A Baby for the Firefighter

by Ann-Katrin Byrde

  “That would be great. I’ll talk to my cousin.” He made to get up from the couch.

  “Hey, where are you going?”

  “Uh… You don’t want me to go yet?”

  “Nope.” I pulled on his sleeve and made him sit riiight next to me. “I know I said we needed to take it slow, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you, okay?” Maybe if I could get used to having him close my fears would vanish with time. “You have to stay and eat your muffins, and maybe we can finish watching that show we started last week?”

  “You mean you haven’t watched any more yet?”

  “Yeah, I did, but I want to see it again with you. Pleeease?” I sucked my upper lip in and shot him a pleading look.

  “Okay.” He laughed. “Anything for you.” He leaned in just a bit to kiss my forehead, and I had to laugh too.

  Maybe, just maybe, things were going to be fine.

  I could only hope so.

  12

  Dean

  “You have a nice spring in your step today, son,” Mrs. Rosewood commented as I wheeled her through the park Monday morning. “Did something happen with that nice young omega you set your sights on?”

  “Nothing happened,” I said, following my first instinct. Then I corrected myself, because Mrs. Rosewood was a nice lady and she seemed almost as invested in this romance as I was. “We kissed this weekend,” I admitted.

  She laughed softly. “You kissed! How exciting. Is that all that happened?”

  Okay, now she was digging a little deep. “We’re taking it slow,” I told her.

  That seemed to amuse her even more. “Taking it slow? Boy, if I didn’t know better I’d think you were my age! You’re too young to be talking like that. Who ever heard of an alpha and an omega in their youth taking it slow?” She laughed again. Well, at least one of us was having a good time.

  “We’re doing what’s right for us,” I insisted. As long as Griff wasn’t ready, I wasn’t going to push him. Waiting was hard when all I wanted to do was sprinkle powdered sugar all over him and lick my way across his body, but I was sure that Griff was going to be worth the wait. I wanted him to enjoy our first time together just as much as I would.

  “Pah.” Mrs. Rosewood snorted and shook her fist in the air dramatically. “It’s time for you to be making babies with that omega.”

  “Let’s not rush anything.” Mrs. Rosewood was sweet, but like many of her generation she had some pretty outdated ideas about alphas and omegas and relationships.

  “If you don’t rush anything, some other alpha is going to claim that omega before you can. Mark my word! He’s a pretty thing. It’s a miracle no one’s put a bun in his oven yet.”

  I groaned, and not only because Mrs. Rosewood was being crude, but also because the visual she put in my head of a pregnant Griff was pretty damn alluring. Especially if I imaged him being pregnant with my child. “No other alpha is going to claim him.” And if they tried, they wouldn’t leave with all their teeth in their mouth.

  Mrs. Rosewood shook his head. “As an alpha, you need to be proactive about these things. The omega is looking to you for cues. I know, my little sister is an omega.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her. Female omegas were a rarity—and among the most fertile creatures on the planet. Male omegas were amazingly fertile too, but females tended to have multiples with every pregnancy. Twins, at least. I should know, my mother was an omega and I was the only one among my siblings who wasn’t part of a set.

  “That’s nice about your sister. Your family must be very blessed to have her,” I said. “But Griff is a different person. He might not feel that way.”

  She sighed and shook her head as if I was being a stubborn little boy who wouldn’t listen. “You young alphas. You have no balls anymore.” She said it with so much conviction that for a split second I actually felt insulted before I burst out laughing.

  “Maybe you’re right, Mrs. Rosewood. Maybe you’re right, but times change, and we change with them.”

  “Pah,” she said again. “Even the fact that you’re here… Alphas shouldn’t be taking care of old people. Aren’t you a firefighter? You should be out in the world and saving people.”

  This time her words made me cringe. “I’m taking a little break.” Just until I could think about going back without having nightmares about my last day on the job. But I wasn’t going to tell her about that. I wasn’t telling anyone. If she thought I was a poor excuse for an alpha now, what would she think if she knew?

