Page 16 of Such a Feisty Omega

Andreas

Jabez was definitely on Team Julian. He felt that my wolf was smarter than I was, but then I also agreed our animals were generally more intelligent than we were on certain matters, at least. And if there was one thing they were excellent at, it was knowing who their mates were. My wolf had never been particularly vocal on the subject of Reed’s dad, but he had a real soft spot for my son, so he probably was willing to tolerate the male who helped get him here.

But he wanted Julian in our life. And so did I.

“You can’t be shut down forever, you know,” Jabez said as I was leaving the night before our beach date. “You deserve better than that.”

“Thanks for saying so. Sometimes it’s hard to feel that. Or trust.” Jabez of all the other owners knew the most of my story. As a healer, he had a way of getting people to open up to him. So, he knew why I had trust issues.

“Well, now that you’re here with us at Cuffed, you have access to information about certain people that you would not have had otherwise. You know how strenuous our membership background checks are and while he’s only been here as a visitor and as your guest, we’ve still done a good portion of those just to let him in the door. He’s a nurse, as you know, and you’ve told me how kind he was to Rhys—I saw part of that myself.

“And, in the end, he’s your mate, so if you do not let him in, you’re rejecting your chance for happiness. I know whereof I speak. As your healer, I strongly recommend you listen to your wolf and your heart and give this omega a chance.”

But I still wasn’t planning to bring Reed with me to the beach. I thought our daytime date might be the perfect time totell him about my son. And I rehearsed what I’d say. Something like, “I need to let you know that I have a son.” Or, “Maybe you can come over soon and meet my son.” Or even, “My son is looking forward to meeting you.”

None of those things could really make up for not telling him until now, but if he didn’t understand, then maybe he wasn’t the right one for us. But I tried not to think about that. Although what was between us was very intense, it was also new, and even if it seemed like he’d been a part of my life forever, in reality, it was not very long at all. So, I hoped he’d realize that as a father I didn’t bring my son into things right away.

In fact, and I would let him know this as well, I had never introduced him to anyone I was romantically interested in. The fact that I had not gone on a date for more than an evening of scening at Cuffed didn’t need to be mentioned. Maybe on our twentieth anniversary.

But with Jabez’ good advice in mind, I was very excited to get ready for our date. Since most of my cooking was for a toddler, I had begun to think all I made was chicken nuggets and mac and cheese and such. I made up a shopping list, tucked Reed in his car seat in the truck, and headed for the store to buy some grown-up food for once.

We were singing along to his favorite album when the phone rang on our way home from the store. I pressed the dashboard button to answer it.

“Hi, this is Lilianne.” The voice of the babysitter came through the speakers. “I wanted to let you know I forgot I have a test today, so I can’t come to sit with Reed until tonight. I hope that doesn’t mess you up too much?”

Lilianne was my most reliable sitter and Reed’s favorite person in the world. The fact that he occasionally fussed when I left for work was only because he liked having everyone hecared about around him at the same time. He’d bring his teacher home, if he could.

So what could I say?

“Oh no, it’s fine. Is anyone else available, do you know?” Roger and the others who occasionally spelled Lilianne were also students, so I didn’t have a lot of faith in being able to get any of them for a daytime stint without advance notice.

And her answer confirmed that. “I called around before phoning you. I’m really sorry.”

“You can’t miss a test.” Even if she volunteered, I wouldn’t allow it. “Don’t worry, and get an A, all right?”

“You know me.” She disconnected. I did know her. She had a 4.0 at school and was going to graduate with the highest honors. Working the nights with Reed really did make her happy because she could study.

But now, what was I going to do? I had two choices, and since I had no intention of canceling, that left bringing Reed with me on my date.

Things just got complicated.

Chapter Seventeen

Julian

“Hello?” I greeted them as a question because everything in front of me was a question. My wolf pranced around inside me, happy about the little boy with Andreas’ hand in his, but my human brain’s functions had halted.

“Hello, Julian.” He got closer and kissed my cheek. “Julian, this is Reed. Reed, can you say hello to Julian.”

The little boy, somewhat under three by my guess, raised his hand and waved. “Hewwo.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Reed. Is this your nephew, Andreas?” He had mentioned over dinner having two brothers.

“Let’s sit down, shall we? I’ll get Reed set up.”

Andreas moved around Reed like a pro. He set up a blow-up kiddie pool and a picnic blanket close to it. He put in some sand and ocean water with buckets and set Reed inside. He gave him toys and shovels and, in no time, the tyke was well occupied.

“Take a seat, please,” Andreas said. He pulled off his shirt, and my guess was he did that to lessen the blow of whatever he was going to tell me. Because the way he treated this child? It wasn’t his nephew.

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