Page 29 of Unexpected Delivery

“Yeah, that is more than I was expecting.” She swallows thickly. “But I can’t ask you to do that. That kinda stuff can’t just be taken back, Hael. We would have to go to court to prove she isn’t yours if you ever wanted to take your name off the birth certificate.”

“Hayes and I have an older brother. His name is Jacob, and he was three years old when my dads met my mom. She was working two jobs, bringing him with her to clean offices at night, because that was the only way she could keep the two of them fed and make sure they had a roof over their heads.”

My mom is the sweetest lady you’ll ever meet. She would strip down and give someone the shirt off her back if they needed it. When I was younger, I heard bits and pieces of her story, but it never clicked. Not until I became an adult and realized how badly she struggled. We didn’t grow up rich, but we never wanted for anything we needed. It’s not hard to see that Arbor is in an even worse situation than my mom was.

“It’s not going to hurt me in any way to help you and Gracie. Let me do this one small thing.”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble. Don’t people get arrested for stuff like insurance fraud?”

“Think about it like this,” I say, shrugging. “Who’s going to know it was purposeful? People hook up all the time. All you have to say is you assumed the baby was mine after a one-night stand. Then we didn’t see each other again until you tracked me down nine months later. That still makes providing insurancemyresponsibility. See what I’m saying?”

I sure fucking hope she does because I’m grasping at straws here.

“Ten months,” she says, licking her lips. “Pregnancy is forty weeks, but I was thirty-eight weeks and a few days, since I didn’t actually make it to my due date.”

“We can do the math later.” I run my fingers over her cheek. “Just let me give the two of you that extra little bit of security.”

She stays silent for so long, I think she’s going to let me down gentlyagain. I’m busy thinking of other ways I can try to convince her when she finally nods.

“Okay.”

Holy shit.

I can’t believe it worked. Now we just need to find a way to casually convince her to come home with us.

Chapter Eleven

Morris

We spend another night in the hospital, but the next morning Arbor’s doctor comes in, and the little omega asks to be released as soon as possible.

Due to the circumstances of Gracie’s delivery, the doctor holds firm, no matter how much Arbor protests. She wants to keep Arbor the full forty-eight hours after delivery—or in this case, admission to the hospital. Since they don’t release patients in the middle of the night, that would allow her to leave tomorrow morning at the earliest.

Hayes and Hael went home to shower, clean up the living room, and retrieve the car seat, since Arbor was convinced she would be leaving today. They were also supposed to head by the pharmacy to pick up the massive amount of items Arbor needs for postnatal care.

Once her doctor heads out, the pediatrician comes in to check Gracie over. Thankfully, everything looks great with the baby.

However, I’m left with a very pouty omega on my hands. The baby is resting comfortably in her cart, so I head over to the hospital bed.

Arbor looks up at me, uncrosses her arms, and scoots over to make space. “How much do you think an extra night in the hospital is going to cost with no insurance?”

Kicking off my shoes, I climb onto the bed next to her.

“Not much when compared to ensuring you’re safe and healthy following a major medical event.” I stretch my arm over the back of the bed, and she slides over until her head rests on my shoulder.

“You’re right about that. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I’m just starting to panic about what all of this is going to cost.” Her lower lip worries between her teeth, and I ache to pull it free and plant a tender kiss on those perfect lips of hers.

“I understand that, but some things are out of our control.” I thought Hael talked to her about the insurance thing, so he must have left out the part about the hospital bill also being sent to our house.

Between the three of us, we can cover it based on what we have in savings, but that won’t leave much of a safety net if something needs fixed at the gym, the shop, or our house.

Still, we’ll manage.

I’m not overly religious, and at the same time I am spiritual on some level. Something put Arbor in our path for a reason. I won’t say I’m great at interpreting signs, but this one seems clear as day.

Arbor needed us as much as we needed her and Gracie.

Hayes has been lost and drifting since I met him.

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