  No, no one could know.

  That afternoon, Shane and I met Griff in front of the town’s animal shelter. I still wasn’t sure where exactly the line was between Griff and me, but since he’d seemed okay with kissing so far, I gave him a short peck on the lips to say hello. From the expression on his face, he didn’t mind.

  “Hey,” he said softly, a smile gracing his features. Then he greeted Shane as well. “So you’re the one in market for a new dog?”

  “Yeah. Looking to surprise my son.” Shane smiled as well, even if he seemed a little bit unsure. “Something that’s going to live for a few years at least.” He put that so awkwardly that both Griff and I had to laugh after a moment.

  “A dog isn’t a thing,” Griff said. “And they don’t come with a warranty, but we can look for a young one to increase your chances.”

  “That sounds good.”

  “Okay, then. Let’s go in.”

  Oceanport was a small town, and thus, the shelter was comparatively small as well. Still, the few kennels they had were filled with dogs of varying sizes. Some of them yipped excitedly as we walked by, others couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge our presence at all.

  “You’re in luck,” the staff member who’d taken us on said. She was a young woman who went by the name of Ava. “Just a little while ago we took in a highly pregnant Golden Retriever lady, and she’s had her puppies since. They’re almost ready for adoption too.”

  “That’s great.” Shane actually sounded enthusiastic now.

  “I do have to warn you that puppies are a lot of work, though,” the lady advised us. “They need to be house trained and require a lot of attention.”

  “That’s perfect,” Shane said, probably hoping the puppy would distract Conner from other things. Maybe he was even hoping that it would distract all of us. I could see that happening.

  And when the staff member led us to the kennel with the puppies, it was too late to go back anyway. No one, absolutely no one, could look at those adorable, fluffy little things and not want one.

  “We can have any one of these?” Shane asked.

  “Take your pick,” the shelter lady said. “We’re reasonably sure we can get all of these to good homes, but none have been claimed yet.” She unlocked the kennel and stepped inside. The puppies who had been crowding around their proud momma a second ago now all came to sniff at her feet. Obviously, she was popular with the dogs.

  “Hey cuties,” she said, bending down to pick a puppy out of the bunch. All in all, there were four of them, each of them a strong contender for the role of cutest thing ever.

  “This one is my personal favorite,” Ava said. “He’s the fiercest of them all, and fiercely lovable.” And just as she said this, the puppy licked her face as if to prove her point. “I’d adopt him myself if I had the space, but he’s going to love living in a household with children.”

  “Good. Can I hold him?” Shane asked while I stood back with Griff.

  “Man, I want one,” Griff whispered as Ava handed the dog to Shane.

  “We’re here for Shane and Conner, remember?” I whispered back. “Besides, you have Fiona.”

  “Fiona doesn’t live with me anymore.”

  “I could stay with you more if you’re just feeling lonely.” I wanted to grab his ass in a suggestive gesture, but settled on resting my hand on his lower back instead.

  Think of the line.

  Hell if I knew where it was, though. For now, I had to trust that
Griff would tell me if I did something that he didn’t want me to do.

  “You’re not a dog,” Griff said.

  “Good thing, too. If I was a dog, I couldn’t bake for you,” I reminded him while I watched my cousin pet the puppy he was most likely taking home.

  “That would suck. Why can’t you shift back and forth between being a dog and being a man?”

  “I didn’t know you were into furries,” I teased.

  “Am not!” He whacked me over the head, lips drawn into a pout. God, he was at least as adorable as the puppies.

  “Does he have a name?” I heard Shane ask.

  “You can name him,” Ava said with a smile.

  “I’ll let my son name him, then,” Shane said, the puppy licking each of his fingers in turn.

  “Sure. We’ll take care of the paperwork and you can pick him up next week. We’ll also help you pick out a leash and everything then.”

