Page 16 of Midnight Rain

“Do you talk to him?”

Austin shook his head.

“Then I’ll keep my opinion to myself.” If the guy had left his son behind, then he wasn’t a good guy, even if his sister was amazing.

“I know.” Austin picked up a stick. “You must think I’m crazy for still caring about him even when he left me.”

“We can’t help loving our parents, even when they don’t deserve it.” Cormac started forward, and Austin kept pace, Lila rushing ahead of them and then running back, as if she was afraid of losing sight of Austin.

“Thanks for getting me out of there.” Austin tossed the stick. Lila ran after it, sniffed, and then left it where it lay.

“It was for both of us,” Cormac said. “If I didn’t leave, I might have seriously hurt Duncan.”

“Because of me?” Austin stopped and stared at Cormac. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, because I really like you, but you’re not going to go into stalker mode on me, are you?”

“It was more about Orion accusing me of taking advantage of you.” But he did owe Orion an apology. While Cormac was wrapped up in the fact that he’d found his mate, it had been Orion who’d been the voice of reason. Cormac just hadn’t wanted to hear it.

If he’d known what Austin had just been through, he wouldn’t have kissed him.

“His heart was in the right place,” Austin said. “Just so you know, you weren’t, taking advantage I mean. I liked kissing you.”

“My brother is overprotective of Orion. He thought I was being aggressive when I voiced my anger at the accusation.”

“But I saw Orion kissing Duncan and then that extremely tall guy. Is he dating both men?”

“Yes.” Cormac nodded. “I know it’s not a traditional scenario, but—”

“I’m not judging,” Austin said. “I’m not my mom. If it makes them happy, then more power to them. I used to go to the clubs a lot when I was younger, and I saw all kinds of hookups and relationships that weren’t traditional.”

“When you were younger?” Cormac chuckled.

“I know. I’m getting so old.” Austin put his wrist to his forehead. “Before you know it, I’ll be sitting in a rocker on my porch, wearing diapers and yelling for kids to get off my lawn.”

Cormac laughed. “I think you have a very long time before that happens.” The Keeper had made Cormac and his brothers immortal, which meant that, when Cormac claimed Austin, Austin would be immortal too. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-six.”

“And you think you’re old?” Cormac looked him over. “You are a lifetime away from a rocking chair.”

“Can I still yell at teenagers to get off my lawn?” Austin asked.

“Only if you have your diaper on.”

Austin laughed as he shoved at Cormac. “Not a chance in hell I’m putting one of those on.” Austin froze. “Where’s Lila?”

Cormac looked around but didn’t see her. He whistled loudly, and a second later, she raced from behind a cluster of bushes, her tail wagging, her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth.

Lila barked at them.

“She seems to be having fun,” Cormac said as Austin knelt and hugged her.

“You can’t run off like that. You scared daddy.” He hugged her again, petted her, then stood. Austin had recovered faster than Cormac thought he would.

“This is all new to her,” he said. “She wants to know what everything is. The smells alone are probably exciting her.”

“While giving me a heart attack.” Austin placed a hand over his chest. “She’s my baby.”

Cormac pulled Austin into his arms, holding him. “I won’t let anything happen to her. And to answer your earlier question, I don’t have the psycho gene, so I can’t be a stalker.”

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