Surrendering to the Stag (BBW Shifter Mail Order Bride Romance) (Mail-Order Mates Book 6) Read Online Free Page B

change. Twins! Gwen was so lucky. While she was happy for her friend, Rachel couldn’t help but feel anxiety about her date. There were babies everywhere around town, and Clint was sure to want to get started on kids right away. She’d looked up adoptions on the internet the night before and knew that it would take longer for them to get a child. Shifter children were the hardest to place and would likely be the easiest for them to adopt. But since Clint was a shifter himself, it would still take a while. Shifters always had to jump through extra hoops when it came to the adoption process.
    She liked the idea of taking in an orphaned shifter child. There were so many who needed a good home and Rachel knew she’d make a great mom. The trouble was, she wasn’t sure if Clint would be excited about the idea. It would be much easier for him to find someone else to marry and not have to worry about adopting. The government would have to comb through their lives to make sure they were fit to be parents. Maybe that wasn’t something Clint would be interested in doing.
    “What’s wrong?” Gwen asked when Rachel came out in tight jeans and a flowing top. “It isn’t that bad. I think this one is a real option.”
    The urge to talk got the best of Rachel and the words came tumbling out before she could stop herself. “I should have mentioned this earlier, but I really don’t think I can date Clint. I…I can’t have children, and he wants a family. There’s no way this can work.”
    As soon as she said it out loud for the first time, Rachel burst into tears. It was so out of character for her that Gwen just stood and stared for a moment. She always kept everything bottled up inside and hated burdening anyone else with her problems. But this one was too much.
    “Oh, honey.” Gwen hugged Rachel and rocked her back and forth. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been going on and on for months about my baby and how awful pregnancy is. I’ll keep my big mouth shut from here on out.”
    “No, I don’t mind.” Rachel hiccupped from crying so hard. “I like hearing about how the pregnancy is going. I’m just as excited as you about these cubs. That’s why I didn’t want to tell anyone sooner. I didn’t want to rain on anyone’s parade.”
    They sat down on the bed but Gwen kept her arm around Rachel. “How long have you known?”
    “A couple of years. I was having a few problems, and Dr. Dennison did some tests.” Rachel’s explanation was punctuated by multiple hiccups. By the end, she’d stopped crying. “I never imagined this would happen.”
    Gwen brushed tears from her eyes. “It’ll be okay, Rachel. Clint is a good man. He’s not going to turn you away because of this.”
    “I don’t know. It seems really unfair that he’s going to have to give up having his own child because of me.”
    “According to LK Brides, you’re his mate. If they’re right, that means something big. It’s not like it is for humans finding their life partner. You can ignore the pull for years, decades even, but you’ll come back to your mate. It’s too hard to stay away.”
    “You and Dom did a good job.”
    “Dom and I are both pigheaded.” Gwen laughed. “Clint’s not like Dom at all. He’s like Frank. Could you imagine Frank leaving Amy just because they’d have to adopt?”
    “No,” Rachel said. The town’s superstar baker was the sweetest man. He was also good friends with Clint. It didn’t sound like something any of Clint’s married friends would do. Still, Rachel was nervous. “Don’t tell anyone about this, okay?”
    “Oh, great. Secrets. Can I tell Dom?”
    Rachel considered it and then shook her head. “Not yet. I want to tell Clint first, and Dom likes to talk.”
    “Okay.” Gwen crossed her heart. “I won’t tell a soul. Now try on that dress. I think that’s going to be the winner.”
     
    ***
     
    Clint was nervous. Rachel was five minutes late. Had she changed her mind? She’d sounded a little