Page 10 of Rejected Wolf's Secret Baby (Rejected Moons 4)

“I’m married, Alicia,” Pat says. She sounds deeply frustrated by my questions. “I can’t drop everything and go live at home. I do as much as I can. I’m over with Dad every day. But I have my own family to think of too. I can’t leave my husband on his own.”

“What about Lonnie?” I ask.

Pat just snorts, which is fair enough. Of course Lonnie isn’t going to be any help. He’s never thought about anyone besides himself in his entire life.

“I told Kayla to call you a week ago,” she says. “She wouldn’t. You know how Kay is. She thinks she can handle everything by herself, but she can’t.”

Kayla does do that. “I’ll give her a call,” I say. I can do that much.

“No, don’t call her,” Pat says. “You know what she’ll say if you do. She’ll tell you everything’s just fine, she doesn’t need any help, and she’s handling it. She’ll tell you to stay where you are.”

It’s true. She would say those things.

But Kayla can’t manage this alone. Not if Dad’s memory is going. She needs help.

From the living room, I hear a hoot of triumph as Chad blasts one of his enemies.

Be honest with yourself. You were looking for a reason to leave.

“All right,” I tell Pat. “I’ll be home in a few days.”

“Just make sure you come,” she says. “It’s not a good situation over there. Dad’s having more and more trouble remembering basic things, and I don’t know the last time Kayla slept.”

“And you really can’t go over?”

“I go over as much as I can, Alicia. What do you take me for? But I can’tdo it everyday. I need to be with my mate. I have a responsibility to him too. I can’t be at home overnight every night the way you can. You and Kayla are the single ones. You’re the ones who can be counted upon for something like this.”

I know she has a point, but I have Emmy to think about.

“I’ll need a couple of days to get my affairs in order,” I tell my sister. “But I’ll be there as soon as I can.

As soon as I’m off the call, I go out into the living room and stand in front of the TV.

Chad doesn’t even look at me. He cranes his neck to try to look around me.

“I’m leaving,” I tell him. It feels like a weight off my shoulders.

“Well, bring more beer when you come back.”

I shake my head. “No. I’m leavingyou.”

That gets his attention. He actually pauses his game and looks at me. “What the fuck, Alicia?”

“This isn’t going anywhere. You know it’s not.”

“What do you want? To get married or something?”

I can’t think of anything more horrible. “Absolutely not.”

“Because you know that shit’s not for me.”

“I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man alive, Chad. Don’t worry about that.”

He snorts. “So, what? You’ve found someone else?”

“I’m going home. To my family.”

“And this is how you’re doing it? Out of nowhere? You don’t even want to try to talk about things?”

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