“Well, I’ve always been…big. When I turned eight, I had already known Steven and Garret for years. Everybody knew we were going to be a pack. Gramps…Er...My Pop’s Pop…Murphy’s dad said he wasn’t going to let his family look like paupers in front of the Carson Pack.” I pause so they can take that in. The Carson pack are rich, like stupid rich. My parents were wellenough off, upper middle class to be sure, but not like that. I only met Vee and Garret because two of my dads work for theirs. We met when I was a toddler at some sort of social event that I was too young to even remember. After that we stuck together like glue.
I clear my throat. “Anyway, Gramps started an account for me. He put a few thousand in to start and added to it each month. Instead of birthdays or Christmas, I just got money put into it. He said it was so when I started a pack, I’d be set. We’d be able to use it to pay the fees to the omega center to meet a good omega or put a down payment on a place of our own. It was barely a drop in the bucket compared to what Vee and Garret would contribute, but it was something that would come from me and give me more standing in the pack.”
I swallow again, nausea rolling through my stomach. “At least, that was the plan, until it turns out: Hey, your grandson’s an omega. The old man hit the roof. He demanded the money back. But he had set the account up in my name, with Murphy as my guardian.”
“Gramps couldn’t do shit about it. They got into a huge fight. Murphy argued that all the interest it had accrued in eight years was mine, as well as any holiday gift money that had gone in. He offered to pay Gramps back for the initial investment, but the old man started to yell that he didn’t have a grandson anymore since I wasn’t an alpha. Mom hung up the phone on him before Murphy could say anything else. She told me she didn’t want to hear him, but I think she didn’t want me to feel like the reason Murphy couldn’t talk to his family anymore.”
Staring at the ground, I can’t look at Kelly or Sam. I don’t want them to see me cry. Alphas aren’t supposed to cry.
Not that I’m an alpha anymore…or ever.
I sniff back the tears that try to escape. “So, yeah…I have a nice little nest egg that I use when I need extra stuff. The omegacenter covers all my school stuff, and the fees for housing and food are pretty much taken care of with grants. But I should take care of this. It’s been growing for nearly twenty years, I might as well use it to help start my pack, right?” Two pairs of arms come around me, holding me close as Sam’s loud rumbly purr feels like it’s shaking the entire truck.
Kelly pipes up. “Ok, so…not your last name either then…is it the same as your gramps?” I nod dumbly at her. “Yeah, he can suck it. Not his name. Well, how about Carpenter…that’s what Sam does, right? Go back to the old way of naming. We can be Pack Carpenter?” She leans over to Sam, giving an exaggerated wink and whispering loudly. “Just be glad you don’t run a septic service.”
His head drops to my shoulder as his body shakes, and I only hear the barest mumble. “Jesus fuck, Sugar, really. That was awful.”
Kelly snuggles back against my side giggling loudly. She finally calms enough to take a deep breath and stand up. “Well, if you wanna be that way…come on Mr. Shitter and Mr. Shitter, let’s get the truck loaded and go get some lunch.”
Her laughter and the shock of hearing her use profanity for the first time knocks me out of any lingering sadness. Sam and I load up the back of the cab with blankets and pillows, tossing the sealed packets of sheets and sheet protectors in the bed of the truck. We can move them up to the cab too when we go in to get food.
Kelly stops me before I can help her back into the cab. Her arms come around my neck, and she stands on her toes to kiss me on the chin. “I’m sorry that so many people suck. But you know you’re ours, right? Sam’s and mine?” I nod at her somber tone. “Ok, well, as long as you know, you’re stuck with us now, I’m not going anywhere, and I’m pretty sure you’d need to scrape him off like a barnacle if you wanted to get rid of him.”
Sam’s voice comes from the driver's seat, through the open door. “She’s not wrong!” I pick Kelly up, my hands going under her butt to hold her close and kiss her the way I’ve wanted to since I woke up this morning. I want to tell her I love her, but I’m still worried about scaring her away since she’s new to being in a pack. But I know it’s true. These two are already so much a part of me that I need them like I need air. I can’t lose them, no matter what.
Chapter 19
After everything else I don’t feel like being around people, so we grab our burgers to go. I haven’t been to a Red Rogers before, but Teddy and Sam both say they make great burgers. Honestly, it’s kind of overwhelming when they each pick out toppings I’ve never imagined on a hamburger. I go with bacon and cheese, because why mess with perfection?
We each get a burger and steak fries with shakes. Sam gets something called campfire sauce, but I just want catsup. I can only have so many gastric adventures in one day. While we wait for our food, Teddy pulls up a map on his phone and finds a park three blocks over for us to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather.
Our little picnic's wonderful, and I’m glad that we get to have some fresh air after being in the stuffy store for so long.
