Page 5 of Perfect Alpha

When I reach for a piece of bacon, Hannah whacks me with a wooden spoon, making me chuckle. I swoop down onto the floor with Aidan, who dissolves into a fit of giggles at the tickle monster’s unexpected appearance.

Even though this is not how I imagined my life at twenty-eight years old, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“Where Grandpa?” Aidan asks. He looks so much like Hannah did as a toddler, and I smile tenderly at his wide-eyed expression.

“He’s upstairs sleeping,” I explain.

Aidan knows Grandpa is sick, but he doesn’t fully understand what’s happening. Hell, half the time, I don’t either.

“He play wif me when he up?” Aidan asks.

On a good day, definitely. On a bad day, Hannah will have her hands full trying to entertain a toddler and keep Dad calm and cooperative.

And after a full day of managing that delicate balance, she goes to work, comes home to sleep for three to five hours depending on when Aidan wakes up, and then does it all over again.

I amsuchan asshole.

“We’ll see how Grandpa feels today,” Hannah replies, keeping her voice cheerful.

She’s a daddy’s girl to her bones, and I know how hard it is for her to watch Dad slip away from us. All the sadness in this little house breaks my heart. It’s so heavy that sometimes I can’t breathe when I’m confined within the four walls.

“Uncle Cade, me want firetwuck,” Aidan says. He picks up each of his toys as he shows them to me. “Amb’lance. Dump twuck. Trackor. No firetwuck.”

“I’ll get you one today, buddy,” I promise.

Somehow, in between all of my appointments, I’ll make a trip to the store and get this little boy the toy truck he wants.

It’s the small things in life that can make the biggest difference.

Aidan screams and jumps on me, wrapping his chubby little arms around my neck. “Really? Really? Pwomise?”

“I promise. It will be my top priority.”

Aidan frowns. “First you fix sick animals, right?” He takes my job as a large animal veterinarian nearly as seriously as I do.

“I’ll get the firetruck right after I help all the animals.”

“Love you.”

“I love you, too, buddy.”

I never knew it was possible to love another human being as much as I love my nephew. He’s opened my eyes to another world of possibilities and makes me miss the life I could be living with Victory even more.

No matter what anyone says, itispossible to grieve something you’ve never experienced.

“What are you doing this weekend, Hann?”

I move Aidan’s dump truck around on autopilot while he squeals with glee. He brings the ambulance over to play, which essentially means there’s another tragic car accident.

“Victory is coming home,” she announces.

Excitement fills the kitchen and breathes life into this depressing house. Hannah and I are incredibly tight, but her bond with Victory is on another level entirely. I’m eternally grateful that my fuck-ups didn’t ruin their friendship.

Pretending the news Victory will be in Montana isn’t the equivalent of being throat punched, I ask casually, “Oh, yeah? What’s the occasion for New York to make an appearance in cow town?”

Hannah rises to the challenge of defending her honorary sister. “She does the best she can to get home as often as possible. Her job is really busy. This is just a regular visit to see her parents. And me, obviously.”

“Obviously.” Unable to help myself, I ask, “How long is she staying?”

---