Chapter Twenty
Calder
Calder pretended to go about his business, conversing with customers and supporting his employees in the bakery’s dining room, but he spent the better part of the afternoon keeping an eye on Zinn.
The omega was hiding behind practiced smiles and forced cheerfulness.
Zinn faked his brightness when picking up the phone in the kitchen. Faked a laugh when the delivery guy teased him about something. Faked his assurances to Lolo that the bag of sugar wasn’t too heavy for him to carry.
Just as he’d been faking when he told Calder he was fine.
Calder didn’t like it. Lately, he’d felt like Zinn was finally beginning to trust him, opening up more every day. Their recent interactions had been—dare he say—playful.
That was why Zinn’s distress this afternoon was so unsettling.
When the omega had walked into his bakery twenty-five months ago, eyes wide and determined, a protective instinct had flared inside Calder.
He’d hired him on the spot. And his desire to care for him had only strengthened over the past two years, even as Zinn threw up walls and defenses that would have made a bricklayer proud.
The omega rarely spoke about himself, deflecting and turning conversations toward other topics whenever personal questions arose. It took months for Zinn to let it slip that he was from Warburton Province, and that was the only thing Calder knew of his history.
Still, each day he was more charmed. Despite knowing little of the man’s backstory, Calder had learned enough to assess Zinn’s true nature—his keen mind, his strength of character, and his inherent goodness.
And ever since the omega had discovered his passion for cake decorating, Calder had watched him grown more animated and joyful in his work. There were long stretches of days where the melancholy behind his eyes seemed to leave.
Except now it had returned.
With a vengeance.
Calder tried to give Zinn space. He moved in and out of the kitchen, popping in briefly to check on the progress of the cakes. He wished Zinn would tell him what was wrong. Other than vaguely alluding to a rough morning.
It wasn’t only that Calder was curious. His inner alpha was going crazy, demanding that he fix things and make the omega happy. Zinn’s sugar maple smell, laced with upset, went straight to his core. He’d nearly growled in the kitchen. Growled! He hadn’t growled over an omega since…
With a frustrated exhale, he retreated into his office.
He’d been in denial for months, even though his heart had known from the beginning.
The evidence was clear in his body’s restlessness, in the way his blood heated whenever he caught Zinn bent over the ovens.
The other day, when Zinn sprayed flour across his cheek, Calder had barely stopped himself from licking his thumb to wipe it off.
He wasn’t merely charmed by the omega. Or protective of him. Or harmlessly flirting. He was attracted to Zinn. He wanted Zinn. It had come on so slowly, and he’d been out of the game so long, he just…hadn’t realized it was happening.
Sinking onto the office couch, Calder admonished himself. Zinn had his whole life ahead of him. Not to mention that he was an employee. Calder could support the omega and protect him, but anything more?
He pffted. He had never felt more like a foolish old man, even though he was only thirty-eight. He needed to find someone his own age, someone with fewer secrets and—
“Papa! I’m going to kill Jordie!”
The door to the office swung open and Ked stomped in, tossing his backpack onto the floor before flopping into the chair in the corner.
Calder picked up the backpack and hung it on the rack, grateful for the interruption of his endearingly dramatic fourteen-year-old. “What did he do?”
Ked huffed. “He forgot to come to the field!”
Calder grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and handed it to him, recalling that Jordie was supposed to pick his brother up after soccer practice. “He didn’t show up?”
Taking a noisy swig from the bottle, Ked flailed his hand in a circle. “No, he did. But he was fifteen minutes late!”
Accustomed to his son’s theatrics, Calder maintained a neutral expression. “That doesn’t seem like such a big deal.”
“You weren’t the one sitting there like a loser waiting to get picked up. Coach was getting annoyed because he can’t go home until we all do.”
Hmm. That was an issue. Calder didn’t want his son to be the problem kid on the team. He made a mental note to call the coach later.
“Did Jordie say why he was late?”
Calder picked up his phone and saw a text from his sixteen-year-old saying he’d just dropped Ked off, was sorry for losing track of time, it wouldn’t happen again, and he’d be home around nine o’clock after his shift at the pizzeria.
