“Now, Dane…” cautioned Link’s dad. “Did I say it would be a brother?”
“Well, no.” Dane thrust his lower lip out. “But I want a brother.”
“A sister will be fine, too. Whoever you get will be family.”
“Yes,” said my wise son. “Family is best.”
I looked up and met Link’s gaze. “It’s been less than forty-eight hours. I don’t think most pregnancy tests would even work. Nobody could know.”
Except, I suddenly did. Like that movie where sperm meets egg in a nuclear reaction, that had happened the other night. My alpha and I had made a baby. A new life. One my son was looking forward to.
Now, if only he liked Link.
Chapter Sixteen
Link
After dinner, my parents got into a discussion with Gustav about the baby now that he’d realized our situation. While I was elated that Dane was happy, he was so about the baby, not necessarily about me and his father being together.
There was definitely a link missing in our chain.
“Dane, did you see the tree house outside?” Beto, my dad, winked at me while he asked the question. Always up to something, that man.
He shook his head, more enamored with his luscious cake and its cloud of delectable frosting than the idea of a tree house.
“It’s too bad you can’t go in it. You have to have special permission from the owner.”
Dane furrowed his brow. “Who is the owner? Mr. Dad?”
Mr. Dad, that cracked me up.
Clint, my other dad, put his hands in the air. “No way, not me. I’m not the owner.”
This confused Dane even more until his gaze raised to me. “Is it yours?”
I nodded and took a long pull of my coffee cup. This might be my chance.
“I don’t want to go in anyway,” he almost snarled in my direction.
“It’s better that way, Dane. Good decision. I don’t even think the drawbridge works anymore and I haven’t checked my secret stash of treasure in years. I bet those pirates took it.”
My dads agreed, and one of them carried on about the pretend pirates snooping around the backyard at night.
“Pirates are weird Vikings. That’s all.” Dane shrugged and went back to his cake.
“It’s too bad. Those treasures would’ve been nice to keep and give to your new brother or sister. Oh well.”
That got him churning. He scrunched up his forehead and pinched his lips together.
“Well, maybe we could go up there for a few minutes,” he decided not two seconds later.
“Let’s go. I bet someone would make you some hot chocolate for when we get back.”
My dads got up and started heating the milk almost instantly. They loved Dane and Gustav probably more than they loved me. They wanted us to all be a family.
Dane and I bundled up in our jackets, and I insisted he wear one of my old fur-lined hats my dads still had hung on a hook in the mudroom.
“When did you get this tree house?” he asked, and I almost died from shock at him actually talking to me.
“I didn’t get it. I built it. I sold lemonade and delivered newspapers to earn the money for the wood and all the other building materials. Then my dads helped me plan it all out.”
“They are nice.”
I agreed while showing him the ladder. “Oh, look at that, the drawbridge’s rope is snapped. Maybe one day you can help me fix that.”
He shrugged, and my heart ached for the little guy. Perhaps I’d been taking his attitude personally, making it about me when it wasn’t at all, and that was my bad. All this time, I’d thought Dane’s opposition to me was something about my personality or the way I looked.
Maybe the kid was so stuck on the memory of his dad, who he couldn’t possibly remember, probably a perfected, pedestal-type memory, that he couldn’t move on.
We climbed the ladder, him first, so I could be ready if he fell or misstepped. We got inside and I sighed, reliving for a second all the childhood times I spent up there. Everything was the same down to my Power Rangers poster on the wall.
“I can’t believe you liked Power Rangers,” Dane snickered.
“Well, I can’t believe you kids like SpongeBob, so there.”
“What did you do up here? Didn’t you have friends?”
I nodded and pointed to the wall where everyone was required to sign in to my tree house because my tree house, my rules. “See right here? This is where friends carved their names. Do you want to carve your name there?”
Gustav would probably have killed me nine ways to Sunday for suggesting his kid carve anything anyplace, but I had to start somewhere.
“With what?”
I crawled over to the small wooden box, also built by me, and came out with a pocket knife. “Here, I can help you.”
“Dad says no knives.”
“And usually he’s right, but I’m going to help you, so it’s okay. Trust me.”
I flicked out the blade and showed him how it worked, closing and opening it a few times for effect. Then, with my hand on his, we carved D-A-N-E onto the wall, right under all the others.
“Can we have a man-to-man talk?” I asked as we sat down. His shoulders were squared, and a smile hinted at the corners of his mouth. The kid was proud of what he’d just accomplished.
“Sure.”
“You know your dad is going to have a baby.”
A nod.
“And you know that the baby is inside him.”
Another nod.
“And you know that I am the other father of that baby.”
He nodded again, and I let out a long breath of relief. Dane was a smart cookie.
“So, when the baby comes, your dad and me and you and the baby are all going to be a family. We are all connected. And I know I will never replace your dad, but I wanted you to know that I’ll always be here for you and in my heart, you are part of my family just as much as that baby. You don’t have to call me dad or even like me, but I love you and your dad. That’s all I wanted to say.”
“I can call you something else, maybe?”
Bastard. Homewrecker. No telling what this kid was thinking.
