The Merry Moose’s Mates (Male-Order Mates #16)

Chapter Nineteen

Briar

I was meeting my brother in town for a cup of coffee. I’d invited him to come over and meet my mates, but he insisted he needed to catch a train. He was going away for the holidays—unexpectedly, something for work—and wanted to spend a little time with me before he left. I really wanted him to meet my family, but I understood.

And, knowing him, it wasn’t about work, not really, although that was a convenient excuse. This time of year, he really felt down about being alone, and I hated that for him. He wasn’t like me. He never was happy just living his life, and that was probably the root of all his bad relationship decisions. He did the love the one you’re with method, and that only worked as long as they were willing to do the same and, in his case, they weren’t.

Maybe I needed to be the one to set up a fake dating profile for him. I wouldn’t do that, but I might nudge him in that direction. He sure wasn’t figuring it out on his own.

He was already sitting at the table with two cups of coffee when I arrived, his suitcase by his side.

“Hey, it’s good to see you.” I hugged him and took my seat. The entire scenario was weird, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what part of it had me ill at ease.

“I wish you could come over for Christmas.”

“Yeah, me too, but you know how it is with work.”

I didn’t but nodded anyway.

“But show me pictures—all the pictures. I have about ten minutes before I need to walk to the station.”

I pulled out my phone and flipped through all the pictures I’d taken, showing him photo after photo. Being a good brother, he told me how attractive my mates were, how adorable Alice was, and how much he could see they cared about me. Probably not all things you could see in pictures, but that was okay. He was being my supportive brother, and I appreciated it.

“Aren’t you gonna drink your coffee?” He pointed to my mug.

“Oh, sorry.” I picked it up, brought it to my lips, but the smell of it was a no. “What kind of coffee is this?”

“It’s just the one you usually get.”

I took a small sip. My stomach was not putting up with any more of that. I set it right back down.

“I think I’m not in a coffee mood today.”

“And when was the last time you weren’t in a coffee mood?” His eyes narrowed as he looked from the mug to my eyes.

“Why do you sound so suspicious when you ask me that?”

“I’m just saying, the reason I’m going on this trip is because Lou from work is pregnant and doesn’t feel well enough to travel. He couldn’t handle his coffee either the day he found out.”

I didn’t know Lou at all, other than he had the same remote job as my brother, just on the East Coast, and they often swapped meetings to avoid coming in early or staying late because time zones were fun. But if coffee aversion was his first hint at pregnancy, that could mean…

My hand fell to my belly. “No… You think?”

“I’m just saying, it’s worth a check.” He grabbed my mug and downed it. “There, all gone. Now, walk me to the station and then go buy that test.”

I did just that, though I also bought a bunch of other things. It’s funny how, even though I’m an adult, there was something embarrassing about buying a pregnancy test. It made no sense, but it was so.

I filled my cart with random things to make it look less obvious. It was ridiculous—just a pregnancy test, not something suspicious. But, in any case, I left with enough baking supplies for cookies galore —sprinkles included—wrapping paper and tape, and a bunch of fruit and teas. All the teas sounded delicious, which was the complete opposite of how I currently felt about coffee.

When I got home, I brought everything inside and started putting it all away. I left the test in the bathroom, wanting to tell my mates before I took it, and I wasn’t sure how to handle things with Alice. Austin was the expert there.

The three of them came back from their walk just as I was tucking the flour into the cabinet. Alice bolted into the bathroom, announcing that she needed to pee. Shay and Austin took off their boots, hung up their coats and then padded over to me.

“Was it a fun walk?”

“Yeah, it was.” Shay gave me a kiss. “We found a bunch of pine cones, believe it or not.”

“The blizzard was weird—there were some spots where the ground was bare.” Austin pulled a bunch of pine cones out of his pocket and set them on the counter. “Alice has plans for these.”

I was sure she did. That little girl had an unstoppable imagination.

Alice came out a minute later holding up the pregnancy test. So much for telling them about it myself.

“This was in the bathroom, Daddy. I thought you couldn’t have babies. Only omegas can.”

“That’s right, honey, I can’t. I’m an alpha.” Austin’s gaze was glued on me.

She waved the test at him. “Then this is yours!” She ran up to me “It has a baby on it and pregnant omega. Did you forget about it?”

Of course she noticed the icons. She was smart as a whip—and beyond observant.

“Now, what do you do with that? Does that put the baby in you?” She stared at my belly. “Can I pick if it puts a boy or girl in there, or is it like a blind bag with squishies in them?”

My head was spinning. How did I begin to explain any of this to her? Heck, I still hadn’t even told my mates.

“No, sweet girl. It doesn’t put a baby in me.” I looked to Austin for guidance.

“We’ll talk about babies another time. Right now, that’s something Briar needs to…take care of in the bathroom, okay? Now, go get dry clothes on, or you’re going to catch a cold.”

“I thought cold didn’t make you sick, Daddy.” She wasn’t being fresh. She was curious and a little too smart for her own good.

I went into the bathroom, did what was needed, and before I even set the test down, it was already showing two lines. I was pregnant. I snapped a picture of it, tossed the used test in the garbage—no one wanted to hold something I’d peed on—and brought it out to show my mates.

“We’re going to be dads,” I said quietly, not wanting to share the news with Alice until Austin gave the okay.

“This is like the best Christmas present ever,” Shay said, pulling Austin and me into a hug.

“What kind of present?” Alice popped up again, holding some of the random wrapping paper I’d bought. “Can I wrap it? I just need tape and scissors.”

“Well, sweet girl,” Austin said with a smile, “we can’t wrap this present because it’s currently growing in Briar’s belly.”

Her eyes went wide. “It did put a baby in there. Will it be a bear baby, or a human baby! Or a moose!”

“We don’t know yet, but we do know one thing…” I said. Besides the fact that a birds-and-the-bees talk was needed and stat.

“What’s that?” She looked at my belly, her eyes shining.

“We know that whoever’s growing in here is going to have the best sister in the world,” Shay finished for us all.