Page 12 of A Clutch for Hutch
“You can tell him about the baby,” Hoover said. “That will insert some great news into the conversation.”
And both my mate and I snapped our heads in his direction.
“What baby?”
“You don’t scent it?” He leaned in toward my brother and inhaled then leaned in toward me and inhaled again. “Yeah…you’re having a baby. Or an egg. I don’t know how that works, but you’re having something. You guys are gonna be dads.”
I dropped my hand to my belly. Could it be? Was I really pregnant? How could he smell it already?
Before I could ask any of my questions out loud, my mate was wrapping his arms around me, tears streaming down his face, tears of joy.
“We’re gonna be dads,” he said. “We’re gonna be dads.”
“Yes, my love.” I held him close. “We’re gonna be dads.”
Chapter Eleven
Dirk
I did not want to go back to the fluffle.
At all or ever.
Okay, maybe things weren’t that extreme. But I’d had a glimpse of the other side, of the life my mate was building in the desert, and I could so easily see myself fitting in there. He was so encouraging about my writing, and I’d even read him some of it from my phone. Hutch did not tell me what to do or not to do. He truly understood my quandary and was giving me space to work it out.
“We’re just going to tell your dads about the baby” he said when I wavered, and there was nothing better he could have said. “Maybe when we get there, you’ll know what to do.”
I didn’t have his faith in me. But I’d already been away longer than planned and short of ghosting my father, I was going to have to face him eventually. Hoover was coming with us, and we’d have a family meeting to update the dads on everything that had been going on.
Father wasn’t going to bring the hammer down or anything so dramatic. He would, however, be incredibly disappointed in me if I did not become alpha. What would he do? If he did not have another family candidate, and I couldn’t think of one, he’d likely face a challenge. Why did things have to be so complicated? Not long ago, I was a happily aspiring novelist with a wonderful brother who was going to be the next alpha and an idyllic life. It was perfect and…
Oh gods.
It was anything but. As we drove down the road, my mate and I and my twin, I recognized that my previous life was lonely. Hoover and Hutch were in the front seat, Hoover driving and thetwo of them laughing and joking like old friends or maybe like brothers. They were so comfortable with one another.
Hoover had seemed fine with being the next alpha, never complained at all. But I had to admit that there was no comparison between that man and the one who I’d been spending time with recently. He might not have been miserable back then, but he was happy now with his mate and the twins and his art and everything he and his family had going. A traumatic accident had freed him from a life that would have been just okay, but not great. Not the happiness destined for him by Fate.
And now, I faced the crossroads of two paths, and I didn’t have a disqualifying injury to decide it for me.
The lands looked just as beautiful as always, nothing like the desert we’d left behind. Oh, it was beautiful but completely different. Here the trees grew thick, and water was plentiful. Our child could have a good life here.
“Son!” My omega father came rushing up, hovering as though unsure of which car door to go to. “That is, Sons. Get out of that car and come hug your dad.” I got out first and was told I looked thin. As usual. “You don’t eat enough, my boy. You should have more ice cream and get fat like your brother.”
“Dad, you know we’re identical twins and we weigh just about the same. You’re an awful tease.”
He kissed me on the head then turned to my mate. “And this must be Hutch. Welcome to the family.” Just like that, he’d cut through the tension and warmed everyone up to each other. It wa his great skill as mate to the alpha. “Now, if you’re ready, it’s time you two faced your father. He’s been so wound up, I can barely talk to him.” He grabbed Hutch’s arm. “And you can come with me to the kitchen. I’m preparing lunch, and I want to hear all about you.”
As the two of them disappeared into the house, I turned to my brother. “Facing the music together is nothing new, but usually you’re the one in trouble. I never realized until you were gone how much of Father’s attention you occupied. He barely paid me any attention as a child because he didn’t expect me to have a big job. Like alpha.”
“That’s not—”
“Hoover, Dirk, about time you got here.” Father’s voice carried across the lands. “I have things to say to both of you.”
We followed him into the alpha house and up the stairs to his office. Once we were seated, he looked at me. “Want to tell me what’s been going on?”
Hoover grabbed for his phone. “I brought baby pictures.”
“But no babies. No mate. We’ll talk about the fact you deprived me of their company later. Right now, we’re going to discuss why your brother didn’t come back on time and is looking like someone about to deliver bad news.”