“Like what?”
He looked around the tree house. “Maybe just Link for now.”
We sat in silence for a while. “Hey, don’t you like Legos? Legos is a different kind of building. I bet you and I could build a Lego tree house.”
“How about you show me the treasure for my brother instead.”
Well, one step forward, two steps back.
Chapter Seventeen
Gustav
After that night at Link’s dads, Dane thawed a little toward my alpha, enough that he didn’t fuss much when he came over to dinner and spent the night, something that went in those weeks before Christmas from every few days, to every other, to every night. However, my little guy still treated him like a semi stranger, refusing his offers to tuck him in, sing a lullaby, read a book...or anything else.
Since the babe inside me had decided to treat me to exhaustion and an uneasy tummy, I appreciated the other help I received from my alpha. While I helped Dane with his bath and made sure he brushed his teeth, Link kept himself busy. In my former relationship, although we both worked, and my coding had actually paid better than Peter’s job as a civil engineer, I’d handled most of the household chores. Not that my late alpha had insisted on this role for me, I’d actually refused his help, feeling a failure if I didn’t keep the house immaculate and have a hot dinner on the table when he came home.
He was an alpha. And he worked out of the home.
But he didn’t insist when I said no. Unlike Link.
The second night he stayed over, I came downstairs after settling Dane in bed to find the dishwasher humming away while he covered leftover meatloaf and salad with plastic wrap and tucked them in the fridge.
My cheeks flaming, I stumbled over a Tonka truck, coming into the kitchen. “You don’t have to do that.�
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He turned, an eyebrow arched in question. “Why not?”
“It’s my job.” I tried to take the bowl of salad from his hands but he lifted it over his head. “No, give it to me.”
“Do you think I am incapable of putting food away? Or are you saying I’m not allowed to do anything in your house without asking?” He grinned but didn’t relent.
“Oh god, no,” I protested, still grabbing for the bowl.
He lifted it even higher and stole a kiss. “Then what? Afraid I used to much plastic wrap?” His kiss and chuckle distracted me for a second, but then the feeling of incompetence returned.
“Come on, don’t mess around. I’m serious.” I rose on tiptoe, reaching for the stainless-steel bowl, and fighting tears of frustration. “Give it to me!”
“Are you about to cry?” Link studied me and slowly lowered his arm, handing me the leftovers. “Put those away, and let’s go sit down and talk. I need to understand what’s going on here.”
He stood back while I set the bowl in the refrigerator next to the plate of meatloaf and then waved me into the living room. I trudged in there, tired, nauseous, and feeling like a failure. I sat at the opposite end of the couch from my alpha, facing away from him and wishing we could just go to bed where I knew I could please him.
“Omega, why are you all the way over there?” His deep voice rolled over me, setting my blood aflame as always and making sex sound like an even better idea.
I slid closer and allowed him to tuck me under his arm. Link bent and pressed his lips to mine, but when I attempted to deepen the kiss he withdrew. I blinked up at him, nonplussed. “Let’s go to bed, alpha.” Hey, I had to try. But he shook his head.
“You bet, but not until we talk about a few things.” He cupped my chin when I moved to turn away. “Look at me, and tell me why you don’t want me to do my share around here.”
“Your share...of housework? But you’re an alpha.”
His laugh this time held bitterness. “Sure. And you’re my omega. Who carries my child. And who was in the other room reading a bedtime story to another child who I hope one day will accept me into his life, too. What did you want me to do? Sit around and watch TV while you did everything for both of us?”
“Umm.” Now I chuckled a little, but it wasn’t a happy laugh. “Actually, yeah. That’s how my dads did it.”
“Well that was their choice. But it’s sure as heck not mine.” He stroked my cheek and gave me a soft smile. “And probably how you’ve lived up until now, huh?” He managed to avoid directly speaking of my late husband, but the question was there.
“Yes.”
“Omega, you work as hard as I do all day and you’re doing it between bouts of porcelain-bowl worship. You have circles under your eyes and all I want to do is anything that makes your life easier. Would you deny me that pleasure?”
The tears spilled now, at his kindness, understanding, and I had to admit in a certain amount of relief. “It’s just, I thought…”
“You wanted to make us a beautiful home, didn’t you? Comfortable and pleasant for your family? For Dane and me and our new child.” He spoke close to my ear, his soft words and warm breath the most comforting yet arousing thing I’d ever experienced.
“Yes. It’s my job.”
His sigh brought me right down. I’d disappointed him, and I hated that so much.
“Omega, making a home for this family is our job. If you don’t allow me to help, you’re pushing me aside, rejecting my desire to be everything I can for us. I’m not a rich man, except in my choice of you and Dane in my life. I can’t afford to give you a mansion and full-time staff to make sure you never have to lift a finger. I work for my money, and every bit of it is for us, but what’s more important to me is what I can do myself. Sure, sex is great.” He paused to kiss me, this time using his tongue and teeth to illustrate his point. “Better than great. But that’s not the only way I can show you I love you.”
I inhaled deeply, taking his scent in, before replying. “It might take me some time to get used to this, you know.”
