Chapter 6
Jules
Two weeks of dates flew by in what felt like an instant to Jules. They met for lunch on several occasions and there had been a couple of early morning runs through the historic district. Each rendezvous was more memorable than the last and left him feeling like he was walking on clouds.
Parts of it were still a little surreal to him. As he lay in bed staring up at the ceiling on a lazy Saturday morning, he couldn’t help but question his luck. Half a month ago, he had been bemoaning his life as a single Omega who was unlucky in love. Now he was looking forward to a romantic home-cooked meal at Kilo’s house later that evening. Things were progressing steadily, and he couldn’t remember a time when he felt more content with his life.
His cell phone’s ringtone stirred him from his thoughts. Jules reluctantly rolled over and grabbed it from his nightstand. He glanced at the caller ID before answering. It was Jalie.
“Hey, sis, what’s up?” he asked in a cheery voice as he swung his legs out over the side of the bed.
“I hate to do this. I know it’s very last minute, but could you watch the kids for me for a few hours?” She sounded like she was in a hurry and the background noises hinted at a bit of child-related chaos.
Jules glanced at the clock on his nightstand. “Yeah, I can take them for a little while. I’ve got a date tonight, but I’m free until about six.”
“That’s perfect. Jules, you’re a lifesaver.” The relief in her voice was audible. “There’s an emergency down at the office and Alex is out of town right now. I knew I could rely on you.”
“You know I’m always willing to help out if I can,” said Jules as he rose from the bed and began digging through the closet. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll be right over.”
As he hung up the phone, a soft smile touched his lips. He loved his nieces and nephew to pieces. His role as their favorite uncle was something he cherished greatly. Taking them to the park for a few hours would be a great way to start what was almost certain to be a perfect day.
When Jules reached Jalie’s house, his sister already had the kids outside in the front yard and ready to go. She was a professional, already dressed for work, and clearly in a hurry. She helped him situate their car seats in the back seat of his minivan, gave them all stern instructions to obey their uncle and be good, then kissed them goodbye and hopped in her car.
“Looks like it’s just the four of us,” said Jules with a grin as he climbed into the driver’s seat and looked back at the three young faces strapped in behind him. “Who wants to go to the park?”
“Me!” they shouted in unison, all of them clearly delighted with the idea. Thankfully, they were young enough where swing sets and jungle gyms would still entertain them for hours.
“And ice cream,” stated June, who was the eldest of the three. At six years old, she had graduated from a full car seat to a booster seat which, of course, made her very grown-up indeed. “Jessie and Jane don’t get any though. Mommy said they’re too young for ice cream.”
“That’s not fair!” squealed Jane, who was barely a year younger than June. “I’m plenty old enough. Mommy never said that.”
“No fighting, you guys,” said Jules, shaking his head slowly. “If you fight, then we’re not going to be able to go to the park at all. We’ll just have to sit here in the car all day until your mom gets home.”
Jane and June both looked at him with stony expressions on their little faces.
“If everyone behaves while we’re at the park, I’ll get you ice cream before we head home, okay?” Jules smiled at them and they seemed pleased with the suggestion.
“We’ll be good, Uncle Jules; promise,” said June, pulling back her shoulders and sitting up as straight as possible. She was clearly trying to look grown-up and responsible.
“I promise too,” declared Jane, not wanting to be outdone.
“Promise!” shouted little Jessie, who had just turned four last month.
“Okay then.” Jules nodded happily and turned back towards the front of the van. “Let’s go to the park.”
Jules didn’t like to brag, but he was proud of his parenting techniques. As they drove through town towards the park, he broke up two more spats between Jane and June without even turning around. His nieces and nephew gave him a good opportunity to sharpen the skills he would need when he eventually had kids of his own. He envied his sister’s brood, even if they didn’t get along with each other very well. Someday, hopefully soon, he would be breaking up fights between his own children.
“I see it!” shouted Jane, pressing her hands to the window and bouncing up and down in her seat. “I wanna play on the monkey bars!”
“Last time you did that, you got stuck,” said June. “Mommy said you’re not allowed anymore.”
“Mommy never said that,” countered Jane, before sticking her tongue out at her sister.
“Right now, we’re just gonna have some fun, okay?” said Jules as he pulled the van into a parking spot near the entrance to the park. “Your mom isn’t here right now so I’m the one that’s in charge.” He switched off the car and turned in his seat to look back at his nieces. “Jane, if you wanna climb on the monkey bars, then you’re going to have to do it without help, okay? If you get stuck, then you’re gonna have to get yourself out of it. Do you think you can do that?”
Jane looked longingly out the window at the playground in the distance. “No,” she said at last.
“Then why don’t you stick to the things you know you can handle, okay?” suggested Jules. “There are plenty of other things for you to play on.”
“June, you need to stop bossing your sister around. If you think she’s doing something she shouldn’t be doing, then you need to come tell me. If I think it’s a problem, then I’ll deal with it.” Jules looked her in the eye as he spoke.
