Chapter Thirty-Seven
Wes
Wes was relieved when the omega came around quickly, out less than ten seconds. Considering how big a shock he’d had, Wes figured this was good evidence that Zeller— who was also somehow Zinn the baker—was as tough as Asher said he was.
“Is the man okay?” Ryde asked, looking at Zinn, who sat on their couch leaning heavily into Calder.
“He’s fine, nugget,” Assa said. “Just a little lightheaded.”
Ryde surveyed the room. “Did one of my friends come? Are they the dads?”
Zinn squeaked.
“No.” Assa looked at Wes with tearful eyes, even as he spoke to their son. “You remember Calder from the bakery. He and the other man made your cake.” To Zinn, he said, “This is Ryde.”
“Ryde,” Zinn whispered.
“I only delivered the cake,” Calder said, offering the boy a ghost of a smile. “My friend Zinn here was the one who made it. But we wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”
“Oh…thank you.”
Ryde looked at Zinn again and blinked. Wes experienced a brief panic that he might notice his resemblance to the omega but was saved by the obliviousness of youth.
Ryde showed an appropriate amount of curiosity about the man who had fainted in front of him, but nothing on the are you my birth father? level.
“Let’s get those hot dogs,” Wes said.
Ryde trailed him for a few steps but stopped short at the dining alcove.
“Oh, wow! Is this my cake? … That’s so cool! It looks like a stack of books and some art stuff.”
Wes couldn’t pull his son away. He ran outside quickly, yanked the hot dogs off the grill, and closed the lid. When he returned to the house, Assa was pointing out the details on the cake to Ryde. Zinn and Calder remained on the couch, motionless.
But Zinn’s eyes as he stared at Ryde were so filled with emotion, Wes almost looked away. The omega must have so many questions. They all did.
“You had the right instinct to wait until later to talk,” Wes said quietly to Calder.
“Except maybe it would be better if you hung out in the den.” Or would they rather go to Felton’s and come back?
The party was three hours long. Either way, they couldn’t stay in the living room.
“Ryde didn’t see it, but there’s always the chance other people might. ”
“Yes, it’s…hard to miss.” Calder helped Zinn to his feet. “And we don’t want to cause any disruption,” he added pointedly. “We’ll take you up on your offer to hang out since I doubt Zinn wants to go back to the bakery right now… I’m assuming the den is at the end of the hall?”
Wes nodded. From the table, they heard Ryde admiring the pictures in the artist’s palette. “That one looks exactly like the video game I got for my last birthday!”
“He likes the cake I made for him,” Zinn said softly into the alpha’s shoulder.
“I know, sunshine,” Calder said before leaning over to Wes. “We’ll stay in the back room until you’re ready to speak to us.”
Wes didn’t want to create friction, but he also didn’t want any misunderstandings. “Just so we’re clear, Ryde won’t be a part of this discussion yet.”
“No.” Surprisingly, it was Zinn who answered. “Ryde needs to enjoy his party.” Frowning, he added, “They changed his birthday. That’s why we never found any records.”
Calder kissed the omega’s forehead. “It’s difficult to wait, but there are so many details to unravel here. It’ll be easier once we can all sit down.”
Wes set them up in the den with snacks and the Wi-Fi password.
As he was leaving, Calder stopped him with a hand to the wrist. “I truly wasn’t planning on an ambush like this,” he said.
“I had hoped to prepare Zinn and then let you and Assa in on what I’d discovered.
I still can’t believe I left that fucking paintbrush at Felton’s. ”
“You knew?” Zinn asked softly.
“I strongly suspected,” Calder answered. “But only for the past three weeks.”
“You’ve known for three weeks and never told me?”
Calder locked eyes with Zinn, and Wes had the uncomfortable feeling he was witnessing a private moment. “I was planning to tell you today, after the party. After I was sure and had a chance to prepare you.”
Zinn’s expression clouded. “But—”
Calder squeezed his thigh. “Think, my omega.” Yep, definitely a personal conversation.
“If I had shared my suspicions and then turned out to be wrong, how devastating would that have been? I’ve been questioning Wes and Assa, trying to get confirmation.
I promise I was going to tell you after the party.
If you’re mad at me, I can take it, but I was only doing what I thought was best.”
“Then why does it feel like you’re trying to control me?”
Calder reeled back as if he’d been slapped. “Do you really feel that way? After everything?”
Zinn started to speak, but then his face changed.
He exhaled heavily. “No,” he said. “No. You wouldn’t do that.
You wouldn’t have let this linger. I wish you had told me right away, but I understand why you wanted to be sure.
