by Jena Wade
“Yeah, I don’t think he will be in today.” He bit his bottom lip, nervousness showing on his face, and wiped the already clean counter.
“Oh, I guess I’ll take a cola then.” This Omega was hiding something, and I figured the best way to get it out of him was to customer up. Maybe the stalker descriptor did fit me.
He grabbed a cup, filled it with ice and the soda then slid the cup in front of me. “Anything to eat?” He held out the two-sided card they called a menu and I took it from him. I hadn’t come for dinner—dessert possibly, but I had a feeling he would keep talking if I kept him there.
I hadn’t met Timothy in any real way. He was just another bartender, and when you only had eyes for one, you tended to miss the details around you. He seemed nice enough, if a bit fidgety and nervous. I only wished I knew if that was his normal state or if it was our conversation—Carter specifically.
“Sure. Why do you think Carter isn’t coming in?” His choice of words indicated he should be, which made sense. He’d been there every Friday I had.
“He said something about heading to see his cousin Alex.”
Carter had mentioned Alex before. He lived in Millerstown and had his baby with the Alpha of his dreams—his teenage crush and all that. Carter never mentioned much about the Alpha—just that he existed. I had a feeling he wasn’t as enamored with the man as his cousin was.
I’d never mentioned my own affiliation to Millerstown; it hadn’t seemed. I guess if I saw Carter again, expressed my feelings, I’d have to open up about myself more.
“The one in Millerstown?” I fished for more information. Yeah, stalker fit more and more as the conversation moved along.
“Yeah.” He tapped the tablet he used to submit orders, probably adding my coke. “Not sure when he’ll be back.” The device shook, and he looked up. “Just a second.” He popped it in the holder on his jeans and wandered out back, and returned with an order of fries from the other side of the counter. He set them down and grabbed a bowl of popcorn, heading my way.
“Here you go.” He set the snack in front of me.
“Thanks. Carter didn’t say when he would be back?” I started right back in. I needed to rein it in if I wasn’t going to fluster the poor Omega . Not that he seemed to notice. He kept checking his tablet. Was he all alone in the front of the house? Probably. We were still an hour from happy hour, and if they had Carter scheduled, who knew if they’d replaced him.
“Not really. When I went into his room, it was pretty empty, so I have no idea. But I really shouldn’t be telling you any of this.”
“You went into his room, and it was empty.” I bit out far too harshly.
“Dude, I had the key. It’s my apartment, and I was worried.” Shit. I’d made him feel like I was accusing him of something.
“Sorry.” And I was, too. “I didn’t mean that. I just—he didn’t tell me he was leaving.” Not that he’d called me—ever. And I had slipped my number into his phone when he was at my place. Sure, it was when he left it on the couch with his video still playing, so technically speaking he might not even know about it, but baby steps.
“Me neither, man.” He went back to biting his lip. “I think the broken arm thing freaked him out. Know what you want?”
Broken arm thing. Broken arm thing. I inhaled deeply. Twice. There was no way that could be something good. Either someone at the bar broke their arm and he felt responsible, or he broke his. Neither would be okay.
“I think I’m good.” I had to get out of there. I took out my wallet and extracted a twenty then put it on the counter in front of me. “Thanks. Keep the change. I forgot I have a place to be.”
I half heard him thank me as I headed out the door and to my car.
Carter was in Millerstown and may or may not be hurt. Why didn’t I message myself when I put my number in his damn phone? Then I could at least make sure he was all right.
I drove home as all the what if’s rattled my brain. What if he was hurt? What if it wasn’t an accident? What if he needed me? What if he left to avoid me? What if—what if—what if. By the time I pulled into my parking garage and climbed into the elevator, my mind was made up.
I needed to go check on the Omega who had wormed his way into my heart. Not all stalkerish. No, I would go visit my brother. With any luck, either he or his Omega would know this Alex person, and I could check on him on the sly.
Because it was official. I was a fucking stalker. Whatever. I meant him no harm and wouldn’t get in his way if he didn’t want me to.
****
“Hello, sir?” Mallory answered. Her confusion made sense. I’d told her I would see her Monday, and now I was calling her personal number on Saturday morning.
In hindsight, I should have phoned the night before. I’d slept worth shit, and I could already be seeing Carter.
“Listen, Mallory, I have to go out of town unexpectedly. Can you reschedule my meetings? I finished up all my big projects yesterday, so William should be able to keep things afloat while I am gone.”
“Everything all right, sir?”
“Absolutely. My brother just became a dad, so I’m heading out there to see him.” Yeah, that sounded normal and not at all weird or freaky.
“Congratulations, Uncle,” she squeed before reining herself in. “I will take care of everything. Take all the pictures, please. My grandbabies are getting so big. I need a baby fix or my youngest son to get on the parent train.” This everyone in the office knew. She had tried to set him up with all the single people she knew at one point in time or another. I had a feeling the poor guy didn’t even know about her wannabe matchmaking tendencies.
We said our goodbyes, and I grabbed my suitcase from the closet and filled it. Halfway through, it clicked I should actually tell my brother I was coming. He was a half-brother, and we weren’t as close as I would have liked, my own fault since I was the one who kept the distance, so maybe this would be good on a number of levels.
