Page 44 of The (Maybe) Murderer Who Knocked Me Up

I nod.

“Is he afraid of you?”

I think back to the questions Quin asked about the murder and whether I’d ever hurt anyone else. But he also offered to pick me up at Sciff and wanted me to be on top when we had sex.

“Maybe. I can’t be sure.”

Jake sighs. “You have to tell him the truth.”

“What? You can’t be serious?—”

“I’ve never been more serious in my life. You deserve to be in your daughter’s life.”

I consider what Silver said about what kindergarten will be like for Chime. I don’t think Jake has the complete picture here.

“Maybe it isn’t about what I deserve. This has to be about what’s best for her.”

Jake reaches out and squeezes my forearm. “You are what’s best for her.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do,” he says. “Chime is lucky to have you for a dad, just like I’m lucky to have you for a brother.”

Lucky? Jake doesn’t have a firm grip on reality. Chime hasn’t had an alpha dad at all for the first five years because of me. There’s nothing lucky about that.

“I’m not telling Quin. We can’t take that risk. Especially now that you’re pregnant.”

Jake considers me for a long moment. “Isn’t it my risk to take?”

“No,” I repeat.

I won’t throw Jake under the bus to make things right with Quin. There has to be another way.

21

SEQUIN

That night, my chest is hollow. I go through the motions of driving home and making dinner for Chime. All the while, memories of making love to Slade replay in my head. Not just the kisses and how thoroughly he filled me, but his gentle restraint and the way he cupped my cheek like I was the most precious thing in the world. What would it be like to bond to a man like him? I can’t imagine the bliss of being able to touch him whenever I wanted. Would he hold me every night? Could I wake up in the warmth of his arms the way I did six years ago?

Probably not anymore. He was so upset when he left.

Normally, I put Chime to bed in her room for a few hours before I turn down myself, but tonight we read books in my bed until she falls asleep curled up on my chest. I stroke her fur long after her eyes are closed, and her breath has slowed. What will she think when she finds out that the big stranger she met tonight is her alpha dad? Will she be angry with me for keeping them apart too?

Maybe she has every right to be.

I stay awake far too late worrying about the future. The next morning, I can barely drag myself out of bed. Taking Chime over to Aunt Emerald’s house is a relief, though. When I finally get to the baking trailer behind my home, I don’t have to pretend to be okay. I add all the ingredients to the dough mixer like a zombie, too sad and wrung out to enjoy the routine of it all. Normally, I love this part of the day. I get some time to myself, and the comforting scent of flour and yeast calms my soul. But this morning, I just feel lonely.

At ten o’clock, there’s a knock on the door. That’s strange.

Aunt Emerald just walks in if she needs to talk to me before I’m done with the bread. I pull off my plastic gloves and walk across the metal floor of the kitchen to open the door. A heavily pregnant omega is standing outside the trailer. His face is a spitting image of Chime’s. The resemblance is so striking, I know who he is immediately.

“Jake?”

He smiles. “Hi. I’m assuming you’re Quin?”

“Yes. How did you… I didn’t give Slade my address.”

He drags a hand through his hair. “Sorry. I looked up your bakery online, and this was the address listed.”

---