Page 53 of His Innocent Omega
But Wyatt had been twelve when he had started college. Freaking twelve. He’d been much too young to do anything his fellow peers would be interested in doing. And it was clear from this list that his parents hadn’t ensured he had any experiences that most kids should have.
An idea popped into my head as I looked around my small living space. “What do you think, princess? I think we might be able to help your Papa with both his lists. Starting this afternoon.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Wyatt
I took my time on my shift, enjoying munching on all the leaves that were still high up in the trees. I had even found some berries and my giraffe was ecstatic. After finishing my grocery run, I had checked in on Grayson and Julianna. She had been content, happy as a clam in his arms, as he had sat reading her a children’s book. She was much too young, and couldn’t possibly understand what he was saying, but my heart had warmed at the sight.
Since I believed it was never too early to introduce books to a child, and had read to her while she was still in my womb, it had made me happy to see Grayson readingto her. Julianna was just starting to recognize voices, and she had stared at him, fascinated.
The cabin smelled even better than it did earlier, the lovely scents of the vegetables and broth of the soup more enhanced. I found myself looking forward to having lunch with Grayson. Giving him my lists was a huge step forward in whatever our relationship ended up being. It was something I had never shared with anyone, and I was trusting him with a piece of myself.
Because deep down, I did trust Grayson. I always had, from the very first moment he opened that hotel room door. It’s part of what had made me not turn tail and run like a chicken that night. I’m sure he would say that’s because we were fated.
The past weeks had given me a ton of time to think and sort out my feelings. Not to mention researching more on fated mates. I had been surprised at the number of articles citing actual research on fated mates, and all the folklore surrounding them. Talking to Bash, Wade, Ryan and that group of friends had helped too. They all were fated, and while they had some differing experiences with how they had met their mates and what had happened, they all agreed you couldn’t really stop what was meant to be.
Wade and Finn had tried the hardest to fight it out of the group, going five years without acknowledging they were fated to anyone. They had definitely had an enemies-to-lovers relationship, but Fate had still gotten her way in the end. Three pups later, they were ecstatically happy.
Wade had some off-the-wall notion that it all had something to do with his house, that he now rented out. The house had belonged to Quinn originally, and when he met Lachlan, he had eventually sold the house to Wade. Which was when he and Finn had finally gotten over their hatred of each other. After that,Wade rented the house to Ryan, who had met Brendan, and then Bash had come to town and ended up renting the house.
It didn’t matter to Wade that Quinn had pointed out numerous inconsistencies with Wade’s logic. Like the fact that Ryan and Brendan had met before Ryan had moved to Sweet Alps, as had Jamie and Bash. Gabe had pointed out that he and his mate Asher had never lived in the house. Wade had countered with the fact that Gabe was his neighbor and Asher had bought the house across the street, which was close enough in Wade’s world of wisdom. That conversation in the chat had been lively and had made me laugh out loud more than once.
While I didn’t believe Wade’s theories of a magical fated mate house for a second, I had enjoyed being a part of the conversation. I had never had a friend group before, and it was nice. I’d been a little afraid when I had chimed in with scientific facts surrounding fated mates, because I hadn’t wanted to make any of them angry, but Wade had countered with some nonsense and laughed my facts off breezily. But he hadn’t been mad, had just carried on with his wacky theory.
Little by little, I was already feeling a part of the community of Sweet Alps. I had made friends, even if they had been Grayson’s friends first. But it was more than that. It was a feeling of knowing I was where I was supposed to be. Sweet Alps felt like home, something I didn’t think I’d ever really felt anywhere before. Like it was where I was meant to be.
Frowning as I picked my way across the grass on my long giraffe legs, I thought back to the phone call I had finally made to my parents to tell them Julianna had arrived.
My father had congratulated me in his quiet way, asking if I would send some pictures of her. Then my mother had commandeered the phone and demanded to know when I was going toget over whatever I was going through and come back to New York. As if I was a child who was having a tantrum and had run away from home.
“Mother, I told you, Sweet Alps is my home now. I’m not coming back to New York.” Then to add fuel to the fire, I had added, “And I’m not coming for Thanksgiving. I can’t get the time off and the drive is too much with a baby for a day.”
She had sniffed into the phone, “Really, Wyatt, there are planes, or you could leave the child with a nanny. I’ve been going over several offers for you, Wyatt, some look promising. I was hoping to discuss them with you.”
It wasn’t like Thanksgiving was a family affair. My parents had a catered event the night before Thanksgiving and invited a guest list of who’s who in the academic world. It was a world I no longer wanted to be a part of, and I didn’t want Julianna to have to endure one holiday like it. “I’m not interested, Mother. I’ve told you that. I have the daycare and the baby. This is my life now. I won’t be home for Christmas either.”
“We’ve scheduled a vacation over Christmas so won’t be in the country then anyway. Honestly, Wyatt, you’re going to get bored playing babysitter to snot nosed children, and will wish you had some of these projects to challenge your mind.”
Not one word about her granddaughter. Not one. She was probably including Julianna in with the ‘snot nosed children’. “My mind is just fine, Mother. Still a 187 I.Q. I need to go. The baby needs to be fed.”
Ending the call had been a relief. I had sent them pictures of Julianna, and my father had responded but nothing from my mother. It was what I had expected, truly, but a tiny part of me was hoping that maybe, just maybe, having a grandchild would make them better people. Wishful thinking on my part.
My stomach growled and I headed towards the tree line thatseparated Grayson’s property with this part of the woods. I had seen a few shifters out today, as the weather was still nice enough, even though there was a chill in the air. A cheetah had whizzed past me, and I knew that it was Julianna’s pediatrician, Asher Pierce, who was also Gabe’s mate. I only knew Gabe from the text chat, but he seemed very sweet. A bit shy at first, but he was funny.
Shouldering my way through the branches of the trees, I stepped into Grayson’s backyard. He was standing on his back porch, Julianna in his arms, waiting for me. She was wide awake, moving her arms a bit jerkily, in the way babies do when they are growing.
Grayson’s dark eyes lit up with warmth when he saw my giraffe. Shielding his eyes against the sun, he looked up and up. “You’re so tall, Wyatt.”
Preening, I walked gracefully forward. In my shifted form I stood about seventeen feet tall and weighed about thirty-five hundred pounds. For a giraffe my weight was on the small side, but I had always been skinny.
“Come closer,” Grayson urged, moving forward with the baby. Catching her swinging hand in his, he stopped her movement. “Let her touch you.”
Moving to where they waited on the steps, I ducked my long neck down, so Julianna could touch. Grayson moved her hand over my fur, and her little fingers tugged. She had a grip for someone so tiny. She gave a little squealy sound she had just started to make when she was happy about something. At least I assumed that’s what it meant.
Grayson’s hand covered hers, burying itself in my short fur for a few seconds, before he stroked my neck in a long pet. “Are you hungry? You were gone longer than I expected, but the bread’sstill warm. Come inside and eat.”
He left me to shift and I quickly dressed in the jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt I had left in a neatly stacked pile on his porch. Entering his living space, I sniffed appreciatively. The air smelled heavenly. “It smells wonderful in here. Thank you for inviting me.”
