“You have good energy, too, sunshine,” Calder assured him.
“Yes,” Wes agreed. “And we may be fun—you kind of have to be when you’ve been together a dozen years—but neither of us can draw so much as a stick figure. I think we all know where Ryde gets his artistic talent from.”
Zinn smiled. A moment later, he asked, “Is Ryde good with his hands?”
“What do you mean?” Assa raised his forehead.
“Like, can he fix things and build things? Is he interested in that?”
Wes thought about it. “He likes Lego and he once built a kite from scratch. But I wouldn’t say he enjoys that more than art or reading. He likes both.”
Zinn’s face softened. “He’s the best of both of us,” he whispered, mostly to himself. “And you and Assa have been there all this time to fill his life with love and spirit and joy.” Placing a hand on his belly, he closed his eyes. “I haven’t felt this peaceful in a long time.”
“Me too,” Wes and Assa said in unison.
“That’s beautiful, sunshine.”
Wes took Assa’s hand. It had been just the three of them for so long. Now Zinn and Calder already felt like family. He was excited to meet Calder’s sons. Excited that a new baby was coming.
Excited to see if he and Assa could press their luck and make a lasting connection with Valentin.
Chapter Forty-Two
Assa
On Saturday, Assa, Wes, and Ryde arrived at Calder’s house at five o’clock. Zinn thought it made more sense to meet there than at his apartment, since he imagined he’d be living with his alpha soon enough.
“That’s where we’re headed,” Zinn told Assa over the phone. “It’ll be better for the baby, and I don’t want to just dip a toe in this relationship. I want to go all-in with Calder. But we’re also giving Jordie and Ked a chance to get used to the idea, and of course we have eight months until the baby arrives.”
Assa and Wes’s conversation with Ryde the night before had gone well. They’d sat him down and laid out the facts as best they could. Assa had expected him to be more curious about why Zinn hadn’t kept his baby, and perhaps those questions would come, but his son had seemed most interested in who Zinn was as a person.
“Pop and I think it would be a good idea for you to spend time with Zinn and his partner Calder, to get to know them,” Wes said. “They’re wonderful people.”
Ryde asked if Calder was his alpha birth parent, and Wes told him no, and that Zinn would divulge that information later, once the dust had settled on this new arrangement. Luckily, the boy had accepted it. The appearance of his omega birth father seemed enough of a shock for the present moment.
“Are you sure you and Dad won’t mind if I hang out with him?” Ryde asked Assa seriously.
“No, nugget. We’re all for it. Zinn wants to know you, but he left it up to us—and you, of course. The only thing that factors in is if you really don’t want to. And we’ll respect it if that’s your choice. So will he.”
Ryde shook his head. “No. I want to meet him. Most of my friends with beta dads know their omega bio fathers. They get, like, extra birthday presents and stuff.”
Assa smiled. “Well, as it happens, Zinn comes with direct access to the best cookies and brownies you’ll ever eat.”
They spent the next hour giving their son a sanitized version of Zinn’s history and mentioned that he was also an artist. Assa hoped his and Wes’s enthusiasm would help Ryde feel safe in his curiosity, so he wouldn’t worry about hurting his fathers’ feelings by forming a bond with Zinn. Assa and Wes wanted him to understand that it did not threaten them. Just the opposite. They wanted Ryde to have that connection.
Less than twenty-four hours later, they stood on Calder’s doorstep, ready to leave their child with Zinn for the first time. Although the conversation with Ryde had gone well, Assa was still curious how the boy would react.
They’d barely knocked before Zinn opened the door. He’d gotten a haircut in the two days since they’d seen him. All thedyed sections were gone, leaving only the tawny color he and Ryde shared.
Wes and Assa stood behind their son, hands on his shoulders.
“Hello,” Zinn began nervously. “I’m so glad you could—”
Ryde launched himself forward. His small arms circled Zinn’s waist, squeezing fiercely. After a bewildered stumble, Zinn bent down onto a knee and adjusted their positions until he was hugging Ryde eye-to-eye.
Over the boy’s shoulder, he glanced up in wonder. As tears shone in his eyes, Assa knew in a soul-deep way that they’d done the right thing by bringing their son here.
Ryde leaned back from the embrace and gave Zinn an up-and-down appraisal. He reached out with his pointer finger and touched the mole on Zinn’s face. “You’re my omega birth father,” he whispered.