When She Needs Them Most
: Chapter 13

Arden’s phone rings as we’re on the way out of the diner. He pulls it from his pocket and frowns but doesn’t answer it. Stepping to the side, he grabs my arm with his free hand. He declines the call and shoves his phone away before focusing on the bottom of my coat. The deep wrinkles that form on his forehead as he realizes I’m too chubby to zip my jacket closed make me laugh.

“It’s a new development.” I shrug. “I swear it fit last week.”

“I believe you.” His eyes cut to Linc’s, and the alpha nods, like some unspoken agreement was just made. Arden bends, marking both my cheeks in his scent. He has such a commanding presence, it’s hard to explain, but my heart races at the move. It’s one of those intimate gestures that makes us seem better acquainted than we are.

“It’s Easton,” Kase says from behind me. “He couldn’t get a hold of you, so he’s trying me.”

“Tell him that I’ll call him back as soon as I’m in the car.” Arden keeps his mouth very close to mine as he speaks to Kase. God, having his focus on me is a lot. In a good way, but still. It makes me squirm as he studies my face. “I’d like it if you would have dinner with us tonight. I’ll order from one of my favorite restaurants. All you need to do is show up. Will you?”

My lips roll together as my head bobbles up and down.

“Perfect,” he purrs the word.

My body shivers, and not from the cold.

“Have a good afternoon with Lincoln,” Arden says, brushing a quick kiss over my cheek. His lips are warm and gone all too soon.

I’m still processing that when fingers intertwine with mine. My head flies up, and Kase grins.

“I’ll walk you to Linc’s truck.” He tugs me gently, and I follow him toward the parking lot. I’m not sure when Lincoln disappeared, but he’s not with us. “He went to warm up the vehicle. I wish I could come with you guys, but I have a shitload of work I have to do today.”

I squeeze his fingers wrapped in mine. “That’s okay. I don’t even want to think of all the work I’ve been ignoring the last few days.”

“You already know this, but you’re more than welcome to the Wi-Fi at our house.” His brown curls bounce in the wind as we get to the back of Lincoln’s truck. There’s something so boyishly cute about how generous he is with his smiles.

We end up next to the back passenger door of the truck.

Kase leans closer, and my ass bumps the door, but he stops me with a hand on my hip. “I just wanted to say you’re really pretty.”

My insides melt. It doesn’t matter that it’s impossible. He turns me into the melty inside of a brownie covered in vanilla ice cream. He stretches over, opening the front door, but he doesn’t retreat enough for me to climb inside.

He pecks a kiss on my nose and says, “And you smell like mine.”

My jaw falls, but he uses his hold on my waist to turn me until I’m facing the inside of the truck. Both hands meet my hips, and he helps lift me until my feet hit the step bar. He moves a huge palm to cradle my head and guides me to take a seat.

My back hits the heated leather, but I’m not as alarmed as I was when I first got into Lincoln’s truck on the way to breakfast. I had no idea the feature was on, and I thought I peed my pants for a few mortifying seconds.

Kase leans over me, buckling me in. Once he’s done, he brushes his hand over my stomach.

I’m so flabbergasted that I don’t think it through before blurting out, “I really like you too.”

“Good.” His playful smile turns almost predatory, but the door closes before I can analyze it too much.

I snuggle back against the seat, super confused about what’s even happening.

“How do you feel about a quick stop before the grocery store?” Linc asks.

My brain is overloaded, and I can still smell Kase’s nutty, blueberry scent. “Yeah, that’s no problem.”

“Perfect.” His hand comes to land on the back of my seat, and he smiles as he pulls out of the parking spot.

Did I fall into an alternate dimension or something? If I did, I’m not sure I want to go back to my reality.

When Lincoln asked if I was okay with making another stop, I assumed it would be for something he needed. We park in the back parking lot of a strip of businesses and follow the sidewalk around front.

I’ve spent some time around alphas, even outside of Clark, but I’ve never met such affectionate alphas.

Lincoln keeps me pulled in close to his chest as we walk, but I don’t mind the way he has his arm tossed around my shoulder. I stop dead in my tracks when the baby store comes into view. We’re just a few feet from the door.

“I did their security system,” Linc says, gently giving me a push. “They got the full setup, and I gave Joyce a great deal, because she’s sweet. She told me if I ever needed anything to come in, and she would hook me up with the friends and family discount.”

My mouth opens and closes. I’m a little too focused on what he means by he gave her a great deal because she’s sweet. First of all, I have no right to go catty omega on anyone. Second of all, what’s a nice way to explain that I don’t think I can afford to shop here, even with the awesome discount?

Being the nuanced individual I am, I blurt out the second part. Thankfully, I manage to keep the snotty part to myself.

“It’s supporting small business.” Linc chuckles, dragging me to the door and pulling it open. “Plus, her husbands make a lot of the furniture by hand. You’re not going to get that kind of quality at a big box store.”

The whoosh of warm air that escapes as he holds the door open leads me to rush inside, so we don’t let all the heat out. Racks upon racks of maternity clothes take up the left side of the store. The wall straight ahead displays strollers, car seats, vibrating chairs, swings, and other things I don’t know the names for. To the right are racks of baby clothes. The walls are framed with everything from breast pumps to monitors to loungers and wraps. Cribs, dressers, and changing tables fill the right back wall and surrounding area.

Seeing it all laid out, it becomes painfully clear how underprepared I am. I’ve got newborn to six-month clothing, diapers, sheets, burp rags, and a few other small things, but seeing everything a newborn needs…

I sway as I take a step back. I’m going to have no choice but to dip into the money Clark left. Digital art keeps the bills paid barely, but even if I worked twelve hours a day, I wouldn’t be able to afford everything Luna will need.