“Fine,” June relented at last. “I just...they never listen to mommy an—”
“Like I said, your mom isn’t here right now so I’m the one that’s in charge. I make up the rules, I decide if someone is misbehaving. Got it?”
June didn’t seem too thrilled with that announcement, but she didn’t argue.
“Okay, let’s hit the playground,” declared Jules, once he was satisfied that order had been restored among the children under his care. He tried to be gentle but firm with them. They were great kids, and his sister and her Alpha had done a great job raising them. It didn’t take a lot to get them to behave.
As soon as everyone was unloaded, Jane and June took off towards the playground as fast as their little legs could carry them. Jessie stuck by his uncle, clutching to his pants leg as Jules locked up the van. Little Jessie was still a bit shy and usually took a bit of time to warm up to social situations. Jules found that the best solution was not to rush him.
“Why don’t we head over to the benches over there?” suggested Jules as he and Jessie walked across the grass towards the playground. “We’ll be able to see the whole playground from there.” He looked down at his nephew and smiled broadly.
Jessie just nodded in agreement and altered course to match his uncle.
There were already quite a few kids scrambling across the playground. The sound of squealing children and shouts of make believe adventures echoed through the air. Watchful parents stood or sat in the shade of the trees nearby. One or two were helping younger children on the swing set or across the jungle gym. It was a scene that made Jules’s heart tighten with desire. He could pretend that he was content as just an uncle, but the truth was there was nothing he wanted more than to be a parent himself.
He highly doubted that he could ever be truly happy just taking care of someone else’s kids.
As he sat down on the bench with Jessie and swept his gaze towards the playground, he felt a chill run across his skin. Goosebumps prickled across his flesh and he felt as if the air had been sucked from his lungs.
There, standing by the swings, gently pushing a very young girl, was Kilo.
He was on his feet before he even knew what was happening. Thoughts raced through his head at a million miles a second. Why would Kilo be here? And with a child? Was it his? Someone else’s?
Jules’s first reaction was to cross the playground and confront him directly, but there were too many people around for that sort of thing. Plus he wasn’t here for Kilo; he was here for his nieces and nephew. He needed to keep track of them and not get caught up in his own emotional drama.
He forced himself to avert his gaze from the object of his desires and look for any sign of Jane and June.
Thankfully, his nieces weren’t hard to locate. Jane had taken over the ship’s wheel that was situated in the middle of the large play structure and seemed to be engaged in some sort of make believe with some other kids. June was by herself on the swings, swaying back and forth while singing aloud. He glanced down at Jessie, who seemed content to remain planted firmly at his side. He sat on the edge of the bench and swung his legs back and forth.
“Don’t you want to go play on the slide?” asked Jules. “I know you like that.”
Jessie looked up at his uncle and looked back at the slide with uncertainty.
“You’ve been here lots of times,” coaxed Jules. “You always have fun.”
The little boy slowly slid off the bench and took a few tentative steps towards the playground. He looked back at his uncle, as if asking for permission to continue.
“Go on; have some fun,” Jules encouraged him with a broad grin.
Finally, Jessie seemed to fully make up his mind. He turned and sprinted across the grass towards the slide.
Jules smiled as he watched him go. That smile quickly faded when he caught sight of Kilo walking slowly towards him. The Alpha was carrying the little girl in his arms and he had a somewhat sheepish expression on his face.
“I didn’t expect to see you here today,” Kilo admitted as he approached. “I take it that was your nephew?” He glanced off in the direction that Jessie had run.
“I’m watching my sister’s kids for a few hours while she deals with a work emergency,” said Jules with a shrug. He avoided meeting Kilo’s eyes and instead peered towards the playground, keeping a watchful eye on his charges.
“I...um...” Kilo seemed to be struggling to figure out what to say next.
“Who’s this little one?” asked Jules, putting on his happiest smile and turning to the little girl in Kilo’s arms. She must’ve been nearly two years old, and immediately recoiled from Jules. She regarded him with a sour expression and didn’t seem at all interested in letting him anywhere near her.
“This is India,” said Kilo at last. “She’s my daughter.”
Jules straightened and swallowed back the lump that immediately formed in his throat. “You...um...you never mentioned a daughter before.”
“No,” admitted Kilo with a little sigh. “I didn’t...”
“We’ve been dating for two weeks and you never gave any indication that you had a kid...” Jules was struggling to identify his emotions. Part of him felt hurt, the other was angry. There was a little bit of jealousy mixed in there as well. Why had Kilo kept this from him?
“The truth is, she’s the whole reason I asked you over tonight,” explained Kilo, shifting India slightly in his arms. “I wanted you to meet her. I’ve been trying to keep her life as stable as possible since...I became a single parent. I didn’t want to introduce her to someone that was just going to disappear after however long.”
Jules immediately felt guilty and his other emotions were swept away. “I understand,” he said at last. “I can’t fault you for wanting to protect your kid. I...I’m glad you decided it was time for us to meet.” He looked up at Kilo and saw a light shining in his eyes.
