Page 29 of Rejected Wolf's Secret Baby (Rejected Moons 4)

Lonnie laughs at me, but he makes his way to the door nonetheless. “ Ineed your help on this Brandon,” he says. “We need to figure out how to run her off.” He turns and jogs off.

This should be a bigger conflict for me than it is. I should be torn about this. After all, he’s going to be my alpha someday in the not too distant future.

But I’ve never felt more clearly the fact that I simply don’t give a damn about what Lonnie thinks.

I’m not having anything to do with Lonnie’s intimidation campaign. Even if Alicia wasn’t someone I liked and was attracted to, I wouldn’t do this. Only an asshole would.

I have to warn her.

I don’t know what Lonnie’s going to do, exactly, but she should be prepared for the fact that he’s going to dosomething. Maybe with advance notice, she’ll be able to guard herself and her baby against it.

I set off at a jog in the direction of Vern’s house.

17

ALICIA

Afterdinner,Dadcleansup the dishes. It’s one of the few jobs left to him, since his failing memory can’t really do him any harm over the sink, so Kayla and I have decided to let him keep doing it as long as he can.

He’s gazing out the window as he scrubs the pots and pans, when he says, “Someone’s coming.”

Immediately my mind goes to Lonnie. If my brother shows up to ruin our peaceful family dinner, I’m going to be mad.

Kayla joins my father at the window and looks out. “It’s Brandon,” she says. “He must be here to see you, Alicia.”

“Why is Brandon coming to see Alicia?” Dad asks.

I get his mystification. From his perspective, Brandon is the guy I rejected and ran out on twenty years ago, and he and I haven’t seen each other since then. It probably doesn’t make any sense to him that he would want to see me... or that I would want to see him.

And to be honest, right now Idon’treally want to see him.

Today has been a lot. I’ve been talking about abdication with my dad, and Kayla knows who Emmy’s real father is, and it’s the worst possible time for another evening out with Brandon, even though itwouldbe fun for me. I don’t like the feeling of being around him all the time and lying to him about his daughter. I don’t like taking the risk that he’ll find out the truth. Because if he does, it might get back to Lonnie. If he or Deidre found out that I had a baby with Brandon…Well, I’m not sure what they would do. But I don’t think either of them is above resorting to violence.

It’s not like I don’t want to see Brandon anymore while I’m home. I just need some time to get my head straight and cope with everything that’s been going on lately before we’re around each other again.

I get up and back away from the table. “Tell him I’m not available,” I say. “Tell him I’m sleeping or something.”

Kayla frowns. “What’s going on, Alicia? You don’t want to see him now?”

“Is she supposed to want to see him?” Dad asks.

Shit. He thinks he’s forgotten something. He thinks he should know what’s happening here and that the only reason he doesn’t is because his memory is failing him. “No, Dad,” I say quickly. “There’s no reason I’d want to see Brandon.”

“You’re freaking out about something,” Kayla says. “What is it?”

“Kayla, youknow—”

We’re interrupted by a knock on the door.

Fuck. It’s too late. I’m sure Brandon heard my voice. I just hope he didn’t hear anything I was saying.

I let out a sigh. “Go watch the baby,” I tell Kayla.

Thankfully, she doesn’t argue. She just gives me a meaningful look and walks away.

“Alicia,” Dad says. “You know you don’t have to see him if you don’t want to. I can tell him to leave you alone.”

“No, Dad, it’s fine.” I don’t want him to leave mealone. I just want him to leave me aloneright now. And there’s no way I can explain that to my father. “I’ll talk to him. I’ll get him to go away.”

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