Jeremy snuggled back against me as I stroked his growing tummy and that was all I remembered until my phone blared on the mattress by my ear hours later.
Chapter Eighteen
Jeremy
When I woke up, I didn’t remember going to bed.
The mattress of the bed in the camper was thin, the sheets were scratchy, and the blankets piled on top of me smelled faintly of mothballs. I couldn’t think of a time in my life that I’d ever been more comfortable. There was a distinct possibility that that could have been related to the warm, firm body wrapped around me, or possibly the thick, soothing Alpha scent I was drowning in. No matter what the reason was, I wasn’t anxious to leave the bed, but, as usual, my bladder was insisting.
Remembering the last time I’d tried to escape, I whispered my Alpha’s name. “Kade? I need the bathroom.”
“Okay.”
Kade’s response was too fast and clear for me to have woken him, so I turned to see him. “You’re awake.”
Kade’s eyes were soft and his smiling lips brushed over my cheek. “I am. I was actually going to wake you up in a few minutes. Sonny is on his way.” He wedged one arm behind my back and helped me rise to a sitting position, making it easier for me to stand. “Why don’t I see if we have coffee why you get dressed?”
“Okay.”
By the time I’d finished peeing and pulled on my clothes from the day before, I could not only smell coffee, I could hear the Sharon Hill Sheriff’s low voice on the other side of the lightweight accordion door closing the bedroom off from the rest of the camper.
Not knowing how much Kade had shared of my story, I drew in a deep breath and pulled it open. Sure enough, Sonny was reclining on one of the dinette bench seats, a steaming foam cup in his hand.
“Good morning.”
“Hey there, kid,” Sonny threw me a friendly smile. “You forgiven me yet?”
I laughed. “Well, you kind of saved me, so I guess so.”
“He brought this, too,” Kade said with a wink, handing me one of the steaming cups from the table. “Decaf.”
“You’re a God,” I said with feeling, making them both laugh. “Thank you.”
“There’s more,” Kade said, blowing on his coffee before pointing to a pile of boxes in the front passenger seat. “All of your clothes, a ton of groceries, and even a few surprises.”
My heart warmed and I crossed to where Sonny sat, bending down to hug him. “Thank you so much.”
Sonny gave me a one-armed squeeze and shrugged. “No big thing.” He and Kade exchanged a look that had me side-eying my Alpha.
“What?”
“There’s one more thing,” Kade said, reaching a hand toward me.
I took it and let him pull me into his lap. He fiddled with my fingers for a minute and, when he released my hand, a perfect golden circle was wrapped around my finger.
“What’s this?”
“I love you and I know it’s not the romantic proposal you deserve, baby,” Kade said softly, “but Sonny pulled a few strings and brought a marriage license for us. If you’re willing, he can marry us now and then go back and file the paperwork. Your family can’t claim the baby if there is a living spouse, no matter who the father is, as long as the marriage is certified before you deliver. They’d have to have the biological sire petition for custody.”
“But..if anything happens to me, you’d be stuck with my kid,” I said slowly, assuming he’d overlooked that detail.
“Nothing is going to happen to you,” Kade said softly, “but if it does, I’ll protect our baby with my life and raise it as best I can.”
I know I gasped. “You’d do that for me?”
Kade smiled and shook his head. “Of course, I will, baby. What do you say? Wanna get hitched in this ever-so-romantic rest stop parking lot?”
I stared into his amber eyes and fought back the tears as I nodded, trying to still my trembling lip.
