Page 60 of Surprise Mother Pucker

Storm’s eye widened. The one that was swollen didn’t budge. “I think that's fair.” He nodded.

“I'm not a particularly angry person, and I don't hold grudges, but I will do unspeakable things to protect my child.”

He sighed. “So, she managed to get an idiot for her father, but she got a spectacular mother.”

“I would hardly call myself spectacular. We've just been struggling through.”

“Look at me, Kennedy. I promise you I am not going anywhere. I love kids. I helped my twin sister a ton when she was pregnant. The fact that I missed those early months with ourdaughter…?” His eyes started to fill with tears. “I'm going to hate myself for a very long time.”

“I want to believe you. The only way to know for sure is to let you have a chance.” I stood back, waving him in. “Come in. She’s asleep, but you can see her.”

Storm’s face broke into a grateful smile. Despite the bruising on his face, he was still the handsome alpha that I had been enamored with that night at the club.

“Is Charlie still here?” he asked, taking a few tentative steps into the apartment.

“He's fast asleep on the couch. I told him he could go home, but he didn't want to leave me alone.”

“You're never going to be alone again,” Storm assured me.

Ignoring how those words made my chest tighten with worry and hope, I led him to my bedroom. Charlotte’s cot, where we had moved her after the food arrived, was in the corner of the room. As adorable as she’d been asleep in Charlie’s arms, I wasn’t going to deprive the alpha of the ability to eat.

“Is she usually sleeping around this time?” Storm asked in a hushed whisper.

I looked at the small alarm clock on my bedside table, the numbers flashing five o’clock p.m.

“No.” I shook my head, whispering as well to avoid disturbing Char. “She missed her afternoon nap with all the commotion, so once we settled down, she conked out. I'm sure I'll pay for it later, when she refuses to sleep overnight, but I didn't have it in me to disturb her.”

“She’s so beautiful,” Storm said reverently as he gazed into the crib. Charlotte was fast asleep on her back, her arms splayed wide.

“She may look cute now, but she sleeps in some weird positions. I'll show you the photos.”

“Do… Do you have photos from when she was born?”

“I do.”

“I would love to see them. That is, if you don't mind. I feel like I've missed out on so much, and I want to know everything.”

A small part of me did feel bad for him. Despite all the stress and suffering having a child so young had caused me, I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Charlotte was my everything, and Storm really had missed out on a lot by not being there with her. The joy of watching her sit up and interact with the world for the first time was downright euphoric. She was starting to move around, like she would be crawling any day.

“I've got some photo albums I can show you,” I told him.

He gazed down at our daughter, his face full of wonder. “I can’t believe I helped make her… She’s beautiful. She’s all you, Kennedy.”

Even though I had dark hair, her brunette curls were all her fathers.

“I want you to know, Storm, that I'm never going to keep your daughter away from you. You're welcome to come here whenever you want. I'm not exactly going to trust you to be alone with her anytime soon, but as long as I’m here, you’re welcome to come by and spend time with her.”

“I will. I promise. The last thing I want to do is overwhelm you, but I want to spend every possible minute with her.”

“I'm sure I'll be spending a bit of time at the pack house as well. I can bring her with me.”

Storm looked at me, a small, rueful smile on his face. “As far as surprises go, she is pretty amazing.” He looked back at Charlotte. “Do you have plenty of support? Actually, what the hell am I saying? I haven't been around. So, you haven't had anywhere near the support you’re meant to have…”

“I'm not going to lie—it hasn't been easy. Unfortunately, most other omegas I know, who have children, have packs, and I just can't really relate to their lives. Still, I don't have a singleregret. I've got a few months left of my master’s, and then I will be able to provide for us.”

“Are you working, as well as studying?” he asked with a frown.

I shook my head. “I worked up until a few months before Charlotte was born, and since then, we've been surviving off scholarships and my meager savings. Now that she's getting a little older, I'm probably going to have to look at getting a part-time job to help make ends meet.”

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