“He didn’t have to say why,” Ked whined. “It was because he was with his stupid boyfriend. Doing stupid boyfriend stuff.” He kicked his foot against the linoleum.
Calder tried not to smile. His boys were so close. Both betas, and only two years apart in age. They’d been a tight family unit of three for over eight years, and he thanked the stars that his sons had each other.
But they were also getting older and developing unique personalities. Jordie was more like Calder, taciturn and thoughtful, responsible, his nose always in books. Meanwhile, Ked was all Denni, vivacious and social, excelling in both athletics and the arts.
When Jordie started dating his first boyfriend last month, Ked took it hard. His sons had been inseparable their entire lives. Now Jordie had heart-eyes for someone and, unsurprisingly, wanted to spend all his time with him.
Calder knelt and put an arm around Ked. These were the moments when he really missed Denni. His husband would have known exactly what to say. He would have been amazing at so many things with their sons.
Calder had done okay as a single parent, but sometimes he wished his boys had more than just him. He was trying to think of consoling words when a soft knock sounded on the office door.
Even if he hadn’t scented him, he would have recognized those hesitant, soft taps.
“Come in, Zinn.”
The omega poked his head in the door. “Hey, cap. I think the cakes are done, but I’d love to get your opinion since it’s such a big project and—oh—hey, Ked. I didn’t see you come in. Game go okay today?” Calder watched as Zinn gave his son a wide smile.
“It went alright. Sorry about not saying hi. I snuck in the side door.”
Zinn began backing away. “Sounds like this is a bad time. Apologies for interrupting.”
“No, it’s fine.” Calder didn’t want Zinn to feel like an intruder. “Please come in.”
Zinn rolled his lips inward.
“You weren’t interrupting,” Ked assured him. “I’m just mad because Jordie is acting like a dum-dum over his boyfriend—” he used a sing-song voice “—and it’s like he doesn’t remember anyone else anymore.”
“Ah,” Zinn said, venturing tentatively into the room. “I remember those days. When my oldest brother got his first boyfriend, we barely saw him at the house for weeks afterward.”
“Really?” Ked sighed dejectedly. “I don’t want to be a jerk. It’s not like I think Jordie shouldn’t have a boyfriend. But I didn’t think he’d drop everything else in his life when it happened.”
Zinn pointed at a folding chair against the wall and glanced at Calder. “May I?”
Hadn’t Calder just been wishing for someone to help in these matters?
“Please,” he replied, shaking out the chair and placing it next to Ked for Zinn to sit.
Zinn had always been less guarded with Jordie and Ked than he’d been with the adults who worked at the bakery. Since Calder and his kids lived in the house behind Felton’s, they interacted regularly.
His sons had few omegas in their lives—a couple of teachers and their friends’ parents—so it didn’t surprise Calder that they were fond of Zinn.
In turn, Zinn seemed genuinely attached to them. He had baked celebratory cupcakes after Jordie passed his driver’s exam a few months ago and always asked him about his classes. With Ked, Zinn had endless patience for listening to drama club gossip, or for dissecting every play of a soccer game.
And yet, in developing rapport with the boys, Zinn had never shared personal details about himself.
Had the omega realized he’d let something slip a moment ago?
Calder tucked the information away hungrily.
Zinn had siblings. Likely two or more, since he’d referred to “my oldest brother” rather than simply “my brother.” Calder wondered what gender they were, or if they still spoke.
But he knew better than to ask. Zinn would shut down immediately.
“I think you should talk to Jordie about how you feel,” Zinn suggested.
“But I did!”
Zinn put a hand on the teen’s wrist and quirked an eyebrow. “Did you? Or did you just yell at him and call him a dum-dum?”
Ked’s face flushed. “I told him he was being selfish and acting like he didn’t care about anyone but himself.”
“That’s what it sounds like when we let our hurt feelings do the talking,” Zinn said sagely.
“If you tell Jordie you miss him, and that you hope he can make time for you even though he has a boyfriend now, he might hear it a little better. A lot of times when it feels like people are being selfish or uncaring, they’re really just clueless. ”
“I guess.”
