Page 166 of Fought and Freed

“Yeah, shocker, I know. It turns out I’m twelve weeks pregnant.” Maddy bit her bottom lip. “It’s not something we’ve talked about—”

Maddy didn’t get the chance to finish before Cody pulled her down and kissed her.

When she pulled back, she smiled. “I take that as you’re happy about the news.”

“Ecstatic.” His hand moved to her stomach. “Not that it matters, but do you have a guess as to who the father is?”

“Ryder.” She searched Cody’s eyes. “That doesn’t hurt your Alpha pride, does it?”

He tried to laugh but groaned instead. “Don’t make me laugh. There’s that word again. Alpha. I’m glad it’s Ryder’s. I think it will help settle him. How do you feel about being pregnant?”

“It’s a lot sooner than I wanted, but I’m happy.” She covered his hand with hers. “I have some changes I want to make with school, but I’ll talk about that later.”

“I’ve got some changes, too. While I was bleeding out, I swore to myself that if I survived, I’d do what makes me happy. School was my parents’ dream, but I never really wanted to go.” He shook his head. “I enjoy flipping houses, but more than that, I love working with wood.”

“You mean like your banister and mantle? Those are beautiful.” Maddy smiled. “Do you think you can do a counter for me?”

“I’m sure I can.” He lifted a brow. “For your bakery?”

Her smile widened. “Yes.”

He beamed with pride. “I’d love to.”

“We’ll talk about it later.” She slid off the bed to stand at his side. “I love you, big guy. I’m going back so Skylar and your mom can come in.”

“Before you go, is there any word on Kelly?” he questioned.

Maddy’s happiness dimmed. “No, not yet.”

Cody’s hands clenched. “Mike had her in a cage. He said he forgot about her, and it sounded like she didn’t have food or water.”

Maddy nodded. “I’ll tell Lucca.”

“Good. And I love you, too.” He uncurled his hand to draw her back down for a kiss. “Please tell me if you find out anything about Ryder.”

“I will,” she promised.

When Maddy returned to the waiting room, Skylar stood. “We still haven’t heard anything yet about Ryder.”

Maddy took a deep breath and nodded.

He kisses her cheek. “I’m going to go see my brother.”

Giselle gave her an encouraging smile before she followed her son.

Maddy turned to Lucca. “You need to find Kelly soon.”

She filled him in on what Cody had told her.

“Shit. I’ll call Harry.” He stood and left the room to make the call.

It felt like they had been waiting for days for an update about Ryder. She couldn’t sit anymore, so she stood to pace.

“Maddy, you should eat something,” Jace said.

She shook her head. “I can’t until I find out something about Ryder.”

Lucca came back and handed Maddy a bottle of water. “You won’t eat, but you have to drink water, or you’ll get dehydrated. You must think of my nipotina or nipote.”

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