Hazel colored the leaves on the calendar, her lips pursed in concentration. Across the booth, Raph leaned back. “Your dad ever told you what he thinks of me?”

She paused in her coloring, glancing up. “He said you’re too nice.”

Raph snorted. “I’m too nice?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Kind of like Uncle Sam and Aunt Penny. Where’s Aunt Penny? I haven’t seen her in ages. She said she’d make me a cheesy toast.”

Two months had passed since Raph told his mom the news. They’d missed the charity audition; neither Wyatt nor Raph had heard from Penny, and Raph didn’t want to put Wyatt in front of the cameras. Not with his belly growing ever bigger, and no alpha to publicly claim him.

The Friday night drive-in crowd was always loud. Raph craned his neck, looking up over the polished lattice dividers. On the other side of the diner, Wyatt took orders at a table, while his waitresses skated out with full trays of food. Mina had grown more confident in her time here, and the drive-in ran smoothly.

Raph was proud of his omega, happy that the restaurant could run itself with minimal help from Wyatt. In the near future, Wyatt would be busy with their baby; these were all good signs.

Except Raph still hadn’t made the decision to move back to Meadowfall. He would have to, when the baby was born. And that involved the rest of their family finding out. He swallowed his unease, focusing on his bondmate instead.

Wyatt strode across the restaurant, tapping food orders into a screen. Then he turned, caught Raph’s eye, and headed over.

Raph’s heart quickened; he hadn’t seen Wyatt for five whole days. Video calls and texts only went so far.

Under the warm lighting, Wyatt looked radiant. His cheeks were flushed, his golden hair gleamed, and there was a noticeable bump behind his black vest. At twenty weeks, Wyatt could no longer hide the pregnancy from his staff.

Wyatt paused next to their table, smiling down at Raph, then Hazel. Raph almost reached out for him. He shouldn’t; there were people here who recognized them both.

So he held his hand down, admiring Wyatt in his starched white shirt and fitting pants, the way his lips pulled into a smile.

“How’s your day going?” Wyatt asked.

“I’m almost done with the April page!” Hazel said, bouncing in her seat. “I skipped ahead because this page has a well. Isn’t it pretty?”

“It looks great!” Wyatt ruffled her hair and grinned. “Have you done your homework?”

“I did English and Math.” Hazel smiled sheepishly. “I promise I’ll do the rest tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” Wyatt said. “What about you, Raph?”

“I’m here. Doing better now.” He meant Better with you around. Over the months, they’d learned to read between the words they said in public.

Wyatt smiled, his eyes filling with delight. “Just two more hours, and I’ll be ready to leave.”

“Good,” Raph said. He had plans for them tonight, after they’d gotten Hazel to sleep. Wyatt’s fatigue had worn off two months ago; he’d resumed his regular hours at the drive-in. But on the weekends, he left at 9, and spent time with Raph and Hazel. Raph appreciated it—Wyatt kept later hours than he did, and they hardly had time for calls during the weekdays.

Tonight, he had plans to tuck them both in bed, and snuggle in front of the TV. Maybe share some ice cream, and maybe there’d be a massage involved. Maybe he’d cradle Wyatt close, and fuck him good and hard. Wyatt loved that.

“Um, sorry,” someone said behind Wyatt. The voice was familiar.

When they looked up, they found Penny, a grimace on her face. “Sorry,” she said again. “I’ve been busy.”

Wyatt blinked. His expression was the look of someone who could be hurt, and hurt easily. And a surge of protectiveness roared through Raph’s chest. If Penny hurt him, Raph would get even.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” Wyatt said.

“Aunt Penny!” Hazel beamed. “I haven’t seen you in ages!”

Penny winced, her fingers curling into her purse. “Things came up in the lab. I’m sorry. It’s been hectic on my end.”

“We haven’t seen you for four months,” Raph said, narrowing his eyes. Sure, she might’ve been upset. But he’d tried leaving her messages, and so had Wyatt. In the end, they’d both given up. “You could’ve called.”

“I...” Penny breathed in and sighed, pushing her glasses up her nose. The drive-in wasn’t the best place for a discussion, not with townsfolk chatting and staff bustling around. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stalked off that day.”

“Good that you realize it,” Raph said. Penny flinched.

“Raph.” Wyatt frowned. “Be nice.”

“And forget how hurt you’ve been?” Raph glared. “I understand this isn’t your cup of tea, Pen. But Wyatt’s made his choice. Respect him for that.”

Penny gulped, meeting his eyes. “Yeah. That’s what I dropped by for. I’m really sorry about that day.”

“What day?” Hazel asked, glancing between all of them, her eyes wide.

“The day I was supposed to stay for breakfast,” Penny said, cringing.

“Don’t forget the cheesy toast.” Hazel wagged her color pencil. “You owe me a cheesy toast. With chocolate sprinkles and icing sugar!”

Wyatt eased into a smile. Raph sighed. The kid really was great, diffusing situations without even meaning to. He’d had to take courses on managing people, and here Hazel was, a natural at it.

“I promise,” Penny said. She reached out toward Wyatt, before pausing. “I’m really sorry, Wy. I’d meant to drop by sooner, but I had to deal with my own doubts first. I’ve been thinking about it. In the end... it’s really your choice. I’d thought that maybe Raph felt the same way about me; we’re both omega. I was kind of creeped out.”

“Huh.” Raph hadn’t considered it from that angle. It would’ve been awkward if the situations were reversed, and Penny had a crush on him. So maybe he could understand why she’d reacted the way she did, and maybe he could forgive her for taking off. “No, it’s never been you.”

