Page 23 of Alpha Wolf's Arranged Bride
His face blooms with a magnificent smile, and he wraps his arms around my waist. I hug him back, and the warm feeling inside me intensifies to the point it almost hurts.
I don’t know, or care, who your real dad is, but you’re Scarlett’s son, and that means you’re mine, too.
“Hey, guys,” Scarlett mutters, picking up the broken shards of her mug. “I think the food is getting away from you again.”
“Shit!” I hiss, turning back to the last burner and switching it off. “Oh, shit—I mean, damn—I mean—” I turn around and look awkwardly at Jarrod. “I’m not supposed to swear around kids, am I?”
Jarrod chuckles, and so does Scarlett.
“Well, as a rule, no,” Scarlett says. “But in reality, it happens. Jarrod will survive the occasional curse word.”
“I don’t know,” Jarrod pipes up. “I’m feeling pretty damaged.”
“Oh, yeah?” Scarlett comes over to tousle his hair. “Hmm, you look fine to me.”
“Not to me,” I say, peering at him. “I think he’s going to fade away from hunger.”
“I agree,” Jarrod says.
Scarlett looks between us both, her face paling a little. Before I can ask her what’s wrong, she goes back to the table, leaving me to follow with a plate for me and one for Jarrod.
Through breakfast, I try to draw Scarlett into the conversation, but she remains withdrawn. I’m disappointed because I really felt like we were making progress, but I don’t want to push.
If I just give her time, hopefully she’ll settle in, and we can have something like what we had before. I don’t know how to make it up to her—I probably can’t, anyway—but I won’t stop trying!
Meanwhile, Jarrod and I make conversation effortlessly, and as we get closer, I notice Scarlett’s expression grow even tenser. Uncertainty breaks through my newfound happiness.
She doesn’t want us getting closer—and the reason has to be Jarrod’s father.
Chapter 7 - Scarlett
I’m still a bit shaky from dropping the coffee cup when I return to the table, and I let the conversation between Rex and Jarrod wash over me as I try to gather myself.
Let’s be honest—the cup wasn’t the problem. It was hearing Jarrod call Rex “Dad.”
I look up at my son, slowly letting my awareness of the atmosphere come back to me. I try to rationalize, even talk myself out of it, but the chemistry between them is clear to see.
I can feel it, too. The bond between them is strong. This is such a good thing, really—but how the hell am I supposed to tell them the truth?
My anxiety rises as I think even more about how uncomfortable that conversation is going to be, and all the lies and secrets that will be revealed.
In that throwdown, both Rex and I will have a lot to own up to. As much as I want to confront him, I’m not going to come out of this looking squeaky-clean, either.
When Jarrod asked about his father, I kept my answers as vague as possible. When kids started taunting him at school, telling him that his dad was a drifter and had abandoned him, I had to tell Jarrod at least part of the truth.
Yes, your dad left us. It sucks, I know—and I don’t even understand why he left. But I promise you, baby, I’m going to give you all the love you’ll ever need.
Those were the words I said when he asked me straight out if what the other kids said was true. It was only a couple of months ago when he turned five, and I realized he had to be told something. I couldn’t keep it from him forever.
I thought I had to shield him from the truth because he’s so young, but there’s a fine line between protecting your kid and lying to save your own pride.
Jarrod laughs suddenly, a real, full-bodied laugh that shakes his chest and makes his eyes water. Rex is laughing, too, and their expressions are almost identical.
I’ve never heard Jarrod laugh like that before.
I feel left out and so distanced from them both; I don’t know how to get back in. A sharp stab of resentment rises in me, and I don’t like it.
When I first walked into the kitchen, it almost felt like old times. Rex and I just slipped into that comfortable energy we always had, as if we were constantly in sync.
