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“Jonah?” Callum wondered. “The kid from the garage?”
“Yeah,” Duncan confirmed. “He’s sweet on Sydney.”
“That’s an understatement,” Mercer corrected with a snort. “He’s written her poetry. Though he graduated last year, so he’s not a high school kid anymore.”
“He’s not even eighteen,” Elliot clearly disapproved.
Mercer stood up and paced the room. He opened the fridge, the cupboards, washed his hands, and put away a few dishes from the drying rack.
“Business going well?” Elliot asked while they all watched Mercer.
“Yep,” Duncan replied, his gaze tracking his brother. “How’s Rafe been?”
“Good.”
“Haven’t seen him in a while,” Duncan said. “Not since I did his brakes and oil.”
“He’s Rafe.”
Duncan didn’t reply. His eyes narrowed when Mercer bent to pull out a sponge from beneath the sink and wiped the clean table. “Dude, what the fuck?”
Looking up, Mercer paused. “What?”
Sitting forward on the sofa, Duncan stared at his brother. “What is with you lately?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been bouncing off the walls. You can’t sit still anymore. What’s going on? Yesterday you cleaned the bathroom twice and re-organized the magazines like six times.”
Looking a little confused, Mercer sighed. “I don’t know. Something is going on with me. I can’t stop moving.” He scratched at his shoulder, his face pinching in discomfort. “And I’m itchy. My skin feels like it’s on fire or something. Maybe I need to see a doctor.”
Callum snorted. “That’s the mating pull.”
Everyone looked at him.
“What?” Mercer’s hand stopped. “No. No way.” He glanced at Duncan and then Elliot. “Not now. It’s got to be something else.” His fingers started moving again, this time scratching just beneath the collar of his shirt.
“I’ve been feeling that for months. It sucks.”
Mercer glared and shook his head. “No. That’s not it.”
It was pretty natural to deny the mating pull at first. Callum glanced at Elliot. He expected his cousin to share in his smirk at Mercer’s discomfort, but Elliot seemed solemn.
He was never going to understand the members of this pack.
The mating pull was often an opportunity for good-natured needling, but these guys looked like it was a death sentence.
Grabbing his beer, Mercer took a seat and made an effort to sit still. “What’s the plan for tonight?”
Elliot pulled at the label on his beer. “Maybe a run? Or cards or something?”
“Run might be good,” Mercer nodded a bit too eagerly.
Callum didn’t add to the conversation, but a run would be the best thing for Mercer. Something that allowed him to use up some of that energy. He probably didn’t realize it, but he’d already begun to tap his feet again.
“We could go run the course,” Elliot suggested, referencing his training obstacle course.
Callum hadn’t run it himself, but it was one of the few things he wanted to try before he left. It looked like a challenge.
