I roll my eyes at a level of drama I don’t usually hear from my older brother. “I appreciate your concern, but he’s cool with it. Really. Win likes her, too. They kissed, and Win has survived to see another day.”
He purses his lips. “That’s different. Win is a beta. Alphas aren’t as threatened by betas.”
He has a point, but he’s wrong. At least about this. I wasn’t this confident before, even after Murph gave his blessing for Win and me to act on our feelings. Maybe it’s how we’ve spent the last few days together that’s boosted my confidence from shaky to absolute. “Living together has given all of us balance.”
He tilts his head, and I see the first hint in the loosening of his shoulders that he knows where I’m going with this. Noah has always been sharp. Always good at reading situations and gauging the mood of a room. It’s why he’s such a good fire chief. “Keep going.”
Packs almost always form young. What happened to us rarely happens to people in their thirties, and in Win’s case, his early forties.
“I don’t think any of us were even aware of it, but I’m more settled than I have been in years. Win is more confident, and he finally asked Nico for extra hours at the diner and more input on the menu. And Murph isn’t hanging out in his room like a hermit. Living together has made us all grow, not just separately but together. I think we became a pack, and we want to stay together.”
He nods, unsurprised. “I thought you were selling the house.”
“We are.” Even though the farmhouse feels more like a home than a house flip should.
So why did none of us work on renovating the house this past weekend? Why were we talking over dinner last night about what we wanted to do next weekend, plans that did not include working on the house?
We got the rundown foreclosed home for a good price, but the mortgage was a stretch then and still is, even after Win and I put our life savings down as a big down payment, and Murphstarted helping out. Wehaveto sell this year. A firefighter, a cook, and a construction worker just don’t earn enough to afford a six-bedroom house within walking distance to downtown Rios.
Once we sell, we’ll get back all the money we put into the house and then some. Enough to get a smaller place further out of town. Sure, it won’t be as nice, won’t have the backyard the farmhouse has, or have the warm feeling I get when I walk in through the front door, and we’re all hanging out in the kitchen, chatting about our day.
But it’s just a house, right? And all houses are the same.
“You look troubled, little brother,” Noah says quietly.
I force a smile onto my lips. “I’m good. Just thinking about the house.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
He earns more than I do as a fire chief, but he has his own place he’s renting, and he’s not made of money. None of us are.
I shake my head. “We’ll figure something out.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Rose wandering in through the farthest entrance, beautiful in a pair of white cotton pants, a pale pink t-shirt, and brown sandals.
Is she wearing those lace panties I got an eyeful of when I opened her suitcase?
Before my mind can wander any further in that direction, I order myself to stop thinking such dangerous thoughts in public. I’m going to have to stand up from this table at some point, and show an excited little boy around. Icannotdo that with a hard-on.
“You’re not listening to a word I’m saying, are you?” Noah’s amused voice punctures my focus.
I stop staring at Rose to glare at him. He’s looking smug, and I have no clue what the fuck he said while I had my eyes on Rose, but I hope it wasn’t important. Still, I’m thankful for his distraction.
My attention swings back to Rose.
Her hair is in a braid hanging over one shoulder. Her curious chocolate-brown gaze sweeps the inside of the fire station, and her grip on Ben’s hand is tight. For good reason, he looks like he’s bursting at the seams with excitement, speaking so fast that I can’t imagine Rose understands what he’s saying.
This smile as I push myself to my feet is genuine. Happy. At least about this. “Let me introduce you to Rose and Ben.”
Chapter 15
Rose
Containing Ben’s excitement from the house to the car and then to the firehouse was a task that required every ounce of my focus.
I nearly lost control outside when he saw the two red fire trucks parked just behind the large silver shutters. He started babbling, stumbling over his words, eyes wide, hopping up and down as he tried to pull me inside.
I still have no idea what he was saying.
