Page 75 of A Farmer’s Guide To Gamers

He and Rumi were a little too much alike. Both eccentric and outgoing and talkative. The opposite of me in just about every way. They always said they were too similar to date, but as best friends, they came up with the plan to convince their partners to have us and co-parent.

Elliot was Luca’s other half and was reserved and stoic. Salem, Rumi’s partner, was a huge book nerd who was sweet and caring. The mother hen of the group.

Their partners had agreed to co-parenting through IVF after a bit of discussion, their words whenever this topic came up. But in the end they all talked and ended up on the same page with how this would go and thankfully, according to my mom, they got the best of both worlds with my twin sister and myself.

Even I couldn’t deny they were a good team. Addison and I were always free to explore who we were and never felt overlooked.

“How are things?” he prompted when I got lost in my head again.

“Really good, actually,” I answered honestly. Even if things with Kai were confusing. Everything else was settling in. “I met an omega and my pack and I are getting to know her.”

“Oh, do tell! What’s she like?” he demanded, leaning in closer so his face was zoomed in and eager.

“Did I hear omega?” Elliot’s voice called out from nearby.

The screen zoomed out and it showed my father, Elliot, joining Dad on the couch. His hair was sprinkled with gray and he wore new glasses I hadn’t seen before.

“Her name is Tillie,” I began, trying to figure out what they would want to know. “She owns this farm, and we just moved in recently. We’re all still working on our video game and this is really helping.”

“Is she nearby?” Dad asked, while my father looked intrigued.

“Are you outside?”

“Yes?” I replied in confusion and switched the camera around to show off the farm around me.

Just as my dads started to speak I heard a truck come up the drive, and I turned, with my phone in hand, to see Tillie park and jump out.

She was wearing leggings, a flowy, white crop top, and work boots. She had backed up the truck with bales of hay in the bed for the animals. With a quick wave my way, she focused on climbing up and getting the bales down with ease.

“Damn, son,” my dad muttered as I turned the camera back to face me. “You weren’t joking about being with a farm girl.”

“Woman,” Elliot rolled his eyes and elbowed his partner. My dad grinned at him which just made Father shake his head. “Rumi and Salem would tear you a new one if they heard you.”

“A new what?” I asked, my brow furrowed in confusion.

“It’s an expression,” Dad explained easily. “They’d be upset that I said girl instead of woman. Would omega work?”

“Maybe,” Elliot replied seriously, his expression far away as if contemplating what my moms would say.

“So, you heard the news about Addison, I gathered?” Dad steered the conversation to a new topic. “It seemed to go a bit differently than your sister thought it would. Are you okay?”

“Is she alright?” I countered. I might be terrible at emotions, but even I knew that wasn’t a very kind response to such big news.

“It’s Addison. She was a bit hurt, but she knows you didn’t mean any harm,” Father said gently.

“I’ll call her,” I sighed, a twinge of guilt hitting me. “And yes, to answer your question, I’m alright. I’m just… not good with kids. They aren’t mine, but I also don’t want to be a bad uncle.”

“How does your omega feel about your disdain for children?” Dad asked quietly, so no one could overhear.

“We haven’t discussed it,” I admitted. That wasn’t exactly something you just said to a group. Right?

As if they could read my mind, they answered my unsaid words.

“You should bring it up. That’s not something you leave until it’s a problem,” Father said gently.

“Speaking of the group. How is Kai?” Dad asked. A playful smirk had taken over and my brows furrowed. It was such a coincidence to bring it up now.

“Fine?” I questioned back. He just chuckled and shook his head before launching into a long-winded summary of what they’d all been up to. My parents shared a property. Two twin houses in very different styles, and more land than they knew what to do with.