Page 77 of Accidentally a Dragon Daddy

I explained to them about how it hadn’t happened in a long time, that I was the first of the “new crop.” I outlined what little I knew about dragon shifters maturing and how nothing would happen until they were somewhere around five.

“You’re going to have a baby,” my mother said. “My baby is going to have a baby! Oh, Lena, after all these years, all the doctors said, oh, my dear.”

I was abruptly swallowed up in another family hug.

I didn’t mind.

“So, where is he?” my father asked. “Why isn’t he here with you to tell us? And why were you crying at the front door?”

More tears and more explanations followed as I told them about what I’d found in the drawer. The accusations that had been leveled against me. The police warrant for my arrest. How I’d spent time in jail. When I was done, both of my parents looked suitably shocked.

“That is some story,” my father said slowly, tugging at the wrists of his shirt.

“I didn’t make it up,” I said a bit defensively, sensing some disbelief in his tone.

“Never said you did.” He shrugged.

I chewed my lip, glancing at my mother. “You think I overreacted.”

“I can’t say that either,” he told me, blue-gray eyes softening. “You were there. You’re the one who’s gone through it. I’ve met him once. At your party. A party he organized for you. A party he took great risk to ensure he could attend as well as you.”

“What’s your point?” I asked. “That I should just forgive him for lying to me like that?”

He smiled gently. “Lena, my dear, I would never tell you what to do. You’re a grown woman on the path to motherhood. These are things you’re going to learn for yourself. That your children reach a certain age where all you can do is point out the facts and make them face those facts. After that, it’s up to them to decide.”

I frowned at him. “You met him for half an hour. I spent days with him.”

“And did he treat you poorly?” my dad asked. “How did he handle the news you’re pregnant?”

“No,” I said. “He was great to me, actually. He was really excited. I woke up one morning, and there was just this pile of boxes in the house. All of it for the baby. He was putting together the crib while he waited for me to get up.”

I couldn’t keep a tiny smile off my face at the memory of his eagerness, his desire to be a daddy.

“But how can I just ignore the fact he screwed up my life and then lied to me about it?” I asked, shaking off the warm fuzzy glow of the past.

“Did he lie to you?”

“He—”

“He didn’t admit the truth,” my father agreed. “But he never outright said it wasn’t him. And I mean, I don’t know, Lena, his reasoning makes sense.”

My face scrunched in confusion. “Aren’t you supposed to be leaping to my defense, all angry and snarling and saying you’ll ‘Fuck him up’ if he ever comes near your baby girl again?”

“Would you like me to say that?” he asked, casually folding his hands over his gut. “Would it be believable for me to say that about a dragon-man? That I could ‘fuck up’ that huge, much younger, very much more in-shape version of my past self?”

My mom giggled.

“Will you at least pretend?” my father shot. “I did say ‘past’ self.”

The roll of the eyes should have taken the top of my mom’s head off she put so much effort into it.

“But you’re taking his side,” I pointed out. “Not mine.”

“Because we can tell you like him,” my mother said. “A lot. It’s obvious in your voice and on your face. Every time you talk about him, share the things he did or said, other than this one thing, you light up.”

I did?

My father nodded.

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