Once Dad and I were alone, I dragged the lone chair in the room from the corner to his bedside.
My father stabbed a finger at the retreating Webb. “What’s with his goofy grin?”
My heart punched my ribs, and I was nervous as hell to answer him. I wasn’t sure why. I had never been afraid of anything other than losing my sister. But now I had a kid on the way, someone else to worry about. I hadtwoother people to protect.
The conversation I’d had with Jo began to weigh heavily on my mind. “I’m glad you’re back, Pops.” I tapped my chest. “You gave my heart a run for its money.”
“I love you too, Sam. I understand you almost lost your life.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. He was a second away from reading me my rights before he dumped me in the brig.
“Before you start yelling, I know it was stupid of me to go to Montana alone and walk into a vampire hunter’s lair.”
“Why did you?” His tone was even.
I crossed one leg over the other so my ankle was resting on my knee. “Layla. I felt she was in danger after Roman escaped.”
“Son, you need to learn to think with your brain and not your heart before you jump into action. I don’t care how powerful you are or think you might be. Our enemies will always find a way to bring you down. Are we understood?”
I leaned forward, elbows on knees. “We are.” Though with a baby on the way, I wasn’t sure how well his advice would work. Layla and my kid were my number one priority, and I would die protecting them.
“Why the despondent look?” he asked.
Here goes nothing. Doc thinks my dad will be happy that Layla’s having my child or that he’s about to be a grandfather, but I’m not so sure.I sat back, inhaled, swallowed, and pushed my fingers through my hair. “Layla’s pregnant.” A weird feeling traveled through me when I said that. I couldn’t put my finger on the sensation, but it was a cross between a cold chill and a pain in my gut. Certainly not a good sign, but I suspected my convo with Jo was contributing to the thoughts and feelings consuming me.
He closed his eyes then slowly fluttered them open. “Say that again?”
I knew he heard me. But I responded just the same, “Layla is pregnant.”
His green eyes drilled a hole through me. “Your child? Impossible.”
I jerked back. “Come again?”
He pursed his lips. “Son, are you sure it’s yours?”
Anger bit me in the ass, and I wasn’t sure why. “Why would you think it wasn’t mine?” I’d done the math from the time we had sex to the present, and from everything I’d heard and learned from Layla, Jordyn, and Tabitha, Layla hadn’t left the ranch except for the day Conrad followed them to a restaurant in Big Timber. I supposed she could have bedded someone right before we’d met, but I doubted it. “She’s Vel negative too.”
He gave me an incredulous look.
Might as well continue to shock him. “Layla’s mother has vampires in her heritage.”
“Impossible,” he said again. “Our government looked into all the Aberdeens, including their spouses.”
“You weren’t always on the Council of Elders. Your predecessor missed something, then.”
He rubbed his shoulder. “Maybe, but that’s a huge miss. Did Layla know she has that blood type before you and she—”
“No, and I flat out asked her.” After we had sex, though. In the heat of the moment, blood types certainly hadn’t crossed my fucking mind. “She was adamant she had the average human blood type.”
Silence stretched between us for a beat.
“How is Layla taking the news?” he asked, seemingly still perplexed.
I laughed. “She’s in denial. I’m kind of with her too.”
“Her familycannotfind out,” he said through gritted teeth. “Cannot,” he reiterated. “Fuck, this could also be Edmund Rain all over again.”
I bobbed my head. “Jo agrees.”
His green eyes bled to silver. “And you, son? You better get your ass on board. Not only is Abbey in danger… that unborn Mason will be too.”
