Page 28 of Rejected Pretend Mate

I reached out, smiling at her. I'd seen plenty and heard plenty from around the pack and the girls to know it didn't matter. Babies came when they were ready.

"I think you need to go to the hospital. You're in labor."

She shook her head. "No, I have work. I can't be having my baby right now. I can't take maternity leave yet! We haven't found my replacement."

"I don't think you really have a choice," I countered as I looked around, but she had come in alone. "Do you have anyone to take you?"

She shook her head, and I watched tears fill her eyes. "My husband is in Nevada for a conference, and my sister is at work. This is just great. They're both going to miss the baby's delivery."

"I'll take you," I offered. It wasn't like I had anything to do, and this would keep me out of the house. I had watched so much TV that even my shows weren't entertaining me anymore.

She took a deep breath in and offered me a painful smile. “Are you sure? Don’t you have work?”

I didn’t want to say I wasn’t working, but I didn’t really have anything else I could say. So, I shook my head. “I’m new in Honeyville, and I’m still looking for something. But let’s not worry about me; we need to get you to the hospital.”

I ended up taking her to the hospital and staying with her for a while. Once I was getting ready to leave, a taller lady was by the check-in. "I'm looking for Deb! Deb Morre?" The lady shookher head. "She's my sister! She's in labor. Just came in. She has short hair. It kind of looks like someone took a butcher to it, but I won't tell her that. She is my assistant at the school. What room is she in?"

I paused and cleared my throat. "You must be Deb's sister. She's in room 212." I pointed to the door. "She's just getting looked at by the doctor at the moment, but she's in there. Just knock on the door. She was worried you weren't going to be here."

The lady looked me up and down, and I wondered if I looked bad. I was wearing sweatpants and a baggy sweater, which was the first thing I could find to get out of the apartment as quickly as possible.

"Thank you," she said, hurrying past me. I ended up leaving and shrugged the entire thing off by the afternoon. I didn't think about it, knowing it was just timing. But at three, my phone rang with a number I hadn't known.

I was just starting a load of laundry when I answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi, this is Rebecca. Is this April?"

I nodded, pushing the start on the washer. "It is. Do I know you?"

"Yeah, I'm the lady. This more you pointed to my sister's room. I didn't introduce myself earlier, and I normally do, but my head was everywhere. My little sister was having a baby, after all."

The morning clicked into place. "Oh yes, did that all turn out well?"

"It did, thank you for asking. Healthy baby boy. Which is actually why I'm calling. My sister is going to be starting her maternity leave, and I'll be without an assistant at the school."

I paused. She wasn't offering me a job, was she? There was no way I could have impressed her this morning, wearing what I was wearing. I had looked at myself when I got home. I looked like a homeless person. She had good reason to look me over the way she did. But to offer me a job?

"Oh?"

"My sister had expressed you handled the situation extremely well, and when working in a school, that is important."

"I mean, yes, it is, but I think it's important to know more about a person before offering them a job. Especially when it's around kids. I wasn't exactly dressed to impress."

She started to laugh. "Oh, I know, which is why I asked Ayden about you. The Alpha is all-knowing, after all. He told me you're new to the pack but married and trustworthy. He gave the stamp of approval on you."

Ayden had said that? I was stunned because I didn't think he'd noticed me. I didn't expect to be. In our old pack, the Alpha hardly had time for you, let alone to care about you.

"Oh, well, that's a generous offer." I couldn't accept it, could I? I had just told Riley I didn't want to work around kids, but this sounded like more office work than being around students.

"I know it's short, but I will be without help for a while. Believe it or not, she helped more than I would like to admit. The thought of being without someone is going to screw everything up. So, are you available?"

I shook my head, bringing me back to reality. I had accepted. I started the next day getting the lay of the school. The first few days were just Rebecca showing me around and getting the feel of the place. It was a big high school, so there was plenty to do.

I glanced at my phone, seeing the time. I had twenty minutes, which meant I needed to get going. Weslie was going to be there, and he would be waiting for me.

I nodded and decided the outfit would work. It had to. I had no other option.

I headed across town to the fire station. It seemed everyone was already there, and as I stepped inside on the lower level, Weslie stood leaning against the fire truck. My mouth watered at the sight of him. He was wearing jeans and a nice cream button-down shirt. His hair had been combed back slightly. He looked extremely sexy and cleaned up.

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