Chapter 3
Oliver
“Hey, Oliver, it’s Nathaniel.”
“Hey?” I blinked and tucked the phone between my ear and my shoulder. Nathaniel wasn’t one to call and chat on a whim. He was more of a text-you-later sort of guy, which I appreciated about him, so I knew it was serious. “What’s up, man?”
“Yeah, sorry, look, I know it’s such short notice, but is there any way you could pick Kennedy up from daycare?
” He blew what sounded like an exasperated breath into the phone.
“We’re running behind. Got stuck in traffic and now we’re late to my appointment, and I want to make sure Kennedy’s safe.
I mean, not that she’s not safe at daycare, but—shit, this isn’t coming out the right way. ”
“Nathaniel, chill. I’m not doing anything right now. When does she need picked up?”
“Around five-thirty? I hope you don’t mind, but I put your name down as a contact when I enrolled her in the program, just in case something like this ever happened.”
“Yeah, I can do it,” I told him. I felt kind of bad. The poor guy sounded so stressed.
“Are you sure? It’s already snowing pretty hard and I know how you get…”
I glanced out the window and groaned. Shit. It was snowing. I fucking hated driving in crappy weather. If it was anyone else, I would’ve said no, but this was my goddaughter we were talking about.
“It’s okay. I’ll manage, I promise,” I told him, and before he could second guess, I added, “Relax, Nathaniel. I’ve got everything under control.”
“Thank you. First Mr. Hop, now this? I owe you big time.”
“You do,” I agreed, making us both chuckle. “Drive safe.”
“You too.”
Shit, shit, shit. No use moping about it now, though, so I might as well get it over with.
I hauled myself up out of my overstuffed armchair’s embrace, then glanced back down at it longingly.
I’d only just begun to settle in for an afternoon of binge-watching Netflix, but this was more important.
Kennedy was more important. I grabbed my coat off the hook on the door and zipped it up. Coat, hat, gloves—check.
I took one step out of my house and shivered as the wind snaked down my collar and nipped at the back of my neck.
The sky was gray and drab, millions of snowflakes gusting about, piling up on the lawn and the drive…
and my car. I grimaced and took a deep breath.
You got this, Oliver. It’s only a couple of miles away. Just drive slow and you’ll be fine.
I slid into my car and sealed out the cold behind me, and let her run for a couple of minutes to warm up. I cranked the defrost up on high, in hopes I wouldn’t have to get out and scrape, but the windshield wipers were frozen to my windshield.
“Goddamnit.” I kicked the door back open, then grabbed the ice scraper off the floorboards in the backseat. Grumbling under my breath the entire time, I scraped the front and back windshields.
By the time I got back into the car, it was hotter than hell. I quickly turned the heat down, ran my wipers once to clear the smudges, and I was off and running like a herd of turtles.
Literally. I didn’t go over fifteen miles per hour, not even when people started honking at me.
Every time my wheels slipped or skidded, my heart jumped out of my chest. I hated winter.
Jesus Christ, I hated this icy white bullshit and everything it entailed.
My throat had nearly closed up in terror and my eyes were glued to the road.
As I came to a stop sign, my Nissan fishtailed and I slid at a sideways angle down the road. “Shit!” I grabbed the wheel and cranked it around, gently pumping the brakes to try and straighten it out. Somehow, I managed not to go sailing off the road and into the frozen ditch below. Almost there.
By the time I crawled up the gravel drive of the daycare, I was full-blown shaking.
My heart knocked loudly between my ears, thumping like the bass at the nightclub.
It rattled me to the bone. I wasn’t exactly sure how long I sat there with my engine idling, my fingers knotted tight around the steering wheel, but I was utterly exhausted.
Okay. I’d gotten this far. I could make it home.
I turned off the car and slowly crunched my way across the wide gravel lot, towards the quaint little building with a pastel rainbow of colors splashed over its sign.
Over The Rainbow Daycare. Kind of cute. Maybe the owner was a Wizard of Oz fan or something.
I pushed through the front door and bells jangled to announce my arrival.
I stopped just inside the daycare and tucked my trembling hands beneath my armpits. It was warm in here, at least. Maybe I could ask whoever owned the place if I could have a glass of water. I’d say bourbon, but I still had to drive home. Damn it.
