Now that I was three and half months pregnant and officially into my second trimester, I was finally feeling like life was back on an even keel. Larry, Ryan and I had been finally settling into a good place. We really were becoming a trio now, and I felt in my gut that dating could turn into something more permanent soon.

I knew they were both up for it. Me and my baggage from the past was the only thing holding us up. Aside from working with Larry and having regular "family" dates that included Bella, we'd also been meeting every morning for coffee—or ginger tea in my case—for the past two or so weeks since that funky stomach bug I'd had.

Turns out, buying crab salad from a convenience store wasn't the best idea. Fuck, just remembering how sick I'd been almost made me want to hurl all over again. I'd be lucky if I ever put another bite of crab into my mouth again — at least, not for the next five to thirty-seven years anyway.

But damn. Ryan and Larry had stepped up like none other. It was like I’d had my own pair of nurses, always at hand and ready to tend to my slightest need. I couldn't have fantasized anything that good, even in my craziest fever-soaked dreams.

And not only had Larry been on Puke Patrol as he'd called it, Ryan had gone so far as to pick up Bella from her sleepover with Sam and bring her back to Larry's loft for a pizza and movie night the following day. After he'd swung by our house to fill my mom in on the situation and pack another overnight bag for Bella. Yeah, the dude was that thoughtful.

Seriously. Did alphas like this really exist? And had not one, but two of them, actually landed in my lap? Would fate really be so kind after all I'd been through with Milton over the years? I was beginning to think just maybe it would.

My thoughts were on tomorrow's planned "date," a visit to the aquarium, when I stretched up over my head to get Bella's baby book off the top shelf of my closet. I wanted to show it to the guys when we met for coffee tomorrow. Kind of a preview of what to look forward to when the baby arrived, as well as a retrospective of our favorite fourth grader. I’d missed the click of my door opening, which would have warned me of her presence.

"Oh, dammit! Please tell me you aren't pregnant again, Ethan Laurence. Honestly. You can't keep getting pregnant every time you get into a relationship, son. You need to think more highly of yourself."

I realized two things right then. One, that the angle I was at as I stretched up like this gave a clear view of my newly formed baby bump. And two, that I had zero privacy in this house. My door had been closed!

"Hello, Mother. Ever hear of knocking? You should try it... it's kind of a thing here in polite society."

"None of that snarkiness, young man. It isn't becoming. And I hardly need to knock on doors as though I were a guest in my own home." Mom sniffed as she walked over and helped herself to a seat at the foot of my bed. "Now, come sit down and tell me what your plans are this time, and I'll tell you what my expectations are going forward. It's past time for me to put my foot down about a few things anyway."

Wait. What?

"I think I'd prefer to stand, thanks," I said this as politely as I could, crossing my arms and leaning against the doorway of my closet as I gave her my attention. "And what exactly do you mean about your expectations? I think I'm doing a fine job around here, Mom. I pay you rent and kick in for food and utilities. I never even ask you for any help with Bella except for occasional babysitting if I work late... which I never do now that I've finally got a decent job."

"Hmph. As a tavern boy." Mom sniffed. For a normally sweet lady, she really did have some elitist views when it came to education and what she deemed service jobs. The fact that I worked in these menial positions had never been anything but traumatic for her.

"And even that job is merely a job given to you by one of your boyfriends." She continued talking while clutching her strand of pearls. "No, Richard Senior and I have discussed this at length, and he agrees that it's time I put my foot down before you squander your future. And now I know there's yet another child on the way, I feel even more strongly that I'm in the right."

My jaw clenched at the idea of my mother discussing my life and her perception of my choices with Big Dick, but I let that go for the moment. I needed to let her have her say. "And what exactly is it that you feel as though you need to put your foot down about, Mother?"

"Your education, or lack thereof, of course. I've done everything short of enrolling you myself, but you still keep throwing away the catalogs I go out of my way to get you and continuing on with these menial jobs. Honestly, son. Think of Bella. And now you'll have a second mouth to feed because you couldn’t even deal with birth control properly? Children need to see successful parents to aspire to the same goals. As a condition of your living here going forward, I’ll need to see you enroll in a minimum of 12 units every semester until you attain a degree. And to start, the majority of those credits will need to be general education classes, although I don't mind if you take one class for personal enjoyment. That will give you time to choose a proper major. And I will need to see the confirmation of your matriculation. A receipt from the registrar’s office will suffice. I'm sorry that it's come down to this, honey. But you've really given me no choice. We can talk about a loan or possibly a reduction in your rent to help cover the cost of your textbooks."

"I see. So, let me see if I have this right." I uncrossed my arms and walked closer to tick the items off her list with my fingers. "Bella and I are no longer welcome to live here unless I enroll in college, take classes that you approve of, show you the receipt of said enrollment - because obviously, I'm known to be a liar. Oh, and you'll consider giving me a loan or a reduction in the rent that I insisted on paying in the first place in hopes that we wouldn't end up in just this type of situation? Did I get all that right?" I fought to keep my voice from rising as I got to the end of that list. Seriously. I needed an award for this. Or a drink. A drink I couldn’t have was. Fuck my life.