In that moment, Jules realized things between them had progressed much further than he’d thought. If Kilo was willing to trust him with something that precious, then their relationship was taking a much more serious turn. His heart skipped a beat and he immediately found himself drawn back to the happy, contented haze he’d been in when he woke up that morning.
“So, your sister’s kids, huh?” asked Kilo, glancing back towards the playground. “Are you the family babysitter then?”
“For now, I guess,” chuckled Jules. “It’s not so bad. They’re good kids.” He looked back, quickly checking up on each of them.
“I don’t have any siblings so I never really had the opportunity to do a lot of babysitting,” admitted Kilo. “India’s kind of my first experience with the whole thing.”
Jules smiled softly and gingerly reached a hand towards the little girl in Kilo’s arms. She eyed him warily but didn’t flinch away when he touched her shoulder. He let his hand fall away as his gaze drifted back towards the playground.
“I’ve always wanted to have kids,” he said at last. “I came from a big family. My siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, were always there for me. Sure, there was drama, but I loved constantly being surrounded by a net of people that I knew would do everything in their power to help me. I’ve always pictured myself as the sort of Omega that has like four or five kids and is constantly running back and forth to soccer practice, or gymnastics classes, or whatever else. Cheering from the sidelines, washing grass stains out of uniforms, organizing birthday parties.” There was a wistful smile on his lips as he spoke and he sighed softly in the end.
He glanced towards Kilo, but the Alpha didn’t say anything. He just looked down at India as she rested her head on his shoulder and started to drift off.
“Uncle Jules!” June shouted from across the playground. “Uncle Jules! Jane’s stuck!”
Jules’s head immediately snapped towards the playground. June was standing a few yards away, shouting and pointing towards the monkey bars. Jane was hanging from a bar near the middle with a desperate look on her face. While he knew from past experience that she wasn’t in any danger, the wood shavings beneath the monkey bars were soft and deep for precisely this reason, he also knew that June would continue to yell until he went and did something about it.
“I need to go take care of this,” he said to Kilo with an apologetic smile.
“Yeah, it’s fine. I should go take India home for her nap anyway,” said Kilo, backing away several steps before turning and quickly making his exit.
Jules frowned at the Alpha’s sudden departure, but he didn’t have time to think it through right now.
“Uncle Jules!” June shouted for the third time.
“Jane, you don’t have to yell like that,” said Jules as he crossed the grass towards the playground. “You’re making a big scene for no reason.”
“But she’s stuck. You told her not to go on the monkey bars if she’d get stuck. You told me not to tell her what to do. You also told me to tell you if she was doing something she wasn’t supposed to do.” June quickly rattled off her explanation.
Jules sighed to himself as he started across the playground to rescue his stranded niece.
“Next time, instead of yelling, maybe you can come up to me and tell me nicely,” suggested Jules.
“Sure, if you want her to die,” muttered June.
It was a losing argument and Jules didn’t really feel like pursuing the issue further. He quickly helped Jane down from the monkey bars and she promptly apologized.
“I thought I could do it,” she said with a soft smile. “I know I’ll be able to do it eventually.”
“I know it to,” Jules said, “but I think before you learn how to cross the monkey bars, you’re going to have to learn how to fall when you get stuck. Okay?”
She looked at him skeptically. “I don’t want to fall. Falling’s bad.”
“It can be, if you do it wrong,” said Jules. “Why don’t you climb back up there and we’ll try this again?”
Over the next two hours, Jules coached Jane on how to hop down from the monkey bars without hurting herself. Even June seemed interested in the process and stopped fighting with her sister long enough to try and pick up this new skill. Then, Jessie came over and wanted to join in, but since he was still far too small Jules wound up carrying him as he pretended to swing from bar to bar.
Jules completely lost track of time until he finally got a text from Jalie informing him that she was on her way home.
Despite the fact that there had been a number of squabbles, the kids had been decently well behaved the entire time they’d been at the park. They cheered with delight when Uncle Jules bought them all ice cream before loading them into the minivan for the ride home.
After dropping them off with their mother again, Jules finally headed back towards home. He had a few hours to himself now to prepare for the evening ahead.
As he drove back through town, his thoughts inevitably drifted back to Kilo’s odd behavior at the park. He’d left so quickly that Jules hadn’t even really had a chance to say goodbye. It wasn’t really characteristic of the Alpha he’d come to know over the last two weeks.
Then again, their topic of conversation might have had something to do with it.
“Stupid Jules, talking about kids like that. Just when things are getting serious.” He shook his head and sighed as he chastised himself. “He’s probably just getting a little overwhelmed by everything. He was so worried about things moving too fast when all of this started. Now he’s finally introducing you to his kid and you’re immediately implying marriage and lifelong commitments.”
Jules bit his lip and met his own gaze in the rearview mirror. “That’s it then. We’re taking things slowly. No more kid talk. No marriage talk. Just take it one step at a time.”