“Wow, we might get Uncle Brad to use that voice if the baby misbehaves,” Morty chuckled, then winced as Toby backed away.
“I—”
“Whatever excuse you’re about to use, forget it,” Brad said to Toby. “You’re helping.”
“I don’t know what to do!” he squeaked with alarm.
“Me, either. If I can figure out building regulations and plans, then this should be a walk in the park,” he assured Toby. “Place the towels down in the bath. Hector, lift Morty into it, and then we can remove his pants and apron.”
The first bit went according to plan.
“Ouchhhhhhhhhhh,” Morty screeched the second his bottom landed in the tub, his hand reaching out and grabbing Hector’s shirt, ripping the buttons clear off in his attempt to bring his mate closer, which, with the tub between them, was impossible.
A dead person, Brad was sure, had more color than Hector, who was wild-eyed and hyperventilating as he crowded over Morty. “I’m so sorry. How can I make it better?” Hector sobbed.
Maybe Brad had miscalculated this whole birthing thing. “We need to get his pants off before the baby comes.” That was logical, right?
Even Brad was starting to doubt himself. What had he signed up for? This was most definitely not in the contract!
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lionel
“Lark, show some respect. Get yourself out into the waiting room, and I will address your manner of speaking to me when I’ve finished dealing with yourboy.”
“Don’t you dare speak to Mom like that in my office.” Lionel moved around the desk as Mom came farther into the room, closing the door behind her.
“I’m not scared of this old windbag, son,” she said, giving Lionel a wide smile. “I never was. And why wouldn’t I be here after I receive a text that has both the most amazing newsand the most heart-breaking news I could hear, all in two sentences?”
She came around to the side of the desk, looking just as she always had. Her red hair flowed down her back, her worn jeans moulded to her hips, and a black lacy top showed just enough skin to be sexy and respectable. “My son has found his fated mate. The honor that every male, female, and in between wishes would happen for them. I am beyond thrilled. So excited, I can’t wait to meet this darling mate, a contractor, I believe. A man who works with his hands should be perfect for you, Lionel dear. You’ve always been very tactile.
“As for you strutting in here,” she whirled toward Pennington pointing. “What right do you have to yell at my son? Do you think I can’t hear you from outside the closed door? That poor receptionist is almost in tears. Did you think that if you were the one who yelled the loudest, you could bully your way out of the shit you’ve created by being a pompous ass?”
“Shut up. You have no right to speak to me in that way.” Pennington seemed flustered, and Lionel wasn’t sure why. “As part of the pride, you abide by what I say.”
“I left the pride the moment I realized you banished my son. You stupid old fool!” To Lionel’s surprise, Mom went over and poked Pennington in the chest so hard he fell into the seat behind him. Fortunately, there was a chair right behind him, and it was sturdy enough to hold him.
“You knew exactly why I stayed in the pride as long as I did. And why it was I started travelling the moment I knew Lionel could fend for himself. I couldn’t abide your petty rules. I couldn’t abide your stupid policies about insisting that the females of the pride know their place. Who… who despite being the harder-working sex in the whole damned place, you treated like shit. You treated us all as your playthings.
“And I warned you, I warned you before I left, that if you did one thing, one thing to jeopardize my son’s position in the pride, in his business, or anything to do with his life, then I would come back and spill all of your secrets. Did you think I was bluffing?”
“This has got nothing to do with you.” Lionel noticed Pennington was gripping the chair arms as if they were holding him together. “Anything you could talk about happened a long time ago. This is a far more immediate problem. Through his actions, your son has cost me a huge amount of money. I have construction deadlines that won’t meet target because there’s not one construction worker in a fifty-mile radius who will come and work on any of my jobs, and it’s allbecause of him and his mate.”
“You banished him and now you want him to fix your problem? Why the hell should he? Ah, hang on, I get it.” Lark chuckled and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Lionel mentioned in his text to me that his mate is in construction. He’s a teacup poodle, I believe. Aren’t they the most adorable animals? And apparently, he’s a very hardworking man. How do I know this, you ask? I had a long plane ride to get here, so I did a bit of Googling, something you never thought to do, Pennington. I know who Brad’s family is. And I can totally understand why nobody wants to work for you anymore. If anybody did, it would be me. And I’d be knocking your fool bloody head off.”
“Mom?” Lionel had never heard Mom speak that way. He was floored.
She looked at him, her expression softening. “There are so many things I tried to hide, Lionel, so many things, because I didn’t want them to affect you growing up. I thought I was doing the right thing when I joined the pride in the first place. As a single mom, I was fine with that. I didn’t want any man cluttering up my bathroom and snoring in my ear every bloody night. I am happy the way I am, and I’ll continue to be happy.Happier still when I find my fated mate. But I never thought for a second that mate would be a male, which was why I slept with your father just long enough to get pregnant. I wanted a child. I wanted you so badly, Lionel. And this bastard here almost cost me your life.”
“I don’t… I don’t understand. What do you mean?” Lionel’s mind flashed back to the night when he became trapped in the well. “I thought… I thought…”
“I know what you thought, Lionel, and I’m so sorry.” Lark looked sad for a moment. “I’ll admit that I made a lot of mistakes as you were growing up. You got left in that well as long as you were because this bastard here couldn’t be assed to send out a search team and wouldn’t let me go to look for you when I wanted to. ‘Cubs will be cubs,’ he said. ‘I’m sure he’s fine.’ Giving me all the platitudes just to shut me up while he’s trying to shove his hand up my fucking skirt.”
Lark pressed her knuckle to her quivering mouth for a second and then dropped it. “By the time we found you, you were terrified. I knew I couldn’t do or say anything to make you look bad in front of the pride. So I joked it off, laughing. I promised you, Pennington,”—she pointed her finger at him—“I promised you, if you did not do right by my son, then everyone would know. Know what an asshole you were—are. People like your wife, for example.”
“If you’ve removed yourself from the pride, then you’ll have no right to speak to anybody else who lives there, including my wife.” Pennington’s face was losing color fast.
“Do you think I need to go to the pride to talk to people who live there, or to talk to others about what you’ve done?” Lark flung back her head and laughed. “You have got to be kidding me. Haven’t you heard of social media? Heard of newsletters? Haven’t you heard of just going to the bar and drinking with friends and sharing a few stories like people do?