"Yes, except for the part about you and Bella. Bella is always welcome in my home. I would be happy to take temporary custody of her and oversee her education and well-being while you get on your feet, should you choose to be rebellious again, rather than considering a proper future."

"Again? Are you seriously bringing up when I eloped with Milton as a damn teenager? Let it go, Mom. It's been over a decade and I'm pretty sure that I learned from that mistake." I took a deep breath, willing myself to be calm rather than losing my cool with my mother.

"Listen, Mother. I respect your concern, but I'm afraid that you don't respect me. I am not a willful child who needs to be put in line, or a problem tenant to be discussed with your boyfriend. I am a hard working, twenty-eight year old, single father. And yes, I do have another baby on the way. Is it a surprise? Yes. Do I regret it? No. I did everything in my power to avoid pregnancy, but no birth control is one hundred percent accurate. It just isn't. And there is no way on earth that I would ever live separately from my child, or give you even temporary custody of her, not for one minute."

"Then we are at an impasse. You've paid your rent for the month. I suppose that I'll just have to consider this to be your notice that your tenancy will be ending." Mom's chin lifted a fraction as she stubbornly dug her feet into this hill she'd apparently chosen to die on. I took another deep breath, reminding myself that while it was okay to be angry, I still needed to be respectful.

"Thank you, Mother. I appreciate that you and I were able to have a calm discussion without either of us losing our cool. Have a nice day now, but please see yourself out and let me have a bit a privacy in this room that I've paid for, as you so kindly pointed out." I hated bringing up money, so very much hated it, but she needed to go before I punched a wall or something.

With one more irritated glance at my belly bump, Mom stood and left the room. She walked silently with perfect posture, ever the elegant matron, even when kicking out her pregnant, rent-paying son because he didn't meet her requirements.

I pulled my suitcase out from the back of my closet, while shooting a text off to Larry.

Can Bella and I come crash with you for a few? I'll explain later.

I'd barely gotten the suitcase unzipped when my phone was pinging with an incoming text.

You certainly can. A few hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades... you name it, babe. Need any boxes? I can be there in twenty.

I thought about that for a moment, as I looked around my room and thought about all the crap that Bella had accumulated in her room over the year or so that we'd lived her and tapped out a return message.

Yes, please. I'll even buy pizza after... just tell Ryan to come along too. I need the moral support right now and the extra pair of hands would be nice.

Will do. See you soon.

I breathed out a sigh of relief as I began sorting things and filling my suitcase. I hadn't intended on moving in with Larry this soon, especially without Ryan, but circumstances being what they were, this was the only option for now. At least Larry had that big apartment upstairs. I’d seen enough of it to know it could fit me and Bella… Well, that was before he had all that work done on it. I had no idea what it looked like now. But I didn’t have any other options. Ryan’s place was too small.

Who knew if I'd be able to work throughout the entire pregnancy, and how soon I'd be back on my feet afterward. Moving in with him was rushing things, but it felt right. It was time to quit being nervous about committing. Besides, I could always get my own place after the baby came... right?

Once my guys arrived, we made short work of getting me and Bella all packed up. They'd loaded everything into our three cars, while I went and politely informed my mother that I was leaving now rather than the end of the month. The idea of tiptoeing around each other for the next two and half weeks made my stomach clench. No, a clean break was best if Mom and I had any hope of a good relationship moving forward.

Thankfully, Bella was at yet another sleepover at Sam’s right now. I'd dropped her off an hour or so before Mom had decided to wage battle. Larry and Ryan were already talking about how to set up Larry's guest room into a princess room to surprise her with when we picked her up tomorrow and gave her the news about the change of address.

I didn't think she'd be too upset. She adored my guys, and loved the attention they gave her. She'd likely just be more intent on getting Ryan to move in as well. It probably was a little strange to be moving my daughter into a home over a bar, but with the separate entrance, she'd never need to come into contact with the business downstairs.

Larry's loft home had more square footage than most cozy homes in the suburbs. After they'd carried all my stuff upstairs, the two of them had taken off on some secret shopping mission while I put away Bella's clothes in her new room and arranged her toys and books on the suspiciously new-looking bookcase in what had been Larry's guestroom.

The mattress and pink bedspread on the twin bed also looked and felt new, cementing in my mind that Larry had been slowly working up to just this type of outcome. Was that what all the renovation had been about up here? No... he wouldn't. Would he?

I was still puzzling over that when the guys came back to the loft, their arms loaded with bags of decorations and new toys for her room. I took one look at the whole mess of stuff they'd bought and couldn't hide the grin that sprang to my face. These alphas really gave a shit about not just me, but Bella, too.

"Where are you going, hot stuff?" Larry asked as I turned to leave the room.

I grinned over my shoulder. "You guys go ahead and play decorator in here, after you finish unloading the car, since I’m apparently not allowed to do any heavy lifting. I'm just gonna go curl up naked in the middle of your big, ol' comfy bed and take a little nap."