Page 56 of The Alpha: Part Three
When it's time, we'll move the crib into the nursery we've set up in one of the other bedrooms. After seeing the beautiful yellow and green quilt, I've finally decided on a color scheme for the room. I don't want to paint it, but I want yellow curtains and a green rug, and bright pictures of flowers on the walls. It's going to be such a happy space.
Seth stepped out onto the porch a little while ago to call his mom. He's been out there pacing for about twenty minutes.
“Why is he so agitated?” Ben asks, watching Seth go by the window again.
Michael stands up and starts heading for the door. “Because he doesn't know how to accept good things. He's stuck on the idea that nothing about him or his family is good. But he's wrong and the fact that Jasper made such a huge effort to do something so wonderful for him has thrown him into a loop of confusion and he's afraid someone's going to come along and take it all away.”
Ben looks away from the window and at Michael. “Why won't he tell us stuff like that? We can help him.”
“Because he doesn't want to be a burden on top of a fuck up.” Michael opens the door and steps out on the porch.
“Seth isn't a fuck up,” Ben says, obviously offended by the idea. “He has been through fucked up things, but he isn't a fuck up. He's made mistakes, but so have we. And he's done so much to make up for them. He needs to quit with all this self-loathing and being miserable.”
I nod but before I can say anything Michael is dragging Seth back inside. He pushes him down onto the couch between me and Ben.
“Hey Mom,” Seth says, looking up at Michael. “Can I call you back tomorrow? Okay. Yeah, she's okay. Everything's fine. I just need to go for tonight. Oh god, no. You're letting Elizabet rub off on you too much. Oh my god. I'm getting off the phone. You too.”
Ben smirks at the blush crawling up Seth's face. “What did she say?”
“That I better not cause Desir'ee to go into labor early.”
Chapter twenty-three
Michael
Desie has been scrubbing the kitchen counters since she and Ben got back home an hour ago. It is definitely hospital related. Ben left her with me almost as soon as they walked through the door and now I see why.
“What's got you all worked up? The counters were clean before you started wiping them down. If you keep going we might have to replace them.”
She huffs in my direction and keeps scrubbing. “Where is Seth?”
“He went with Nathan to meet with Alpha Johnson. He said they won't be gone very long. What's the matter, Desie?”
She tosses the sponge down on the counter and glares at it. “He sent me home.”
“Who did?”
“Obi,” she explains. “I was just sitting at the desk trying to get a feel for how everything runs and he kicked me out.”
“I thought you had an appointment with him this morning?”
She sighs and abandons the counters to sit down at the table. “I did. Everything is fine. He said everything looks perfect and he'll be surprised if the baby waits until next week. He said that was fine, too. I was just sitting at the desk and observing. I did intake with one patient. Just one. The way he reacted I might as well have been on the floor doing rounds.”
The thing is, whether or not she wants to admit it, Desie's inability to let what happens happen as far as her job goes is non-existent. I'm honestly surprised she wasn't on the floor. She needs to see and experience how things go so she'll have plenty of time to figure out how theyshouldgo. She's always been that way.
“What did Ben say?”
She gives me the same glare she gave the sponge. “He laughed. He thought it was hilarious that I got in trouble.”
“Are you in trouble?”
“No.” She rolls her eyes. “But now the other nurses won't take me seriously. I just wanted to see how they run things, Michael. That's all. Where did Ben go, anyway? He didn't say anything about needing to be anywhere.”
I bite back a smile. “I think he went to see what Devon has going on in their garage. Were you yelling at him the whole way home?”
“I wasn't yelling at him. I was just expressing my irritation.”
I nod, still fighting back my smile. I can imagine exactly how that expression of irritation went. “Uh-huh. Well, I'm sure he won't be long. Do you want a distraction?”
