Page 60 of His Determined Bear

When I heard him chuckling, I looked to find Cooper was beaming.Seeing that he was finally feeling comfortable, I motioned him to come to me. When he carefully made his way around the blocks on the floor, I couldn’t have been happier.

“Told you they’d love you,” I whispered kissing his cheek.

“And you didn’t lead me astray. But that’s not why I was laughing by the way Mr. Know it all.”

I snorted at the name. “It’s not?” I tilted my head and looked at him as he lowered himself slowly joining us on the floor. “I’ve been watching you play with your niece. You’re going to make a great daddy.” Cooper leaned in and kissed me softly. I smiled at him, running my finger under his chin.

“You really think so?” I whispered, only inches apart.

Cooper nodded. “There’s no doubt in my mind. Just seeing you with her proves that.”

“Well, she’s easy to play with,” I replied. “Would you like to join us?”

Just as Cooper sat down with us to build a tower, the distinct sound of his mother’s voice came through the crowd.

“There you are. If it's okay, I’d like to talk to Graham outside where it's quiet for a moment before dinner,”Kelly inquired.

I looked to Cooper. Cooper checking if he was okay. He nodded, “I’ve got this.” With that reassurance I got up and and grabbed my coat before leading Kelly outside through the back door. We settled into a stroll around the backyard, in comfortable silence until I finally broke. “I’m sorry that Cooper and I kept this pregnancy from you. I know that it probably came as a shock. I just want you to know that Cooper wanted to tell you from the start, but we just needed some time to get our bearings and wrap our minds around it.”

Kelly stopped walking. “I appreciate that, Graham, but that’s not why I wanted to talk to you. The truth is, I knew about the pregnancy, probably before you both did.” She laughed. “Mother’s intuition is a real thing. I’m happy for both of you. I just wanted to congratulate the proud father. I mean, you deserve this happiness as much as my son does.

I’m so happy the two of you found one another. I am really looking forward to you being a part of this family.”

“Thank you, Kelly.” I hugged her, and I could feel the warmth of her hug towards me. “That means a lot to me. I know it means a lot to Cooper, as well.” Kelly was important to Cooper, so of course I wanted her to like me.

“Hey, you two, dinner is ready.” I looked over to the house and saw Cooper standing there waiting for us. I offered my arm to her as we walked back to the house. It was good to know that I was welcomed into his family by the most important person in Cooper’s life.

I looked around the table at my family as we sat down to dinner. The conversation flowed easily among everyone and never lapsed into silence. It was easy, and I hoped Cooper felt it too. These people would complete our world, and our children would grow up with their cousins, growing our family bond.

My Papa stood from his spot next to my Dad, the unspoken signal that he had something to say. He was sentimental and kind like that.

“I’m so glad we’re all here together again this year. It makes us so happy to have all our children and grandchildren with us during the holidays. Life gets busy, and sometimes we fail to tell the ones we love how much they mean to us. We have been fortunate to have raised five beautiful sons, who have begun to grow our family by building their own families. Graham and Cooper, we are so happy for you. It’s so nice to have another omega in the family. And we can’t wait to welcome your son or daughter into this world. Aaron, you’ve always been family to us, but we are proud to officially have you and Kelly. Let’s ensure that we all can keep this family a close-knit group. Merry Christmas, everyone!” my Papa said smiling at each and every one of us.

“I couldn’t agree more.” I reached under the table and squeezed Cooper’s hand. The smile on his face was wide and didn’t seem to being going anywhere and so was mine. When dinner came to an end, everyone lingered just enjoying each other’s company. Until my mate yawned and I stood, “We’ll see you guys in a couple of hours, but gotta get these two to bed.” Plus I needed to spend some time with my mate before Christmas morning.

When we reached the bottom of the steps, he turned to me. “We didn’t have to leave so soon. It’s still relatively early.”

“True,” I leaned in, brushing my lips against his ear. “But can you blame an alpha for wanting to get his omega home? Unfortunately, these two and a half weeks will fly by. And selfishly I wanted you all to myself.”

“Well when you put it like that, how can I say no?” Cooper wrapped his arms around my neck, and we kissed, with me slowly pushing him back against the handrail. I didn’t care who watched. Finally I got how my parents still looked at each other the way they did and I couldn’t wait to spend the next forty and gods willing and more years with him. Hopefully making him as happy as he was now.

Chapter 26

Cooper

I looked around the condo and grimaced. Maybe I should have hired a maid to clean the house before Graham’s visit. Why? It’s just Graham. My mate didn’t care. He took me exactly as I was. And to him I was perfect.

It’d been six long weeks since spending Christmas and New Year’s with Graham and his family. That was six weeks too long, and I couldn’t wait another five minutes. Unfortunately, I still had a few hours until his flight would land, but I itched to have him here.

My phone rang, and I smiled as I saw his name. “Hey, great minds. I was just thinking about you. Did you give Rhys sufficient notice that you were leaving?”

Graham snickered. “I gave them plenty of time. No one can give me grief this time.” I could hear talking in the background, and it sounded like he was in a crowded room.

“At your layover stop?”

“Yeah, but now the flight has been delayed. Just wanted to let you know that I won’t make it until later. I’ll let you know when we’re boarding.”

“Ugh! Okay, it is what it is.” I really wanted to sulk but that wouldn’t make anything better. But I wanted Graham here already. “But I miss you like crazy.”

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