Page 40 of His Determined Bear

They had to be wrong. It was meant to have a ‘Not’ in front of the other word.

I hurried to the kitchen and straight for the fridge to grab two bottles of water. I opened the first one and chugged it like my life depended on it, then did the same for the next one too.

I tossed both empty bottles into the recycling bin and hurried back to my bedroom. There I grabbed three test kits this time and booked it to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure how long I sat on that toilet, but finally, I peed on all three sticks. And this time, I didn’t move a muscle until the results appeared.

I pulled at my hair. They couldn’t say that. Why wouldn’t the stupid second word appear? All I was asking for was one lousy word. Three letters. It wasn’t that hard.

“Maybe those were from a bad batch.” I ignored the voice that asked if all five were bad.

By the time the sixth stick came back with a bright pink plus sign, I slid down against the wall of the bathroom clutching all six of them, tears streaming down my face.

It can’t be, please. This was not the plan. Definitely not the plan. I loved my mom, but I’d seen how hard it was raising me by herself. She’d rocked because she was awesome, but I’d always hoped when it was my turn, it would be with a partner.

I’d dreamed of one that would whoop and cheer so loudly when I told him I was pregnant. I even thought of cute and totally corny ways to tell him and my mom.

An image of Graham’s face flashed in my head. His lips curved, those eyes bright with joy. He’d lift me into his strong arms and spin me around before placing a tender kiss on my lips.

I closed my eyes tightly, but it didn’t stop the tears from seeping out because that would never happen. I couldn’t tell Graham. Especially when it was all my fault. I’d promised to take my pill, and I didn’t. This was on me. Mom raised me by herself, and I could raise my baby alone too.

“You don’t need him. You can do this,” I whispered. “You can do this.”

I would go to the wedding the night before and leave right after so I could avoid Graham with any luck.

My phone alerted me of an incoming text message, so I slipped it out of my pocket. My body flashed hot and cold when I saw the name on the screen. My heart rate sped up and spots appeared in my vision.

“Really?” I called out to the universe. “Really? Right now?”

Like a moth to a flame, I couldn’t stop myself from opening the message, and when I saw it, I burst out laughing. Somewhere along the way, I realized I was crying.

As I stared at the two memes he’d sent, my heart squeezed. The first meme was ‘You’re all that and Dim Sum,’ and the other was one of the creepy Wonka ones with Gene Wilder that said ‘Oh, you’re a foodie? You must have so many interesting opinions!” And then he’d added, “I miss them.”

I couldn’t help wondering how I’d found the perfect alpha for me, who lived eleven hundred miles away. Now I was pregnant with a baby I wasn’t sure he wanted. And to top it off, I didn’t know how to tell him or if I even should.

Why hadn’t he given up on me yet? Even when I didn’t reply, he still kept messaging.

Maybe he’s nothing like my sperm donor. Maybe I should give him a chance. Maybe his eyes will be filled with joy if he finds out he is about to be a dad.

That was a lot of maybe’s… but didn’t I deserve to find out if they were true?

Chapter 16

Graham

I didn’t know why I kept coming here every day. It wasn’t like Aaron needed me to check up on him anymore. The man was happy. Hell, he looked ten years younger since Kelly moved to town.

Seeing Cooper’s mom every day was its own form of torture, but the thought of not seeing her… Gods, I hadn’t realized just how much my mate looked like his mom. Right now, she felt like my only connection to him.

My only thread to him was the messages he ignored more often than he replied to. At least he always read them.

Since I couldn’t speak to him or see him like I wanted, I had no other way of finding out anything about him from him. That meant I stopped by here for brunch, lunch, or dinner, and thankfully I was always welcome.

At least today, they’d actually invited me over.

I considered sending Cooper yet another message to let him know I was here with his mom and Aaron. I had to remind myself that he would be here tomorrow. Just one more day, and I could lay my eyes on him.

It would probably sound pathetic to some people that I kept sending messages when I only got a reply from time to time. But I didn’t care. And yeah, maybe holding on to the fact that he still read them was a sign of… honestly, I wasn’t sure what it was a sign of. All I knew was it was better than him not reading them. And if holding on to the fact he did read them made me a sad sack, I really didn’t give a damn.

I would look as stupid as needed to make sure my mate was in no doubt that I was here. Waiting when he was ready. Because we had an undeniable connection. I hadn’t imagined that, but something had spooked him. I didn’t know what yet, but if I took my brother-in-law Nash’s advice, then patience was the way to go.

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