Filed to story: The Alpha’s Pen Pal Book
As soon as he says her name, her face scrunches up, and she wiggles her head around, a yawn that matches mine from earlier stretching across her face.
“Oh, Goddess, look at her!” Dominic says, scrubbing his hand down his face. Her eyes blink open and she glances around, like she’s searching for his voice. She turns towards the phone, and Dominic gives her a watery smile. “Hey there, sweet Savvy baby!” Her mouth presses together and her lips tip up at the corners. “Look, she’s smiling!” Dominic says, pointing at her through the screen.
And then she lets one rip. Loud and proud, her fart echoes around the room and vibrates her butt cheeks, and Dominic’s eyes widen as his hand slaps over his mouth. Reid’s shoulders shake next to me and my whole body trembles, all three of us laughing in silence as she blinks her eyes closed again and settles into my arms, falling back to sleep.
“I was not expecting that,” Dominic says, his voice quiet and shaking with his withheld laughter. “You’ve got your hands full over there,” he adds, glancing at Reid.
“I sure do,” Reid says, smiling at Savvy and me with pride.
“I’m sorry I won’t be able to come see her,” Dominic says, his eyes back on Savannah. “I have my pinning ceremony tomorrow. Well, today I guess,” he says with a chuckle.
“I know. Dawson and Blake left on a red-eye yesterday to get there to witness it,” Reid says.
“And I’m leaving tomorrow on my first mission. I’m not sure how long it will be,” he says, his brows tilting into a frown.
“Will you have your phone?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“We’ll send you pictures, and you can come meet her in person whenever you’re able.”
He nods. “I also have some things I bought for her here in Hawaii. I’ll send them with Dawson and Blake.”
“Sounds good,” Reid says.
“I’ll let you go now,” Dominic says. “I’m sure you’re tired and have tons of people ready to bombard you with gifts and well wishes so they can meet our girl.”
“We actually haven’t told anyone else she’s here yet,” I say. “We want to enjoy some time with her as a family unit before anyone visits. Plus, I’m exhausted after laboring for almost an entire day,” I add with a laugh. “But we wanted you to know she was here.”
“Thank you,” he says, his eyes watering again. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye,” Reid and I say together.
“Bye, sweet Savvy! I love you!” Dominic says in a whispered coo.
Reid rolls his eyes, but his lips twitch, and he hangs up, ending the video call with Dominic.
“I called her Savvy first,” he says, pouting.
“Oh, stop it.” I laugh, kissing his cheek. “At least he came around quicker than either of us expected.”
“True.” He stands from the bed and pockets his phone again. “Do you want to hold her or should I put her in the cradle so you can sleep some more?”
“No, I’ll hold her for a bit,” I say, nestling her closer to my chest and running my knuckle over her chubby cheek. “She’ll probably want to eat soon, anyway.”
Reid nods and walks around the bed, climbing onto it and settling in next to me, his arm around my back and his chin on my shoulder, peeking over it at our Sour Patch. Our Savvy.
I lean back against him, absorbing his warmth and his scent. His heart beats a soothing rhythm, and my eyes close again, lulled into a relaxed state by his presence. He is my rock and has been so supportive of me through every moment, every speed bump, and every curveball. And I don’t know where I would be without him.
I’ve almost drifted off again when Reid’s pesky phone goes off again.
“Shit,” he mutters, adjusting his body to pull it from his pocket.
I clench my eyes shut and bite back a groan of frustration. It’s not his fault. Although he could put his phone on silent.
“Hey.” He nudges me with his chin, and I glance up at him. “I know we said no visitors yet. But someone is here, someone who needs to meet her almost as much as Dominic did.”
“Who?”
He swallows and his eyes water and his body tenses. “My dad.”
I blink at him and sit up straighter. “He’s back?”
“He arrived last night. Wesley mindlinked me that he was back, so I sent him a text at the same time I sent one to Dominic.”
“Of course he can come. He needs to meet her, and you need to see him.”
He nods and sends off a text to his dad, then leans forward, kissing my forehead and closing his eyes as he takes a deep breath. His arm tightens around me and his other hand wraps underneath mine, helping me hold Savvy.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He nods, his nose brushing against my skin. “Fine.”
I press my lips together. Words will do nothing for him right now. He’s tense and nervous about seeing his dad again, and it’s understandable.
We’ve had a few phone calls and video chats with him while he was in rehab, and we sent him updates on Sour Patch with ultrasound pictures, but other than that, we didn’t hear from him much. He needed to focus on his healing, and we respected his need to have some space and let him contact us when he felt comfortable with it, instead of pushing a relationship on him, the same way we did with Dominic.
The doorbell rings and Reid tenses more, his jaw clenching and his arms tightening around us. “It will be fine,” I say, tilting my head to kiss him.
He just nods, then kisses me again before leaving to let his dad in.
It’s quiet except for the sound of the door opening and closing and the footsteps traveling through the house, and I swallow, sitting straighter and preparing myself for our guest.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?