“We haven’t even talked about marriage yet,” Raph said. “See, the thing is, your grandpa’s famous in Meadowfall. He’s the police chief, right? And people don’t care that Wy and I were born from different sets of parents. All they know is that we’re brothers.”
“Stepbrothers,” Hazel said.
Wyatt cracked a smile. Raph squeezed his thigh, grinning a little. “So if anyone learns that Wy and I like each other, they’ll get angry. They’ll think it’s wrong.”
“But they’re the ones who are wrong.” Hazel frowned. “You’re not related by blood. So your babies will be fine.”
Raph choked down a laugh. Wyatt touched his belly, wondering when they’d be ready for Hazel to hear that news. His cheeks prickled. “You’re okay with siblings, hon?”
Hazel chewed on her lip, brow furrowing. “Maybe.”
“Either way, it’s none of the town’s business,” Raph said. “They don’t know the truth. They may not accept the truth. They don’t need to judge Wy’s life when they don’t know the half of it.”
“Some people need to shut up,” Hazel said, nodding.
Raph’s grin widened. “Gods, I wouldn’t mind being your dad,” he said. “You’re cool.”
Hazel perked up. “So are you going to be my dad?”
Wyatt groaned. The conversation had spiraled out of his control, but in a good way. And maybe he wished he could have Raph around more, because Raph was incredibly good with children. Enough to make Wyatt’s heart ache for him.
“Hazel,” Wyatt said, to stop himself from mooning over his brother. “We’ll just be seeing more of Raph—that’s all. Raph and I haven’t talked about marriage, or him being your dad, or anything like that. It’ll take a while. We’ll have to get to know each other better first.”
Hazel nodded solemnly, digesting his words. “By doing the sex thing?”
Raph coughed. Wyatt wanted to kill Penny. “No, people don’t only like each other because of sex. We do things like talking, and spending lots of time together doing fun things. Such as cooking and going on picnics.”
“Oh.”
“In the meantime, I’d really appreciate it if you can keep Uncle Raph and me a secret,” Wyatt said, slipping his hand into Raph’s. “Lots of people will be angry if they find out—I don’t want it to affect our dinners with Grandma and Grandpa, or the business at the drive-in. Okay?”
Hazel nodded. “Okay. Can Aunt Penny find out?”
“No, Raph and I will tell Penny when the time is right.” Which was to say, maybe never. From the look Raph gave him, he agreed.
“All right. I like Uncle Raph,” Hazel said, looking at Wyatt. “He’s fun.”
“You’ll be seeing a lot more of him, then.” Wyatt breathed a sigh, leaning into Raph. It had gone better than he’d expected. And Hazel returned to her cereal, kicking her legs like this wasn’t the biggest deal of Wyatt’s life.
“That went fine, didn’t it?” Raph murmured. He squeezed Wyatt’s hand, and Wyatt cracked a smile, looking at his daughter, then his brother. In his little kitchen, they were all family—the new and the old, and the baby growing in his belly.
“It sure did,” Wyatt breathed. When Hazel looked at him again, he smiled. “I haven’t really introduced Raph to you, have I? Raph and I became stepbrothers when I was three. Great-Grandma didn’t like when I got him into all the trouble—like that time when we smashed a whole carton of eggs in the kitchen. On top of her favorite birdhouse.”
“Fuck, that was a mess,” Raph said, his eyes gleaming. “She made us peel potatoes for two whole weeks.”
“She made you peel potatoes for two weeks,” Wyatt said. “She made me scrub all the toilets for three weeks.”
“I remember that.” Raph tucked Wyatt’s hair behind his ear. “She’s nasty.”
“I don’t like Great-Grandma,” Hazel said, wrinkling her nose. “She’s a mean old hag.”
“You’ve got that right.” Raph glanced at Wyatt, his eyes knowing. “You’ve been back with Hazel?”
“I try to schedule our visits so we’re there when she’s away.” Wyatt cringed. “But there’s been a couple times when we couldn’t avoid her.”
“She’s a damn bitch,” Raph muttered. “Honestly, I’d never forgive what she did, chasing you away.”
“Dad and I call her the Wicked Old Witch,” Hazel said, draining the last of her milk. “When we visit Grandpa and Grandma, we play Hiding From The Wicked Old Witch.”
Wyatt opened his mouth, about to answer when his phone vibrated. Hazel hummed along to the ringtone. “It’s Aunt Penny,” she told Raph. “Her ringtone is Let’s Explode Chemistry.”
Raph chuckled. Wyatt tugged his phone from his pocket. “Penny?”
“Hey,” she said, her voice tinny. “I tried calling Raph, but he isn’t answering. Did you catch the news?”
“Which channel?” Wyatt wandered into the living room, imagining Penny in her apartment, surrounded by stacks of journal articles. He turned on the TV, muting it. News updates were common from his sister—she followed the news like a hawk, and told Wyatt whenever their dad appeared on TV.
“Highton Breaking,” Penny said. “Dad’s on. It’s a replay interview about that award. Thought you’d want to catch it—it was live last night, but you both didn’t answer when I called.”
Wyatt had probably been busy at the diner. Raph might’ve been sending Hazel home. “Found it. Thanks.”
“Watch it until the end. That’s important. I think he wants a favor from us. Me, you, and Raph.”
Wyatt’s stomach dropped. Why does it involve both me and Raph? “I-I’ll watch it and call you back, okay?”
“See ya. Don’t hate Dad too much.”
Why? Dad, what did you do? His gut churning, Wyatt unmuted the TV. On the screen, Chief Fleming sat with the news anchor, both of them in starched suits, with crime scene photos in the background.
Wyatt’s dad looked relaxed, his salt-and-pepper hair combed back, his posture confident. Next to him, the blond news anchor smiled, wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Probably an alpha, and probably the sort of person Wyatt should’ve been bonded to, instead of Raph.
Raph joined Wyatt on the couch. “What did she want?”
Wyatt nodded at the screen. “She said Dad wants a favor. From you, me,
