“Well, I also heard you went on a date with Bethany,” Hailey said haughtily. She tossed her dark hair over her shoulder. Dad choked on his iced tea and Mom stared at me with her eyebrows up.
Damn it, Hailey. “You’re too sassy for your own good,” I said. “Don’t you know gossiping is bad?”
Hailey took a dainty bite. “It’s not gossip if it’s true.”
Mom turned her glare from me to my sister and arched an eyebrow. “We’ll talk about gossiping later, miss.”
Hailey shrank a little under Mom’s scowl, but then she turned it back to me. “What is she talking about now? Start talking.”
“I told you to tell her,” Dad muttered, his face close to his bowl.
“Tell me what?” Mom looked like she was getting upset.
I groaned and stuffed a huge bite in my mouth, then looked at Mom as I chewed with the most innocent face I could muster.
Mom’s face went from curious to upset. Then, it darkened, and her eyebrows fell. “Do not tell me she’s your mate.”
I didn’t know why she hated the idea so much. I didn’t think Bethany was right for me, but she wasn’t that bad. I was surprised to feel defensive of her, even after deciding Artemis was wrong about her being my mate.
“Artemis thinks she is,” I said when I finally swallowed. “But I’m not so sure.”
She was silent for far too long. I got in three big bites before she spoke again. “Dating a single mother isn’t going to be easy.”
Ugh. Here we went with the lecture. “I know, Mom. I have no current plans to date her, anyway.”
Mom sniffed. “That will change. If Artemis recognizes her as your mate, you won’t be able to stop yourself.”
I met her gaze and saw the truth in her face. She believed it to be true, anyway. “We’re not compatible.”
She waved her hand, ignoring her food, and continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “You need to be prepared to be a father. You can’t just give it a shot then walk away. That doesn’t work for fated mates or children, either one.”
She carried on talking about the importance of raising a child, especially one that wasn’t biologically mine. Dad nodded along as she spoke and winked at Hailey a few times. She just rolled her eyes. Mom wouldn’t let anyone get a word in edgewise, anyway. When she went on a rant like this, we all knew to just let her vent her spleen and get it out of her system.
As soon as she stopped to take a breath, I jumped in. “I know, Mom. I know. I’m aware of everything you’re saying. But we’re not a good match. Bethany isn’t the sort of person I expected to spend the rest of my life with. And besides, she doesn’t seem to care for me at all.”
That was the wrong thing to say. Damn it.
“What do you mean? Why doesn’t she like you?” She pointed her fork at me and wiggled it a little, enunciating her words. “You’re handsome, smart, come from a good family. What more could she want? You’ll be an excellent father, too.” She clanked her fork down in her bowl of uneaten taco salad and huffed. “Not to mention you’re going to be a lawyer. Even if your father’s family didn’t have money, you’d be able to provide for a family.”
I didn’t butt in to tell her Bethany probably didn’t need my money, anyway. She had a successful business that she seemed to care about. That was a point in her favor, anyway. At least we could be sure she wasn’t a gold digger.
When she wound down her rant, she sighed and grabbed my hand across the table. “Promise me you won’t rush into anything you’re not ready for.”
“I won’t, Mom. I promise.”
It’s obvious she was nervous about the whole thing. But she sighed. “It’s hard for me not to want to interfere. You’re still my baby boy in my heart. I want to rush in and try to fix everything for you.”
At this point, I would’ve gladly let her. “I know, and I appreciate it.”
Hailey rolled her eyes. “It’s a girl. It’s not brain surgery.”
I snorted and ruffled her hair, which set her off screeching to the bathroom to fix it. “Yeah, right. Wait till it’s her turn.”
It was Dad’s turn for his face to darken. “Let’s not.”
The rest of the dinner passed in relative comfort. When it was time to go, I grabbed Mom’s arm and pulled her into a hug. “I’ll always be your baby, Mom.”
She laughed in my chest. “My baby who’s twice my size or more.”
I squeezed her tight until she squeaked. “That’s okay. You can still want to protect me.”
It was nice to have her arms around me. It felt like when I was little and hugging my mommy was the cure for most problems.
After pressing a kiss to her head, I walked out to the truck Dad gave me when I first moved to Black Claw. I’d taken care of it. It had several upgrades since I first got it, and I kept it in the garage at the house most of the time. My legs worked fine for most errands.
I’d told Jury I’d meet up with him for a beer after dinner with my parents. His mate, Abby, was doing some girls’ thing with Harley and maybe Bethany.
As usual, as soon as I walked into the bar, one woman after another interrupted my walk across the floor toward Jury. It would’ve been flattering if the women weren’t so obvious. I made it to the table, and we couldn’t even take a sip of our beers before another woman came up. It was particularly worse tonight because Rico was in the booth beside Jury, with Jury on the inside. Every other
