“This is great. Have you changed your mind, Carter? Did you still want me to move in today?”
His eyes trained on the bed, he put Hannah down and watched as she picked up a stray toy and began to entertain herself. “I’m sure, Beck. Can I call you Beck?”
No one ever had, and that made the nickname even more special.
“I don’t mind. Probably easier for the kids as well.”
He cleared his throat. “Oh, yeah, probably so. And yes, I’m sure. If you can move in today, I can call Manny and tell him you’re taken. I mean as a manny you’re taken.”
I nodded and handed Jase over to him. “I’ll go get my things, then. I don’t have much so it won’t take long. Did you need me to pick up anything on my way home—back here?”
He pulled his wallet from his back pocket, and I recalled him doing the same thing that night, except the motion was to retrieve a condom. This time he held out a debit card.
Fuck, I had to wipe that memory away or else this job was going to be pure hell on me.
“Here. I’ll make a note to get one in your name. Get whatever you think we need. And probably something for dinner since I forgot to thaw anything.” He kissed Jase on the temple and sighed then reached over onto a shelf. “Oh, and here’s a key for you.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
I left the house and got into my truck. Carter had just saved my life.
Chapter Seven
Carter
“We can start in two weeks.” Frank, the contractor, tapped away on his tablet. “If I can get my entire crew to commit to the project, we can push it to be done in six weeks tops.”
Six weeks surrounded by the ghost of my brother. Not a real ghost—but he was everywhere in that house, and, emotionally, it crushed me like a vice to be there.
“And the house will be uninhabitable that entire time?” Since they were removing a roof, the stupidity of my question was not veiled in the slightest. “Never mind. Of course it will be.”
Chelsea was miraculously still sleeping, and, like a deadbeat loser, I had Hannah and Jase in front of the television. How single parents managed this on a daily basis had to be based in magic. There was no other logical explanation.
“Listen. I know this is a hard time for you, and I can only promise to do the best I can. We can focus solely on the second floor and then work on the rear addition after you move back in. It isn’t ideal and will ultimately cost a bit more—doing all of the flooring at once, for example, tends to cut labor costs. But I can work on it with you.”
His kindness overwhelmed me in that moment. Things were finally falling into place and progressing forward toward our new normal. I had a family to take care of now. Please let me be the alpha they need.
“What do you need me to do? Write a check?” I needed to get this all going.
“Yes, a check would be helpful, but the big thing you need to do is to empty this house. You could leave things in some of the downstairs rooms, and I’d be happy to mark where, but even in those, anything fragile needs to be wrapped. Not gonna lie. The house is gonna shake, and things could fall.” He tapped away on his tablet. “Okay, I sent you a floorplan of the house and marked the rooms that can be left mostly alone. You could even put the boxes you pack in them, although that means you will need to unpack them to use the rooms again.”
“What do you recommend?” Even if my focus had been strong, he had much more experience in this than I did.
“Easiest, but not cheapest solution is to rent one of the movable storage units, fill it then have them move it while we work.”
We discussed all the strategies and, by the time he was packing up to leave, I felt significantly more comfortable with the plan. It was nearly dinnertime, and Beck still hadn’t returned, giving me a few minutes to make a list of things I wanted to for-sure keep. If I was going to move everything, I might as well weed out the things I no longer needed or, in the case of the glass coffee table, should no longer have.
I’d barely started my list when Chelsea screamed so loudly her siblings sprang to their feet.
“It’s okay, kids,” I told the others. She just woke up.” I was lying. I had no idea if it was okay or not, but instilling fear in them was an impoverished idea at best. “Let’s go get her.” They followed behind as her screaming continued.
“It’s okay, Chelsea. Uncle’s here,” I cooed in her ear as I held her close, rocking and bouncing her and wishing I could take away the abject fear that had her shaking and crying. “I’ve got you.”
“Night terrors.” Beck stood in the doorway. I’d missed his entrance while trying to calm the sweet baby girl. “You are doing the right thing.” It didn’t feel like it. There had to be more. She was so scared and didn’t appear to even know I was there.
I trusted him, though, and kept going as he plopped the other two kids on the bed and handed them the storybooks from the nightstand. I continued what I was doing, and, slowly but surely, she calmed down to the point where she fell back asleep in my arms.
“Night terrors?” I asked as I sat beside the kids on my bed, Chelsea still in my arms. I was unable to put her down, fearing she’d wake again screaming. “It’s a thing?”
“My brother used to get them around this age. Very normal.” If that was the case, normal sucked.
“I thought maybe it was because of what happened with their dads,” I confessed. They had so much trauma in their short lives. That had to leave a mark.
“No.” He squeezed my shoulder firmly. “It’s just something that impacts some kids, and, as you can see, the name lies—it isn’t even nighttime.”
I forced a low chuckle at his attempt at humor.
“You can put her down,” he reassured. “She’ll probably sleep another half an hour, and I have a car to unload.”
Right. He thought he was moving right in. Heck, I did as well. How I didn’t piece together the amount of work needed before they started the actual renovation only went to prove how overwhelmed I was.