  “I guess it’s decided,” I said to Griff. “Thanks for coming with us today.”

  “It was no problem. There’s no better excuse not to work than looking at puppies.”

  I laughed. “Guess you’re right.” I almost wanted one too. I’d always wanted a big house and a dog, and now with Griff standing next to me, I also knew who I wanted to share that house with. But it was too early to be thinking thoughts like that. We’d only just had our first kiss and I wasn’t even sure where we stood with each other. But in my heart of hearts, I already knew that there couldn’t be anyone else for me. No matter what it took, I wanted this omega.

  No other would do.

  13

  Griffin

  Entering my nephew’s school to do my volunteer work brought back a ton of memories. I’d gone to school here too when I was his age. When I looked out the window of the auditorium, I saw the schoolyard where I’d first met Dean all those years ago.

  I’d brought a bottle of soap bubbles to school with me that day. All the other kids had been jealous when I’d taken it out during the break. I’d been open to sharing—I wanted everyone to enjoy the fun with me, really—but not everybody thought sharing was a good idea. Some third grader had stomped up to six-year-old me and ripped the bottle out of my hand.

  And that was when I’d first noticed Dean, because he’d gotten it back for me by standing up to the bully.

  It was all such a long time ago, but being here really brought the memories back. Dean and I had had a lot of fun the rest of that break, blowing bubbles in each other’s faces.

  “How’s it coming along?” the theater teacher asked me, yanking me out of my reverie.

  “Coming along okay,” I said. It wasn’t hard work. All they wanted me to do was paint an image of a forest and some mountains in the background on a big wooden canvas. Still, as I looked around myself, I realized that I’d stayed longer than all the other parents. Sometimes I just completely lost myself in a task. Especially when there was paint involved.

  “Good, good.” The teacher nodded approvingly. Him, I knew from when I was still in school too. Eric Zimmerman. He’d been three years above me, and always a bit of an eccentric kid. Liked to stand in the limelight. It was no surprise, really, that he taught theater now. “Say, Griffin,” he continued. “It’s your nephew in the play, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. My nephew Jake.”

  Eric nodded again. “No children of your own?” he asked, even though he had to know. He regarded me with this half-speculative, half-pitying look that I knew all too well.

  “No, no children of my own.” I suppressed a sigh. I got this question far too often. People just couldn’t fathom that omegas my age would not have children. They weren’t wrong to assume that something wasn’t quite right with me, of course, but it was still rude. What I did with my life was my choice and mine alone, even if I did feel something missing.

  “I don’t have children either,” Eric said. “No partner. Somehow never happened.”

  “Yeah, but you’re not an omega, so it’s not expected of you,” I said before I could stop myself. To my knowledge, Eric was neither an omega nor an alpha. He was what some people called a beta. There was no weirdly intoxicating scent coming off him to drive me crazy. But nothing about him particularly attracted me, either. Betas just didn’t really show up on my radar. A shame, really. Something told me I’d have an easier time dating a beta rather than an alpha, if I was into them at all.

  “I guess you’re right,” Eric said. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want children, though. I became a teacher because I like children.”

  “I see.” I looked away from him to paint some more green on the canvas.

  “Is your nephew looking forward to the play?”

  “I guess,” I said, keeping my attention fixed on the work I was doing. Didn’t Eric have some work of his own to get done? He was starting to get on my nerves for reasons I couldn’t even explain.

  “Good, good,” he said again. “It’s good to have him on the team. You know, I’ve been thinking maybe you and I should get together sometime and discuss our work over a cup of coffee.”

  What? I turned around. Eric had my full attention again. Was he seriously asking me out? The guy couldn’t take a hint, could he? “A cup of coffee?” I asked just to make sure. “You mean like going to a coffee house together and having a cup of coffee?” I must be coming across like an idiot, even though he was the actual idiot here if he seriously thought I’d be going out with him. Then again, he didn’t know about Dean, so maybe it was a fair assumption to make?

