Page 17 of The Omega's Surprise Baby
“Are you threatening me?”
“I'm merely warning you what's going to happen.” It was only fair, and I hoped it might make him stay away. I didn't particularly enjoy getting into fights with older men.
He shook his head. “I don't know why you would waste your care on an omega as filthy as him. You young ones have no sense of decency left. The world's going to the dogs, I tell you.”
Kade tugged on my arm again. “Let's go,please.”
I gave in, knowing there was nothing I could say to make the bastard change his mind anyway. He clearly didn't know what he was talking about. Kade, filthy? That was ludicrous. No one who'd heard his music could say such a thing. Kade's music was beautiful. It was moving. It touched my heart in places that hadn't seen light in years. That kind of music couldn't come from anything but a pure soul. “I don't care what you think,” I told the old man. “Just stay away.”
And then I took Kade's arm and led him to the car as if I was his bodyguard. It came naturally. I wasn't even thinking. Kade didn't object, though. He simply came along with me, as if there was nothing weird about the way our arms pressed together, skin touching.
Kade was warm and he smelled like summer. Like the air at sunrise.
The walk to the car was way too short.
He parted from me when we reached it with a whisperedthank you.
I wanted to talk to him about what had happened, but that had to wait. Conner and Mary sat in the car, and I had to get them home and into bed. “Any time,” I told Kade with a smile, and then I got into the driver's seat, wondering why my heart beat so fast.
* * *
“Wereyou holding hands with Kade?” Conner asked me as I tucked him into bed that night, his dog already asleep at his feet.
“No, we weren’t holding hands.” But in the dark, it might have looked that way to him. To be honest, my skin still tingled, thinking about how close Kade and I had been after that dinner. After that asshole insulted him.
Conner shot me a doubtful look. “Are you sure?”
“I'm sure.”
Conner looked at me for a moment longer, as if debating whether or not to believe me. “Do you like him?”
“He's a nice man.” I dodged the question.Did Ilike him? More than I should, even if I wanted to deny it. But that feeling wasn't going to go anywhere. “I told you there's nothing for you to worry about.”
Conner didn't seem entirely satisfied with that response. He wasn't stupid and he knew his old man. He could tell there was something in the air between me and Kade, and he didn't like it. I couldn't blame him, not really. After all, I wasn't the only one struggling to move on after the tragedy that struck our family. I reached out to ruffle my son's hair. “Thirty minutes until lights out. You can read until then,” I said, feeling generous, and hoping to distract him.
“Okay,” he said with a small pout. He knew exactly what I was doing, but accepted that this was where our conversation ended. Good enough for me.
I kissed his forehead and got up. “Goodnight, Conner.”
“Goodnight, Dad.”
As I stepped into the hallway, I spotted Kade leaning back against the door to the guest room. Was he waiting for me? I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Could we talk?” he asked, chewing his lower lip in a way that made me wonder what had him so nervous.
7
Kade
“Sure,” Shane said. “What would you like to talk about?”
I licked my lips. “I think we should go downstairs first.” Somewhere the children couldn't hear us, though I didn't say that last part out loud.
“Okay,” Shane said slowly. “How about the porch? I stocked up on beer earlier, if you'd like to have your own tonight.”
I had to smile at that, even though I hadn't minded sharing with him. “That sounds great.” I could definitely use a beer to go along with this conversation.
He led me down the stairs, then stopped by the kitchen before we headed out to the porch. It was a beautiful night, just as it had been the last time we sat out here. I found no comfort in the stars tonight, though. The asshole who had come up to me after the dinner hadn't rattled me. Not really. During that whole exchange, the only thing I could think wasplease, don't tell Shane what I did.