“Can I help you?” called a soft voice, and my head swiveled around.
The minute I laid eyes on him, the world stopped spinning. Good god, he was gorgeous. He was tall with a stocky build, and even though he carried a few extra pounds around his midsection, he carried them well. There was a softness about him and I knew, right away, that he was an Omega.
My heart fluttered. I was staring, but I just couldn’t help myself.
His dark hair was only a few shades away from black, slightly wavy and worn long, to frame his cheeks.
His facial hair did little to hide his baby face, but it wasn’t until I got to his eyes that my brain shorted out.
Thick, dark lashes fanned his cheeks and surrounded the darkest pair of eyes I’d ever seen.
His brow furrowed. “Are you okay? Do you need help?”
“N-No,” I mumbled, forcing myself to look away. “I… The roads are pretty bad and—”
“Uncie Ollie!” shrilled a familiar voice, and suddenly, I had a little girl clinging to my legs. She thrust her arms up at me in a silent demand. Needing that contact, I picked her up and settled her on my hip. She beamed at me. “Hi. Where’s Daddy?”
“He’s running behind, but don’t worry. I’m here.”
“Uncie Ollie pick me up?”
“Yep,” I breathed out, meeting the Omega’s gaze once more. “Sorry. Hi.” I offered a hand, well aware that it was still quivering. “Oliver Dault. I’m Kennedy’s godfather. Nathaniel called and asked me to pick her up, so here I am. He said I was on some sort of pick-up list, or whatever?”
His smile was hesitant, but he took my hand and gave it a small shake. Tingles ran up my arm from the touch. “I’m Brinden Faulkner. Do you…wanna sit down for a minute? No offense, but you’re really pale. I don’t need you passing out on me. Come, sit down and I’ll make you a cup of coffee? Tea?”
“Coffee would be nice,” I uttered, following Brinden deeper into the daycare.
Everything was so bright and colorful. The walls were painted with cutesy art and finger-paint handprints, like he’d let the kids help decorate the place.
There was a plastic table and chunky yellow chairs, a box of oversized Legos tipped over in the corner, and various toys and stuffed animals littered the floor.
Brinden met my gaze, his face flushing pink. “Ah… Sorry about the mess. Kids.”
“Speaking of…” I looked around. “Where’re the rest of them?”
He looked at me funny. “They went home at five-thirty, like always.”
“What?”
“It’s nearly six in the evening. You’re a little late.”
The breath whooshed from my lungs. “Wow. I’m sorry. I don’t handle driving in this shit very well, and I…” I checked my watch. Yep. 5:54 PM. “I guess I am late. Sorry, I meant to be here sooner…”
“It’s okay,” Brinden assured me. “I don’t mind. Just between you and me, Kennedy is one of my favorite kids to take care of.” His smile lit up his eyes, making them gleam like polished onyx. “I was more worried that something had happened to Nathaniel.”
“Oh. No. No, he called and said he was running behind, and I told him I’d pick Kennedy up.” I groaned softly. “Which means I have to go back out and drive all the way home in this shit. Grand.”
“Sit,” he insisted, pointing to the folding card table and chairs that was littered with half-finished coloring pages.
I plopped down onto the cushioned seat and adjusted Kennedy so she was sitting on my lap with her legs dangling over the side.
He held out one finger. “I’ll be right back.
” He started to hurry off, then spun back around. “Sorry, forgot to ask—cream and sugar?”
“Yes, please.”
In the time it took Brinden to bring me a steaming mug of coffee, Kennedy had toddled off to entertain herself with a couple of plastic dinosaurs that roared when you pushed a button.
And, of course, being a little kid meant she pushed it again, and again, and again.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and focused on breathing.
“Here you go. Mind if I…” He gestured to the seat across from me.
“Sure.” I wrapped my trembling hands around the warmth of the cup and closed my eyes, inhaling the steam. I opened them once more and looked at him. He was watching me, curious yet still concerned. I wondered if he felt this same weird tingling in his chest… “Thanks, I really appreciate it.”
“Are you not from around here?” He paused, then waved his hands in front of him. “I mean, driving in the snow and all? I thought maybe you were from the south, where it doesn’t…you know…snow.”
