Page 16 of Her Shifter Babe

That too sweet coffee burst straight from my lips and all over Mom’s clean countertop.

“David!” Mom admonished, coming straight over with a washrag and a disinfectant spray. “What did you do that for?”

I was breathing hard, doggedly trying to swallow down the remaining coffee in my mouth so I didn’t die from lack of air. “Um...” I coughed. “You know about the—”

“The baby? Yeah,” Mom said, wiping up my mess without complaint. “What I don’t know is why you’re hiding in our house like a coward.”

“Whoa, love. Easy,” Dad said, sitting on the stool beside me, giving me a moment to recover from the gut punch Mom’s forthright words had delivered. “It’s only been a night.”

“Yeah, Mom.” I said, sounding like a petulant teenager. “Go easy. It’s only been...”

Mom’s eye roll was louder than the words I was going to say, so I shut my mouth.

She cleaned up without further comment, grimacing all the while.

Dad and I exchanged glances as we waited for Mom to make her point, but she was taking her time.

She fussed about, cleaning up and rinsing out the cloth.

So, with nothing else to do, I forced myself to eat some more of my breakfast, though my stomach hurt with every forkful of eggs I shoveled down my throat.

How long have they known about Tommy and his new baby? Since I arrived last night? Why didn’t they say anything?

But the answers to those questions were too daunting to truly contemplate, so I just continued to maintain my silence. No one gave me the truth like my parents, my mother especially. And I wasn’t sure I could cope with a dose of her reality at the moment, though I wasn’t going to run from it, either.

Mom finally turned around and leaned on the counter with both hands pressing into the wooden top. “Sweetheart, do you know for certain that Stacey isn’t your mate?”

I opened my mouth to say, “No. Of course not...” But the warning glint in my mother’s blue eyes stopped me.

“You don’t know yet, David. So, don’t throw away this chance at happiness... of love... for the sake of your wounded pride.” She reached out and cupped my cheek, then gave me a little slap. “Now, enough moping. Go to that ultrasound.”

I looked down at my plate. “That baby isn’t mine, Mom.”

She tapped my chin to make me lift my head. “And?”

“And? She isn’t my mate,” I said, feeling my anger twist and twirl in my gut. “She probably isn’t even Tommy’s, or he would have known the moment he met her.”

Mom’s lips twisted, and I saw her squash a thought, which was most unlike her.

“What?” I asked, my brow furrowing.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “You don’t know everything, kiddo. Only Fate knows what’s in store for you.”

I glanced between my mom and dad,

He was up and pouring himself a glass of water by the sink.

“What do you two know that I don’t?”

“Nothing,” she answered. “But we’re not going to sit by and let you throw your life away.”

I groaned. “This isn’t my life, Mom. It’s Tommy’s. Stacey is his lover. Her baby is his baby!”

“And what about Nancy’s babies? Hmm?” Mom fired back. “Whose perfect pair babies are hers? Are they Wade’s or Tanners? Does it matter?”

I opened my mouth to answer and realized I didn’t in fact know and neither did they. And they probably didn’t care one damn bit.

Mom tapped her watch emphatically. “Tick tock, son. You’re going to miss it.”

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