Levi: Wait, they BOTH get to come over? No fair!
Oliver: You had pottery. I had the botanical garden. It's their turn.
Levi: Fine. But I'm calling dibs on the next thing.
Micah: That's not how dibs works.
Levi: It is now. I made a new rule.
I found myself grinning at my phone like an idiot. Their banter was so easy, so natural. Like a family that had been together for years, comfortable enough to tease and joke without any real heat behind it.
Pack, I reminded myself. Not family. Pack. The distinction mattered, somehow. Family was something you were born into, something you had no control over. Pack was chosen. Built. Earned.
I took a deep breath getting ready for the day. It didn’t take long for the hour to go by. Garrett arrived first, his truck rumbling up my gravel drive at precisely nine o'clock. I was already outside, kneeling in the herb garden with my hands deep in the soil, when I heard him approach.
"You started without me," he said, and there was a note of gentle accusation in his voice that made me smile.
"I've been awake for two hours. Couldn't just sit around waiting." I sat back on my heels, brushing dirt from my gloves as I looked up at him. He was dressed for work today, worn jeans and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing forearms that could probably lift a small car. His scent reached me a moment later. I almost hummed at the familiar smell that almost wrapped around me.
"Fair enough." He crouched down beside me, surveying the garden with an assessing eye. "Micah's right behind me. He stopped to get you coffee in town."
As if on cue, another vehicle appeared at the end of my drive. Micah's car was sleeker than Garrett's truck, dark blue and practical, and he parked it with mathematical precision beside the larger vehicle. When he climbed out, I noticed he was carrying three cups of coffee.
"Good morning," he said, approaching us with his usual measured stride. He was dressed more casually than I'd ever seen him---dark jeans and a simple navy sweater that made his grey eyes look almost silver in the morning light.
“Here you go.” He handed a cup to me then one to Garrett who took it with a grin as he took a large gulp of it.
“Thank you.” I smiled at him in thanks and took a couple sips before setting it off to the side so we could get to work.
"Alright," I said, giving the two looks. "Here's the plan. The raised beds need to be prepped for winter. I want to get the last of the root vegetables harvested before the first frost, and there's a section in the back that needs weeding desperately." I looked between them. "Garrett, you take the harvesting, you've got the muscle for pulling up stubborn carrots. Micah, you can put some fertilizer in the beds I’ve already cleared, and I'll tackle the weeding."
"Delegating already," Garrett said, lips twitching. "I like it."
"You said you wanted to be put to work." I raised an eyebrow. "Having second thoughts?"
"Not a chance." He headed toward the vegetable beds, rolling his shoulders like he was preparing for a workout.
Micah was already making his way to the fertilizer I had sitting off to the side. I watched him for a moment, struck by how different he and Garrett were, and yet how seamlessly they seemed to work alongside each other.
We worked through the morning, the three of us spread across my property. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, it was productive, punctuated by occasional questions or observations.
From the vegetable beds, Garrett held up an enormous carrot, dirt still clinging to its roots. "This thing is the size of my forearm. What are you feeding these plants?"
"Love and attention," I replied dryly. "And a very aggressive fertilizing schedule."
"Noted." He set the carrot in the basket beside him and went back to digging, a small smile on his face. It was strange, having them here. Strange but... good. Different from working alone, but not in a way that felt intrusive. Just the quiet rhythm of three people doing something productive together, each contributing in their own way.
I found myself stealing glances at both of them as we worked. Garrett with his broad shoulders and careful hands, gentle despite his size.With Micha with his muscles and and lean form with detailed oranted eyes watching every move he makes. Two alphas. In my space. Working alongside me like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Around noon, Garrett straightened up from the vegetable beds and stretched, his back cracking audibly. "Break time," he announced. "I brought food."
"You brought food?" I asked, surprised. Frowning when I didn’t see him bring anything out. He must have left it in his truck then.
"Sandwiches. And those lemon cookies from the bakery that also sets up at the farmers market. Viola says you really liked those.” He gave me a sharp grin as if he was proud of finding that tidbit of information out.
"I brought tea," Micah added, closing his notebook and rising gracefully to his feet. “I figured you would like a change from coffee after working out here most of the day.”
I looked between them---Garrett with his practical offerings, Micah with his intellectual ones---and felt something crack open in my chest. They'd both thought about this. Both planned ways to take care of me, each in their own language.
