“What’s wrong?” he called after me. “Can I help?”
“Only if you want to blow up my damn car. The AC is out in it again and I hate my life.” I slammed the bathroom door, stripped off my sweaty penguin-patterned scrubs, and stood in the cool shower, crying like a baby. Being a wise man, Jack left me there for a while, but not too long, and when I stepped out, he was there to wrap a big, soft bath sheet around me and hold me close.
Which made me cry all over again. “I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Come on, Will. Let’s get some shorts on you and a cold drink and then we’ll figure it out, all right?” He patted the water from my shoulders, back, belly, and down my body, not commenting or acting on the fact my traitorous cock was ready for action when the rest of me was not. He held out my shorts and let me brace myself on his shoulders while I stepped into them. Another couple of minutes found me settled on the sofa, tall icy lemonade in hand, and tears at bay for at least the moment.
I took a long, cool sip and let the subtle sweet/tartness of the ultimate summer drink finish chilling me down. “Man, that’s good. You could market this stuff.” Because of course Jack made it from actual lemons and superfine sugar with a touch of maple syrup. No drink powder for him. “But it might be even better with a drop of vodka?” I held the glass toward him with what I hoped was a winsome smile on my lips. “Yes?”
Jack set his glass down and offered me a plate of crackers topped with my favorite gouda. “How about you have a snack instead.”
I took one and held it to my lips then let it down again. “Instead? You don’t think I should have a little vodka. I had a tough day. A little kid bit me.”
He winced in sympathy. “No, the same kid as before?”
“His twin brother.” They both had a genetic condition that required quarterly blood tests, and the kid today had a cold the month before when his brother came in. “I’m starting to think that family is out to get me.”
He set the plate down and tugged me back to lean against him. I was glad to rest there, secure and comfortable in Jack’s arms. But he’d said no vodka. Sure, he was the alpha, but he’d always been so good about explaining when he denied me anything. “Where did he bite you? Did he break the skin?”
“No.” I held up the finger the kid had managed to get between his teeth. “Not this time. But it hurts. Bruised and pinched it, the little monster.”
“Shh. You don’t mean that,” he murmured, brushing a kiss over the injured fingertip. “You love children.”
“Usually…”
“No.” Jack offered me a soft smile. “Always. Look at those goofy scrubs you wear whenever you’ll be going to one of the pediatricians or working with little people at the hospital. You do that just to put them at ease.”
“You think you know me pretty well, huh?” I sighed and moved to stand. “But I still want vodka. Want some?”
He tugged, and I fell back against him. “I don’t think you need to be drinking alcohol right now.” He arched a brow. “You can’t tell me you have no idea why I might feel that way?”
“I don’t drink that much, do I?” I tried to recall if I’d been over imbibing. “I mean, sure I have a beer after work sometimes or maybe a hard lemonade, but do you think I’m overdoing?” My cheeks heated. “Have I been acting stupid or something?”
Jack stroked my hair. “No, Will. You’ve been a little off, but definitely not acting stupid or drunk. But you haven’t been feeling well lately. Am I wrong?”
A sharp pang in my stomach accompanied the feeling of being found out. “I’m sure I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“I think I’ve got a lot of worry ahead of me.” His smile seemed to belie his words. “Years of worry.”
I sucked in a breath. “What do you think is wrong with me?” A long list of fatal illnesses played on the screen in my mind. None of them seemed to match.
And then it did. “Do you mean you think I’m…”
Chapter Seventeen
Jack
Yeah, the omega who’d undone my world in the best way possible was now carrying my child. I’d known it for a while, but I thought it best to let Will figure things out. But as his alpha I wouldn’t let him put the child in danger by drinking alcohol.
After stewing with the news in his head for a while, he reached down and drew a circle on his belly.
“Am I getting chunky?” he asked and then smiled. “You know what? I don’t even care. Wait, does this ruin your plans? Does this change something for us?”
I knew his emotions were running amok, but Will had to know I was beyond elated at the thought of having a babe so late in life.
Didn’t he?
“Will, I’m so overjoyed I can’t even think straight. I’ve already started to buy things from online stores.” His eyes grew wide. I may have divulged a little too much too soon. He sat up quickly and took my mouth with a fury then pulled away.
“Show me.”
I sighed and sat back on the couch. “We have time for this later. Your alpha wants you to rest right now and take it easy. There’s months more to look at baby clothes and blankets and maybe a cradle...I kind of went overboard.” My sentences were running together; that’s how excited I was.
“Now, I have to see! Where?”
I stood and ushered my omega to the spare bedroom, the one I hoped would become a nursery one day. I opened the closet and cringed. Yeah, already I’d done a lot of shopping.
“This kid won’t need clothes until he’s six, Jack. I just found out about this and you’ve bought out the Baby Gap.”
Ugh, Baby Gap. Not good enough for our babe. Not even close.
“The little booties are my favorite.” I pointed to a shelf near the back of the walk-in where at least twenty pairs of booties were lined up in order of color, of course. “Especially the ones with the elephants.”