I chuckled. “Nope. Born and raised here, but you’d think I’d move to Florida or something, huh?
Instead I torture myself, year after year.
” I shrugged. “I was in a bad wreck in my early twenties. Happened in the dead of winter and ever since, driving in the snow sets me off. The weather’s some scary shit. ”
He chewed on his plump bottom lip, sawing it between his teeth. “Oh, no wonder you were shaking. Are you okay to drive home?” He glanced over at Kennedy. I followed his gaze and took a long gulp of coffee. The heat soothed my raw throat and I felt myself start to relax.
“I’ll be okay, but thanks. So this is all yours?” I gestured to the menagerie of toys and books. It was like a child’s paradise.
He blushed, smiling brightly, and wow. “Yes, it is. I decided that it was time for a new beginning, so I sold off most my stuff and moved to Destiny. I saw this building and it was just perfect for what I was envisioning, and here we are. The parents seem to like me. They’ve been referring me to friends and honestly, business is better than I’d expected, seeing as I’m just starting out. ”
“You like it here?” I mused.
He nodded. “Very much. I have friends here. They put me up for a couple of weeks, until I found this place. The best part about this building is the attached apartment off the back, so I can live and work in one place. No winter driving for me.” He winked, his cheeks dusting pink once more.
Yeah, he definitely felt the tingles.
“Lucky duck. I typically work from home when it gets really bad. My boss is pretty cool about that, thank god.”
“Oh? What do you do?”
“I work in insurance. I’m one of their numbers guys. It’s not the most exciting job in the world, but the pay is nice and I get great benefits, so I’m not really hard-pressed to quit anytime soon. I’m not ambitious enough to start my own business, though. This is really cool.”
“Thank you. I’ve always loved kids. I know, typical Omega.
” He bounced his shoulders. “Seeing as I don’t have any of my own, I decided the next best thing would be taking care of other peoples’ children.
At least this way, I get to say goodbye and clock out at the end of the day.
” He giggled, but not before I saw the glint of sadness in his eyes.
“You don’t have kids?”
He slowly shook his head. “Nope. Gotta have an Alpha to have kids, you know?”
I stared. This beautiful man was single? How? Why?
Brinden cleared his throat and stood. “Sorry. I talk too much.”
“You’re fine, Brinden, really. I’m just…surprised.”
“That I’m single?” He frowned, then mumbled, “It’s not that hard to figure out. I’m not exactly the poster boy for sexy young Omegas, now am I? Just… Sorry. Let’s forget this conversation ever happened.”
Before I could call out to him, he spun away and started picking up toys. I drank my coffee in silence and texted Nathaniel that I was just leaving the daycare, and that I’d be there soon. I felt like an asshole though. Obviously I’d struck a nerve.
“I’d better go. Hey, thanks for the coffee.”
He didn’t meet my eyes. “You’re welcome. Drive safely, okay?”
“Yeah,” I murmured. “I will.”
The drive to Mac and Nathaniel’s place seemed like it took years, but I eventually arrived. Kennedy sprinted through the snow with me hot on her heels, and she hugged her daddies the minute we walked in the front door.
Mac frowned, catching my eye. “You okay?”
I swallowed. “Yeah. Just gotta get home.”
“Sorry, man. I know it was shitty timing, but we really owe you one.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m glad to help, I just really hate winter.” I huffed a laugh, then clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s all good. I’m sure you’ll make it up to me.”
“Actually, yeah. Here.” He dug out his wallet and fished out a gift card to one of the nicer steakhouses in Destiny.
“Once the weather clears, enjoy yourself a little. Maybe invite a date? There are plenty of eligible singles who would be more than happy to share a steak dinner with a handsome Alpha.”
I scoffed. “Right.”
“I mean it, Ollie.” His dark eyes were so soulful.
“I found my happily-ever-after. Maybe it’s due time for you to find yours?
Worth a shot, right?” He laughed and bumped his shoulder into mine.
“You wanna stay for dinner? We were gonna order a pizza and watch something, just have a chill night. You’re more than welcome to stay, even stay the night if you want.
I’ve got adult beverages for after the little one goes to sleep. ” He winked exaggeratedly at me.
My chest squeezed. I did say I’d come around more…
“Yeah,” I said, after a moment. “Yeah, I’d like that.”