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Baer recovered first, jumping to his feet and rushing over to her. The poor woman barely had time to put her mug on the counter before he was sweeping her up in a hug that lifted her feet off the tile floor. She giggled lightly and hugged him.
“You’re such a silly boy,” she murmured as she patted her hand on his shoulder. Baer placed her back on her feet and stepped away. Her expression turned stern. “You should know better than shifting while you’re drunk. That’s so reckless. You could have gotten hurt!”
“Sorry, Aunt Jo.” Baer’s shoulders slumped and he hung his head. It was such an odd sight to see this man who outweighed the little old woman by an easy hundred pounds looking so chastened.
She smiled and patted his cheek, instantly forgiving him for his transgressions. “I know, dear. You’re bored. Boys tend to do crazy things when they’re bored.”
“Yeah, but we found one of our brothers while we were out last night.” Baer whipped around and pointed out Grey like she couldn’t clearly see the man sitting at the table.
Jo walked around the counter behind Baer, but while Baer returned to his seat beside Grey, Jo kept walking until she was standing behind Clay. Her small hands landed on Clay’s slumped shoulders and something inside of Clay relaxed. Flo was technically “his aunt”—the keeper of his powers—and he had to admit that she was a good match for his personality, even if she was a hard, no-nonsense taskmaster.
But it was impossible to not love Jo. She was all hugs, cookies warm from the oven, and laughter. She tried to be stern, but she was a pushover at heart. Of course, it was only natural that Baer was matched with her since it seemed like the man’s entire being was trained on making “his aunt” happy.
“You’re his aunt,” Clay announced when he finally thought about the strange distance she was putting between herself and Grey. Jo was the epitome of a hugger. If Grey was one of them, then she’d be right there with him. Unless she was holding his powers.
He twisted in his seat to look at her, but her eyes were locked on Grey. Clay looked at the new person at their table and was surprised to see what seemed to be Grey’s first unguarded expression. The man was looking at Jo with wonder and confusion.
“It’s so good to see you again, Grey,” Jo said with a soft waver in her voice. “We’ve missed you so much.”
“I know you…but I don’t…”
Jo’s smile grew wide. “It’ll make more sense soon.” She released Clay and clapped her hands together. “But first, breakfast.” She shuffled out from behind Clay and started for the counter and stove. “You need something nice and hearty to start your day.”
“Is a full stomach a wise thing considering…” Clay said, letting his question drift off at the end. Getting his powers wasn’t an enjoyable experience for Clay and he couldn’t imagine that it would have gone better with a full stomach of pancakes and sausage. He’d been lucky the shepherd’s pie he’d eaten hadn’t come back up when Flo hit him with his.
“Oh, it’ll be fine.” Jo gave a dismissive wave of her hand as she opened the fridge and pulled out two packages of bacon he was sure hadn’t been in there last night. Bacon didn’t last more than twenty-four hours in their house. “Better than the stomach full of alcohol and coffee he’s currently nursing.”
“Do you need any help?” Baer offered.
“Not a bit, dear. You relax and chat. Isn’t this kitchen wonderful? Dane did a fantastic job of fixing this room up. So much better than the last design.”
And just like that, Dane was there, stealing up all his spare brainpower. It was like getting kicked in the gut.
What the hell was he going to say to Dane when he saw him again?
Was it too late to crawl back into bed with him? Baer and Jo clearly had the Grey situation all in hand. He wasn’t needed, and a naked Dane still warm in bed was sounding so much better than even bacon for breakfast.
He could feel a weight on him from across the table. Clay looked up to find Baer grinning silently at him. It was like the man was busting at the seams to start talking about Clay’s walk of shame this morning.
Clay opened his mouth to warn Baer to keep his mouth shut when Jo spoke again.
“Speaking of…” Jo drawled as she continued to pull out what she needed. “Clay, why don’t you go grab a quick shower? You’ve got time while I cook.”
The kitchen erupted in loud laughter from both Grey and Baer. The two men rocked back in their chairs, and heat burned Clay’s cheeks. This was insufferable.
