Page 21 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

“No, thank you, Reagan,” I replied quietly. “And take tomorrow off. You did great work today, and I appreciate it.”

He nodded his thanks, and I showed him out. Jenny and Christa had finished their show, and I heard them talking in their room. Jenny must be getting ready for bed.

I took a deep breath, knowing I had to let Christa know what my intentions were. There was nothing I could do to go back and change the past, but my daughter was herenow. I was going to get to know her, and there was nothing Christa could do or say that would stop me.

Chapter 10 - Christa

When Colson first told me that he intended to spend time with Jenny, I had fought him. My daughter was the most important thing in the world to me, and I would die to defend her. I would kill to defend her. Right now, despite our past, Colson felt like a threat. He was prone to angry outbursts and violence, and I worried that he would direct those qualities at Jenny.

I didn’t want to expose Jenny to danger if I could help it, but Colson had persisted. To be honest, there wasn’t much I could do to prevent them from getting to know one another. But when I finally relented, it came with conditions. First, there would be no secrets between them. If anything happened, I wanted to know about it immediately. And second, Colson couldn’t expose my secret to her.

If Jenny was ever going to learn the truth about who her father was, I wanted it to come from me. But I wasn’t ready yet. If things went badly between them, I didn’t want Jenny to have to deal with the added layer of finding out that Colson was her dad.

“Mom!” Jenny called, bounding into the room. “Colson wants to take me out to the forest to climb trees again. Can I go? Please, mom?”

Colson had his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, silently daring me to stop him from spending time with her. I sighed, accepting the situation but doing my best to remain in control.

“Sounds like fun,” I replied with a strained smile. “Do you mind if I come with you?”

“Really?! That makes it even better,” she squealed. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Come on, then,” Colson said to Jenny with a smile. “Let’s get a move on before all the good trees are taken.”

Jenny laughed at his bad joke and rushed to get ready. I didn’t necessarily want to spend my afternoon in the middle of the forest, but the thought of Jenny being out of sight for an extended period had left me feeling anxious. It was better for all of us if I went with them. Just to observe, of course.

Jenny and Colson walked ahead of me, chatting about various things as we headed toward the forest. I watched their body language and realized that Jenny was just as thrilled to have a male figure in her life as Colson seemed to be that person for her. He was alert to their surroundings, watching for any possible danger while giving Jenny the opportunity to talk to him about whatever she wanted. He was letting her take the lead, and it both surprised and delighted me.

When we got out of town, Jenny took off running, laughing as Colson followed close behind her.

“You can’t catch me!” Jenny shouted.

“Oh no! You’re so fast!” Colson shouted back, playing along. “I’m going to have to take a magic potion to speed me up.”

He pretended to unstop a vial and drink it while Jenny laughed. He shook his body, acting like he was under the effects of magic before he started running after Jenny again, this time faster than before.

“Roar! I’m a monster!” he growled, holding his hands up like they were claws.

I smiled in spite of myself as I watched the two of them frolic around in the forest, imagining they were all sorts ofcreatures. The longer I paid attention to their interactions, the more I came to realize that Colson wasn’t a threat to Jenny. Far from it. She seemed to be thriving with his attention, and he seemed to be benefitting from it as well. He was far more patient with her than I had seen him with anyone else. His demeanor was softer and kinder, as though he was aware of his size and strength in comparison to her and wanted to reassure her that she was safe with him.

After a few hours of games and adventures, they were both out of breath.

“You two ready to head back home?” I suggested. “It’s almost dinner time.”

“I’mstarving,” Jenny said dramatically.

“I’m definitely ready for dinner,” Colson agreed. “We gotta get this little monster home and feed it before it attacks the village!”

Jenny gave a monster growl, and her stomach followed suit. We all laughed and headed out of the forest toward home.

I couldn’t fully explain it, but there had been a shift between Colson and me after today. My feelings toward him had softened, somewhat reluctantly, as I saw that his affection for Jenny was legitimate. I knew I still couldn’t trust him, but a part of me hoped that maybe Jenny could. The life I had dreamt of for the three of us wasn’t possible, but a new life might be. If he wanted it, that was. I was very aware that whatever happened next would have to be on his terms. There was nothing stopping him from abandoning us again if he wanted to.

When we got home, I heated up some tomato soup and buttered rolls while they changed out of their dirty clothes. I set the table, hoping that I could extend the simple domesticity of the day by having us sit together and eat. We had mostly beeneating in the living room or in shifts so Colson and I wouldn’t be forced to have a conversation, but today was different.

“Smells great, Mom,” Jenny said as she took a seat.

Colson appeared, and I saw him raise an eyebrow at the change of venue. I shrugged, not sure how to explain my thoughts to him. We both sat down, and the three of us ate in silence for a few minutes.

“Are you my dad?” Jenny asked, suddenly putting her spoon down and staring at Colson intensely.

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