“Here, I’ll take her since Jared has Jaylynn. You did very well, Ty. You’re going to make an amazing dad.”
Ty smiled at her as she took Ava, and he took out his phone. It was a text from Parker. Hell, he’d just taken off without a word, and there was no telling how long he’d been gone. It was going to take some getting used to, this having someone in the house that he needed to keep informed.
He looked up. “It’s Parker. I should probably head back to the farm.”
Jared frowned a little. “Her name just hit me. Parker Leighton? Tiffany’s little sister?”
Ty felt himself frowning a little. Parker was Tiffany’s little sister? She had to be, with the last name Leighton. Their family were the only Leightons in town. He felt a little unsettled at the fact that he hadn’t known that. They were having a baby together, but there was still so much they didn’t know about each other.
Not waiting on his reply, Jared went on. “Parker is a sweet girl. I didn’t talk to her much in school, and she was quiet and shy, but she always had a ready smile for everyone.”
Ty shifted, uncomfortable with the fact that Chase and now Jared apparently remembered Parker, but he himself didn’t. He’d been so focused on Cassie back then, though, that he hadn’t really noticed any of the other girls, and someone a couple grades below him, and apparently shy to boot, would never have captured his notice.
“She’s a nice woman. Really… friendly,” Ty finally replied.
Adara lifted an eyebrow. “I hope so. But you’d maybe better work on some better adjectives for when she’s in ear shot. Especially if she’s your mate. Make her feel like you want her, not just that she’s a nice girl and friendly.”
Ty fought an unexpected flush up his neck. He’d never blushed before in his damn life, and he wasn’t starting now.
“Okay, um, I’ll do that. I’d better head back.” He looked to Jared, seriousness written on his face. “Thanks, man.”
Jared inclined his head. “Anytime. Just think about everything I said.”
Ty nodded back and then headed out of the room. It was time to get back to Parker. Who was maybe his mate. And was definitely carrying his baby. How his life had changed, in the blink of an eye.
Parker sat on the porch swing, enjoying the breeze and the sunny day. She wondered where Ty had gotten off to, but she was enjoying just being for a moment. Life was going to change, soon, and as anxious as she was to meet the little person growing inside her, she also wanted to enjoy the time she had before she gave birth. Nothing would be the same after that.
She put a hand to her stomach, where she was already beginning to show. She’d made an appointment with an obstetrician in town this morning and she’d be going in next week. She’d seen one out in California when she first found out she was pregnant, but if she was going to be staying here for a while, she wanted to establish one here.
Who knows? Maybe she’d end up moving back home. She didn’t need to stay in San Diego to work, and she couldn’t deny that no matter what happened between her and Ty, their baby would be better off with both parents present.
Especially considering what her baby was, what Ty was. Parker caressed her stomach, contemplating the fact that her baby was part wolf. She wondered when Ty was going to fess up. She was pretty sure he didn’t know that she was aware of his dual nature.
Parker thought back to the moment she’d seen him change into a wolf. She’d been fifteen, Tyler seventeen. She’d gone to the river and then followed it along, enjoying the spring day and her time alone. She’d always pushed herself in her studies and that Saturday, she’d been determined to take a little break. She had never had many friends and Tiffany had been in the city with her friends, so Parker had taken herself to the river to read. Feeling restless, she’d begun walking, not realizing until she came upon that clearing and seen Ty that she’d wandered onto MacKeltar land.
She’d still been in the woods, hidden by the trees, when Ty had burst into the clearing. He’d been running and was visibly upset when he arrived, leaning over and grabbing his knees, heaving for breath and face strained.
Parker had wanted to go to him, ask him what was wrong, comfort him in some way. But she’d just stood there, frozen and barely able to breathe. Her social anxiety had been crippling in high school, so bad that sometimes she struggled to speak without stuttering over her words. And Tyler had been her high school crush. She hadn’t been able to even look him in the eye when she’d passed him in the halls at school. Approaching him had been beyond her.
A few moments later, he’d hunched over, grabbing his middle, and Parker had thought he was sick, or that something was physically wrong. There had been a smattering of pops echoing in the clearing, and then a black wolf had burst from Tyler’s body.
Parker had watched, stunned to her toes, as Tyler the wolf had shaken his fur out and then bounded away. When she was finally able to make herself move, Parker had stumbled her way back down the river, falling a few times as she walked in a daze.
She’d tried to convince herself that she’d imagined it. That Tyler had never been there and she’d never seen him turn into a wolf in front of her eyes. But clutched in her hand was a piece of his shirt, the shirt that had shredded when he’d turned. A breeze had blown it over to her, and she’d picked it up. She still had that piece of shirt somewhere.
Parker had never told anyone what she’d seen that day. Part of it was because no one would have ever believed it. Everyone already thought Parker was weird, but that would have convinced them she was crazy, as well. The biggest reason she hadn’t said anything, though, was because that was Ty’s secret to tell. She would never do anything to put him at risk, and people kn
owing he could turn into a wolf was definitely putting him at risk.
Her musings were cut short by the sound of a vehicle coming up the drive. Turning her head in that direction, she saw Tyler’s big black truck pulling into its parking spot. He spotted her as he exited the truck, and he paused for just a second before he headed her way.
“Hey,” he said, reaching the porch swing.
“Hi,” she replied, making room for him to sit down.
Hesitating just a moment, Ty eased down onto the swing next to her. “Sorry I disappeared. I had to run into to town unexpectedly.”
“It’s okay. I’ve been enjoying the down time out here.”