Page 41 of The (Maybe) Murderer Who Knocked Me Up

Here I was worried that he’d lose his temper or fly into a rage, but he just wants to be in Chime’s life. He’s even willing to pay child support to have supervised visits with her.

What have I done?

“You don’t have to pay child support,” I say.

My omega mom raises her eyebrows in disbelief.

“I mean for right now,” I clarify. “We need to figure out what’s going on with our bond before we make any decisions about child support or visitation.”

Slade rests his elbows on the table and sinks his head into his hands. His shoulders are hunched and tense. “She’s beautiful.” His voice is ragged and broken. After watching him successfully control himself all morning, it’s unsettling to see him like this. But what did I expect? Slade just found out he has a child and a possible bond with me. He also got released from the most dangerous prison in the US just this morning.

That’s a lot for one person all in one day.

“Does Slade have somewhere to go?” My omega mom asks. “We have an extra bed here, if he needs help getting back on his feet.”

I’m surprised that my alpha mom nods in agreement.

Slade sits up, discretely wiping tears from his face. “I’m staying with my brother. He lives in San Antonio. If you have a phone I could borrow, I’ll ask him to come pick me up. He said he wouldn’t mind.”

“Silver’s already heading that way. I’m sure he can give you a ride,” My alpha mom suggests.

So that’s it, then. Slade is going home to his brother’s house. No more discussion about our unresolved bond, no more reassurance that he still wants me. It feels like a slap in the face. But what did I expect? That he would instantaneously forgive me for keeping his daughter from him all these years?

“Do you want Slade to go?” my omega mom asks. “If the two of you need more time together, we’d be happy to have Chime over for the night.”

Slade stands up. “I need to see my brother.”

Maybe it’s for the best. After all, I still don’t know if he’s safe to be around. Just because the sex was amazing, doesn’t mean I can throw all caution to the wind and settle down with him.

If only my heart didn’t ache at the idea of him leaving. Even after all this time, I’m still a fool for him.

“I’ll go ask Silver if he’s ready,” my alpha mom says, and heads for the door.

20

SLADE

Silver doesn’t speak to me in the car. It’s hardly a surprise. He didn’t like me back in high school, and that was before I got his brother pregnant and went to jail. But I can’t bring myself to care about what Silver thinks of me.

I have a daughter. Her dimpled smile is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s exactly like Quin’s. I loved the way she cocked her head while trying to figure out what kind of shifter I was and the sound of her feet scampering across the floor. Her little high-pitched voice plays in my head the whole way home.

He’s the biggest person I’ve ever seen.

People don’t say the ‘Wind’ part unless they call me their little wind chime.

All raccoon shifters are named after beautiful things. It’s because our parents love us.

She was so certain she was loved. When I was her age, I wasn’t even sure where my next meal was coming from. Every time Jake told me he was hungry, I felt so powerless. But Chime is a child from an entirely different world. Her clothes were clean and new. Her hair was combed.

No thanks to me.

The long drive gives me time to think about what I did to Quin. He wrote me a letter during my first month at Sciff. I never bothered to write him back. At the time, I thought it would be better for him if I cut ties completely. My initial sentence was ten years. That was far too long to ask him to wait for me. But I could have written him to say all of that. Instead, I ignored him. While he was pregnant with my child.

If only he had told me about her. Maybe he wasn’t sure if he should. After all, he thought I’d just killed someone.

Quin had to go through his pregnancy alone. He had to give birth alone. I’m sure his family was there for him, but he didn’t have a mate to hold his hand through the pain or drive him home from the hospital. He had to scrounge up money for every Christmas on his own and wake up every time Chime cried in the middle of the night. Meanwhile, I was feeling sorry for myself at Sciff and not contributing a thing.

Silver slows down when we get to a nice neighborhood with cozy little houses and white picket fences. There don’t seem to be many apartments in this area of town. Maybe Jake and Stew are renting out someone’s basement. Silver stops in front of a red brick house with a vegetable garden out front. The address number Jake sent me is printed on the mailbox.

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