I took a sick day on Monday because I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving Thad alone. But starting on Tuesday, I had a mandatory workshop to attend that I couldn’t get out of. After one more blissful night of sleeping with Thad in my arms, I had to kiss him goodbye at six am Tuesday morning so I could get home in time to change and head into the office.

Danny was just leaving when I jogged up the stairs to our apartment. “Dude, this guy is sprung.”

“What are you talking about?” I turned and kept jogging backward up the stairs while Danny walked down them backward.

“The flowers. They’re nice and all, but my allergies are killing me. Can you tell him to send chocolate next time?” Danny waved as he rounded the corner on the first floor landing. “Later.”

I had no idea what Danny was talking about until I opened the door to my apartment and was overwhelmed by the smells coming from mixed bouquets lined up on the breakfast bar. “What the fuck…”

Most of the bouquets were in vases, but a dozen roses were in a box with an envelope attached to the front. My name was scribbled across the front of the envelope so I ripped it open to get to the card inside. A white card slipped out of the torn envelope and a smile spread across my face before I fully read the note.

Ren,

Amazing things await us if we’re willing to go for what we want. Stop wasting your time and mine. Follow your heart back to me the way I’ve been following my heart toward you.

Xoxo,

T.H.

At first glance, I assumed it was a message from Thad. But it didn’t make any sense. Why would he think I was wasting his time? And the whole following our hearts thing didn’t jive with what our relationship had been like so far.

And then I noticed the initials. T. H. not T. E.

Who the fuck was T.H.? I wanted to give it some thought, but my thirty minute warning alarm went off and I realized how late I was running. I didn’t have time to worry about flowers or a mysterious admirer. I needed to get my ass in gear and get to work.

* * *

The whole week flew by, and I barely had time to eat much less talk to Thad before one of us was passing out on the phone. I’d been able to sneak in quick morning breaks to talk to him before he went to bed each morning, but working on opposite schedules wasn’t easy when we were trying to foster a budding relationship. And that’s what we had. It was still early and fragile, but it was real and worth growing.

When I got off work on Friday evening, I stopped at home only long enough to grab a bag before getting on the road to Mapleville. Thad had slept all day and had the whole weekend off, so I scheduled a dinner drop off of Italian food for seven on Friday night, just about thirty minutes after I expected to get there. After dinner, I had an evening of passionate sex and cuddling planned. Takeout delivery and sex sounded like a cop-out when I said it outloud, but in reality, I was pretty sure Thad would consider it a perfect night just like I did. At least that’s what he called that exact “date” on Monday night when we had it.

I wasn’t always good about coming up with original ideas, but I knew that when you found something that worked, you stuck with it. Especially when it was takeout delivery and sex. Amazing sex.

I arrived at Thad’s at six twenty, a full ten minutes earlier than I expected. My foot might have been a little heavy on the pedal, but I would have gladly paid a speeding ticket if I’d gotten one. I was just so damn excited to see Thad again. It’d been almost a week and that was officially too long.

I ran the bell on Thad’s door but he didn’t answer. When a full minute of silence passed, I looked around a noticed a sticky note peeking out from underneath his doormat. It was a note from Thad telling me that he ran out to get some ice cream and would be back in a few minutes. There was a key taped to the note so I let myself in and made myself comfortable.

I didn’t know how far the ice cream shop was but thirty minutes later, our dinner was delivered and Thad still wasn’t home. I called his cell phone but it went straight to voicemail. I tried not panic when he didn’t answer, but an ominous cloud seemed to be drifting closer and closer to Thad’s house with every second that passed without him home and in my arms.

An hour later, I was about to call the police when Thad called my mobile phone. I picked up the call before the first ring even stopped. “Thad, baby. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Ren.” He didn’t sound fine but he was alive and calling me so I considered that a good thing. “But I was in a little accident. Can you meet me at the hospital? I’m at Mapleville General.”

“The hospital?” My keys were in my hand and I was running out the door before he could even respond. “Are you hurt?”

“Not really.” He choked out a sad laugh and then inhaled to calm himself. “I was driving home when a rented moving truck plowed right into the side of my car. I was lucky that I sped up at the last second so the back seat took the brunt of the damage. But I did get shaken up quite a bit and...well, this is stupid.”

“What, baby?” I was breathing heavily as I slipped into my car and started the engine. “What happened?”

“I have one of those emergency hammers that I keep in my door pocket in case I’m ever trapped in my seatbelt or my car goes underwater or something.”

I cringed and tried not to visualize such awful things happening to Thad. “Yeah, I know what you’re talking about. I have one in my glove box.”

“Ah, yes, the glove box. That’s a much better place to store it.”

“Why?” I could almost guess what he was going to say, but I needed to keep him on the phone so I could hear his voice until I could see for myself that he was perfectly okay. “What happened?”

“Well, the impact from the crash made it fly out of the pocket and it landed pointy side first in my left hip.”

“Oh, damn.” I was glad I wasn’t sitting in front of Thad because, although I hated the idea of him ever being hurt in any way, there was something almost comical about an emergency hammer getting wedged into a hip during an actual emergency situation. I expected I’d laugh about that someday. But not today. Today was about getting to my omega and making sure he was safe. “So you’re okay? Is that it or did anything else happen?”

“That’s the only bad thing that happened, I promise.” I could hear something in Thad’s voice that made me think he was holding something back, but according to the big blue sign on the highway, I was only one mile from the hospital so I’d see for myself soon enough.

“What about the other driver? Any injuries in the truck?”

“Not that I know of.” Thad was quiet for a second before he spoke up again. “Actually, they didn’t stop. It was a hit and run.”

“What the fuck?” I hit the pedal a little harder, pissed that some asshole would have the balls to run into another car and then just take off. “Did you get a look at them?”

“No, not at all.” Thad sighed. “A witness said it was one of those hauling trucks you can rent by the hour, but I didn’t see anything.”

“I’m almost there, baby.” I pulled into the emergency room parking lot. “I’m parking now.”

* * *

Seeing Thad laughing with his work friends was a huge relief. He was wearing scrubs from the waist down and had a pint of Chunky Monkey in his hands, holding court for a small group of staff surrounding him.

As if he could sense me from across the long corridor, Thad looked up at me and smiled before shooing away his fan club. I crossed the floor in long strides and pulled him up into my arms as soon I was within reach. “I was so scared.”

“I’m sorry, Ren.” Thad wrapped his arms tightly around my neck and clung to me for several long moments. “But I need to tell you one more thing.”

With my nose nuzzled in Thad’s neck, I took a deep breath and let his natural scent calm my nerves. My omega was safe. My omega was in my arms. And my omega was…

I suddenly pulled back and looked Thad right in the eyes as my mind quickly figured out why he smelled a little different. A little minty and balsamy and… “Oh my god, Thad. You’re pregnant.”

“I am.” He looked a little terrified as he nodded. “Is that okay?”

I pulled him back into my arms, holding him tightly as I sucked in his new, even more perfect scent. “Of course it’s okay,” I whispered. Then a thought occurred to me and I pulled back. “Is it okay with you?”

He gave me a soft smile as his eyes welled up. “Yes, I mean, it’s sudden and all, but this is what I’ve always wanted.” He laughed and squeezed my shoulders where he was still gripping me. “I thought it would be a little longer down the road, but I want this baby...with you.”

I choked back a sob and kissed Thad softly on the lips before moving to his ear. “Me too, little omega. Me too.”