Page 15 of When She Needs Them Most
My stomach starts to bounce around, like Luna can sense my stress. Stretching a shaking hand down, I run it over my belly to give her comfort while I try to breathe through the anxiety. Everything I think and feel, she’s forced to experience too. If I’m a frantic, anxious mess, then it’s spilling into her too.
Once I meet my new OBGYN, I’ll see if they have a recommendation for a pediatrician. I’ve had a plan for this since before I got to town, so I have no idea why it feels like a huge weight hanging over my head all of a sudden.
I also need to call someone to fix the heat.
And there’s still the fact all my stuff is out on the front porch.
The feelings of inadequacy get so intense, it’s hard to breathe. It doesn’t matter how I ended up here. Thinking about my mom or Clark can’t change the past.
Luna is here with me now, and no matter how badly I’m hurting, she comes first. And I will suck it up and start tackling all the things I need to do.
Right after this dizzying wave of panic passes.
Chapter Six
Arden
Some assholes give all alphas a bad name. Greed isn’t an attractive quality for anyone to possess. Let alone an alpha. Our whole purpose in life is to protect those weaker than ourselves. Our impulses are literally coded with the instinct to protect omegas.
I curse under my breath, watching the delivery truck drive away. Memorizing their license plate is habit, not premeditation. Although, if their negligence and shady business practices cause Chelsea any additional stress, then I may rethink my stance that the conversation we had was enough.
Russell learned very quickly that size does not equal the largest threat. His two coworkers demonstrated more intelligence and chose to not interfere. It’s clear the company intended to take full advantage of Chelsea’s situation. They’ll now be issuing her a fifty percent refund. Otherwise, they’ll be hearing from me again, quite swiftly.
I take a seat on the edge of the guest room bed. “I thought it best to check in, and when you didn’t answer my knock…” I grimace, trying to find the right words. “Well, I’ll fully admit, I panicked a bit.”
Chelsea’s forehead and eyes pop out from under the comforter as she lowers it a few inches. My teeth dig into my lip as her forehead wrinkles, and she tugs the blanket down until she can tuck it under her chin.
She’s adorable. Seeing her instincts play out is endearing.
I chuckle, shaking my head. “I thought you were facing the window. I suppose it’s lucky I didn’t try to pat your back.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, blinking large blue eyes. “I got overwhelmed.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” I assure her as my nose twitches. There’s something unique about her scent that I don’t have words to explain. Linc described it as sugar cookies and cream when he was rambling after she went to bed last night, and I do pick up sugary hints, but there’s something almost electric about her smell. It reminds me of the weather that rolls in right before a bad lightning storm.
“I was just trying to make a plan,” she says, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Do you know of any local moving companies?”
“That’s not necessary,” I say firmly. “Lincoln and I can head over and get your things out of the elements. Kase’s specialty is breakfast. Why don’t you have something to eat? After that, you can come over and direct the three of us to where you’d like your belongings placed.”
“Are you sure? I already feel like I’ve been a major imposition.”
“It’ll be our exercise for the day. During winter, we all fall out into bad routines.” I give her hip a pat. “Do you plan to take the downstairs bedroom or one of the ones upstairs? That way, we know where to start stashing your dressers and the bed.”
“I considered taking the room downstairs, but then I realized the only other bedrooms are upstairs. For now, that would be fine, but once the baby comes?—”
“You wouldn’t want that much distance between you.” My hand seems to have a mind of its own as I tuck a wavy strand of hair behind her ear. “I completely understand. However, it might not be an awful plan to keep the baby with you downstairs for the first few months, especially while you’re healing from giving birth.”
“I guess I could always hire movers to swap my room from downstairs to upstairs once Luna gets a little older.” She pushes up with her forearms but struggles to make it upright. I stand, offering her my hands to help her sit up.
“Or you could ask your neighbors, who are perfectly capable of helping.” I quirk an eyebrow. “That’s several months away. It’s probably best not to worry about that until it’s upon you.”
“Right,” she agrees weakly.
“Why don’t you take a few minutes to relax? Once you feel a little better, you’ll find Kase in the kitchen.” I adjust the cuff on my button-down. “Does that sound good?”
She nods. “Thank you again.”
“None of that. Just point me to the keys, and we’ll get started.”