I dialed Harrison, who answered on the second ring.
“Jamie.” The sound of classical music played in the background. From what I knew of Harrison and Lex, that wasn’t their jam, leading me to believe it was for the baby. I really did want to meet my brother’s mini me and the man who had softened my brother so much. At least softened him in my direction. We’d talked more in the past few months than we had in the entire year or two beforehand.
“Are you up for some company? I want to embrace my uncle status and work is going to be slow for the next week or so.” And check up on my possibly hurt Omega who isn’t technically mine but I think he might want to be.
“Good. You work too hard.” He paused as someone spoke to him. I couldn’t hear what they said but just stood there waiting for hm to continue. He addressed me again. “Sure, come on down. I’ll get the guest room ready.”
“I was thinking I would stay at the motel.” I hoped that didn’t hurt his feelings, but as much as I wanted to get to know Harrison better, intruding while they had a newborn in the house didn’t feel right. “I’m not sure exactly when I’ll be getting in, and with the baby and all, you probably don’t need me underfoot all the time.”
“You mean you don’t need the three a.m. wakeups?” he teased, although there was truth in his words unless he had a miracle baby who slept through the night almost right away.
“There is that. How is Lex doing?” I hadn’t met him yet but had talked to him on the phone a couple of times, and he came across as a really nice guy. And Harrison was good and smitten, so I had a feeling I’d like him in real life, too.
“He’s great. He’s such an amazing father.” The pride in his voice filled me with happy.
“I am sure you are, too.”
“I am trying’ He sighed. “We didn’t have the best role model, you know.” We hadn’t spoken much about our dad, but he wasn’t wrong.
“True. So, the motel?” I switched subjects as fast as I could. We probably should have that talk eventually, but this
visit was about babies and Omegas, not the asshat sperm donor we shared.
“I’ll call and make sure they save you a nice room.”
“All the rooms are the same.” I padded into the bathroom, deciding to shower before I finished packing, already feeling better about the trip. Had it really taken me getting all worried about Carter to see I needed family time?
“Makes my job easier.” Harrison’s voice echoed in the bathroom and he added, “Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow?”
“Absolutely. I don’t want to cause any trouble or extra work though.”
“You won’t. Text me your arrival time, and I’ll meet you at the motel to get you all settled. We’ve got a new office manager learning the ropes.”
“Great. Thanks, Harrison. I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime. It’s what brothers are for.”
I sure hoped so.
Chapter Five
Carter
“Harrison, I can’t thank you enough for giving me a job and a room. I’m sorry I’m being such a nuisance.”
My cousin Alex, who had changed so much in the past few months, looked at me pointedly. “You’re family. You’re more than welcome to stay here for as long as you need.”
I shook my head. “No, once I get things back on track, I’ll start paying for my room at the motel.”
Alex’s husband and Alpha father to his brand new baby owned several businesses in town, plus he was the mayor. When I rolled in town, with no job and no way to get one considering I had no high school diploma and I knew only one person in town, Harrison had been gracious enough to give me a room at the motel, with the caveat I work the front desk since his manager had recently quit.
I was more than happy to. He acted as if I was doing him a favor, when really he was helping me out. I needed a job, needed income plus a place to stay. I couldn’t beat that.
I’d only been there for two weeks, but already I loved it. The calmness of the small town beat the hustle and bustle of the big city any day. And, more importantly, Bryan couldn’t find me here.
I’d spoken with the officer in charge of the case, and they didn’t have any leads on where Bryan could be.
“I appreciate you guys inviting me over for dinner, too,” I said. “Though it wasn’t necessary. I feel bad you’re cooking when you have a newborn to take care of.”
Alex waved his hand in the air. “It was nothing. I did nothing. Harrison made the casserole before he left for work this morning, and all I did was pop it in the oven when the note said to.”
Harrison smiled. “I felt bad having to work all day. So, I was happy to help. Plus, it’s nice for us to have company, too.”
I’d expected Harrison to be a little phony, considering he was a politician, but the man was as genuine as you could get.
“Are you working the night shift at the motel today, Carter?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got to be there at eight.” I checked my watch, “Which means I should probably get out of your hair here pretty quick. I won’t be late, I promise.”
“I wasn’t worried about that. My brother called me earlier today. He’s actually going to be coming into town, and I thought I’d meet him there.”
“Oh, really? Will he be staying at the motel?”
“Yeah,” Harrison said. “He didn’t want to intrude. I told him the same thing we told you when you came to town, you’re family, but he didn’t listen.”
Alex got up from his recliner, still holding little Harrison in his arms. He rocked as he walked, keeping the little guy asleep. It was like magic to me. Would I be able to do that with my child? I wasn’t sure. They knew about my broken arm, obviously, and my busted face since I couldn’t hide those. And I’d told them about my pregnancy, but not about Jamison or the situation with Bryan. I was going to keep to myself for a while, still unsure with how I was going to handle a baby on my own.
“He’s welcome to stay here,” Alex said.
