Portville Summer Series: The Complete Collection Books 1-4: (MM Nonshifter Omegaverse)

by Xander Collins

  “Okay,” Jeremy said with a big sigh, then held out his hands. “Help me up? I don’t know if I can do it by myself anymore.”

  I laughed and took a hold of Jeremy, pulling him up so he was sitting on the edge of the bed, then I grabbed him in my arms and picked his whole body up.

  “I didn’t mean you had to lift me out of the bed!”

  “Well, I had to make sure you got up. Do you need me to carry you down the hall and into the shower?”

  “No! I don’t! Now leave me alone. I need some space,” he said, shooing me away with his hands.

  “Okay, just remember my parents are going to be here in …” I took my phone out of my pocket and looked at the time. “Holy shit, in fifteen minutes.

  “Fifteen minutes?!” Jeremy whined as he shuffled into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

  Jeremy was almost four months pregnant now and I notice the further along he was, the more emotional he became. And by emotional I mean crabby. But I couldn’t get mad or impatient with him, because no matter what he said or what tone of voice he used with me, all I could see was my incredible mate who was carrying my baby. Not to mention the strong person who had gone through so many changes in such a short period of time. In my eyes, Jeremy was nothing short of amazing.

  I’m not sure how, but I always seemed to be able to find the exact words to calm Jeremy and make him smile, and that’s all I ever needed from my mate, anyway. Besides, I had to admit I found it incredibly adorable when he was scowling and crabby. But I sure as hell would never tell him that. But, oh, my God, I just loved watching that big burly man—all pregnant and holding his back—stomp around while he whined and pouted like a little kid. And, of course, he always got his way after I watched him put on a little performance for me.

  But not this time. This time there were two entire families up against his mini tantrum, and guess who was going to win.

  Jeremy got out of the shower and got dressed just as my parents arrived. They had Mateo and his kids with them in their car, and the two of us went out to meet them. As much as I’d wanted to have Jeremy over for dinner to meet my family, he always seemed to have some excuse for not going, so this was going to be the first time they all met.

  I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when Jeremy met my family. I had to admit, it had crossed my mind more than once that Jeremy was being so weird because he was embarrassed by the fact that my family was Puerto Rican. It definitely wouldn’t have been the first time I dated someone with that reaction.

  But as soon as they started hugging and talking I realized I was wrong. He was incredibly sweet with all of them.

  After the introductions my family piled back into their car, Jeremy and I climbed into his truck, and we all headed over to Luke’s house. I hadn’t noticed when we were there before, but apparently there was a huge pond not too far away from the house.

  Apparently, in the summertime, the family swam in the pond, and we were invited to bring our swimsuits. It was a beautiful fall day, but a bit too chilly to swim, so we were going to stay out of the water and just stick with the barbecue. Besides, I was sure there was no way Jeremy would strip down to a swimsuit in his condition.

  It wasn’t until we got to Luke’s place that I realized exactly why Jeremy had been so nervous about this whole event. It was his own family that he was embarrassed of. He had the funniest look on his face when we got out of the truck and a pack of whooping and hollering people came running at him. He looked at me with pleading eyes like he was about to say something, but within seconds he was swallowed up by the mob.

  There was extended family on top of extended family that seemed to stretch out forever. Cousins, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, second cousins, third cousins, great uncles, and finally, the grandparents and great grandparents. My head was spinning by the time I was introduced to the entire family.

  Then, when it came time for me to introduce my family, I barely had a chance before they were all swept up by Jeremy’s aunts and uncles and cousins and taken over to a huge picnic table that was overflowing with food. They quickly made room for the bowls of tostones and salads that my family had brought with them. I looked back at Jeremy who was still surrounded by some of his omega cousins and a pack of kids—some of whom really did have Kool-Aid stained T-shirts on—and they were all ooh-ing and aww-ing over his enormous, pregnant belly.

