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"Hey," Rocco turned to shoot me a grin. "It's been a minute."
"Or a month.”
"You sure do like to argue," he remarked.
"It's one of my best qualities," I agreed. "Hopefully I'm skilled enough at it to keep your friend away when he's back in human form and horny as shit."
Both guys laughed. I couldn't remember the second guy's name, but he had longish blond hair and light skin, like Rocco. Their faces were totally different, so despite their similar coloring, I didn't think they were blood-related.
"Good luck with that. Jesse's sweet-talked his way out of two dozen speeding tickets since we were sixteen."
"Two dozen? How fast does he drive?" I shot an alarmed look at the wolf on my leg. He lifted his wolfy lips, flashing me a toothy grin. "And how old are you guys?"
"We're all twenty-two. Packs are put together based on when babies are born, so we've all got birthdays within three months," Rocco explained.
So twenty-four speeding tickets in six years? He was never driving me anywhere.
"What was your name again?" I asked the new guy.
"Dax." He nodded my way. "You should join us for dinner sometime. We'd all like to get to know you."
"And we're all missing Jesse," Rocco added.
"I'll try to send him over for dinner, then," I said, though I doubted I'd talk him into it. And I still wasn't sure I was ready for socializing with Jesse's kidnapping werewolf buds.
"He won't leave you," Dax warned me.
"Probably not," I agreed.
Rocco turned the radio on, so there was no awkward silence. My fingers stroked Jesse's ears. I'd gotten used to touching him; too used to it. I was going to go into withdrawal when I didn't have someone to cuddle with all the time.
And no, Jesse the man was not going to make my cuddle list. Currently, the only people on said list were Jesse the wolf, and my mom when she and I were both tipsy.
As far as my mom went, I’d told her that I adopted a dog and moved to a rental house. She thought I had a roommate to help me afford the place, and she thought I'd been promoted at the sandwich shop so I had the money.
I felt bad about lying to her, but I couldn't exactly tell her I was being hunted by a werewolf.
Rocco parked in front of the thrift store, and glanced back at me. "What are we looking for?"
"Hopefully, a cheap mattress, dresser, and desk. I've got two hundred bucks to spend, so if I can't find a cheap enough mattress, I'll just keep living out of my suitcases and buy the cheapest thing the mattress store has."
Both guys turned to look at me.
"You found Jesse's cash stash, right?" Dax looked concerned. "If money's a problem, we can—"
"I found his cash. I'm not going to spend it unless I don't have another option. Two hundred is plenty." My voice was firm.
Rocco's eyebrows knitted together. "He wants you to spend the money, Tea. That's why it's there. Giving our mates something makes us feel less shitty about ruining their lives."
"Well if he wants to feel less shitty about that, he'll have to find some other way to make it up to me." I reached for the door.
Rocco hit the button to lock it. "That's not gonna fly." He hit a button on his phone and lifted it to his ear. I frowned when there was a short pause, but then he spoke into the phone. "Hey, Mama Yates.” Another pause. “No, Jesse's fine. Yep, he and Teagan are right here." He glanced at me.
Mama Yates? Obviously that wasn't Rocco's mom, but it couldn't be Jesse's...
Could it?
I looked at the wolf. His ears were perked up, listening.
"Do you still have Jesse's old mattress? Tea's apparently been sleeping on a couch, and she's not willing to spend Jesse's cash or sleep in his current bed."
Shit.
It was Jesse's mom.
Rocco chuckled. "Yep. We'll be right over. Thanks." He hung up and looked at me. "It's your lucky day. We found you a bed, and it’s free."
"You are not taking me to Jesse's mother's house," I warned.
"Yes I am." He pulled out of the thrift store's parking lot and pulled back onto Grape Road.
