It’s about our baby.
I glance over at the little white plastic stick one more time. It could be wrong, but I know it isn’t. Five more are in the trashcan and they all say the same thing: Mia is pregnant.
Knocked up.
Expecting.
Has a bun in the oven.
My brother is going to kill me when he finds out. That’s why I have to tell Aidan first. Aidan knows how to deal with Richard. They were roommates in college, after all. If anyone can help Richard calm down and see reason, it’s Aidan.
Part of me is horrified that Aidan is the father. I know all about the men from Honeypot, Colorado. I’ve heard all the rumors and I’ve heard more than enough from Richard to know sleeping with Aidan was a bad idea.
There’s another part of me, though, that’s relieved it’s Aidan. Aidan is a good man. He’s not going to abandon his child. It’s not the shifter way.
There’s no doubt that Aidan is a shifter. I don’t know what kind. I’ve never had the guts to ask. It’s kind of rude, isn’t it? Just going up to someone and asking, “By the way, what kind of animal are you?”
Still, maybe he’ll tell me now.
Maybe now that we have this connection between us.
I take a few more deep breaths, then head back into the bedroom. It’s time to pack my bags
for Honeypot. I have a shifter to find.
***
Two months earlier
“So, do you come here often?” I turn toward the voice and then I look up.
And up.
The tall blonde hottie smiling down at me is freaking gorgeous with bright blue eyes and perfect teeth, but his sexy face isn’t going to make that line not awful.
“Is that the best you can do?” I say, taking a sip of my beer and looking away. I might look bored, but the truth is that I’m completely overwhelmed. When my brother said he was inviting a few of his college and grad school buddies to town to celebrate his 30th birthday, I had no idea just how many of his friends were this good looking.
The man laughs and takes a sip of his beer, but doesn’t leave.
“I suppose that was a bad one, wasn’t it?”
“Uh-huh,” I nod, looking around the bar. It’s a local one I’ve never been to, but that’s not a surprise. I’ve never been much of a drinker. Even going to an out-of-state college couldn’t change that.
Now I’m living in my hometown, working nights at a local diner while I look for something better.
Only, it’s been two years since I graduated, and “better” hasn’t come along yet. Sometimes I wonder if it ever will. At least I have my own place: a little apartment that’s all my own. I don’t have to depend on my parents for anything, which is the way it should be.
I’m an adult, after all.
I keep telling myself that’s the important thing.
Now, as I’m surrounded by my brother’s friends, I’m wondering why I didn’t leave Morris Creek and never come back.
Maybe moving back home was the wrong choice. Maybe it was the easy decision. It certainly worked out for Richard, though. My big brother moved back to Morris Creek, too, only he had a good reason.
He had a job offer.
Now Richard is the town psychologist. Yep. My big brother is the local shrink. Perfect for me, really. I have to work even harder to keep my many issues hidden, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to psychoanalyze me at every turn.