“Was he better to you as an adult?”
“A little, but not entirely. Wes didn’t like it. He wanted me to cut ties.”
“But you didn’t?”
“No. It was important for me to be the bigger person. I learned a lot dealing with that. Papa was my first bully, but in the end, I figured out how to stand up for myself.”
“Tough way to learn that lesson.”
“For a long time, I waited for an apology from him, or at least some kind of acknowledgement that he regretted his actions.”
“Let me guess—it never came?”
“Never.” Assa shrugged sadly. “So, I didn’t get that, but what I got was an appreciation for what I’d lacked growing up. Absolutions and do-overs don’t mean as much as getting things right the first time. When Ryde entered our lives, I felt like I understood what mattered, what kind of man I wanted to be. Regardless of whether my alpha father approved. Most importantly, I’ve taken joy in being a parent. I doubt Papa was happy a day in his life.”
“I’m glad you made peace with it, even if you never got your apology.”
“It’s in the past.” Assa rubbed his thumbs over Zinn’s knuckles. “But that’s what I meant when I said I felt a kinship with you. We both had shitty childhoods—although I’m not comparing my father’s harshness to your parents’ treachery—but what truly connects us isn’t that we suffered. It’s how we reacted to our pain. Last night, you came into our home, referring to the babywho was stolen from youas our son and humbly asked to be part of Ryde’s life. You are selfless and fierce when it would be reasonable to be selfish and bitter.” He tipped Zinn’s chin up and locked their gazes. “I feel like you might understand me in a way that even Wes doesn’t. Or cannot.”
Zinn covered Assa’s hand with his own, arranging it until the beta cupped his cheek. He closed his eyes and whispered, “Itisn’t easy for me to blithely accept this. There’s a part of me that wants to hate you for raising Ryde when I couldn’t.”
Assa tugged gently on Zinn’s wrist and kissed his palm. “I understand. Just like there’s a part of me that wishes I’d saidfuck youto Papa at age eighteen and never looked back.”
Zinn stared at him. “We’re truly family now, aren’t we?”
“In more ways than we could have imagined.” Assa stood, brushing imaginary dirt from his thighs. “Thanks for letting me come over on short notice. Tell me if you want me to print off copies of any pictures.”
“Okay.” Zinn walked him to the door.
Assa stretched out his arms, giving Zinn plenty of opportunity to decline before easing him into a hug.
“Congratulations again on your pregnancy,” he mumbled into Zinn’s hair. “Your baby is very lucky to have you… So is Ryde.” Assa pressed their cheeks together to whisper directly into Zinn’s ear, “And so am I.”
Pulling back quickly, the beta let himself into the hallway.
Zinn closed the door behind him and immediately slid to the floor, touching his fingers to his cheek.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Calder
Calder locked the door after the last customer and flipped the sign in the window. Felton’s closed at four on Sundays and he was eager to unwind. When Zinn had asked for some time alone last night after everything that happened with the Pashuks, Calder hadn’t been too disappointed, but he hoped one day the omega would want to process those issues together.
But they had made progress. Zinn leaned on him yesterday during that impossible conversation with Wes and Assa, when he told them Calder was his alpha, and he had texted that morning to let Calder know how he was doing and about taking the pregnancy test.
Calder was overjoyed about the baby. And now that Zinn had answers about his firstborn son, a cloud had lifted from their lives. They had so many reasons to be happy. That was why he could be patient waiting for the omega to return his love, to seek it and rely on it. He had a lifetime to show Zinn how good they were together.
When he let himself into the house, it was silent. Jordie was at the pizzeria, but where was Ked? Checking his phone, he saw he’d missed a text. Ked was at a friend’s place running lines for the school play.
Calder closed his eyes. He should enjoy the quiet. Once the baby arrived, there would be a lot less of it. At least he hoped so. He and Zinn had not made any firm plans to move in together, although they’d discussed it. Yet another thing that needed time to fall into place.
Soft knocks on the back door brought him out of his musings. Peeking out through the kitchen window curtains, he saw Zinn on his porch.
“This is a nice surprise.”
“Well, cap, I have a present for you,” Zinn said, entering quickly. “One that couldn’t wait.”
Although Calder had expected it, he still grinned like a lunatic when Zinn slipped the positive pregnancy test into his hand.