Harlequin Special Edition January 2022--Box Set 1 of 2 by Michelle Major

Author:Michelle Major
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

John sat on the front porch, gripping the manila envelope in his hands.

Emily had enclosed all of Leslie’s original paperwork—her birth certificate, her shot record, her pediatrician’s name and the signed adoption paperwork. She was signing away her rights to Leslie and leaving the rest up to John. Because I know what the hell I’m doing.

From his spot by the wicker rocking chair John had commandeered, Alpha rolled onto his back.

John absentmindedly rubbed the dog, his mind turning over Emily’s note...

Vlad, watching John and Alpha from the safety of his hammock swing, made a click-chirp.

“What?” John asked. “You want something from me, too?”

Vlad showed his teeth and hissed.

“Right back at you,” John snapped.

Alpha sat up, his head cocking to one side.

“Not you,” he said, giving Alpha’s ears a good scratching.

Alpha rested his chin on John’s lap, his big brown eyes staring up at John—like he understood John needed someone to listen.

“I don’t know what to do,” he whispered. “I can’t keep her...” But the second the words were out, his throat closed off. A hollow ache began in the pit of his stomach, and a sharp band of tension wrapped around his temples and down around the base of his skull.

Alpha blinked.

Adoption wasn’t a bad thing. Leslie would have a family, a real family—with a father who wasn’t...him. That’s what he wanted, wasn’t it? What the hell sort of father would he be? Terrible, that’s what. He was more like his stepfather than his biological father. And his stepfather, he’d come to find out, was a lying, self-absorbed, mean-hearted son of a bitch who did a number on the once-strong bond between the Mitchell brothers. What was left of that bond? Well, his big brother, Hayden, had taken care of that. On him, constantly, to do more—to be more. Always there, questioning John’s every thought and action, second-guessing him and doubting John’s word.

Had John done his part? Hell, yes. If Hayden wasn’t going to believe him, he might as well do what he was being accused of. Hayden had seemed too settled on John being a screwup, and John hadn’t done a thing to correct him. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway: once Hayden made up his mind about anything, it was a done deal. Hayden decided John was a lazy, worthless, no-good liar who never followed through or cared about anyone else. John decided to go with the path of least resistance and did his best to live up to every single one of his big brother’s expectations.

From all he’d overheard at his last visit, Hayden’s opinion of him hadn’t changed.

What the hell did he know about being a father? Being responsible? Nurturing? He’d spent his whole life being the opposite of those things. No. Leslie would be better off without him.

And Nat?

He couldn’t think about Nat. Not the way she hummed or rocked or patted or smiled at Leslie like she was the sun and the moon and the whole damn universe all rolled into one. If he did that.

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