Page 28 of A Baby for the Firefighter
“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 Rosewood was sweet, but like many of her generation she had some pretty outdated ideas about alphas and omegas and relationships.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 withmychild. “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 sheknew?
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.
