Fated to Be Family(21)

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As Caleb walked to the bar he thought about Damian’s words. Damian was right. It would have been a disaster if Kate had rejected the boys. He let out a sigh. Man, he had screwed up. Soon he stopped and looked up at the bar where he worked. It was a country bar, complete with saloon style swinging doors. The wood planks surrounding the building made you feel as if you were in an old mining town. One of the things his artistic side loved the most about Arkadia was the diversity of its architectural styles that made this small town quaint and even more unique.

He pushed past the swinging doors before opening one of the glass double doors and heading straight to the bar. Since it was a weekday the place was deserted and the stage where the local bands played was as empty as the wooden dance floor.

Most of the tables had chairs stacked on top of them waiting to be taken down for Friday evening. That’s when this place made most of its money. During the week, it was the odd patron here and there, but mostly it was cleaning and stocking and getting ready for the weekend.

He spotted Mojo behind the bar cleaning glassware. The man stood at six feet eight inches. His head was shaved bald and he sported a well-trimmed beard that made him look as though he had a perpetual five o’clock shadow. They may have been the same height, but the man outweighed him by nearly fifty pounds and all of it was muscle. He was huge and intimidating, especially with the number of piercings and the visible tats exposed by his short-sleeved, V-necked T- shirt.

But he knew Mojo had a soft spot for those less fortunate. He had hired him on the spot without a background check when he found out he had two baby boys to support. He knew that he slipped money into the tip jar for the waitstaff when they weren’t looking and he would volunteer down at the school for field days and class activities. He was one of the best men Caleb had ever had the privilege to meet.

Caleb slid onto the worn leather and wooden barstool, putting the plastic bag on the bar.

“Where in the hell have you been? I was worried about you and those boys. You’re never here during the day, so it must be important.”

Mojo liked Caleb. The man was honest and dependable. The way he put the cubs of his first had won him a lot of admiration in his eyes. Not a lot of men could have done what Caleb had.

“I came to give notice since I mated, but now I don’t know if that is working out.”

Caleb reached behind the bar and picked up a bottle. He popped the cap and took a long drink. Mojo watched him closely. Though Caleb and been working there for six months, this was the first time he had seen him drink alcohol.

“Congratulations on your mating. Who is the lucky woman?” Mojo asked, taking a drink of his own beer.

“Kate Edwards,” Caleb said.

Mojo sprayed out the beer he had been drinking.

“What the hell? Isn’t she mated to the Arkadian Wolf pack Alpha Bran McGregor?” Mojo asked.

He could see why his friend was drinking now.

“Yes, evidently we are a ménage mating.” Caleb stared up at the ceiling.

“How is that working out for ya?” Mojo asked.

“It’s actually easier than I thought it would be. I was scared that I would feel like a third wheel since they had been mated for so long, but it’s not like that. They have both made me feel like I belong.” Caleb scraped the beer label with his thumb.

“So why are you here instead of with your mates?” Mojo asked.

“Because I spoke before thinking. I fucked up big time and I don’t think I can fix this.”

“Well, how about you tell me what you did and I can tell you how to fix it. Fixing problems is a gift of mine.” Mojo winked.

Caleb smiled. It was that glass-is-half-full philosophy that drew Caleb to Mojo. He felt like the man could do anything, including giving an unknown wolf shifter with two leopard cubs a job.

“Kate went to pick up one of the boys and referred to herself as their mama and I said she wasn’t their mother,” Caleb admitted quietly.

“Dude, you’re fucked,” Mojo said, shaking his head.

“Whatever happened to the man who could fix anything?” Caleb asked, shocked.

“Let me get this straight. This beautiful, sweet woman opened up her heart, home, and bed to a complete stranger based solely on the fact that he was her predestined mate. She put your needs and the needs of two boys not birthed from her womb, who are not even of the same species as either herself or her mates, above her own. She had to face the fact that some unknown woman, who you admitted you weren’t even in love with, gave you something so precious, sacred, and intimate in the form of two perfect sons and was okay with it? Then you turned around and say something that basically negated every feeling she had and, for all intents and purposes, led her to believe that she wasn’t good enough to be your children’s mother.