Page 13 of His Omega Bear

“It smells amazing,” I said as I served myself.

“Thanks,” Rhys replied, looking pleased. “I hope you like it.”

When I sat back down with my plate, I took a bite and closed my eyes in bliss. It was so much better than anything I'd eaten in days.

“This is incredible,” I said, opening my eyes to look at Rhys.

“I'm glad you like it.” His eyes lit up with pleasure.

As I ate, I watched as he expertly burped Emilia. He got up and placed her in the swing he’d brought into the kitchen. Securing her inside, he flipped the switch as the gentle swinging motion seemed to delight her.

“There you go, sweet girl. Now you can see your daddy while he has his dinner.”

Warmth spread through me again as I looked at the scene before me. It became clear to me that I needed a partner to share this with.

“It looked like you wanted her close,” he said, smiling at me.

I nodded. “Thank you.” I couldn't help wondering if I was that easy to read or if it was just this man.

Rhys helped himself to some food and when he returned to the table and sat across from me, we ate in silence for a while, until I broke it. “I guess you came over for a reason.”

Rhys glanced up at me, looking confused for a second, then his eyes widened and he nodded.

“Yeah. Yes.” he nodded, putting his fork down. “I came over to welcome you to town. My family's like—” he paused, seemingly searching for the right word. “I guess we've just always been here, so we look out for everyone. And you’re here in Jayson’s house, so it even more important.”

I studied him for a second. “Why does it feel like there's more to it this time?” I asked.

He smiled lightly as he considered what to say. “Jayson was our cousin.”

It felt like a sucker punch hearing those words. My eyes immediately went to Emilia. I guess technically he wasn't a stranger.

“He was my best friend and brother-in-law,” I managed to get out.

Rhys cleared his throat, and my eyes returned to him. “We didn't hear… it was late.” He blew out a breath and sighed. “My brother used to be Jay's next of kin, but when he got married, that changed. Of course you know that, he married your sister.” He sighed and put his fork down. He looked up at me with such empathy in his eyes. “We’d have been there if we’d known,” he said, his voice filled with guilt. “When we found out… we didn't know he was…” He paused, then started again. “We didn’t know anything had happened to him until the lawyer in town told us and we couldn't get any information from the military since he?—”

“He got married to my sister,” I finished for him.

He nodded, “Exactly. We didn't even know he got married, although he kept saying he had a massive surprise for us. He had us renovate the house. Well, Nash and Papa really.”

His eyes wandered over to Emilia, “Guess he meant the little one and?—”

“Lee,” I supplied for him. “Leanne.” Rhys nodded.

I furrowed my brow as he looked at her. How did he know she wasn’t mine?

“How do you know she’s not mine?”

Rhys smiled at me, then looked back at Emilia. “She looks exactly like him.”

I’d never paid attention to who she might look like, but now that I looked at her closely, she did resemble Jay more than Leanne.

“Like I said earlier. You’re a good man. And she knows it.”

I shifted in my seat, a little uncomfortable that he could read me so easily.“Bet you're wondering how I ended up here.” I tried for light, but I wasn't sure I had quite hit the mark.

Rhys gave me that knowing smile. “I think I have a pretty good idea,” he said.

I snorted, “Well you're ahead of me then cause I still can't figure it out.” I pushed my hand through my hair and sighed. “Tell me how does someone lose their best friend and their sister in less than six months? And not only that, but they leave you their baby and made sure you knew they wanted you to take her and move to the middle of nowhere.”

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