Page 26 of The Alpha's Surrogate

Her disappointment had been plainly written, but she took it in stride. While there was so much that was familiar about her, there were several subtle changes as well, and Callahan loved the changes. It made him hope…

He pulled into the parking lot outside Twin Moon and sat in his car, thinking about how much to tell his friends. He knew they weren’t that fond of Josie, but he couldn’t blame them.

They didn’t know her as well as he did. They hadn’t spent the last month with her, getting close to her and seeing beneath her cold, hard exterior. His one consolation was that none of them were relationship experts, not even Blake and Rowan, who were now happily married.

He knew from their stories that the best love was often found in places where you weren’t looking for it. There was no such thing as the perfect love. Josie was his mate. He’d always known it, even if she failed to see it. He knew it in his heart, and he was going to fight for it.

He got out and stretched beside his car. The sun was starting to dip behind the mountains in the distance, and it painted the sky a crimson violet. Callahan turned toward the bar and saw Blake sitting beside the window.

He made a rude gesture at Callahan, and Callahan returned the favor with enthusiasm. He walked up the wooden steps into the crowded bar room and made his way toward the table with his friends.

He clapped loudly and smiled. “You summoned and here I am. Who missed me?”

A soft cheer went up from the group and Xander lifted his bottle in salute. Callahan went through the group quickly, shaking hands and slapping backs where necessary. Surprisingly, Asher was present. How long had it been since he last saw his strange friend?

“Hey, Asher,” Callahan said. “You put the witches to bed early tonight? Fancy seeing you here in the world of the living.” Everyone Callahan knew was cautious around Asher, everyone but Callahan. It was a good thing he knew how to make the scary man laugh.

Asher grinned and clasped hands with Callahan. “Fool. They’re all dead. You should come visit sometime.”

“No, thank you,” Callahan said. “You can take Xander…or the Yeti. The three of you ought to be enough to scare those poor souls out of their graves and scamper down the hill for safety.”

Xander flipped him off, and Fannar growled. Asher laughed again. Two for two, Callahan thought quietly. You’re in fine form tonight, young man.

He pulled an empty chair from one of the tables nearby and spun it in his direction. He turned it and sat on it backward, resting his arms on the back of the chair. “So, what did I miss?” He pointed to Blake. “Blake, how’s Joy?”

The poor man sank in his seat and drank from his bottle. “Heed my advice. Don’t have kids.” Rowan nodded his head solemnly in agreement but remained quiet.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree,” Articus said to Blake. He pointed to Callahan. “That one had his sperm frozen for that specific purpose. Am I the only one who remembers what we spoke about the last time he was here?”

Murmurs of agreement went through the group and they all turned to look at Callahan expectantly at the head of the table. “Well?” Rowan asked. “How did that go? Did you find a surrogate yet?”

Callahan scratched his neck and looked around at the expectant faces. “Well, that’s one of the reasons I wanted to meet up with you guys. I’ve been dying to talk about this.”

Fannar slammed his bottle down on the tabletop. “Spill. Quit the dawdling. Some of us have to head back into the mountains tonight.”

“Damn, Fannar,” Callahan swore. “What’s wrong with you? Anyways, how do I say this? It’s a bit complicated. Yes, I went through with the surrogacy, and yes, I found a surrogate already. What’s more, she’s pregnant already, but you won’t believe who it is…”

He raised a hand to calm down the Yeti who was about to have another reaction. “I’m getting to it, Fannar, will you settle down? If you keep jumping in like this, this is going to take us hours. As I was saying…the surrogate is Josie Ray. My ex.”

Callahan watched all the faces to capture everyone’s reaction. While he was happy to share the news, he was also eager for his friends to accept it with joy for him. Their opinions mattered to him and he hoped their reactions were positive. “Get out of here,” Fannar said. “Josie?”

“Trust me, Fannar,” Callahan said. “I was just as shocked as you, maybe more so. But I’m telling you the truth.”

“What are the odds?” Xander said musingly. “Anywhere between zero and unlikely,” he concluded, making up his mind. “Has to be fate. There’s no other reasonable explanation.”

“How did you feel when you found out it was her?” Blake asked. “Did you consider walking away?”

Before Callahan could reply, Rowan jumped in. “I really can’t believe you guys. Your friend just told you he’s expecting a child, and all you want to do is quiz him. At least congratulate the man first, jeez!”

The others looked properly chastised, but Callahan laughed. “Come on, Rowan. It’s fine. I don’t mind the questions. But thank you.” It warmed him to know that at least one person was happy for him.

The rest of the group shared their congratulations as well, but it was muted. They were embarrassed that Rowan had needed to remind them at all. Personally, Callahan just wanted to get through the rest of the story.

“That’s not the interesting part, guys,” he said, changing the mood at the table. “She’s been staying with me at Whispering Oaks. The surrogacy agency warned us against personal relationships, though, so it’s a bit complicated.”

“I’m going to ask,” Articus said. He’d been surprisingly quiet the whole time. “Why are you violating the terms of your surrogacy agreement, and why is Josie staying with you?”

“This is where it gets complicated,” he said. He recounted how he’d followed her back to Silver Peaks after meeting her at the surrogacy center, and his run-in with the were-bears. “She was so terrified. Plus, the door was broken in. I needed to keep her safe, so I brought her home with me. Nothing has happened between us, though.”

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