Chapter 23 - Hector

A few days after my parents returned, I was still in shock about becoming a dad. When did this happen? I kept trying to piece together the whole timeline as my mother sat next to Faye on the couch in the living room. There was no evidence of that tornado here. We'd done a great job of cleaning it up. And we hadn't exactly told my parents yet about all Faye's magical abilities.

All of that in due time. Right now, I was simply in awe of the things that were happening in front of me.

Mom was braiding Faye's hair. "You have such lovely hair. What do you use for it?"

"I have a Patchouli oil upstairs that I like to use. Sometimes I make my own. Do you want the recipe?"

"I would adore the recipe." Mom played with her tattered hair. "I feel like I ruined mine with all the bleaching."

Faye nodded. "Yeah, it looks like there was some damage done, but the good news is you can just trim the ends and keep putting oil in it to heal it. It'll get better within a couple of years."

Mom laughed. "A couple of years. I guess I can spare that much." She rubbed Faye's arm lovingly. "I always wanted a daughter."

Who was this woman who was talking to my mate? When did she come back? And why did she come back? I didn't think I'd ever seen my mother in this kind of position. She'd never been motherly toward me, and she'd never been exactly much of a girlfriend or a wife to my father.

And to that end, my father wasn't much of a father either. Yet behind me, he was in the kitchen cooking something on the stove for all of us to eat. It was about mid-morning, and we must have all gotten up about an hour ago. The smell of coffee dotted the air. The sound of chatter came from the kitchen, where my father was on the phone with somebody. As important as it sounded, it seemed like he was wrapping it up. Then he started whistling. The telltale sound of pancakes flipping came next.

I poked my head into the kitchen. "Do you need help in there?"

Dad waved the spatula at me. "Get out of here. Go sit with your fiancée."

My face heated up as I returned to the living room. My mother and Faye were so wrapped up in each other, so much that they hardly noticed I was there. Somehow, it didn't bother me.

I never thought in all my days I would ever have something like this occur. The only person missing was Aunt Gerta. But I wasn't exactly missing her right this second.

I must talk to her eventually, I thought. All in due time.

I cleared my throat as I sat down across from my mother and Faye. "What did Aunt Gerta say to you when you got here?"

Mom looked at me as if just realizing I existed. "Oh, she was making the usual complaints about how you are messy. And ruined her house."

I shook my head. "I kept that house spotless."

Mom looked solemn. "I know."

I frowned at the coffee table between us, the one that I just built. "I don't know why she would complain like that."

Mom shrugged. "She was the best we could do."

My agitation returned tenfold. "Why did you leave me with her at all? Why couldn't you have just taken me with you? Didn't you want me?"

Dad appeared with a plate of pancakes and a plate of bacon. He set both on the coffee table and then went back to the kitchen to grab more food. When he returned, he was carrying a bottle of syrup and a few empty coffee cups to be filled.

He glanced between my mother and me and then nodded as if he understood what was going on. "Right. Aunt Gerta. We should talk about that.

I stared at him. "What exactly should we talk about?"

He used the spatula as a pointer. "She didn't do a very good job taking care of you. She drank the whole time and forced you to clean. Then she has the gall to complain about it."

I chortled bitterly. "You're the one who left me here."

Mom leaned forward. "Yes, we did leave you here. We just weren't ready to take care of you. We had to get our wiggles out."

I shook my head. "If doing cocaine is getting your wiggles out, then I guess you know a lot about it. Go off, then."

Dad lowered his arms at his sides and bowed his head to me. "I truly am sorry for leaving you like that, but it was better than you seeing us doing those things on the road. We didn't want you to be exposed to our lifestyle, and we weren't ready to give it up. What would you have had us do instead?"

I sat back for a second with my hands resting on my knees, trying to level with him like a man. I was about to become a father. I was about to become somebody who would take care of a child like me. I would be in the same position soon. But I wasn't addicted to drugs. I didn't smoke, and I wasn't reckless. At least I didn't think I was reckless.

I looked at my mate, who was sitting next to my mother, with the softest expression. She was giving me such a sweet look, a soft smile that told me to be as forgiving as I was just judging. The fact that I could read her at all felt like a blessing. Inside of her, life was growing. I had to be a good example before that life was formed into existence.

"You do seem like you're doing better," I admitted. "Did you say three years?"

My father nodded. "I'm coming up on an anniversary soon."

I stood up and held out my hand. "Then I'm very proud of you, Dad. That's a big deal."

Dad stood flabbergasted for a second. He shut his mouth, scratched his temple with the spatula, and then shook my hand firmly. A second later, he yanked me into a hug that seemed to last for ages.

A culmination of emotions exploded in my chest. Everything seemed to dissipate, all the resentment flowing into the background where it wouldn't exist anymore. All of it got siphoned out of the room. None of the usual tension remained, and I felt like I could truly breathe again. Then I realized another pair of arms had joined us and then another. Both Faye and my mother were hugging us.

All four of us stood together like a family. Like a real family.

It inspired me to step back to wipe my face to look at each of them. "We should host a barbecue."

Faye chuckled. "That quick, huh?"