” Releasing another harsh breath, he continued, “This isn’t something I want to fight about. Not with everything else going on.”
Calder pulled Zinn onto his lap and embraced him.
Wes backed out of the room. He needed to focus on his son’s party.
And not worry about whatever fights Zinn did want to have.
***
Three hours later, Wes and Assa laced their fingers together and prepared to face Zinn and Calder. Ryde had gone to Patten’s house to watch a movie and eat dinner, so they’d have privacy.
“Ready for this?” Wes asked. He was surprised that Assa hadn’t seemed overly stressed during the party.
“You saw his face. Also, how much he cared about getting the cake right, before he even saw Ryde. And don’t forget what Asher told us. I have to believe Zinn’s a good man who won’t blow up our lives.”
Assa’s empathy awed Wes. He had the same sense about Zinn, that he would ultimately do what was right for Ryde, but, as always, he was driven to protect Assa. It tempered his optimism.
They entered the den to find Zinn and Calder sitting together on the couch. Zinn peered up shyly. “I hope you don’t mind… I saw this on the shelf and sort of helped myself.” In front of him, a photo album lay open to a picture of Ryde grinning on a bike.
“That was the day he learned to ride a two-wheeler,” Assa said.
“He looks so happy.”
“He was, mostly because he figured it out a lot sooner than some of his friends. This was near his fifth birthday.”
“That was when I learned. My parents didn’t let me play sports, but I was allowed to ride my bike around the estate.”
Assa smiled. “Ryde loves to ride his too. He plays different sports but isn’t too competitive. He mostly plays to be with his friends, and if he had to choose, he’d rather be sketching.” Assa glanced warmly at Zinn. “And you’re welcome to look at any of the albums.”
Wes motioned to the small gaming table in the corner. “We should sit down. I can make some coffee if you’d like.”
“Yes, this feels like a table conversation,” Calder said good-naturedly. “I’ll pass on the coffee, though.”
“Same,” Zinn and Assa replied in unison.
Calder spoke first. “I told Zinn everything I know, which, to be honest, isn’t much. He only told me recently about the child he gave birth to almost eight years ago, but when I saw Ryde at the bakery, it wasn’t hard to put it together.”
Zinn propped his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together, resting his chin on top of them. “I’ve spent so long wondering what my s—what he looks like. This is a dream.”
Assa gently touched Zinn’s forearm. “It’s not a dream.
He looks like you, and he’s the most beautiful boy ever.
” He inhaled before adding, “You gave birth to him. It does us no good to speak in code or deny the reality of the situation. You’ve had enough people talking around you and over you. I won’t do that.”
The omega’s eyes widened but Assa kept his gaze steady.
“You know what happened to me?” Zinn asked quietly.
“Some.”
“But not until a few weeks ago,” Wes clarified. He marveled at how sanguine Assa was, but followed his lead. “When we originally adopted Ryde, the agency said his birth parents insisted on a closed adoption. Everything went very fast after that.”
“What changed a few weeks ago?”
Instead of answering, Wes asked, “You’re Zeller Parkenson, right?”
Zinn hesitated, then directed his response to Assa. “Yes…in another lifetime. I’m Zinn Parker now.”
Assa’s thumb rubbed small, encouraging circles over Zinn’s skin. Zinn leaned closer to him.
As his husband soothed the omega, Wes glanced at Calder, communicating, you’re seeing this too, right? The alpha nodded subtly.
Zinn continued, “Zeller was the na?ve man who gave birth to your son. Zinn is the man who has spent the past eight years mourning him.”
“Eloquently stated,” Assa said. “Even if it’s incredibly sad. And thank you for referring to him as our son.”
“It’s the truth.” Zinn’s tone contained only the barest hint of bitterness.
“We’ve agreed not to speak in code, so there’s no use pretending it isn’t entirely obvious that you’re wonderful parents, and that Ryde is a happy, curious kid.
I’d be the worst person in the world not to be thankful for that.
I won’t deny that it hurts, but it would hurt way worse to find out my baby had been with assholes. ”
Wes’s heart lurched recalling the terrible injustice Zinn’s family had perpetrated on him. It brought him back to the omega’s earlier question.
“What happened a few weeks ago was that your brother showed up on our doorstep to warn us you might be searching for your son. That was when we found out about you.”
“Asher came here?”
“Uh-huh.”
For the first time, Zinn’s face showed genuine anger. His fists clenched as he turned to Calder. “See!? I told you so! He always knew more than he was letting on. The entire time, he knew the Pashuks had adopted my baby.” He shifted his focus to Wes. “Right?”