Page 36 of Unexpected Delivery

“Is there a specific reason why you bought three heads of cabbage?” I ask, shoving them into the already full refrigerator.

“They aren’t for us. Apparently they’re for Arbor’s tits. Don’t ask me. That was all Nana.” Hael shrugs. “We also got normal ice packs in case she wanted to go the modern route.”

The sound of boxes dropping in the living room catches my attention.

“We have a sleeping baby in the house,” I hiss. “An exhausted omega too. One who happens to think she has to do everything on her own.” Frowning, I shake my head and take off. “Wash Arbor’s new clothes first. She has basically nothing that fits since giving birth. I’m going to make sure Gracie is still sleeping.”

Arbor wouldn’t even let me help gather her laundry from the bathroom floor, and I’m guessing she needed an emergency shower for a reason.

The door is pushed to the frame, but not clicked closed, and I gently open it. Arbor is on her side, facing away from the door. Carefully tiptoeing across the room, I peek at the bassinet, but Gracie isn’t there. She’s in bed with Arbor. She’s nursing, and it looks like they’re both asleep.

That can be dangerous, especially with how tired Arbor is.

I climb onto the bed behind Gracie, and Arbor’s eyes pop open. “I thought you fell asleep.”

“It was close,” she says softly.

“Well, I’m here. I’ll watch her if you’d like.” My hand migrates to her face, tucking her dark hair behind her ear. “It seems like maybe she’s asleep too. She’s not even nibbling.”

“Yeah, I should probably burp and change her. I don’t think she was even hungry.” Arbor pulls Gracie off her breast and moves to fix her bra and dress. “I am, though. It’s only been a few hours, and I’mstarving.”

My hand slides between the baby and the mattress, and I scoop her up like I have the right.

I chuckle. “They brought burgers and stuff back for lunch. If you hurry, I bet the fries will still be warm. I’ve got the baby.”

Arbor’s head tilts, and she flutters her long lashes. “You guys are going to make some woman very happy someday.” She scoots to the edge of the bed. “Thank you so much. My stomach went from kinda hungry to feeling like it’s eating itself from the inside out.”

Would it be highly inappropriate to tell hershe’sthe woman I want to make happy?

Probably.

“Go on, I’ve got Gracie.”

Morris is going to chew my ear off for not warning him Arbor was on the way out.

I can feel it.

Arbor brings her food back to the bedroom and eats it in bed as I change Gracie and get her settled in the bassinet.

“I just realized how much the couch I destroyed cost,” Arbor says, taking a long drink of the bottle of lemon-lime soda in her hand. She turns, setting it on the bedside table. “If you really do need a receptionist, I’ll work for free or something until I can pay you guys back.”

“Stop,” I growl, shaking my head. She jolts, and I frown. “Sorry, I just meant, no more of that. It isn’t an inconvenience to have you here, and you definitely don’t need to pay to replace the couch yougave birth on.”

Jesus Christ.

I’d really like to get my hands on her ex. It would give me something to focus this fury on. What the hell kind of environment is she used to that she even feels obligated to offer?

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” she says, putting the take-out container next to her on the bed.

I give Gracie a final pat. I’ll need to come back to swaddle her, but she’ll be okay for a few minutes.

Striding over to the bed, I kneel next to the edge. “I’m not upset. Not at you. Maybe a little with myself because I shouldn’t have raised my voice. I’m loud. It could be a product of being barked at in the military for a lot of years, but I’ll work on being softer.”

“No.” Her hair falls around her shoulders as her head shakes. “I don’t want you to change who you are.” She turns toward me, resting her hand on mine. “I’m not afraid of you. There’s no good way to explain why. An unbonded omega around three relatively unknown alphas? I probably should be, huh?” A soft smile tips at her lips as she squeezes my hand. “But I’m not. Although, I can smell your discomfort, and my instinctshateit. We’re just in a weird situation.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “But we do want you here.”

She laughs a light, airy sound. “Well, me too. Remember that massive mouse at the cabin? I don’t know where he was the few days I was there, but I’m so happy I didn’t see him while I was alone. I would have freaked out.”

---