Page 26 of Golden Valley
Chapter 9
Even as he had been running from Golden Valley nearly four months earlier, Ricky had known he was making a mistake. He had kept going because he hadn’t known how else to deal with his other Morgan-related shortcomings—guilting him into being intimate, allowing the kind of sexual contact that could result in pregnancy without telling him that was a possibility, and doing all of that while the Purple Sky Alpha was in the same house and in a paranoid, angry state. Ricky had then spent the nine weeks of his pregnancy trying to figure out how to confess his sins to Morgan, but when his Alpha had come to Blue Mountain, Ricky had made another mistake by sending him away instead of facing his own fears.
He’d holed himself up in a room in Blue Mountain for four weeks with The Baby, the entire time telling himself Morgan had the right to know he was a father, then taken a long car ride aware that he and The Baby would be facing Morgan so he needed to formulate an explanation, and now Morgan had given him the perfect opening to explain himself, and yet Ricky still didn’t know what to say. At that point, he had to admit to himself that he’d never find the right words, so he turned to action. As much as he was enjoying Morgan’s gentle strokes of his hair, Ricky forced himself to step away.
“What are you doing?”
“Something I should have done weeks ago, but I was too much of a coward.”
“You aren’t a coward.”
Kind sentiment, but false. “Well then, I was doing a damn fine impression of one.” A few more steps and Ricky was at the foot of the bed, where The Baby slept in his carrier. “Someone should give me an Oscar for that convincing role.”
“Ricky?” The sheets rustled as Morgan moved in the bed. “What’s going on?”
“He’s a deep sleeper,” he said, his voice quiet despite his assurances.
“Who?”
Crouching down, Ricky moved the blanket aside, clicked open the safety belt, and curled his hands under The Baby. “If what other parents say is true, he also sleeps more easily than other babies.” He draped the blanket over the Baby, held him against his chest, and straightened. “Actually, he’s great in every way. He’s never fussy. He eats well. He’s sweet natured.”
When Morgan remained silent, Ricky stopped babbling and forced himself to raise his gaze away from The Baby and over to the bed.
The Alpha’s mouth was open, his eyes wide, and his nostrils flared. “A baby,” he whispered. “Is he yours?” He drew in a deep breath, his nose twitching. “Jasmine and roses.” Morgan rose to his knees. “He has your scent. That’s probably why I didn’t distinguish it in the room.”
That and Morgan had just woken up from a nearly life-ending injury. “You should be lying down,” Ricky said as he hurried back to the side of the bed.
“I’m fine.” Morgan gazed at The Baby reverently. “What’s his name?”
“He, uh…” Ricky glanced away and rubbed his lips together. “He doesn’t have a name yet.” Swallowing hard, he returned his focus to Morgan’s face. “It’s the Alpha’s privilege to name the baby,” he mumbled.
“Does she know you’re here?”
Crinkling his eyebrows together, Ricky tried to make sense of the question. “Does who know I’m here?”
His eyes lowering from Ricky’s face to The Baby, Morgan said, “His mother. Does she know you took him from Blue Mountain?”
“I don’t…” Ricky shook his head. “What?”
“She must know because you said Keith was friendly enough with the Alphas there to get information and he got onto their pack lands to get you, which I know from personal experience isn’t something he could have done without their permission. That means she let you take him.” Morgan furrowed his brow. “Is she the reason you told me to leave when I came for you in Blue Mountain? Were you worried she’d get embroiled in the fight and your son would be hurt?”
Ricky was so confused about what Morgan was saying that he didn’t know how to respond, so instead, he constructively gaped like a fish.
“And is he the reason you ran from me after we made love?”
Hearing Morgan’s characterization of their time together asmaking love, Ricky’s breath hitched. For months, he had been certain he had pushed himself on his mate, preying on his instincts as an Alpha to share an intimacy he hadn’t wanted. But if Morgan remembered their time together as loving, that meant he wasn’t upset by Ricky’s actions. Or at least what he understood about those actions. Clearly, the man didn’t realize The Baby was his so he didn’t know their actions could result in him becoming a father.
To make him understand that critical piece of information, words were needed. Ricky had to use words. Something he had so far failed to achieve on a spectacular level.
“His mother was pregnant and you were worried I’d keep you here in Golden Valley and away from your child.” Morgan gazed down at the baby, his expression softening. “That’s why you ran.”
Ricky finally understood that Morgan believed the Blue Mountain Alpha’s mate Donia Loader Grant was The Baby’s mother. It made sense in a way because Morgan had seen her pregnant and because few people knew Psi wolves existed. Ricky hadn’t been aware of it himself until Brian had joined the Purple Sky pack and explained the reason for the textured skin that bisected Ricky’s stomach all the way from his bellybutton to his groin.
“Family is sacred. I would never keep you from your son,” Morgan said, his voice serious. “I overheard your conversation with Ray when you came in here.”
“You were awake?”
“Awake enough.” Morgan shrugged and then flicked his gaze away. “You know I lost my entire family in one night,” he said quietly.