I’d stuck with a neutral palette, not knowing the sex of our growing babe, but I had to buy that one pair of pink booties with little gray elephants. Something about them called to me.
“These.” He held them up and then shook them a bit. I held my breath and kept a firm grip on the door while he reached inside one of them and took out a small navy velvet box I’d ordered from France.
“What’s this? A tiny little ring for the baby? That’s so cute.”
No, it was my omega who was cute. He didn’t get it. He would in a minute, but for these few seconds of his ignorant bliss, I would soak up his adorableness.
He popped the silver clasp and unlatched the box. As Will opened it, I stared at his face, wanting to imprint in my memory his expression the moment he realized I wanted him for more than spending the night or carrying my child.
I wanted Will for life.
Inside the box, a light illuminated the platinum ring I’d made for him. It had taken me months, and I’d turned down several jobs to complete it, but my omega’s forever ring was worth the work.
“What’s this, Jack?” He turned to me, a single tear rolling down his face.
“I think you know what it is, omega mine.”
He looked back at it, and I took the opportunity to get on my knee in front of him, right there in that closet, surrounded by clothes for our babe, and took the box from his hands.
“Will, I love you and I want you in my life forever. Would you have me as your husband?”
Because let’s face it, that was the real question here. Not, would he marry me, but would he be willing to put up with my stubborn ass for life.
“Is this just because I’m pregnant?” His hand went to his belly as he asked. “Because we don’t have to get married. I know it’s a thing for you. I know what he did to you.”
I looked down to the ground and wished all things Ellis away. He had no place in my life now, no place in my heart, and certainly no place in this moment.
“But this is you, Will,” I said, facing the floor. “It’s you. And I want you and me to be forever. Nothing else matters, n
ot even my past.”
“I was content, Jack. I was happy to have you in my life and have your babe in my belly, but now, the answer is yes. I’ll have you as my husband and my alpha forever. Did you make me this ring?”
He got down on the floor and coaxed me to sit next to him. My mind was still all over the place in shock that he actually said yes.
“I made it with my own hands. Imported platinum from South Africa. Anything for you.”
“Damn, Jack. You really do love us.” He pulled me in for a kiss that left me breathless.
“I love both of you. I didn’t know I could again.”
Chapter Eighteen
Will
Once Jack slipped that ring on my finger, everything changed in my world. First, the symptoms of the pregnancy took a quick break, as in I felt fabulous for a couple of days, riding high on the engagement to the most wonderful, sexy, smart, talented alpha in Mapleville, or possibly the whole world.
That didn’t last, of course, but after the first trimester, I felt better. The second we both watched me grow bigger and bigger, and my brave comments about not caring if I was fat faded into pleas for compliments or at least comments that Jack wasn’t repulsed by my expanding waistline.
He always laughed, hugged me, and showed me just how unrepulsed he was. So...my insecurity morphed into foreplay. Not for everyone, maybe, but for us, it was an inside joke and an invitation to intimacy.
We planned to get married as soon as the baby arrived. My alpha, old-fashioned in some ways, had a very modern notion that the baby should be present when we became an “official” family. And I wanted to look less like I was hiding a watermelon under my shirt in the wedding photos.
I tried to get Jack to consider moving into my bigger place without offending him. I knew he wasn’t broke, but since he’d already filled his spare room almost to the ceiling with baby purchases, the additional square footage would be welcome. Again, in his older, wiser way, he laughed it off and said we’d be fine.
I hadn’t even been to my home in over two months, having managed to drag all my personal things to the apartment behind the shop rather early in my pregnancy. Now, eight months in, I’d just finished my last day of blood drawing until after my paternity leave and was headed to the birthing center to meet Jack for our first Lamaze class. Lucky, because another inch of belly and I’d be hard-pressed to fit behind the wheel at all.
Before the class, I was going to make a quick stop at my house. While drawing blood from one of my smaller patients that day, I’d noticed the watch on his little wrist with the familiar logo and mouse ears. I had one just like it, picked up on an amusement park vacation when I was not much bigger than this little guy. It hadn’t worked in years, but Jack, in addition to being an amazing silversmith had a hobby of repairing old timepieces.
It would give me great pleasure to pass this token from one of the most special times in my childhood along to our baby. The soft smile tickling my lips was wiped from my face when I turned the corner to my street and found...and found…
“Where’s my house?” The baby flipped over at my sudden intake of breath. In shock, I looked at the homes to either side and across the street from where I expected mine to be and they were the same as they’d always been. Plain wood frame homes from the 1940s in white and beige with small, not-so-green front lawns and big backyards. A lot like my house...which had apparently been replaced by a palace.
Jerking to a stop in front of the long drive...I texted Jack. Emergency! 911! I’m at my house, hurry!
Then I got out and waddled up to the set of stairs leading to double doors set with stained glass inserts and rang the bell.
It didn’t take long to realize nobody was going to answer the bell. Fishing in my pocket, I drew out my keychain. It was a ridiculous idea, but I selected my house key and inserted it in the lock on the very familiar-looking knob so out of place on the elegant door. It turned. Holy Moly. Agog, I pushed the door open and found myself in a marble-floored entry hall. It was the size of my former living room. The walls were bare, but the ceiling rose at least twenty feet in the air. For just a second I couldn’t picture the former place. Had it been two stories...or three. No, the fairies who had replaced my comfortably ratty home with this changeling had raised the roof. I’d had three small bedrooms. One bath.