  But the amazing thing? Not a single one of them mentioned his transition from beta to omega. Not even the kids. I was pretty sure Luke must have mentioned to the family that Jeremy was sensitive about it, and that’s why it didn’t come up. But either way, I was touched by how considerate they all were. It was one of the reasons I immediately fell in love with the entire crew.

  The other reason was because of how quickly they accepted my family and made them feel at home. I had to admit I was a little worried, but these people were awesome. They accepted a strange family into their own without question because they knew how much it meant to Jeremy.

  While I was watching Jeremy talk about all the clothes and baby toys Luke had given us, the alpha cousins and uncles grabbed my arm and dragged me over to a huge, three-bay shop that was completely surrounded by all kinds of car and appliance parts. I’d never seen so much metal in my life. It seemed to stretch out in every direction of the surrounding field for as far as the eye could see. Apparently, Luke’s husband was a whiz at fixing just about anything, and could locate any part in the yard by memory.

  I was handed a beer and made to feel at home while the traditionally alpha-oriented conversations started up, mostly revolving around the finer points of adjusting the suspension on a lifted truck, getting the rust off of tools and other pieces of steel that had been left out in the rain throughout the winter, and the recent Nascar upset, but eventually turned to the tree felling I’d been doing for Jeremy’s parents.

  It seemed that quite a few of Jeremy’s relatives lived on large pieces of property in the area and were all interested in hiring someone to do what I’d been doing for them. They all told me they liked to keep their business in the family and some of them were even hoping to pay me under the table, which was perfectly fine with me.

  Some talked about trades as well, and by the time I was finished I had offers for having a house framed, the electrical put in, a septic tank dug with a backhoe, plumbing, and a roofing job. And all for work that I’d be able to do throughout the winter. It was incredible. I had no idea Jeremy’s family was so huge and would be so much fun to do business with.

  But before any deals could be made Luke’s husband, Gary, told the group that we could talk business later, that this was a day for partying. His comment made perfect sense to me, and I didn’t think anything about it until later in the day when I found out exactly why he’d said it.

  For the next hour or two I made the rounds throughout the party, being introduced to various relatives, eating tons of barbecue and other amazing foods, and getting slapped on the back more times than I could count. And every time I found Jeremy in the crowd he was surrounded by family members who were gushing over his pregnancy. He definitely didn’t give them the benefit of the doubt when it came to accepting his new status. It seemed to me, that was his problem in general—assuming that he already knew what people were thinking.

  But, honestly, that seemed to be just about everyone’s problem. I knew I even tended to make judgements and assumptions before I knew the truth about a person. A lot of people did. And this whole experience was making me aware of just how silly that was.

  When I looked up and saw Jeremy sitting with his great-grandmother I had to go and meet her. They were on a bench chair together and Jeremy was letting her feel the baby kick. He was so excited when I walked up. “Grammy, this is Alex. Alex this is my great-grandmother, Felicia. She’s one of the last female members of my family to give birth.”

  Her eyes filled with tears of joy as Jeremy’s belly moved like crazy. “It looks like she’s really excited to meet you,” I sa
id, sitting down in a chair next to her.

  “So you know that it’s going to be a little girl?” she gasped. “Jeremy has been frustratingly vague about the baby’s sex.”

  “Yeah, Grammy, they told us the sex at the last ultrasound. But we hadn’t told anyone yet, so I didn’t want to just blurt it out. I figured Alex should have a say in whether or not we told everyone.”

  “Well, you’ll have to announce it today, that’s for sure!” she said, a flame of excitement in her eyes. “We’ll do it the old fashioned way! Just like we used to back home in Arkansas!”

  “But Grammy, that’s a little dangerous, isn’t it? With all the kids running around?”

  “Ah, will wrangle those little rascals together and keep ‘em safe. We haven’t had one of the ceremonies since your grandfather was born, god bless him. We’ve got to keep the family traditions going, Jeremy. Traditions are what keep us together.”

  “But new traditions are good too,” Jeremy said, glancing over at me. “And I’m sure Alex’s family has some too.”