  “Just a cup of coffee, Griffin. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

  “I’m not making a big deal out of it.” Was I? “I’m just asking. I’m not really sure what we would have to discuss. I’m only doing a bit of paint.”

  “Don’t underestimate the importance of your work.” He gave me a smile, but it had something sleazy to it, something that creeped me out. What did he want with me?

  “Sorry,” I said. “I don’t think I have time. And actually, I’m done here for tonight.” Definitely done. So done. “I think I’ll have my boyfriend come pick me up.”

  I saw shock register on Eric’s face, but only for a split second, then he covered it up with the same sleazy smile he’d had before. “You have a boyfriend?” he said it like the idea amused him.

  Oh, great, he didn’t believe it. I tried not to roll my eyes. “Yeah, in fact, I’m going to call him right now.” Because you’re making me really uncomfortable, dude. I dug through my pockets for my phone and finally fished it out. Eric watched me curiously while I dialed Dean’s number.

  Fortunately, he answered quickly. “Hey, Dean.”

  “Griff?”

  “Yeah. Listen, could you come pick me up? And maybe hurry? I’m done here now.”

  “Where are you?” Dean sounded slightly concerned now because we hadn’t made any arrangement for him to pick me up from anywhere. But Eric didn’t have to know that.

  “Yeah, I’m at the elementary school.”

  “I’ll be right there. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Thank you.” I hung up. Thank God Dean wasn’t busy right now. Then I would have had to find another way to get rid of the creep.

  “Was that the Dean who went to school with us? The firefighter who came back to town?” Eric asked.

  “Spot on.”

  Eric’s grin widened. “I remember him. You guys are friends. You’re not dating.” He sounded almost relieved. Like he’d figured this all out.

  Fucker.

  “The dating is a recent development,” I informed him. “You know we omegas just can’t keep it in our pants.” But that’s what you were counting on, isn’t it? I suppressed a shudder at the mental image of Eric trying to get it on with me.

  Eric looked a bit taken aback at my choice of words. Served him right for provoking me.

  “I’m gonna go wait outside now. He’ll be here any minute.” It was a good thing Dean didn’t live far away. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand being
here.

  “Alright. I’ll just give you some company until he gets here.”

  “Oh, that’s not necessary.” I gave him a tight smile. “Oceanport is a quiet town. Nothing’s going to happen to me if I just stand outside the school. Even if I’m a vulnerable omega.”

  “That’s not what I meant to imply,” Eric lied. “It would simply be rude to keep you waiting on your own while you’re volunteering your time for my play.”

  “It’s really no problem.” I grabbed my jacket and started to leave the auditorium. He chose not to believe my words, of course, and followed me anyway.

  “What?” he asked, when I shot him a look. “I’m headed home as well.” He locked the door to the auditorium behind himself as if he desperately needed to prove his point. I still didn’t believe him. Why would I? But I realized it was pointless to argue with him any further.

  I hung out by the street lamp in front of the school so Dean would see me when he got here. The sun had just set a few minutes ago, but it was still reasonably warm. A nice summer evening. Or it would have been nice, if I didn’t have some pseudo stalker on my trail.

  This was not what I’d signed up for when I’d agreed to help make Jake’s play better.

  I sighed and looked at my phone. A few minutes had passed since I’d called Dean. If he was hurrying, he couldn’t be much longer. Meanwhile, Eric was pretending to be busy on his own phone. No doubt he was waiting for Dean to either never show up, or for him to show up as nothing more than a friend.

  But he wasn’t going to get that satisfaction.

  I shoved my phone back in my pocket and glanced down the street, biting my lower lip.

  Please get here quickly.

  And there he was. I breathed a sigh of relief as I spotted a man walking up the street who could only be Dean. The walk was unmistakable. There was something inherently confident about Dean’s step. I might have called it a swagger, but it wasn’t that pronounced—or douchey.