“I’m okay with that.”
“But I’ll try. You’re an alpha in a million, and I’m so lucky you picked me.”
Link pulled me onto his lap and cuddled me close. “I thought you picked me. Now about that sex thing…”
“You bet.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and tilted my head back for his kiss. Just then I heard a noise. “Is that the washing machine?”
“Oh yeah, Dane’s hamper was full.”
“I love you so much.” At the thought of all those dirty kid clothes, especially socks, I realized I might be able to adjust faster than I thought to having help. For a little guy, my son had very stinky feet. “Kiss me, alpha.”
“Mmm. With pleasure, omega.”
Chapter Eighteen
Link
There was a toss-up in my mind about who was more excited about Christmas morning and the presents, me or Dane.
I’d put my house up for sale and moved in with Gustav who insisted our wedding be after he looked, his words, less like a whale.
Didn’t matter. In my mind, he was mine forever, and that was the same as a legal husband.
So when Christmas Eve rolled around, I couldn’t help but beg.
“The big one, please? That’s all, just one, and the rest get opened tomorrow morning.” I rubbed Gustav’s back at the same time I pleaded, helped by Dane, who wanted to open a present just as much as I did.
“You two are ridiculous. Presents are for Christmas morning. Period. Besides, what would Santa think?”
I thought for a second. “He would be glad there is more room under the tree?”
“Yes, that’s it!” Dane agreed and high-fived me. The boy had accepted that Santa came in the US on Christmas Eve, as ready as any kid to get more presents.
Gustav sighed and circled his belly with his hand. “I don’t know. Do I get to open one, too?”
“Of course. And then we make cookies and have eggnog.” My comment was met with an eeew from Dane. “And hot chocolate. Sorry, buddy.”
Dane had slowly begun to be okay with me around. He would do things like high-five me or fist bump. But those were the limits to his connection with me. Then again, progress was progress.
“Please, Papa.” Dane got on his knees and folded his hands in prayer.
Silly kid.
“Okay, okay. But first one is Link’s present to Dane. I don’t even know what it is.”
Dane scrunched his eyebrows at me. “You didn’t ask Papa what to get me?”
I pooched my lips and shook my head. I knew him well enough to buy a present. “Go ahead. Open it.”
It took both of us to wrangle the big box from under the tree and onto the table. I made sure not to let him shake it, since shaking it would give it away. Maybe.
We had built things with Legos every time we got a chance. But always in silence.
“It’s not Legos, is it?”
I shrugged my shoulders and tried to look oblivious. “I forgot what I bought you.”
“That’s not true. No one forgets a present.”
Gustav looked on, and I pulled him closer. “I love you, mine.”
“I love you, too. Thank you for this.”
We whispered to each other while Dane finally began ripping the paper. My stomach turned while my heart beat overtime.
“It’s...logs?”
“It’s building logs for building cabins. Lincoln Logs. It’s like Legos but for houses.”
Dane studied the box and then turned to me. “There’s a picture of my dad in front of a house like this one.” He pointed to the box, and I saw his blue eyes fill with tears. Shit, what had I done?
“Let me grab the picture. Hold on.” Gustav took the stairs two at a time, and I heard him shuffle through boxes upstairs while Dane and I stood staring at the gift.
“Here, Dane. Here.” Gustav returned with a picture in hand. I’d seen some pictures of Pete
r around the house and when Gustav tried to take them down, I insisted they stay. No matter who he was, at one time he’d taken care of my omega and made Dane. He would remain respected in our home.
“See? That’s my other Papa,” Dane spoke to me as a tear ran down his face. “I don’t remember what he sounded like. I can’t…”
I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his little shoulders. No matter the situation, missing your father sucked big-time. “Honey, don’t you have some home videos of Peter and Dane, when he was a baby. I don’t want him to forget.”
Dane pulled away from me with a jerk. “You don’t?”
“No. Never. I want you to let me into your heart but not in place of your dad, in addition to your dad.”
Dane crossed his arms over his chest. “There’s not room enough. You came, and now I’m forgetting my other papa. Even before you came, I was forgetting every day!”
I held in my chuckle. Kids were something else. “Dane, I have room for you and your dad and the baby and my parents and all the kids I teach, plus the kids at the center. Don’t you have enough room in your heart for me and your two dads? Just a little room?”
He looked down at his chest as though he were measuring out a slice for me. “I guess there’s some room. Can...can we build a log cabin like this one? Like the one with my papa?”
“We absolutely can. How about afterward we watch the movies of your papa and eat cookies so the memory of him stays sweetly with you?”
Now Gustav was crying, and damn it all if I wasn’t as well.
“You don’t mind?” he asked, his voice so innocent and sincere.
“I absolutely do not. He loved you and made you with your papa. And I love you and your papa, so we have something in common. Won’t you share those memories with me, too?”
Dane looked back at the picture and kissed the image of the man, long gone, in it. He reached out and touched the box of building logs and then looked at me. Then, in an act I hadn’t expected, Dane walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist, and I hugged him back as hard as I could.
“Let’s make Papa’s cabin,” Dane said through a whimper.
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