  “Not really. The main tradition in my family is eating, and we’ve got enough food here for an army, so they’re happy. So, what’s this old family ceremony?”

  “Oh, it’s this crazy, old way of letting everyone know the sex of the baby.”

  “It’s certainly not crazy, and it’s only old because it’s been going on for decades. But it’s fun, and it’s tradition, now get someone over here with a shotgun so I can tell them what to do.”

  Jeremy gave me a funny look, then smiled at his great-grandmother. “Okay, Grammy, I’ll go get someone,” he said as he started to push himself up.

  “Here, let me help you.” I stood up and grabbed Jeremy’s hands, then helped him up and pulled him against me. “What the hell is she talking about?” I asked as we wandered off to find Luke. “A shotgun? What are we gonna use a shotgun for?”

  “I knew this was gonna get weird,” Jeremy said as he put his head on my shoulder. “My family is just so …”

  “Family?” I said with a laugh, pulling his face up to mine. “Jeremy, everyone’s family is crazy. That’s what makes life interesting. And what makes it extra special when you get to pick the person you’re going to be with for the rest of your life.”

  “Well, I can’t believe you picked a redneck like me.”

  “Me either,” I said, curling my hands around Jeremy’s head. “If anyone had told me I’d be spending the rest of my life with the guy who drove up and down my street in a lifted pickup that had a busted muffler I would have told them they were crazy.”

  “It’s not busted! I told you I put a lot of work into that exhaust system!”

  I didn’t say a word. I just smiled and kissed Jeremy until he calmed back down a bit. I knew if I told him how cute he was when he talked about his truck he’d kill me.

  Chapter 13

  Jeremy

  About an hour later, after all the kids were ‘wrangled together’ as Grammy Felicia put it, and we were all gathered near the pond, the family tradition started. A group of my cousins and uncles, and even my alpha dad, were all together about fifty feet away from the main group, and they all had shotguns in their hands. I couldn’t even look Alex in the eyes, I was so embarrassed. This was the exact reason I didn’t want to come to the damned shower in the first place. I just knew my family was going to go full-on country bumpkin.

  “What’s going on?” Alex whispered in my ear. “There’s, like, ten guys with guns over there.”

  I shifted back and forth on my feet and pressed both hands into my lower back. “I need to sit down. My back is killing me,” I said, trying to avoid answering the question.

  Alex grabbed a folding lawn chair and helped me down, then crouched next to me and held my hand in both of his. “How are you doing?” he asked. The sweet, concerned look in his eyes made my heart sink. I couldn’t imagine what he was going to think of me after what was about to happen.

  “I’m okay,” I said. “I’m just … I can’t believe they’re doing this.”

  “Doing what? Come on, if it’s a family tradition it can’t be that bad.”

  “You have no idea,” I said rolling my eyes.

  “What’s gonna happen?” Alex asked, looking back at the group of smiling men who looked like they were just itching to pull the triggers on their shotguns.

  “This is the gender reveal. You know, the thing they always do at baby showers. Well, you’re about to be introduced to a good, old-fashioned, redneck gender reveal.”

  Just then my alpha pop asked for everyone to be quiet. But that just started up another round of cheering and whooping and hollering. But eventually, he got everyone quieted down enough to start on the countdown, and the whole crowd quickly joined in.

  “Five … four … three … two … one … fire!”

  Then the shots started. All of the men were aiming for a small wooden raft that had been pushed to the middle of the pond. A bunch of balloons had been tied to the raft and the aim was to pop the balloons. I guess some of the guys were a little out of practice because the water all around the raft was splashing as it was hit with stray bullets. Finally the balloons were hit, and within seconds every single one of them exploded into a massive tuft of pink confetti and smoke.

  “It’s a girl!” Lucas yelled as he pumped the air with his fist. The rest of my family did pretty much the same thing, jumping in the air and pumping their fists and cheering. I never really understood all the excitement over the gender reveal. I was sure if blue confetti had come out the crowd would have reacted the exact same way.

