Chapter 7
“Oh, thank the gods!” Alex exclaimed. “Nice to meetcha, Big Boss Man. Would you please tell your cousin to stop with the alpha stuff. I’m fine, my baby’s fine but for some reason, my wolf mate can’t get that through his thick skull.”
“You don’t know that,” Sawyer said. “You may think everything’s okay but then, suddenly, poof, you’ll end up in the hospital because of a hidden injury.”
“Stop treating buttercup like a child,” Glenn growled. “If he said he’s fine, I believe him.”
“Oh, so now you are a doctor as well as a secret agent.” Sawyer glared at his mate. “We wouldn’t be in this situation if you drove more carefully.”
“Enough,” Jackson said. “Sawyer, Mac does not require Alex to undress at this time so I suggest you stop stressing him out and let Mac do his job. Alex, would you prefer to see the doctor alone?”
Glancing at his mates, Alex shook his head. “I’d rather they stay with me.”
“Fine,” Jackson said. Then shifting his gaze to Glenn, he said, “Nice to finally meet you, Glenn. I’ve heard a lot about you from Willow.”
“All good, I hope.” Glenn smirked.
“All good. My brothers and I owe your mother a huge debt for saving our mother…not to mention all the help she’s given her in her recovery. Anything I can do to repay the debt, just let me know.”
“I appreciate that.”
Glancing over at Alex, Jackson asked, “Do you mind if I speak to my cousin out in the hall for a moment?”
“Is that okay with you wolf mate?” asked Alex softly, unsure what Jackson wanted with Sawyer. “Glenn can go with you if you want because I’ll be okay with Mac.”
Shaking his head, Sawyer lifted Alex up, setting him on the exam table before giving him a kiss. “I’d rather he stay with you, sweetheart.” Then, leaning in, he whispered, “Nothing to worry about babe…Jackson won’t bite.”
Giggling, Alex grinned at Sawyer. “I hope not.”
Stepping over to Alex, Mac patted Sawyer’s shoulder. “Go…I promise to take good care of your mate.”
After finding the reassurance he needed in his twin’s face, Sawyer gave him a tight smile. Turning to Glenn, he gave a small nod before following his cousin out of the room. Shutting the door behind him, Sawyer said, “I’m sorry Jackson.”
“For what?”
“For whatever I did. Obviously, I did something wrong or otherwise why would you want to see me alone.”
Leading Sawyer to two chairs, Jackson said, “Sit.” Then joining his cousin, he said, “When I was pregnant with Daniel, Steel drove me crazy with his hovering. ‘You should rest’…‘are you hungry’…‘you aren’t eating enough’…and on it went. In the beginning, it wasn’t so bad but as time went on, it became intolerable.
“Even though I knew it was his way of dealing with his fear of losing me in childbirth, it just became overwhelming; I felt like I was a bug under a microscope. And in the end, the stress it caused me began to affect the pup. Luckily, Ian figured it out and had a chat with Steel, explaining that what he was doing was no good for me or Daniel.
“Sawyer, whether Alex admits it or not, right now he is feeling his life is out of control because of his pregnancy. The last thing he needs is you making all of his decisions for him.”
“I’m not,” Sawyer protested. “I just want what’s best for him and our cub.”
“Yeah…I get that. But let me ask you this…how do you know what’s best for him? Did he tell you? Or are you just assuming you know better?”
Opening his mouth then shutting it, Sawyer reflected on his behavior since learning about Alex’s pregnancy. The shock that he was going to be a father was fresh in his mind along with the self-doubts about being a good one. Sure, he had a good role model when he was growing up, but truthfully, he never thought he’d be a dad. Now that it was imminent, it was freaking him out. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” he murmured, realizing his uncertainty was causing his behavior. “I want to be a good father to our cub but I don’t know how. And what if I miss something that causes Alex to lose the baby? What if…”
“Nope…trust me…stop with the ‘what ifs’ because no matter how many you think of, I can promise you if anything happens, it’ll be the one thing you didn’t think of. In the meantime, all those ‘what ifs’ will only end up hurting your relationship with Alex because he’ll only see them as evidence of your lack of trust in him.”
“But Idotrust him.”
“Then show it by respecting his decisions. And in order to do that, you have to listen to him…really listen, Sawyer.”
“Trust me to fuck it up,” Sawyer muttered.
“Nope, you can’t claim ownership to that…Colton did it to Ian before his mate put a stop to it and poor Slate, he’s suffering with Dakota’s pregnancy. The only one who doesn’t seem to be affected is Logan, but that’s probably due to his and Kieran’s spirit, who’s constantly monitoring their pup. Otherwise, I’m sure he’d be acting the same way.”