“I know you’re upset. But maybe when you’re less angry, you can have an actual conversation with him.”
“Is that what you did with your brother?”
Zinn hummed sadly. “No. That brother and I were never close. Not the way you and Jordie are. You two are very lucky to have each other. That’s why I know you can work it out.”
“You’re going to be okay, pal,” Calder said to his son. “But there’s only so much I can do here to intervene. You boys are almost grown, and it sounds like this conversation needs to happen between the two of you. I bet Zinn’s right. I doubt Jordie even knows you’re feeling this way.”
“Besides,” Zinn smirked, “someday it’ll be you with the new boyfriend leaving everyone in the dust and forgetting about anything except being in luuuuurve.” He made heart hands against his chest.
“Haha,” Ked said, cracking a smile and looking so much like Denni it made Calder’s breath catch. “I’ll think about it. I guess I haven’t told Jordie, like with actual words that aren’t yelling.”
“That, my friend, is a life skill,” Zinn said.
Indeed, Calder thought. And such ironic advice coming from the most closed-off person he’d ever met.
“Papa, I’m going to the house. Thanks for listening, Zinn.”
“Anytime.”
After Ked left, Calder told Zinn he’d be out to check the cakes momentarily but needed to make a phone call first.
He called Ked’s soccer coach to apologize for him needing to stay late. As it turned out, the coach wasn’t annoyed in the least. Apparently, he’d still been putting away equipment when Ked got picked up.
Calder rolled his eyes at the information. He needed to talk to his younger son about exaggeration. Life was tough enough without creating problems that weren’t there.
But the excuse of the phone call had the positive effect of giving him a minute to tamp down his reaction to watching Zinn with his son.
His pull toward the omega was there as always, but seeing him interact with Ked? Stars! It turned Calder’s wanting into more of an ache. An ache deep in his bones. He breathed in the air, still perfumed by Zinn’s sugar maple scent, and pressed the flat of his palm down on his cock.
He needs you, his inner alpha insisted. You need to protect him, fix whatever’s making him sad.
No, Calder’s rational mind retorted. These aren’t the old days. Omegas have agency. And that’s a good thing.
In the kitchen, he saw that Zinn had created two of the most beautiful confections he’d ever seen.
One cake was light blue, with intricate buttercream leaves and knotwork designs in various shades of green over its three layers. The sugar crystal sculpted betas on top were dressed in matching tuxedos and looked exactly like the couple who’d ordered it.
Without question, that cake was gorgeous, but the other was a true work of art. Its asymmetrical layers in raspberry-colored fondant were both whimsical and eye-catching. Even more interesting, figurines of an alpha sliding off the cake being rescued by his omega topped the four layers.
“It’s so intricate,” Calder said approvingly.
“And progressive,” Zinn replied. “It’ll certainly start a conversation.”
“You think?”
“Mm-hmm. The couple works at the university. They requested a cake that would send a message to their guests that they intended to be equal partners. No alpha dominance like their parents’ marriages had. When I suggested this concept, they were all for it.”
“I love that,” Calder said.
Zinn studied him. “Me too.”
A charged silence rose between them as Calder realized they were alone in the kitchen. The other staff had cleaned up and left the bakery ten minutes ago.
Only the whir of the industrial dishwasher invaded the quiet.
Calder shifted on his feet.
“I appreciate what you did for Ked earlier,” he said quietly. “I’m not sure he’ll take it, but it was sound advice.”
“It was my pleasure,” the omega murmured. “You know how much I enjoy your children.”
“I know. They like you too.”
Zinn blinked slowly. Deliberately. His knuckles went white as he gripped the worktable. “I never had any younger siblings. I always wanted someone to…teach.”
The dishwasher made a low-pitched hissing noise as it switched to a rinse cycle.
Calder stepped closer. “Sunshine, I’m sure there are many things my sons could learn from you. Things I could learn, too. So, if you ever feel like you need to hold back—don’t.”
Zinn gulped. “Thank you, alpha.”
Alpha.
Calder’s head snapped up. Based on the omega’s placid face, he hadn’t even realized he’d uttered the word.
But he had.