“There they are,” Grandpa called out from in front of the pancake griddle. “Thought you two were gonna sleep all day. Grab some coffee.”
I looked around at all the familiar faces of the Wilde family. Some were familiar because I’d seen them in the months I’d been back; some were less familiar, but still recognizable as Wildes.
In the split second I worried about them hating me for leaving Otto all those years ago, I realized they weren’t the type to hold grudges. I guessed if Otto was okay with me, that meant the Wildes were okay with me too. I hoped so anyway.
A baby squawk came from the large wooden table, and I saw Doc holding Pippa while Nico tried spooning something into her tiny mouth. She must have recognized me because she immediately began waving her arms and making baby noises.
“Hey, sweet pea,” I called, approaching her and squatting down until I was at her level. “What’re you eating for breakfast, hm? Your daddy feeding you some pears?”
Doc held her out to me. “Here, you take over so I can help Weston with the adult food.”
I quickly grabbed her from him and took his seat when he got up. Nico went back to aiming the pears at her while I encouraged her with silly faces and baby talk to eat every bite. After a minute, I realized there was silence around me.
I looked up and met Otto’s intense stare. “What?” I asked, noticing some of the other people in the room were also staring.
“You’re really good with her,” Otto said looking oddly vulnerable for some reason.
“He has experience.” Nico grinned. “Knows all the tricks.”
“Oh right,” Hallie said from across the table. “I heard you have a daughter. What’s her name?”
“Um…” I looked around again, suddenly in the spotlight. “She’s not really my daughter, even though I raised her with her mom. She’s my niece. Her name is Tisha. She turns nine this summer.”
The room was quiet while I tried to distract myself with Pippa.
“Nine?” This time it was West doing the math. The doctor of the bunch. “That means her mom was pregnant the year that you…” He looked up at me in surprise before looking at Otto. “Oh. Oh, I see…”
I felt my jaw tighten and my eyes prick. Fuck. I didn’t want to do this in front of so many damned Wildes. I wanted to tell Otto the story first, without an audience. I felt like the entire room was waiting to pass judgment on what happened—the decision I’d made.
All I cared about was one opinion, though, no one else’s.
My eyes searched for him again and found him looking down at his feet. My chest was tight, and I desperately wanted to know what he was thinking.
“Otto?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah,” he said, clearing his throat and looking back up at me. A mask of nothingness came over his face before he smiled a generic smile. “You want a cup of coffee?”
My heart pounded in my chest, and I turned to hand Pippa off to Nico before standing and walking right up to Otto and straight into his personal space. My arms went around his waist, and I looked right into his eyes. I desperately wanted to reassure him this wasn’t a flash in the pan thing for me, and I wasn’t going to waffle this time.
“I don’t want a cup of coffee, Wilde Man. I want you.”
Chapter 12
Otto
Otto,
I know I won’t send this but I have to at least get the words out before they kill me. Your letters are breaking my heart. I can’t even tell you how many tears I’ve cried for you since my brother died. I can’t even call and tell you about Ross because if I hear your voice, I swear to god, I’ll break. And I know without a shadow of a doubt, you’ll come running. You always have.
I love you so much, Otto Wilde. But I feel like I have to do this, I’m going to marry Jolie and help her take care of her baby, Ross’s baby. I told her I planned on giving her five years of support and helping her get through those early years until the baby starts school. But I gotta be honest… I’m scared to death.
I never imagined I’d get married at age eighteen and I sure as HELL didn’t imagine marrying a woman. What am I gonna do with a wife and baby, Otto? Mom and Dad are planning on helping us a lot, but… god, I’m terrified.
I applied to a local community college program that should help me become a police officer. You know I’ve always wanted to go into law enforcement and this way I should end up with good benefits for Jolie and the baby. In the meantime, I just have to focus and work my ass off to try and get through it as quickly as I can.