Page 62 of The Omega's Surprise Baby
And so I let Conner cry it out, sitting on that small bench in Shane’s backyard, a Golden Retriever eyeing both me and the boy with great concern. Not exactly what I’d planned, but that’s life for you.
With one hand, I pulled Conner closer to myself and with the other, I petted the dog, who was growing agitated.
“I’m sorry,” Conner pressed out eventually.
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”
He rubbed his eyes. “Please don’t tell my dad.”
“You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of either.”
“Don’t tell him anyway.”
“Okay, this can stay between us.”
“Thank you.” He climbed off the bench, looking very composed again already. “I think lunch is probably ready.”
I took this as a cue that he wanted to forget everything that just happened—or at least he didn’t want to talk about it. Fine with me.
As Conner walked off without waiting for me, I knew I hadn’t completely won him over, but I’d taken a huge step forward. I could wait for him to meet me the rest of the way. Until then… I had other things I needed to worry about.
23
Shane
When Kadeand Conner came back into the house, I pretended like I didn’t know what they’d been up to. That wasn’t the full truth, of course. Nope. Almost as soon as they were out, I’d parked Mary in front of the TV (I know, I know), and then I’d secretly watched them from the bathroom window which looked out into the backyard. I couldn’t help myself; I worried. I needed these two to get along if I wanted my relationship with Kade to stand any chance—and I very much wanted that.
And I also kind of hoped that Kade could help Conner accept his omega status. I’d tried. I’d even suggested we have a party, but Conner shot that idea right down. I could talk all day long about how wonderful omegas were, but coming from an alpha, Conner would never take my words seriously.
From where I was, I couldn’t overhear Kade and Conner’s conversation, but I watched as they sat on the bench to talk while Mary sang theDora the Explorertheme in the living room. Well, at leastsomeonein this house was happy. She was probably bouncing on the couch too, but for now, I decided to let her enjoy herself.
It was more interesting to watch what was going on outside.
Was Conner…?
I squinted.
It looked like Conner wascrying. I bit my teeth together, not sure how to feel about that. Part of me was relieved, because I knew this had been a long time coming, but I still hated seeing my son unhappy. I wished I could give him a hug, but at least Kade was doing that for me.
I exhaled. That looked like progress. Perhaps inviting Kade into our lives wasn’t a horrible idea after all.
I turned away from the window and checked on Mary again. “Want to help me finish the pizza, princess?”
“Yes!” She jumped off the couch, TV all but forgotten.
Together, we managed to throw a few more toppings on the crust and shove the thing into the oven before Kade and Conner came back inside.
Mary ran up to Kade, and I acted like I’d been in the kitchen all along.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
“I could eat.” Conner sat at the table, the dog settling by his feet. His eyes were still red. Honestly, if he didn’t want me to know he was crying, he should have washed his face, but I decided to play along and not say anything.
“Pizza should be ready in a few minutes. Did you have fun at Dean’s place?”
“We watched Disney movies!” Mary told me with big eyes.
“Yes,” Conner chimed in. “Griff’s collection.”
