Page 21 of Romancing the Omega

Chapter Seven

Caden had fought for clients in court hundreds of time. He’d faced old-school, grumpy judges with a stoic expression. He’d dodged shady questions with eloquence and skill. Just recently, he’d stared down the man who had attempted to kill his best friend and ensured the man would spend his life in prison.

Now, standing on his omega’s doorstep, he was nervous, sweating, and scared to death. He clutched the rose bush in his arm. Janelle had insisted that cut roses were horrible and pushed the red, climbing rose on him. He took a deep breath and knocked on Yeo’s door. Their reservations were at seven and he hoped Yeo didn’t mind the longer drive to get to the nice restaurant.

The door opened and Caden’s eyes widened. Yeo looked terrible. He was flushed and his nose was bright red. He had a wad of tissue stuck up each nostril, and his eyes were red from crying. Tears still streamed down his face. He was dressed in his favorite narwhal pajamas and thick, wool socks. “I’m sick.” He wailed. “I don’t want to miss our date, but I have a fever and my nose is pouring snot all over everything.” He sobbed.

Caden pulled the messy, damp man into his arms. “It’s okay, angel. No one said we had to go out for Valentine’s Day. I’ll take care of you, okay? Where’s Summer and Linc?”

“I sent them to Bennett’s house, so they won’t get sick,” Yeo said. Magnolia threaded between their feet, purring loudly. Caden’s omega started crying harder. “I miss my babies.”

“Come on. Let’s get you set up on the couch.” He felt Yeo’s head. He was warm. What the hell was he supposed to do? He had never taken care of someone before. He set him on the couch and quickly gathered all the used tissues off the coffee table. “I’ll be right back.”

He dumped the tissues in the garbage and gagged as one stuck to his hand. He washed his hands at the sink, twice, then called his mother.

“Caden, dear. How nice to hear from you,” Susan said.

“Yeo is sick. He has a fever and his nose is full of snot. What do I do?” Caden tried to contain his panic. His mother didn’t have to know how incompetent he was.

“Oh, no. Is it a cold or the flu?”

“Uh, I don’t know. Hold on.” He looked over the couch at his pitiful omega. “Do you have a cold or the flue?”

“I have hell in my nose, Caden. Hell.” Yeo stuffed fresh tissues up his nose.

Susan laughed in his ear. “Oh, my. That poor boy sounds like he’ll be a handful.” She listed out what medicine to get him and directions on how to make him feel a little better. “Keep him hydrated and try to get some soup in him. Good luck, baby. Your dad and I are looking forward to meeting your omega when we make the move. Have a good night.”

He set his phone on the counter then went to the master bath and started running the water. He dug through Yeo’s medicine cabinets and found some Tylenol. “Angel? How about a hot bath? It’ll help with your congestion.”

Yeo whimpered. “I have to move?”

Caden handed him a glass of water and the medicine. “I’ll carry you,” he said. He waited until Yeo swallowed, then scooped him up and carried him to the bathroom.

“I love you,” Yeo said, laying his head on his shoulder. “Why do you have to go home all the time? I miss Sassy and Huckleberry too. Why can’t you all just stay with us?”

Caden stood him on his feet and quickly undressed his omega. He tried to ignore looking, but he couldn’t help himself. He noticed Yeo’s omega line was pink and a little swollen. He’d obviously been scratching at it. Caden grinned slowly. Damn. “I’ll spend some more time here, alright? Now get in the tub. You relax and I’m going to go make you some soup. Here’s some washrags. Put them on your chest.”

“I wish my papa were here,” Yeo said. “I’m such a baby when I’m sick. I bet he’d be like you and take good care of me.”

Caden sat on the closed toilet. “You never told me about your omega father. How did he meet your dad?”

“I have no idea,” Yeo said. “They didn’t run in the same social circles and have absolutely nothing in common. I’m always surprised when I think about my dad even being with an omega. Grandpa has always been adamant that omegas have no place in society. They just pretend I’m a beta.”

“They did meet, though.”

“Yeah,” Yeo said, sinking into the warm water. He pulled the tissue out of his nose and tossed it toward the garbage can. He put a wet rag over his face and sighed. “Papa’s family is super traditional and conservative. His dad is a Christian preacher, and he thinks omegas do have a place in society. One place. Women and omegas are meant to be married, pregnant, and stay-at-home parents. They are to submit to their partner no matter what.”

“That doesn’t sound any better than your alpha father,” Caden said.

“Nope,” Yeo said. “He already arranged a marriage for my papa too. When I happened, they were pissed. At first they tried to get him to abort.”

“I thought you said he was a Christian preacher?”

“Yeah. Apparently, he is also a hypocrite. Go figure,” Yeo said, shrugging. “Papa refused. The second I was born, his parents handed me over to my dad and step-mom. Papa wasn’t supposed to ever have any contact with me. His arranged marriage went through, but my step-mom, Fawn, stayed in contact with him and told him all about me. He started calling from a burner phone on my birthdays and every holiday. I never knew when he would call, but he always did.”

“You said he missed your last birthday,” Caden said.

Tears filled Yeo’s eyes and he sniffled. “I had to change my number when I left Tennessee because the company paid for my phone. Fawn said she would give Papa my new number, but she said he never called.”

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