I pumped my fists at my sides and tried to relax. Every muscle in my body was looping into knots, which was making my neck throb. I let out a nervous chuckle. “Good news? I would think you’d be bursting with energy to share it.”
Why was he being so obtuse?
Dad sat up straight and rubbed his palms on his jeans. “I suppose I’m still processing.”
He laughed out loud as his eyes widened.
He looked at me for the first time since I’d come on the porch. “Angel. The girl...the girl I was with a few weeks ago...” he trailed off and moved his hand in a gesticular motion.
I shifted my feet. I wasn’t really interested in my dad’s sexual life. I take it back. I didn’t want to know if this was the conversation we were going to have.
He cleared his throat and stood up. He walked over to me and clapped me on the shoulder as a smile bloomed across his face so fast it was like he had a split personality. “She’s pregnant, son. You’re going to have a little sibling.”
I stumbled back like he hit me. He might as well have. I drew a few deep breaths and shook my head like I possibly hadn’t heard him right.
He patted me a few times and then put his other hand on me and gave me a gentle shake before grinning from ear to ear. “It’s crazy, right? You’re a grown man and you’re gonna have a baby brother or sister.”
He burst out laughing. “I just turned fifty. I should be welcoming grandkids, not my own children. It’s a small miracle is what it is.”
I laughed out loud, whether from nervousness or sheer disbelief. I wasn’t sure. “It is something, Dad. But that’s great. A baby. Wow.”
I wasn’t honestly sure how I felt. My dad had no business bringing another child into this world. Not with everything that he was doing.
But it wasn’t the kid’s fault either. And it would still be my sibling. Lincoln, Hannah, and I had all been perfectly normal children.
If we took the baby away from Dad, there’s was no reason it wouldn’t be a good person too. My dad had just lost his way and well, Mikey, I had no idea what happened to him. Dad had been exceptionally cruel to him as a child and Mikey had needed help that no one in the pack could have provided.
My dad let go of me and stood next to me, leaning on the railing and looking out at the pack lands. “I never thought I’d be a father again, Sawyer. This is all so much. I’m glad we will be expanding our family.”
Oh no. He was either going to lay off me about finding a mate now or double down.
Crap!
I nodded, hoping I could draw the conversation away from myself and a mate. “I don’t think I’ve met Angel. Who is she?”
He clapped me on the back. “I’ll have to introduce you. But you have met her sister... Fiona.”
I suppressed my growl. I hoped Angel was nothing like her sister. But given the circumstances, I’d guess she was just as eager and overjoyed to be picked by my father. I’d bet she was a snake like her sister.
Dad stood up straight. It wasn’t like him to be so antsy. The news must’ve really rock him.
He tapped his foot on the deck. “Fiona, of course, is ecstatic for her sister. She feels pretty bad about what happened with you and she was hoping for a second chance.”
He met my gaze and lifted a brow, letting me know he was doubling down.
Great!
I closed my eyes and shook my head. “I don’t know, Dad. She still just doesn’t seem right for me. I don’t have a good explanation other than that.”
Maybe honesty would get me somewhere.
He mashed his lips together and nodded. “I understand. But at least consider it. The pregnancy is still new and you know things can happen. I know I can’t be with her again. She’s just not your mother. I want to make sure we have a strong alpha line, so it is going to rest on you to ensure that we do.”
I didn’t want to consider Fiona. Ever. I wanted to shut this down before it became an issue. “You don’t think that would be weird?”
Dad lifted his brow. “How so?”
I shrugged as my mind raced. “Just Angel’s baby will be my brother or sister, but then if Fiona and I had a kid, they’d also be cousins and uncles or aunts?”