Page 39 of Rejected Wolf's Secret Baby (Rejected Moons 4)

I ease the door open and lead the way through the kitchen, back to the bedroom I’ve been sharing with Emmy. I pause outside the door.

“Wait here,” I tell Brandon. “I’m just going to see if she’s awake or not.”

He nods.

I slip into the room, and Kayla follows me.

“What are you doing?” she hisses. “I thought you didn’t want him to know.”

“He won’t know,” I say. “He thinks she’s my ex’s baby.”

“And you don’t think he’s going to figure it out? I figured it out.”

A chill runs down my spine. I’m not sure. I can’t be sure.

But the thing is…I’m not sure how reliably I can prevent him from seeing her. I don’t know how long we’re going to be here, but it will probably be a couple of months at least. And if it becomes obvious that I’m trying to conceal her, that will be even more suspicious.

At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.

Maybe I just want my child to have a moment in her life when her father held her. Is that such a crazy thing to want? Isn’t that a risk worth taking?

Emmy’s standing up in her portable playpen, gripping the side railing and staring at me.

She really does have Brandon’s eyes.

What if he looks at her and sees that?

But what if I never let them meet?

I don’t know. I don’t know what the right thing to do is anymore. I was so confident in my choices for so many years, but coming back here and seeing Brandon again has thrown everything into doubt.

“I want him to see her,” I say at last. “I just think it’s the right thing to do.”

Kayla nods slowly. “If you’re sure,” she says. “It’s your decision to make.”

I go back to the door and open it. Brandon’s waiting in the hall, leaning against the opposite wall. “Come on in,” I tell him.

He comes in, his eyes going right to Emmy. “This is her?”

“This is Emmy,” I confirm.

“Damn, Alicia. She looks just like you,” he says softly, wonderingly. There’s something almost reverential in his tone. It’s what I would have wanted from him, seeing his daughter for the first time. But the fact that he doesn’t know she’s his is souring it.

A knot loosens in my chest. Shedoeslook just like me. I’m glad that’s the part he’s focusing on.

“How old is she?” he asks.

“Almost two.” A white lie. Adjusting her age a little makes her too young to be his, which means he’s less likely to think of that possibility. And I don’t think Brandon is familiar enough with babies to guess at my fib.

“Wow,” he says. He squats down in front of her. “Hi, Emmy.”

She doesn’t say anything. She just stares at him.

He looks up at me. “Does she talk?”

“When she wants to. She’s still learning words,” I say. “She’s a pretty quiet kid.” Actually, it’s something I worry about—I feel like she should talk more for her age. Maybe it has something to do with being away from her pack.

“She’s so beautiful,” Brandon says. He grins at her. “Just like your mama.”

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