“About that.” I placed her gently in the crib and took my seat again, this time with Hannah climbing on my lap, engrossed in her book. “The contractor said we need to pack up this house. He sent me a list of rooms we can leave things in, but, spoiler alert, it isn’t many.” Three. There were three, and one was a bathroom.
“So we are moving to the other house earlier than planned.” He didn’t seem at all fazed by it. I very much was.
“Maybe, yeah.” Not maybe. We were. I just had to completely brace myself for that fact before admitting it out loud.
“Did you want help starting tonight when the kids go to bed?”
“I’d love that.” I needed that to break me from the paralysis all of this was beginning to cause. I wanted to do like I had as a kid and just pretend none of it was happening and let my parents take care of it. Only now they were gone, and I was the parent—something I very much didn’t know how to be. “I figure maybe you can help me decide what furniture and things I should get rid of while we are at it. You know, for safety and such.” Not once had the glass concerned me with the kids. Once he mentioned it, it was as clear as the nose on my face. Maybe my parenting gene was broken.
Jase snuggled into my side. They didn’t seem to mind that I fumbled at my role. I loved them so much it hurt, and I needed to be everything they needed.
“You are so good at all of this. Thank you for being here.” I needed him and not in the way I had that night. No, this time my need was much more important. I needed to be a competent father figure for these children, and failure was not an option.
“You are, too, Carter. You are a natural. You just had a lot thrown at you all at once and need some time to adjust.”
“From your lips…” Which I refused to imagine anywhere on my body.
“Who knew when I called you Daddy that night that I’d been almost right, just in the wrong way?” His rich laughter had my shoulders relaxing slightly. Daddy. I’d have lied if I’d said I had
forgotten about it. I might have thought of it a multitude of times since then, most of which when I was naked and alone. Never again, though. He was no longer the hot night of memories deposited into a spank bank. This time he was the manny.
“You think I can handle being their parents and their uncle?”
“Oh yeah, alpha. You’ve got this.”
“And you’re going to help.” I didn’t want to admit that I didn’t think I could do it without him, although I was confident he already saw my insecurities for what they were. I hadn’t hidden them well—or at all.
“I’d be honored to do so.”
Chapter Eight
Beckham
We sat next to each other on the bottom step after an insane night. The kids were great. Carter cooked up grilled cheeses along with tomato soup then they filled their tummies, and finished their milk.
After a warm bath with lavender baby soap I’d picked up at the market, they were lulled right to sleep not even three pages into their story. Another thing I bought at the store, a few of my favorite books for bedtime stories.
Carter and I wasted no time digging into the work. We’d decided during bathtime—the kids’, not ours, though the thought had crossed my mind—that we would pack up all the small valuables first and make a list of the other things that would go into storage.
He lay back against the stairs behind us and sighed. “I’m exhausted but I couldn’t have done it without you.”
I patted his leg, and my instincts rioted against taking my hand away. “It’s okay. That’s what I’m here for.” His stomach growled, and I laughed. “Grilled cheese not do it for you?”
He chuckled. “Not quite. Not after all of this work we did.”
I looked at the stack of boxes we’d put in the formal living room. The doors would have to be shut and locked before the kids woke up the next morning, otherwise, I had a feeling we would be starting over.
“How about some cookies and a cup of coffee? I may or may not have bought some cookie dough, you know, for bribing purposes.”
Over my shoulder, I saw him yawn but nod. “That sounds great. I have some papers to grade tonight.”
Clearing my throat, I stood. “That’s actually something else we need to talk about, Carter.”
He did the eyebrow thing again. “What?”
“I have to go to my classes. I only have four right now, and two online, but I have to attend those.”
He sat up like I’d told him I was an alien. “You’re a student? At the university? My university?”
I nodded. “I thought Manny told you. I made sure to put it on my application.”
His shoulders sagged. “Maybe that interview should’ve been a lot more thorough after all. But that’s okay. What days are your classes?”
I leaned against the banister. “I have morning classes until eleven on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
His chagrin gave it away. There was obviously a conflict. “I have a class on Tuesdays and Thursdays that lasts from ten to eleven. I’d have to hire another sitter.”
“That won’t do. These kids have enough to deal with.” I wasn’t sure what the other options were, but there had to be some.
Searching my brain for options, I came up with none, scared this situation was going to end before it really began.
“I can try to see if Hutchens can let you make some schedule changes,” he offered. “He works in administration and can work some magic, given the situation. Let me leave him a message right now.”
My chest surged with relief. “If you could, that would be great. I can go make the cookies and coffee while you do that.”
“Perfect. I also need to take a quick shower. I may or may not have gotten poop on me.”
I scrunched my nose in faux disgust as he fished his cell phone from his pocket. I went to the kitchen and preheated the oven. I’d bought cookie dough for the tykes because what they had been through, they deserved a cookie, and so did Carter. Cookies made everything better. Not perfect, but better.