My plan was for us to go to the bookstore next, but I kind of just want to get back to the house and stretch out for a long snuggle with Teddy. I don’t mind customer service, I have to check into that persona for work in the mornings, and to a lesser extent for classes in the afternoons. But this is supposed to be my break, and while I don’t mind helping Teddy and Sam shopfor nesting stuff, I was about ready to go off at the people in the store for upsetting them both. I know Mom says you get more flies with honey than with vinegar, but sometimes I feel like I need to just pull out the flyswatter instead.
This burger's better than just about any takeout I’ve had. It can’t beat homemade, but it’s super good, and I steal a little bit of Sam’s campfire sauce to try with my steak fries. That’s good too, but I mostly enjoy the way he acts affronted. Teddy distracts him so I can steal the tiny takeout cup. True to form though, when I try to escape with my prize I trip over my own feet and go down.
I manage to spill all the campfire sauce, but my shirt now smells delicious. Teddy grabs my arm to help me up, but Sam doesn’t seem to realize what’s going on and tackles him from behind in retaliation for the distraction earlier.
Things finally settle down when Sam gets Teddy in a headlock while I roll around in the grass laughing, covered in sauce and bits of grass. A woman with a baby carriage and two smaller kids in tow glares at our fun. Not sure what crawled up her butt and died. We weren’t hurting anyone…except my shirt, which is smeared and stained with sauce. Now I really don’t feel like going to the bookstore. We clean up our mess as best we can, and head back to the truck. Sam and Teddy take turns brushing me off and picking grass out of my hair.
Before I can climb my sticky self back up into the truck, Sam takes off his flannel overshirt. He hands it to Teddy then starts to reorganize the truck a bit in just his tank top, while Teddy leads me to the public bathroom to get cleaned up and changed. I use my now dirty shirt to wipe off as much of the sauce as I can before washing off in the tiny sink. They have the loud wall-mounted hand dryers that won’t do any good to help with drying off, and no paper towels. So after I get my shirt damp, I turn it inside out to wipe the splatter of sauce out of my hair and offmy glasses. I don’t even know how it got there. Seriously, there wasn’t that much in the cup that I stole. I guess I’m just talented that way.
When I’m as clean as I can get, Teddy bundles up my shirt and wraps me in Sam’s flannel, rolling up the sleeves and tying it around my waist so it doesn’t come down to my knees. It’s well worn—frayed around the collar—but so soft, and it smells like him. His warm cedar and sawdust scent makes me feel cozy and I wonder if I can take a nap on the drive home. We get back to the truck, and Sam already has it on and the heater running. The temperature's dropped since we left the house this morning, and hedidgive me his flannel. But the warm air on top of his cuddly shirt and my full stomach makes me yawn and blink.
“Are we still going to the bookstore, Kelly, or are you all tuckered out?” He looks at me as Teddy gives me a boost into the truck and gets my lap belt secured before getting himself buckled in. I can’t stop the yawn that makes my jaw crack and starts Teddy yawning too. Sam lets slip a small yawn of his own and a slight chuckle before we all manage to get under control.
“Sorry, Sam. I am full of food, covered in saucy goodness, and I need a nap. Can we, maybe, take a raincheck on the bookstore?” His hand runs over my still damp hair as he looks past me to Teddy, who just nods and wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him, and yawning again.
“Alrighty then, lemme make a quick pit-stop for some coffee, then we’ll head home and look at getting the nest sorted out…and maybe a shower.” He smiles at me, chuckling to himself as he wipes the hand that was in my hair on his jeans. I must have missed some of the sauce. Teddy’s already breathing deep and easy. He fell asleep almost as soon as we started snuggling. I close my eyes and drift off listening to Sam flipping through radio stations.
Teddy
Iwake up when my head bonks against the window. Kelly's cuddled up against my chest. Her head resting almost under my armpit, and I don’t understand how either one of us slept like that. Sam's humming along quietly to something on the radio that I can’t quite make out, just that it has a little twangy sound to it. The driver’s window is open a couple of inches, and he has a paper coffee cup nestled between his thighs. I must make some sort of noise, because his eyes flick over to mine. “Hey, I thought I’d wake y’all up when we got home. Everything ok?” He reaches over and turns off the radio.
I stretch the arm that Kelly isn’t wedged under. “Everything’s fine. I just whacked my head on the window. Sorry I crashed so hard. I guess yesterday was kind of crazy and then the store…I think the big lunch just knocked me on my ass. Sorry.” I feel kind of like shit making him drive home on his own. I need to be using this time getting to know my alpha better.
We pull into the dirt lot in front of the house and Jake's lying on the porch, his tail already going before we even stop the truck. As soon as the engine shuts off he jumps up and lopes over tothe passenger door, standing on his hind legs and looking in. His eyes zero-in on Kelly and he starts licking the glass. Her eyes blink open now that the truck isn’t moving, and she snorts a laugh when she sees him.
