then dove right into wedding plans.

“Some of those decisions Twinkle has to make, Momma. Now the ring and the proposal, those are up to me. Just to set this record straight, if he’s pregnant he may want the wedding to wait until after he has the baby.”

“Oh my God. Oh my God.” Momma squealed and jumped up and down. “That will be wonderful. You two will make the most beautiful babies. I can see them already.”

“All right woman, calm down. He just came out of heat yesterday. But that’s what I was trying to say, if he is pregnant, he may want to wait until after the baby comes. For now, I just need to find a ring. And get him a phone. Escaped my mind until he just pointed it out.” Couldn’t believe I hadn’t already purchased one. “Do you have time to go into town with me today?”

“Absolutely.” She took off the apron she’d had for as long as I could remember and hung it on the hook. “Let me get my handbag.”

“What about me?” Dad called out from his resting place.

“What about you? You hate shopping.” He’d reminded us of that every chance he got.

“No truer words have been spoken, son. I shall stay behind and hold down the fort.”

I shook my head at him. I was truly blessed with the wonderful family that I had. But sometimes…

Mom chattered away all the way into town. From my place it was a half hour to an hour, given the weather, but from my folks and siblings places further down the mountains it was only about fifteen minutes. She went on and on about diamonds this, and sapphire’s that then moved onto what about rubies? I knew the color for each of the stones, but picking a setting or a style I was clueless about. My hope was when the right ring appeared, I’d know. Or something along those lines.

We stopped at the phone store first, given that was the easiest chore. I opted for the same model I had for Twinkle. It’d be easier to show him how to operate it. Had it added to my account and off we went.

“John Bovier. He’s one of two jewelers in town. Your brothers got their wives rings from him as did your sister’s husbands.”

“Oh yeah, how did they manage to do that?” As if I didn’t already know the answer given I was currently doing the same.

Momma smiled wide. “Everybody knows you come to the Momma first. If you don’t, then there’s probably gonna be hell to pay later. Happy Mother, happy boys.” Woman made up her own metaphors that always centered around her. Go figure.

“Ha-ha. Ain’t that the truth, Momma.” Arguing was futile cause the damn woman was always right. Nobody crossed Momma.

We pulled in and parked and the man behind the counter’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw Momma get out of the car.

“Sandy LeClaire,” he met us at the door. “You’re a sight for sore eyes. How are you doing?” He gave Momma a big hug.

“I’m doing just fine. I brought you the last of my children to finally say I do and pick out a ring for his beautiful fiancé to be. This is my oldest, Monty. Boy sure did take his time finding Mr. Right.”

Mr. Bouvier threw his head back and laughed. “When the time is right, the time is right, and marriage isn’t something to be rushed into. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Monty,” he said as we shook hands. “Now tell me a bit about your man.”

“Well, he’s snarky and sassy. Full of life and the happiest little man. Obsessed with Christmas.” That was putting it mildly. “All I know is since he walked into my life, everything’s been turned upside down in the best of ways.”

“Now that is what we like to hear. Congratulations to you and your prospective fiancé. Now, what are you thinking? White gold, yellow gold, titanium. What’s your metal of choice?” Mr. Bouvier rattled off.

When I glanced at Momma her face morphed into a giant shit eating grin.

“Well, to be honest, it’s all Greek to me, and I don’t know about jewelry. So, I guess just show us the metals you mentioned and when the right one pops out, either Momma or I will shout it out.” Was that the right answer? Was there a right or wrong answer for this? Twinkle was grateful for the simplest of things, I was sure he’d be head over heels with whatever I gave him. Now clothes, that was something I’ll never attempt to pick out for him .

Mr. Bouvier slid out a tray of each metal he’d mentioned from a locked cabinet.

“I think I like the white gold the best.” Metal down, stones next. “What do you think, Momma?”

“Agreed.”

“Great, step one is complete.” He put the other two trays away. “Now, precious gemstones and design. Were you considering a simple band? Perhaps one with an engraved design, or were you thinking of adding stones?”

“Now you sound like Momma. I think she went through every stone known to man in the car ride here. I’m envisioning stones all the way around the band, diamonds possibly. Maybe throw in a couple sapphires. That is, after all, my favorite color now.”

“Who knew my oldest would be the biggest sap? Yes, your Twinkle does have the most beautiful sapphire blue eyes I’ve ever seen. But then again, I’ve always been partial to brown.”

Of course she was. My father had a unique shade of brown eyes whereas the rest of ours were nearly black.

“I don’t know his ring size. Will that be a problem?” No clue how to get it without blowing my cover.

“No. If it needs to be resized that’s not an issue. It’s included with the purchase for as long as you own the ring.” Mr. Bouvier was a straight shooter, and I appreciated that .

“Good to know. Momma, do you have any suggestions?”

“Well, I have an idea. I don’t know if it’s possible to do it, but if anybody can, Mr. Bouvier would be the one.” She’d piqued my interest, and I was excited to hear it.

“What were you thinking, Sandy?”

“Would it be possible, and keep in mind, Twinkle is a little obsessed with Christmas.” I’m glad she didn’t go into the details as to why or we’d definitely lose our sanity card when she mentioned Santa. “It’s his favorite time of year. What about integrating something holiday related into the design? Like little diamond and sapphire chips around the band that form snowflakes.”

“Snowflakes, huh?” Mr. Bouvier sat back, deep in thought. As an artist I was sure he not only visualized the design but the craftsmanship it would take to bring it to life. “The band would have to be a bit wider, like this.” He pulled one out that matched the width he had in mind. “I think I can pull that off and you know I’m always up for a challenge. Will be a beautiful one-of-a-kind piece.”

“I couldn’t think of a more perfect ring myself. That’s genius, Momma.” Was it normal to be this excited over a piece of jewelry? Where is Monty and what have you done with him, Cupid ?

“You act like that surprised you. You know, I’m the smartest person in the family.”

“And the humblest. How long will it take to make, Mr. Bouvier?”

“Honestly, not too long. I don’t have any other custom pieces ahead of you. Why don’t you give me about two weeks? If you haven’t heard from me by then, give me a call back.” He retrieved one of his cards off the rack and slid it in front of me. “If I complete it before then, I’ll call you.”

We agreed on a price, and I filled out the required paperwork with my phone number on it and paid the deposit. I had a vision in my head of what it might look like, and I couldn’t wait to see the finished product. Twinkle would absolutely love it. Now, I just had to figure out the proposal.

Momma and I ran by the store so she could pick up a few things. I grabbed steaks and fresh salmon to grill so Twinkle wouldn’t have to worry about cooking tonight. I wore the poor guy out though neither of had any complaints about it.

“Any ideas on the proposal?”

“No and I’ve got butterflies the size of Texas. No clue how I’ll be able to keep this a secret.”

And here I was worried Momma would spill the beans.

“Just wait until you’ve got the ring. Don’t spill without the prize.”

“Witty woman.”