With the coffee started and the square pieces of dough in the oven, I sat on a barstool and waited. Hopefully this Hutchens would let me switch.
The buzzer on the dryer went off, and I dashed through the kitchen to reach the laundry room. I folded the towels, still hot, right on top of the dryer and went to take them to the hallway closet where I’d learned earlier during bathtime that they were kept. Light housework was included in my job description, and I didn’t mind. I was grateful for my new situation.
I took them upstairs and had just opened the closet when I heard the master bedroom door open. Out came Carter, naked and dripping wet, staring at me with only a washcloth held up between his legs.
Gods above, that night flooded back to me. The way his voice whispered naughty things in my ear while he pounded me from behind. All of it.
I swallowed against the knot in my throat and forced myself to look him in the eye instead of at his groin, which, given his hardening cock, wasn’t being covered at all anymore.
“I forgot there were no towels in my bathroom. I put them all in the wash. And usually I can walk around here naked with no one else… I’m rambling. Can you hand me one of those?”
I held out a towel and shoved the rest into the closet. All I wanted to do in that moment was take the towel back and push him into the bedroom with his mouth on mine.
Behind him, I could see his bed, covered in a navy-blue comforter, pillows piled up at the headboard.
Fuck. This was going to be tougher than I thought.
He turned and I caught a glimpse of his ass as he pulled the towel around him. With a groan, I bounded down the stairs to the kitchen, opened the oven, and caught the cookies just in time. With two cups set out and a plate of fresh treats piled up, I waited for the verdict on the standing of my job.
Gods, let it work out. I need this and maybe...I needed Carter, too.
Chapter Nine
Carter
“Next class, I expect you to have your topic picked out for your final paper, so be sure to do some basic research. The last thing you want is to have far too few resources available to you. Omega studies is still a growing field, which makes it both exciting and frustrating when it comes time to research.” Which I knew far too well. My ego was not inflated enough for me to believe schools used my textbook for any other reason other than it existed. It was the very first one readily available, and others would soon follow.
A hand popped up in the back row. “Yes?”
“Professor, what if we have a topic in mind and are having trouble finding resources? Can we follow it as far as we can?” And that right there was why I did what I did.
“Absolutely, just know that your road will be steep and keep my office hour schedule handy—you’ll probably need it.” That earned me a few giggles. “Class dismissed.”
It was my first class of my first day back, and my mind had been on the kids and how they were doing almost the entire time. They were fine. Of course they were. Beck had the entire childcare thing down pat. I’d learned so much from him over the few days he’d been with us, from the things to watch for safety wise to how to create routines that would work for all of us. And then, at night, he helped me pack.
We’d need to move to Joey’s over the weekend. There was still a bit of time before they got started on the project, but the storage was coming and an empty house was not livable.
“Professor.” A young omega stood in front of me. I’d been so lost in my thoughts, I’d missed him. “I was wondering—people were saying—what happens to the omegas who reported Professor Ray?”
That caught me off guard. He’d been arrested and fired right before my brother passed away, so pretty much all the details were fuzzy for me, which was generally how I liked it, but the way the student asked told me knowing details was important at that juncture.
“I’m sorry. I forget your name.” Sometimes I hated lecture halls.
“Steve, Professor. I’m Steve.” A
nd that was when I noticed the slight shaking of his arms.
“Are you asking me as an omega studies professor?” His head bobbed in reply. “Then let’s take this to my office.” It would give him privacy and me a few minutes to gather my thoughts.
We walked inside, and I offered him a seat, leaving the door ajar. “So, Steve, if I knew what you really want to know instead of a generalization, I might give you the most accurate response.”
He bit his bottom lip, wringing his hands as he glanced back to the open door then leaned in and whispered, “I heard that students who reported him are going to be expelled for sullying the school’s name.”
“And, Steve, you don’t have to answer me, but are you worried you will be expelled?”
He gave one curt nod, his eyes filled with tears.
“I promise you, you will not be expelled under my watch. Who told you this?” If it was a rumor, it was easy enough to squash.
“Professor Ray’s omega, sir. He said their lawyer was working on it now and if I said it was a lie, I wouldn’t lose my spot in school.”
Rage threatened to boil over, but I had to keep it contained. He needed calm reassurance. Nothing less would suffice.
“If you will allow me, I’d like to call my friend Dean Ward into this meeting.”
His face paled. “So, I am kicked out.”
“No, you very much are not. Dean Ward will help us figure out what to do next—to protect you and any others who might be in a similar situation.”
He agreed, and Janice came in. Several hours later, emotionally wrecked, I walked into the house just in time for Beck to go to class. Things weren’t resolved, not even close. And now the police were informed, so things were heading in the right direction.
“Sorry, I’m cutting it so close.” Beck was loading his backpack in the kitchen as I arrived, no kids to be seen. “Where are the littles?”
“They are taking a nap,” he said as if it was no big deal.
“All three?” Hannah had taken a nap exactly never times since her father passed. He needed to teach me all his secrets.
A Bundle of Mannies Page 24