"Yes, that quick, and you should invite your parents and your brother."

Her face drooped. "I don't know about my parents right now."

"They welcomed you, didn't they? I thought everything was good in that department."

"I thought you were going to handle them."

I took her into the kitchen, where we couldn't be heard. My parents respected the space. I held Faye tenderly. "What's going on?"

"I actually overheard my mother saying that she pretty much faked my homecoming."

I stiffened with shock. " I don't like the sound of that."

She nodded. "I didn't like the sound of it either. That's why I just kind of got…" she trailed off and rubbed her elbow. "I don't know. I guess withdrawn."

I nodded. "If we host a barbecue and they're invited, then they must behave. They'll have to keep up appearances, either way."

"I don't want them to keep up appearances. I want them to mean it."

I smiled. "With the news that we have, they're going to have to mean it, right?"

She gave me a lopsided smile, tears forming in her eyes that never fell. I held her face, giving her all the emotional wellness I could summon.

No longer would I be the alpha who didn't physically touch his pack members. I was more than capable of giving hugs and handshakes, of touching shoulders and heads. None of that was a weakness. In fact, it was a strength greater than anything else in the universe. It was what bonded us.

It was a bond that would continue for a lifetime.

I would make sure of it.

***

Dad looked totally normal while standing in a pair of khaki shorts and a muscle shirt with a jagged-lettered band name on it in front of the grill. As he had earlier this morning, he was using the spatula to point and gesticulate. He laughed boisterously with his head thrown back and wrapped his arm around my mother many times. They looked so natural together that it made me wonder what life had been like before I was born, what life was like while they were on the road.

I wrapped my arm around Faye's shoulders when I saw her shiver. The beige shawl she wore didn't seem to do much to comfort her. I nuzzled into her ear. "Do you need a blanket?"

She shook her head. "My parents aren't saying much. But my brother is doing plenty of talking."

I looked up and saw Cliff bouncing between the groups. He went to the grill. Then, to his parents, then approached us. And so, he continued in an interesting triangle that he created, bouncing like a butterfly between branches. When Cliff approached us a third time, I captured his shoulder, transferring a sense of calm and peace to him. "It's okay. You don't have to fix everything. You're not the glue that holds us all together."

He stared at me for a couple of seconds, unblinking. Then he sniffed and gave me a stiff nod. He pulled me into a hug. "I didn't know I needed to hear that."

I felt something else in his heart, something that was heavy and depressing. I wanted to reach into his chest and heal it right then and there. I stepped back, keeping one hand on his shoulder and then pressing one to his sternum. I felt his breath. I felt his heartbeat. I felt everything inside of him. It was a new experience that was overwhelming as much as it was interesting.

I peered directly into his eyes. "You're missing something."

His brows furrowed as he frowned. "I'm sorry, Alpha. I don't know what you're talking about."

He drifted off before I could say anything else and joined my parents at the grill.

Faye caught my arm. "What was that all about?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. I just felt something weird inside of him."

"Well, if it's my brother, then he's probably just upset that he can't fix everything."

I chuckled. "Yeah, maybe it was just that."

Faye's parents observed us quietly for a short time and then wandered over to us in a posh way, like they were attending a lush garden party.

Sara was the first to take my hand. "This is a lovely barbecue. Everything is wonderful."

I smiled. "You don't have to act so polite, Sara. You can say what's on your mind."

Faye grabbed my elbow. "Maybe that's not such a good idea."

I chuckled. "Why not? We're all family here. Aren't we? Or at least we're going to become family."

I took Faye's left hand and showed off the ring that I had bought for her. Simon's eyes brightened, and Sara gasped.

"This changes everything," she said.

Faye snatched her hand back from me and held it to her chest. "Yes, well, it's nice and all and we expect that you will be at the ceremony."

Sara took her daughter's hand. "Of course, we'll be there. We wouldn't miss it for the world."

Faye bowed her head. "Are you sure you mean that? It seems like you've just put up with me since I got here."

Sara glanced at Simon, and then at me, and then turned back to her daughter. "I don't know what you mean."

Faye gave me a concerned look for a second as if she was asking permission to speak openly. I nodded for her to continue. If we were going to heal any of our family ties, we had to speak candidly with each other.

Faye turned to her parents. "I overheard you the other day when you were talking about me. It was rude and selfish. You're just cozying up to me because I'm the alpha's mate."

Sara looked at the ground between them. "I see. I don't suppose I made a very good impression."

I was surprised to see her react that way. Simon appeared guilty as well, reaching out for his daughter to comfort her. "We're sorry you had to hear that. We're as confused as you are right now. I suppose that was your mother's way of finding the positives."

"We're not sure how to act," Sara admitted.

Faye held her dad's hand. "Can't you just act like my parents?"

My throat tightened up with a medley of emotions at what I was seeing unfold. Sara and Simon took their daughter into their arms and held her while she quietly cried. My parents were confused but came over to offer solidarity, both of them placing a hand on Faye's shoulder along with myself and Cliff.

We all stood in this strange-looking little circle, trying to get along with each other in a way that wasn't spoken. And finally, for once, for maybe the first time in our lives, we were truly succeeding.