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“Not a kid anymore,” Flame grumbled, voice half muffled against Rusty’s chest.

“You’ll always be a kid to me.”

Chapter Fifteen

(Roark)

Maybe it’s just me, but I think you need to put a worm on that line before you can expect to catch anything, Roark thought as he watched Rusty lowering his line into the hole they’d cut in the ice.

The family fishing shack sat on the small, river-fed lake behind their cabins, with a clear view of both, which meant their mates could glance outside from time to time and see the smoke still coming from the chimney of the shack as they fished.

Shit, Rusty grumbled, reeling it in some so he could attach his worm.

Something tells me that the fish weren’t the only reason you wanted to come here tonight, Roark said.

I’m worried about Flame, Rusty admitted as he put a worm on the hook this time, and proud of him at the same time.

You’ve been broody since you talked to him the other night.

Still trying to process the conversation he and our Pops had, Rusty admitted. If it makes Flame think about things differently, then I don’t have an issue with it. He’s the one who put a bunch of shitty ideas in Flame’s head, so it’s only right that he is the one to sort him out. I just hate that it’s taken so long and that Flame has the reputation he does now trying to blindly follow a wolf who could never be bothered to give him the attention he craved.

Once he was an adult, it was his choice to follow that path, Roark reminded him. How many times did you try and school him about the error of his ways?

Too many.

Then you did everything you could.

The grimace on Rusty’s face was proof that he didn’t believe it, but Roark had known him long enough to know that he’d get to the heart of the issue. It was why he’d wanted to come out here. Seemed like the bulk of the serious conversations they’d had over the years had taken place while they were waiting for something to nibble their hooks. Being able to communicate mind to mind just meant that they didn’t scare the fish off while they were talking.

All except for one thing, Rusty said as he leaned back in his chair.

Smack him over the head with a crowbar? Roark replied. Because I saw you test the weight of one once when he was going off about something. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it wasn’t because you needed to pry anything free of something else.

Naa, I was thinking about cracking him one that day, Rusty admitted. I’m just grateful to Cage for spilling that bottle of oil at the perfect moment for Flame to slip in it, or the outcome would have been more than a sore tailbone.

I bet, Roark replied. So, what mysterious method do you wish you’d used?

Believing the bullshit I was spewing, Rusty said.

Roark needed a moment to process that and organize his thoughts before he responded.

Something tugged his line. A light nibble at first, followed by a solid strike and run that he responded to by carefully reeling once he was sure the hook was set. For several minutes, there was just the joy of catching a beautiful walleye, securing it, rebaiting the hook, and dropping it into the pond.

You tried to be a positive presence in Flame’s life even when your own faith and trust in everything we’d been taught as pups had seriously been shaken, Roark said. Even if you didn’t believe, I could tell that you were trying to. You could have gone along with his behavior or worse, fed into it, but you didn’t. That counts for something in my book.

Rusty nodded, meeting his gaze across the stand that held their thermoses. Thank you.

It was his turn to catch a fish. Another beautiful walleye. At this rate, they’d have tomorrow’s supper in no time at all.

I just want him to know what it’s like, Rusty said as he rebaited his hook. To wake up in the morning with people who love him and want him to show the pieces of himself he keeps hidden because he doesn’t want to be vulnerable. I want to see him laugh more, because we didn’t get to do that enough as pups. Watching him burn bridges and possibilities one after the other fucking sucks, especially when I know he has a good heart, even if he’s hell-bent on convincing the world that he’s an utter dick.

Kinda like Hades.

Those two are more alike than either cares to admit, which is why they constantly butt heads. They both wanna be the biggest asshole in the room.

And they’re both paying for it in the exact same way, Roark reminded him.

Unfortunately. Though I think Hades might be closer to figuring his shit the fuck out than Flame is.