Page 26 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

I myself was allergic to walnuts and pecans. Why the hell hadn’t I thought about this? Ashton was my son, after all, so it made sense that he might have some kind of food sensitivity or allergy like me.

The whole thing made me feel like an idiot, but I needed to put it behind me. At least I found out before I dumped a pile of shellfish onto Ashton’s steak and ruined the whole meal.

“It’s fine,” Avery said. “I should have mentioned it. It slipped my mind. Not your fault.”

“Again. Sorry,” I said. “So, uh, did you want to watch the ball game?”

“Maybe—” Ashton started, but Avery cut him off.

“We can watch basketball anytime. We came here so Ash can get to know you, Cole.”

“That’s true,” I said with what felt like a lame smile. I was still embarrassed about the shrimp.

Avery and Ashton stood around the bar, watching me mix up a dressing for the salad, reading the recipe from my phone as I did. I’d never done it before, but it seemed to be coming together properly under their gaze.

Glancing up, I caught Ashton’s eye and decided to break the ice. “You know, I can’t get over how much you look like me. It’s almost eerie. Like I’m staring at myself when I was fourteen.”

Ashton grinned, but I could tell he was a little uncomfortable with attention being called to it, and I kicked myself again. Was anything going to go right? They’d only been here five minutes. Thankfully, Avery swooped in to save the moment.

“It does sort of look like he stole your face, Cole,” she said with a smile. “Do you have any pictures? That way, he can see for himself?”

Wiping my hands on a dish towel, I said, “Yeah, actually. Let me show you.”

Striding across the room, I took a picture frame off the bookshelf near the door and handed it over to Ashton. It was a photo of me and Trent when we were right around Ashton’s age. Ashton’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh, wow,” he said with a chuckle. “I thought you guys were exaggerating.”

“Nope. You got my face.” I glanced at Avery. “Can’t deny you’re mine.”

She gave me a pensive smile, but I’d take it.

“You might end up taller than me, though,” I said, taking in the boy’s height.

“Maybe,” he said, but he looked pleased about it.

The kid sort of reminded me of my half-brother Dallas. Even thinking about him hurt a little. He’d been the biggest point of contention between Mom and Dad. The child born of an affair, the kid who’d helped break Mom’s heart simply by being born. None of that was his fault, though. He hadn’t asked to be born into that, and Farrah and I had tried to be cordial to him, but getting to know him hadn’t been easy.

Once Dad disowned me, Dallas cut off all contact with meandFarrah. He’d idolized Dad, and once he saw where his father’s thoughts lay, he went the same way. I’d tried to reach out to him a couple times over the years, but he rejected me as strongly as Dad had.

“So, when did you start puberty?” I asked Ashton. “That’s a pretty important thing you’re going through, right? We need to talk about that.”

“It started, like, eight or nine months ago,” Ashton said. He glanced sideways at Avery. “There have been times when I was kind of a dick—I mean, a butthead. Sorry, Mom,” he added quickly.

“You haven’t been a butthead for the last week or so,” Avery said. “You’ve been a perfect little angel. A sullen and moody teenage angel, but an angel regardless. Foul language notwithstanding.”

Ashton rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”

The oven timer buzzed. I grabbed a pot holder and asked, “Any anger outbursts? Violence? Sometimes shifters can be aggressive when they get closer to their first shift.”

Pulling the pan of potatoes out, I noticed Avery exchange a look with Ashton.

“Uh-oh,” I said. “Something bad?”

Avery sighed and rested her elbows on the counter. “Ashton may or may not have attacked my ex a few days ago. Probably broke his nose.”

I glanced at Ashton. “Did the asshole deserve it?”

Ashton’s mouth twisted, and I could tell he was fighting to hide a smile. “Yeah. He did.”

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