Page 28 of Secret Shifters Next Door

I waved my hands in the air between us, as if, by doing so, I could wave his statement away. “No, this isn’t how this was supposed to be. It was a fucking one-night stand. One night of really great sex, no names, no history, no future. It was supposed to be a pleasant memory I could pull up later in life. It was not supposed to lead to… to… this.” I gestured at both of us. “I don’t need you to be involved. I’m not some delicate flower whoneedsa man to help me raise a baby. I’ve done fine on my own with Mariah and Jordyn for the last three years. Since…” I trailed off, not wanting to say Sam’s name. Not here, not like this, not arguing with Tate.

Tate nodded at me, as though he understood, but the look on his face was anything but defeated or acquiescent. “That’s fine, and I respect that. The problem is, at the end of the day, you might be carrying my child. I can’t walk away from a responsibility like that.”

He opened his mouth to say more, but Mariah called from downstairs, “Steaks are marinating. I got the oven on to bake the potatoes.”

Tate grabbed the doorknob and looked back at me before opening it. “I’ll give you some time to think about things. About how you want to handle this, but…” he looked me in the eyes, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Without another word, he pulled the door open and strode out. I followed, thinking I could stop him, grab him by theshoulders and talk sense into him. Instead, I stopped right at the top of the stairs when I heard him talking to the girls.

“Good job, guys. These look great. How long are they supposed to marinate?” Tate asked.

“The recipe said thirty minutes,” Jordyn replied.

“Awesome, I’d go ahead and put the potatoes in. They usually take forever. I’m going back to my place for a bit, but I’ll be back. And don’t get any ideas, I’m grilling those bad boys. I’ve got a knack when it comes to barbecued meat. See you in a little while.”

“Bye,” the girls said in unison.

Jordyn added, “See you soon.”

My body numb, I leaned against the newel post, reeling from what had just happened. In ten minutes, my entire world had been thrown upside down. Not only that, but the girls seemed toreallylike Tate. They were excited to have him around, and all I wanted was for himnotto be here.

A thought struck me then, and it devastated me. Did they enjoy Tate’s company because of what they were missing? Did they miss Sam’s male influence? It had to be difficult being without a father figure for so many years. Were they starved for that type of interaction? My heart broke a little.

Nothing about this made sense. The last thing I wanted was for my girls to get attached to Tate. The problem was, he’d told me his intentions. He wasn’t going anywhere. There was no scenario where he would just disappear into the shadows again.

I had no choice now but to tell the girls. When, though? Not tonight. I couldn’t do that. I was too drained. The timing was terrible, but I had to tell them. Eventually.

THIRTEEN

TATE

That… had gone poorly, to say the least. Thoughts raced through my mind as I walked across the street. It was true—she was pregnant. It took a lot for me to stop my dragon from leaping forward and embracing Harley the whole time we were arguing. My dragon had actually gotten irritated with me for making her uncomfortable, which was weird. It was kinda like my right hand getting pissed at my left hand. The fact that she didn’t want us in her life had been hurtful but not unexpected. I’d given her no reason to want me in her life.

It took me fifteen minutes to take a quick shower and get redressed. Then I spent a few minutes at my front door, staring at Harley’s house. My courage had flagged after leaving, and now I was trying to build it back up.

“Oh, hell, let’s do this,” I muttered.

A few minutes later, I was back in her kitchen, helping Mariah chop cucumbers and carrots for a salad while the grill heated up outside. Harley was at the kitchen table, talking to Jordyn. I’d gotten to know the youngest King girl pretty well today, and I was trying to get to know Mariah. She was quiet and soft spoken, the polar opposite of Jordyn.

“What grade are you going to be in this year?” I asked.

Mariah glanced at me. “Junior.”

“Big year,” I said.

She was pretty like her mom. The boys would be falling all over themselves for the chance to date the beautiful girl from the big city. My dragon stirred, its protective instincts rearing its head at the thought. Was this what it would be like to be a father? Constantly wanting to protect and take care of the ones younger and weaker?

It made me edgy and uncomfortable. I’d never wanted something like this. It seemed the dragon had staked its claim on the entire family. This girl wasn’t my responsibility, but there would be hell to pay if I tried to tell my dragon that. As far as it was concerned, they were already part of its family, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I couldn’t deny that I enjoyed being around them, though.

Harley seemed to be on edge with me here. No surprise after our showdown upstairs less than an hour ago, which definitely had not been part of the plan. I’d seen the girls taking in the groceries and gone to help. When I walked in and saw Harley’s belly, the dragon had taken hold, reacting on instinct. As soon as I touched her belly, the dragonknew. I hadn’t intended to take her to her room, but I needed to speak to her alone.

When Miles had told me that the baby might be mine, I’d done everything I could to deny it or make excuses. That was all over now. I knew in my gut the baby was mine, as did the dragon. I had some ground to make up, though. I didn’t blame her for trying to keep me at a distance and hiding the truth from me. After all, I had been a dick to her. I needed to try and mend that fence. She needed to give me a chance to do that. Something between us had to give.

When the food was done, we sat at the table to eat. It was awkward. Harley sat across from me at the other end of the table, with Jordyn and Mariah on each side. The first fewminutes were really quiet, which only made things worse, but then Jordyn piped up and filled the silence with her endless chatter.

“Did I tell you I was starting high school this fall?” she asked me.

I bit back a groan. Jordyn was a very friendly person, and high school was full of assholes and bitches who would take advantage of that. She could end up with fake friends who only wanted to use her, or a shitty boyfriend who would make her life hell. Neither me, nor my dragon, were particularly fond of the idea of her getting hurt. Instead of telling her all that and damping down her excitement, I went with the safe response.

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