Alpha Hero - Hope Ford Page 0,60

in to kiss her, but she pulls away. “Read it.”

I turn the cup in my hands and my legs about buckle. “#1 Dad”

“What?” I exclaim. “You’re pregnant?”

She nods her head, the excitement filling her face.

I drop down to the floor in front of her, pressing my head against her belly. “I’m going to be a dad!”

She’s running her hands through my hair and I’m crying. I’m not ashamed to admit it. Everything I wanted and thought I couldn’t have is right here in front of me and she took it one step further. I wrap my arms around her middle. “God, I love you, Kendall.”

Her tears are free flowing now. “I love you too.”

Needing You

1

Luke

“So, uh, is that your dad?” I ask Kendall. From the minute I walked into the house, I had hoped not, because the way the older man was looking at her was definitely not dad-like. In my business, I’m suspicious of everybody.

Her nose scrunches up. “No.”

I tilt my head to the side and smile. “So it’s like that, huh?”

She laughs a little and points at the book. “Maybe we should start here.”

She looks at her watch and I get down to work.

Kendall and I work on the project, which is a one-page paper on the effects of drug usage on the brain. I could tell when I told her what the topic was, she thought it was weird, but in my line of work I’ve had to learn a lot about it. Plus, the students got to pick the topic and I figure it was right up my alley. She seems to be in just as much of a hurry as I am to finish the paper. It takes us only thirty-five minutes to write it, type it and submit it.

I look at my watch when we’re finished. “Great, we’re done early. I promised my little sister I would be home before she went to bed.”

She looks at me curiously. “You and your sister are close?”

I grab up my bag and start stuffing my laptop and books in it. “Yes. Well, actually, I’m also her guardian. Our parents died last year and I was given guardianship.”

I follow her to the front door and we pass Brian, the man she introduced me to. I give him a wave but all I get back is a silent nod. I try to hide my smile because obviously the man didn’t like us working together. I should tell him there’s nothing to worry about, but I figure I’ll just let him sweat it out.

Kendall puts her hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Luke.”

A snarl from the living room has her pulling her hand back and Kendall and I both look at Brian. He’s staring at Kendall and the possession in his eyes is obvious. Shaking her head, Kendall thanks me for coming across town to work on the project.

I start to walk out the door but turn around quickly. “So you’ll be okay here… with him?” I nod my head toward the living room, pointedly at Brian.

She assures me she’s fine and he would never hurt her before I finally turn around and walk down the steps of the house.

I shake my head as I get into the car. I got partnered with Kendall for the school project and honestly, I wasn’t too upset about it. She’s a beautiful woman… but obviously not the one for me. She’s clearly taken. I mean, I don’t think she knows it yet, but that man obviously thinks that she is his. He definitely didn’t like me being there.

I guess I should be glad it didn’t work out for me and Kendall. I have class with her and she’s pretty and nice, but there’s definitely no spark there. Plus, I don’t have the time to date anyway. Not since I’ve taken full guardianship of my little sister, and I work full time and go to school, well, there’s no time for any kind of social life really.

Pulling out of her driveway, I look down at the clock. Our project took less time than I thought it would, so I decide to head over to the grocery store. I’m pretty sure that Anna ate the very last bit of her favorite cereal this morning. And even though it’s something small and she wouldn’t mind switching cereals for one day, I can’t just let her go without it. My thoughts go to Anna. She’s only ten and seems pretty adjusted to everything, but what do