Page 48 of Wolf It Down, Knot Me Up

I pull my door open, climb in, and offer her a grin as though I’ve never doubted a thing in my life.

“Home it is.”

12

LUCY

“Grandma. Hi,” I say, answering my phone.

“Lucy, love. I just had to call you, as I’m going insane here. I’m so sorry for upsetting you earlier today.”

I flop back onto the bed, phone to my ear, staring up at the ceiling. “You don’t have to…”

“No. Let me get this out.” She sniffles, and hearing her in agony cracks my heart clean down the middle. “I know you’re not a child, and as much as I want to wrap you up and hide you somewhere the world can never touch you again, that’s not how it works, is it?”

“I know it isn’t, but I love that you want to protect me.”

“I lost my own son the day he walked out with your mother. Cut them both off for leaving you on my porch like a parcel.” Her breath catches. “And I’ve carried that every day since. So when I saw you making a big choice with three men you barely know, I got protective. That’s all it was, love. Not doubt in you, but fear for you.”

My throat tightens. “Oh, Grandma, you’re going to make me cry.”

“I watched you being so sick years ago, and I couldn’t help. It nearly killed me.” A pause, and she sniffles, my heart hurting so heavily. “And now here you are on the other side of it, standing up, fighting for what you want. For your Alphas, of all things. It caught me off guard, is all.”

“Yeah.” I swipe at my eyes. “Caught me off guard too, honestly.”

“So, after all that, I may not fully agree, but I’m on your side. Every step, you hear me?”

“You have no idea what that means to me,” I say.

“I have some idea ’cause I love you just as much.”

I laugh lightly and roll onto my side, hugging a pillow. “The weird part is that this doesn’t feel the way it did with Jerry. That was fireworks, all rush. This feels like it’s meant to be, as if I’ve just been waiting for this moment, which I know sounds crazy, seeing as I met them less than a week ago.”

“Keep trusting your gut, Lucy. You’ve earned the right to. God knows you’ve paid enough.”

“I love you,” I tell her again. “Thanks for not making me fight you on this too.”

“No matter what happens, I’m here. And when I’m gone, I know you’ll do right by yourself.”

“Gran—”

“Now don’t you start. I’m fine. They ran another round of scans today, that’s all, and the bones want more time before they’ll let me out. Another week or two, they’re saying.”

“Oh God! Grandma, you’ll lose your mind in there.”

“Die of boredom and terrible coffee, is what I’ll do.” She’s laughing now, which has me grinning.

“I’m going to smuggle in every trashy magazine in the county and those horrible crossword books you pretend to hate, and lots of snacks.”

“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds almost bearable.” A clatter on her end. “Now go on. Let those men make a fuss over you.”

“Night, Grandma.”

“Good night, my darling.” And she hangs up.

I hold the phone to my chest a second after she’s gone, and the rock that’s been sitting in my stomach since the hospital visit dislodges. It’s not fully gone, but I breathe easier.

In the bathroom, I push my hair off my face and swipe a bit of gloss on. I’m still in the red dress from this morning, and I smooth it down my hips and glance at myself in the mirror. Yep, I’m doing this for three Alphas, so I do a little toss of my hair, then roll my eyes so hard it hurts, because who even am I? But the flutter under my heart isn’t fooled. I made my choice today, and now I get to find out if I was right.