  A whole pack of my family came running up to the two of us and attacked us with bear hugs and back slaps. Well, they mostly attacked Alex because he was standing. I was still filled with a feeling of dread that Alex would finally come to his senses that this family was just too much.

  But when I turned to look at him my heart felt a million times lighter. The look on his face as he got another wave of congratulatory slaps and hugs from my family made me so happy. He was grinning from ear to ear and he even got a little teared up when his dads and brother joined in to congratulate us one more time.

  My dad and pop came and stood with us in the middle of the crowd and got everyone’s attention one more time. “As you all know, this fine young man has been working incredibly hard, helping us to thin out the trees on our land for the last couple of months. And, as a result, we’ve been able to pay off all our back taxes and put enough away to pay the entire bill for this coming year.”

  Cheers erupted around us again, but my alpha pop put his hands up and quieted everyone down.

  “And as I’m sure you also know by now, these two are starting a brand-new life together with a baby girl, and they need a place to raise a family. Hopefully a big family,” he said with a grin. “With the help of Alex’s family, we all chipped in together and bought them a brand-new double wide that they can put down right next to the old trailer.”

  Everyone yelled and cheered again, but my pop had more to say.

  “And, on top of that, a bunch of the family has agreed to pitch in to do all the work. Marty and Dan are pouring the foundation, Al and his son Joe are going to bring their backhoe and dig the hole for the septic, Jane and Eric have a plumbing business and have agreed to install everything as their part of the gift, and Barry and his sons are gonna do the electrical. And other folks here have offered up other things that we can use once we get the house placed on its foundation.”

  I stared at our four dads in shock, then looked up at Alex. “Help me up,” I said, holding out my hand. Alex pulled me out of the chair and I made my way over to my dads. “I can’t believe this,” I said, giving both of them a hug. Then I turned to Alex’s dads and I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer. “This is beyond generous. I don’t even know what to say.”

  “Say nothing,” Alex’s pop said. “We are the ones that want to thank you for bringing us a granddaughter and for making our Alexandro so happy. You�
�ve been so good for him these last months and we are thrilled to welcome you, and your lovely family, into ours.”

  I didn’t know what to say, so I just hugged them all again until I heard the raspy voice of a woman in the crowd calling my name. I immediately knew who it was.

  “Oh, my God, Jirrrmeeee! My baby nephew is having himself a baby girl!” my aunt Shirley wailed as she gave me a big hug and covered my face in wet kisses. “Oh, you sweet thing, you. You look like you’re about to pop. I can’t believe you didn’t tell your Aunt Shirley you were pregnant. All this time I could’ve been bragging to the girls down at the salon about my granddaughter!”

  “Yeah, well, you still have another month until my due date to tell everyone,” I said, feeling how hot my face was. I loved my aunt Shirley but oh my god, she knew how to embarrass the hell out of me.

  “You’re just gonna have to bring that little baby girl down so I can show her off. We could watch her all day. I’m sure she’d love hanging out with her Aunt Shirley and all of the girls at the salon. Maybe then I could finally get you to come back to work for me.”

  “Aunt Shirley, this isn’t the time …” I said, hoping she would get the hint and stop talking.

  “You know how long I’ve been wanting to get you to come back. You were one of the most natural stylists I’ve ever seen,” she said, clearly not hearing the warning tone in my voice. Then, to my horror, she looked at Alex and kept talking. “He hasn’t even been to school. He just picked it all up on his own. Isn’t that unbelievable?” she asked. “Oh, my Goodness, you’re Alex, aren’t you? My, my, aren’t you big and strong,” she said, patting his chest. “I’m Aunt Shirley.” She reached up and gave Alex a big hug, somehow smothering his giant body in her arms.

  “Hello, Aunt Shirley,” Alex mumbled into her giant, bee-hive hair-do.

  Thankfully, Uncle Jeffery called my aunt and she drifted off into the crowd again. But there I was, left with Alex staring at me with an incredulous look on his face.