AllFreeNovel
Share Us
TWENTY-FIVE
Two hours later,we had music playing out of a speaker while everyone was hanging out in the open yard area behind the townhouses. Zed was grilling, and Teagan was playing football with the rest of the guys minus Rocco while I sat at a plastic picnic table.
My back was against the edge of the table while my legs were sprawled out in front of me, mostly-bare thanks to the jean shorts I had on. The sun felt nice on my skin, and the light breeze kept the yard from getting too hot.
Listening to the sizzle of the grill and chatting with Zed about a chef he worked with, I felt at peace in a way I hadn’t in a long time.
My eyes caught on a glint of gold, and I turned my head to see Rocco crossing the yard, his hands tucked in the pockets of his basketball shorts. His hair was longer than I remembered and messy as shit, but he was there.
I was glad he’d decided to come, even though he’d made it clear he wasn’t planning on it over the phone earlier.
I smiled at him, and he gave me a faint smile back.
“Hey, man. Good to see you,” Zed gave him as big a grin as I had, which was real effort for him. I couldn’t remember seeing Zed grin, ever.
“You too.” Rocco nodded, sitting down a few feet from me. Everyone knew to give me a little distance, since Ford and I still hadn’t completed the mating process, but no one seemed worried about that.
Other than me, of course. And Ford, though he played it off like he wasn’t. We’d been warned multiple times that beta female wolves took a long time to make up their minds, but that didn’t completely take care of the lingering anxiety after what had happened with Rocco’s brother.
One of the teams out in the grass scored, and Elliot, Tea, and Jesse hooted and hollered, doing some weird-ass victory dance. Dax and Ford brushed it off, though I caught their amused grins. The game resumed, and I tried to follow it even though football wasn’t something I’d ever claim to be interested in.
“So you think she’s in that hallway somewhere?” Rocco asked, his voice soft. I was sure Zed heard him, though he gave no outward sign of it.
“She was. The semester just ended though, so she might already be gone. If she’s not, she’s either packing her shit or staying for the summer half-semester. If she’s coming back, it probably won’t be for a few more months. We can go walk the hallway tonight if you want; it’s probably not the best idea, but if you’re worried she’ll walk away for good…” I shrugged.
Immediately after I finished talking, I knew I’d gotten too excited, and was worried he’d get scared off.
His eyes followed the ball, but I knew they were tracking Ford.
“It would be better for her to leave,” he finally said. “We fuck up our mates lives, and get ours fucked in return.”
“That’s not true. My life is so much better since I met all of you guys. I was sleeping with a guy who treated me like shit, and I was lonely, and all I had in my life was school. Now I have Ford, and the pack, and my wolf…” I trailed off. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
It struck me as I said it, how very true it was. My life had changed in so many ways since I met Ford, but none of them were bad. Or at least not bad enough to change the fact that I loved who I was, and who I spent my time with, and the people in my life.
It was definitely time to introduce Ford to my grandparents.
“Maybe I screwed Ford’s life up,” I added. “But he wanted it screwed up.”
“And he’s happier than he’s ever been. Look at him,” Zed added, gesturing toward Ford with his big metal grill-spatula. Ford, Elliot, Dax, and Jesse were in a big dog pile, wrestling over the ball. Ford was on the top and clearly winning, wearing a grin so massive it made me grin too. Teagan was laughing so hard she was crying, her hands on her knees as she remained bent over.
“Did you ever see Ford grin like that before Ebony?” Zed checked. “Because I didn’t. He grinned, before. But not with his whole damn body. He’s disgustingly thrilled with life.”
I scoffed. “How can someone be disgustingly thrilled with life?”
“Like that.” He gestured to Ford, who finally managed to roll off the dogpile with the football in his hand.
He whooped, and his eyes went straight to me. I pumped my fist into the air, and his grin somehow grew even wider.
My phone buzzed and I picked it up, answering immediately when I saw Del’s name on the screen. “Hello?”
“Hey, girl. What the hell is this town? It’s like a Hallmark movie threw up all over it. There are people walking around the streets and smiling and shit.”
I grinned. “Then you’ve found Moon Ridge, I’d say. No one in our school seems to know about it, but I think they’ve been here longer than the school.”
I glanced over at Zed for confirmation. When he shrugged, I looked at Rocco.
“It was established in 1921,” Rocco said absentmindedly.