I’d bought it despite its small footprint because of its big piece of land, with the intention of adding on one day. You know, like a screened porch. Had someone managed to appropriate the property in the months I hadn’t come by? I’d heard of this happening, but not in Mapleville. Big cities, where criminals took advantage of people in long-term hospital stays or nursing homes, renting out their places for profit. But this...this was an entirely different situation. What could it possibly mean? And the doorknob...why had the thieves/custom home builders retained such a thing amid all the luxury?
I wandered farther in, through a large living room comfortably furnished with deep leather sofas, a formal dining room, a media room, kitchen of commercial proportions with stainless steel appliances, and had one foot on the stairs leading to the second floor when the door burst open to admit my out-of-breath alpha.
“Will!” He raced to my side and I flung myself into his arms. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is it the baby?”
“The baby?” For a second I didn’t even remember there was a baby, but then it came flooding back. “No. Someone stole my house and replaced it with...this!”
He sat me down on the steps and sank to sit beside me, his expression unreadable. At least it wasn’t what I’d expect.
“Jack?” Tears flooded my eyes. “Someone stole it, they must have filed a new deed and torn my place down to build this. Someone even furnished it. Jack, what can I do? It wasn’t much, but it was all I had. I saved so long for the down payment.” My voice cracked and I doubled over the basketball that was my belly. “I came for my watch for the baby.”
The silence stretched between us and I peeked up at him again. His mouth worked, but no words came out, and the line that appeared between his brows when he was upset cut deep. He was a resourceful man, but I couldn’t imagine even he had a solution for this one. Poor man was even more dismayed by this than I was.
“Jack...it’s okay.” I wanted to make him feel better. What a wonderful alpha to feel my pain so strongly. “We’ll hire an attorney and get it all straightened out.” But as I took in the mansion around me, I wasn’t sure. “There must be a huge mortgage on this, though. I don’t know how we’ll get around that.”
He let out a sound like a wheeze and I returned my gaze to him. “We can do that, right? Afford a lawyer? I have some savings.”
“Will, there’s no mortgage on this place,” he muttered, looking straight in front of him. “The house thief paid cash.”
Chapter Nineteen
Jack
I sipped coffee out of my same old mug and watched the cats play in the backyard. My pajama pants dragged past my feet while the swing rocked back and forth, not lulling me to comfort like it used to.
Nothing was the same without Will around—nothing. Food didn’t taste the same. I hated my fucking car because it smelled like him. Baby clothes in the closet made me break down and cry like a baby—ironically enough.
I hated my life without Will. I didn’t even know how I put up with myself before him.
My phone vibrated, and I sighed before looking at the screen. It was the same message every morning. When Will told me I’d gone too far and that he needed some space from me, I begged him to at least let me know if he and the baby were good and if I could do anything for him. He agreed and had kept his word. I knew he would. Will was the most honorable omega I’d known, and I ruined it all.
I am fine. Baby is fine.
And there it was, the sum of what our communications had come to. At first, I replied with a sentiment or asked him a question. But my sentiments and my questions went unanswered. So I stopped.
Had I gone too far re
building his house and paying off the mortgage without asking him—probably. But it was because I loved him and wanted the best for him. That had to count for something, right?
Vivian said I should be glad that he didn’t cuss me out and toss me to the curb. She said he was being really nice to me by texting me every morning, considering. If it was her, she would never speak to me again.
But that was me. I’d spent a lifetime being alone, and now that I’d finally found the love I’d prayed for, I wanted him to have the best. And I could afford it. Before Will, I was like Scrooge, saving my money and investing like a wild man.
I couldn’t take it with me. My mother always said there were no pockets in the casket. So I’d decided to spend it on the one person in the world who meant more to me than myself—Will.
And our child. I’d already set the baby up with a sizeable trust fund, plus a college fund and had my will changed to leave everything to Will.
Fuck, he could take everything I was worth right this second and I wouldn’t regret building him that house.
Still, even in my stubbornness, I saw his point. I should’ve discussed it with him and asked his permission. I left him with the key to the storage unit so he could retrieve some things and then hired a company to deliver the rest to his new house.
This is why bastards like me die alone—we can’t leave well enough alone.
I got up and handled some emails and voicemails. I hadn’t taken on any new projects since the day Will told me he needed space. Every time I sat at my tool bench or even looked at my shop, it reminded me of him. Every fucking cup and wall and even my bed reminded me of him. I’d slept on the couch ever since.
Smelling his scent on my things drove me insane.
I hadn’t left the house in four days. The refrigerator was bare.
I went inside and got dressed, what the fuck for, I didn’t know. I put on a dark-green sweater and some gray slacks that Will said made my eyes pop, along with some silly socks he’d bought me that had pizza slices all over them.
The Omegas Silver Alpha Page 7