I’ve kinda stuck my head in the sand because of how overwhelming it felt to think about handling it all on my own.

“Lincoln?” a woman’s voice calls out, startling me out of my thoughts. She’s maybe in her late twenties or early thirties, with shoulder-length dark brown hair and dark eyes.

“Joyce.” He drags me with him and drops his hold on my shoulder to offer her a hug. “I’d like you to meet Chelsea. We’re about to keep you busy.”

Joyce laughs, holding out a hand. “It’s a pleasure.” Her eyes widen when she spots my stomach. “Okay, you’re going to need to shop the inventory we have in stock. It doesn’t look like you have any time to spare.”

My smile feels plastic, but I shake her hand. Her tone is light, and she has good energy. It’s clear she’s not being cruel, but her words rake against my self-doubt.

She’s right. I should have handled all of this by now. Just like I shouldn’t have moved at nine months pregnant. If I was braver, I would have made such a stink that the Richmond police had no choice but to listen to me.

Lincoln wraps himself around my back, and his chin rests on my shoulder. “Exactly how fast can we get delivery if we pick out everything we need today?”

My heart races.

I don’t even have the bank card with me that accesses the account with Clark’s money. I have a few thousand in my checking account, because I transferred extra to cover the movers and all the utilities, but this is going to be expensive…

I can feel it.

Lincoln was right—Joyce is very sweet. She’s knowledgeable without being pushy and gives us plenty of time to browse without hovering. However, my hands shake with every price tag I check.

Shame comes quickly after the panic, because I would love to be able to provide Luna with the nicest things available, but the reality is, I’m about to be a single mom. I have to budget carefully for the time I’ll be out of work when I’m giving birth. I’ve also been told to prepare to be a lot less productive for six months or so while I adapt to working from home with a newborn.

Snagging one of the jackets in my size, I bolt for the changing rooms Joyce pointed out earlier. I close the door, click the latch, and fall on my ass on the bench, burying my face in my hands.

The pregnancy hormones are out of control, or I’m utterly losing my shit. And the worst part is, I’ve spent way too much time fantasizing about what it would be like to have support. To not have to do everything that has to be done on my own. To have someone to rely on when things get too stressful for my pathetic system. And I want to be strong enough to face motherhood alone, but I guess, at the end of the day, I’m just not.

I thought if I loved Luna enough, I could make it work, but I had to leave even the few friends and neighbors I had behind to get away from Emmett, and the reality is way scarier than I imagined. At least in Richmond, I had people I could call to help do something, like assemble the crib or drive me to the hospital.

Here, I’ve got no one.

And it feels a lot like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Eventually, Arden, Kase, and Lincoln will realize I’m more trouble than I’m worth. That, or their savior complexes will run out.

The door jiggles, and, a half second later, the latch pops up.

Lincoln swaggers inside before turning back to relock it. He pulls at the tops of his jeans around his thighs and squats down. “Did I push too hard?”

My head shakes, and I barely hold back the scoff. “You’ve been wonderful. I’m sorry for wasting your time and Joyce’s too. I don’t think I can afford to buy any of that stuff, even if it’s really nice and supports small business.”

He nods and swipes a tear from under my eye that I didn’t even know escaped. “I pushed way too hard. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be hiding right now.”

“Please don’t make me explain it all,” I say, glancing away. “If I do, I’ll cry, like the ugly kind of crying. It’s not you. You’re great. I don’t know why I’m having a breakdown, but I do know you’ve done nothing wrong.”

His blue eyes search my face, and he finally nods. “Fair enough. Come on, did you want to snag that jacket? My treat.”

I glance down at my lap and frown. I kinda did cry all over it, so I should buy it.

“I didn’t even get to try it on,” I admit.

Lincoln stands, offering his hands and pulling me up. He takes the new coat off the hanger while I struggle to get out of mine in the small space. Once I’m free, I toss it on the seat.

Lincoln towers over me, making it easy to see him over my shoulder in the mirror. He carefully helps me into the wool peacoat. It’s dark gray with big black buttons, and it’s adorable. He grabs my hand, spins me to face him, and begins working on the buttons.

It’s a fit-and-flare style. I don’t know if there’s a fancy name for it, but the coat almost fits like a dress.

“I’ve always had a big personality,” Lincoln says softly. “When I was three, my dad killed my mom. He’s still in prison—life without the possibility of parole. No one wanted to take responsibility for me, so they put me in foster care. I met Kase when I was fifteen.” He chuckles, but it’s a mirthless sound. “I was so fucking jealous of him. It was the first time I saw what a family is supposed to look like. To this day, I still wonder if they only put up with me because they felt sorry for me, but I’m also really fucking grateful they did. I remember what it was like to be completely alone.” He finishes the top button and runs his hands over the lapels of the jacket. He spins me to face the mirror. “I like it. What do you think?”

I’m still frozen, processing everything he said. “I’m so sorry.”

“It is what it is.” He shrugs. “You may get tired of the three of us hovering, but you can always tell us to get fucked. For now, I just want you to know, you’re not alone.”

My lip quivers, and I bite the hell out of the inside of my cheek to keep from sobbing. I swear to God, I’ve never been this weepy in my entire life.

Lincoln smiles at me as he rests his chin on my shoulder from behind. “Now, what’s the verdict? Do we have a winner? Or would you like to try something else?”

“It’s great. Thank you,” I say around the lump in my throat.

He beams.

I spin around, wrapping my arms under his. The baby belly pushes against his stomach, but I ignore it and give him a squeeze that I hope conveys my appreciation.