Harrison shook his head. “Even when I lived here alone, on the rare event Jamie would visit, he’d always stayed at the motel. Most of the time, he jets out of town after a few hours.”
“Not a fan of small town life?” I asked.
Harrison shrugged. “He just has some bad memories of Millerstown he doesn’t want to face,”
“He’ll come over and see the baby, right? I haven’t met him,” Alex said.
Harrison put his arm around Lex and held him tight. “Yeah, he said he was coming to see little Harrison, so you will get to meet him.”
I checked my watch and looked around to make sure anything I could help with was taken care of. Harrison and I had tackled the dishes while Alex fed the baby. “I should get going.”
Harrison kissed Lex on the temple. “Yeah, I’ll give you a ride. My brother should be rolling in soon.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
He’d also given me a ride from the motel to his house. It wasn’t too far to walk, and it was a nice night, but I was thankful for it.
“I’ll be right back, Lex.”
“Okay, sweetheart.” Alex grinned. “We’ll be fine. But don’t be surprised if I’m asleep when you get home.”
Harrison chuckled. “Sleep when the baby sleeps. That’s what they say.”
“Yeah,” Alex said. “And I’ll cook when the baby cooks, and clean when the baby cleans as well.”
My mind reeled. How do people do it alone? Alex had Harrison to help, but he still appeared fatigued. They were lucky in that the baby slept well, but he was still up every three hours needing feeding or changing. Parenthood looked exhausting, but also completely amazing based on the happiness practically radiating off Alex.
I followed Harrison out the door after giving Alex a quick hug goodbye.
“Are you liking it in town?” Harrison asked me.
“Yeah, It’s really nice.”
“Good,” he said. “You’re welcome to stay at the motel for as long as you need to. You know that, right?”
“I know. But I also don’t want to take advantage of your good nature.”
Harrison laughed. “You’re helping me, too. Before you got here, I was looking for a manager for the motel anyway, so you’re welcome to the job for as long as you need it.”
“Thank you.” I wanted to pinch myself for the luck I had. I wasn’t used to being handed things, and I still wasn’t sure I wasn’t going to pay for it somehow later on.
We arrived at the motel. and Harrison parked by the front office. It was the type of place that had the doors to the rooms on the outside, so you parked directly in front of whatever room you were assigned.
It was a nice place. Harrison kept it clean and well managed. It wasn’t one of those seedy motels.
We walked into the front office and the other guy on staff closed the book he had been reading. Before he waved goodbye and left, he filled us in on what had happened during his shift. Which was exactly nothing, besides him refilling the stock closet and taking inventory.
That was another huge adjustment for me working in the motel. As a bartender at the hotel in the city, I didn’t have a spare moment for anything. I was always slinging drinks or bringing up liquor from the storeroom. At the motel, there had been days where I hadn’t seen a single customer. But I enjoyed it and kept myself as busy as I could, making sure everything was organized and easy to find so that when we did have a customer, they were well taken care of.
“I’m going to put him in the room next to yours,” Harrison said. “Obviously, there are plenty of rooms available, but this one is the second largest. I’m not sure how long he’s going to be staying, though. Probably just a day or two.”
“Okay,” I said. “It should be stocked up and ready. I can go double check if you want.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll put him in his room once he gets here.”
I looked at the wall and searched for the key.
The chime on the door indicated someone walked in. I pasted on a smile o
n my face before turning around, wanting to make a good impression on Harrison’s brother. He was family, too, sort of.
I dropped the key to the floor when I saw who the mysterious Jamie was. Jamie, Jamison.
No freaking way. What were the odds?
Chapter Six
Jamison
“Jamie.” My brother closed the distance between us, wrapping his arms around me as I stood there slack jawed. I’d known I’d see Carter, but in my head it would be less “oops, here you are,” and more planned. I liked things planned.
And as prepared as I was for him to have a broken arm, the destruction site that was his face hit me in the gut. That didn’t look like a slip and fall or even a car accident. Someone had hit him hard. Someone had hit my Omega.
“Harrison. Good to see you, bro.” My eyes never left Carter who, unlike me, seemed completely in shock I was in the same town, much less same room as him.
“How did you find me?” he squeaked, and Harrison’s welcoming hug stiffened as he extricate himself from me and stood between the two of us, all protective Alpha like. As pissed as I was he might think I did that to Carter, I was equally pleased Carter had gone to someone so protective for help.
I just wished that someone was me.
“Timothy said you were in Millerstown, so I hoped I would see you. But I am just here with my brother. Who did that to you?” I had no belief he’d tell me, especially if he had yet to tell Harrison as appeared the case, but I needed Harrison to back down, and it was the best way I could think of.
“You are Jamie?” Carter looked back and forth between us.
“Only to this guy.” I playfully shoved my brother in the shoulder, trying to defuse his stance, and it worked, my brother stepping to the side—slightly. “What happened to you? Timothy just said you were here.”
“He isn’t supposed to share personal information. It isn’t safe. It’s against company policy.” His head fell, and his shoulders stiffened.
I rushed to his side, opening my arms for him, grateful he chose to step into them.