“Well, good.” Penny cracked a smile. “Either way, I’m really sorry about things. And for losing touch.”

Raph glanced at Wyatt. Wyatt had relaxed through Penny’s speech; he had always been soft with people, and he was the better person of them both. He looked like he’d already forgiven Penny for her absence.

Penny glanced between them. “I’ll leave if you want me to.”

“No,” Wyatt said. He reached out, pulling Penny into a hug. “Thanks for coming back, sis. I missed you.”

She hugged Wyatt. Over his shoulder, Penny met Raph’s eyes, smiling with some trepidation.

“You’re good,” he said, shrugging. “Just don’t pull that again.”

Relief darted through her face. “Thank you. I really am sorry.”

“Have a seat,” Wyatt said, perking up. “I’ll get you drinks.”

“I’ll ask Sam myself. It’s fine.” Penny smiled. Hazel scooted over to make space for her, and she settled into the booth across from Raph, her cheeks pink.

“I’ve got to return to the tables,” Wyatt said, squeezing Raph’s shoulder. “Be back later.”

“Sure,” Raph said.

Wyatt hurried back to his customers. Raph watched until his blond hair disappeared behind the polished lattice dividers. And Penny watched Raph.

“Can I have two cheesy toasts?” Hazel asked Penny. “I miss the ones you make. Dad makes them too, but they taste different.”

You little bugger. Raph snorted. All you care about is your dad, and food.

Penny pulled Hazel into a hug. “I could drop by sometime soon—we’ll see what your dad says, okay?”

“Okay.” Hazel hummed, coloring the roof of her stone well.

Raph didn’t know what he had to say to his sister; so many months had passed since they’d last talked, and so many things had happened. Penny looked down at the table, fiddling with her purse.

“Mom knows,” Raph said.

Penny jerked her gaze up. “She—she knows?”

“Yeah, I told her. She wasn’t surprised at all.”

“Oh.” Penny frowned, digesting the news. “Was I the only one who didn’t know?”

“No, Dad and Grandma still don’t know. I’d rather keep it that way,” Raph said. “Can you do that?”

She nodded quickly, a crease on her forehead. “Yeah. I promise not to tell.”

She looked so eager to please, right then, that Raph softened. Maybe he could trust her. Maybe she deserved a second chance, just like Wyatt did with his entire life. “Thanks.”

They fell into silence, watching as Hazel colored the crank on the well, then the flowers growing at its base. Around, cutlery clinked, and the murmur of conversation washed over them.

Penny squirmed. “Are you always here during the weekends?”

“Yeah. I head here from Highton—traffic’s pretty light coming in this direction.”

She nodded, her gaze sliding toward Hazel. Raph felt a little sorry for her; it wasn’t her fault that her brothers had hooked up. But she could’ve at least answered a damn text message.

He stood, thinking he’d drop by the kitchen for more water, maybe get Penny a glass of something to drink.

Just beyond the front doors of the diner, someone moved. Raph glanced over. He wouldn’t have spared the new patron a second look, except something about the man caught his attention. Sandy hair, ice-green eyes, broad shoulders.

He hadn’t seen that alpha in person before. But he remembered that face from the photos on Facebook, had glared and gritted his teeth at that bastard. Wyatt had his back turned, and Raph’s heart kicked. Don’t look over.

“Hazel,” he said. “Climb up on the seat for a sec, keep your head down. Tell me who that is.”

Penny turned, but the dividers obstructed her view. Hazel pulled her legs up, scooted carefully over Penny’s lap, and peered over the dividers. She gasped. “That’s Max. Dad says if I ever see him, I need to walk away like nothing happened.”

Violence snarled through Raph’s veins. “Good. Get back down and stay there.”

“But Dad—Uncle Raph, Dad will have a mood if he sees Max.”

Was this one of the moods Wyatt had stopped Hazel from talking about?

Max pushed the doors open, stepping in.

Raph’s heart pounded. He tucked his hands in his pockets and strolled toward the register, glancing between Wyatt and Max. He’d thought about it countless times before, what he’d do if he found Wyatt’s ex. Punch him, beat him up. Something equal to all the hurt Max had unleashed on Wyatt.

Raph slowed when he approached the register. Up close, Max looked like an ordinary alpha—average looks, clean shirt, fitting pants. Maybe five years older than Raph. Max should’ve known better than to abuse an eighteen-year-old.

Max looked around the diner. Caught sight of Wyatt, his lips twisting into a grin. “Ah,” he murmured, looking Wyatt over. “What a surprise.”

He had to have seen the bump of Wyatt’s belly behind his vest. Hot fury tore through Raph’s gut. Everyone else looking at Wyatt? That was fine. But this bastard? No. He deserved to have his eyeballs ripped out.

Raph pulled his hands from his pockets, so he could curl them into fists. Calm down. Don’t wreck the drive-in. Wy doesn’t need a lawsuit. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Wyatt turned away from his table, a smile on his lips.

His gaze caught on Max. And Wyatt froze, his smile growing brittle.

Raph wanted to go up to him, whisk him away from the diner. But what did Wyatt want? Did he have a plan for situations like this?

Wyatt’s eyes darted to the register, finding Raph. His chest heaved. His gaze held a hint of desperation.

Wyatt looked like he wanted to flee.

And Raph was striding toward him, the public be damned. Anyone could find out about their relationship. In that moment, Raph wouldn’t have cared. But if that bastard laid one finger on Wyatt, he was going to pay.