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He whined and slumped down in the seat.
“You don’t have dibs on her, buddy. You’d never met her if it wasn’t for me. Remember that?”
The way he harrumphed meant he was disappointed in my decision not to kidnap her. “I left her with the address. I even commanded she attend. What more do you want?”
His hard gaze was amusing.
Slowing, I allowed the engine to idle as I stared out the windshield.
I should have known the party was going to be a big soiree. Phoenix couldn’t do anything without making it over the top.
Still, the number of vehicles lined up on both sides of the street reminded me how much I hated crowds. And people for that matter. I found a spot, taking a few seconds to consider turning around and heading back to the bar to wait for her.
A couple of beers and if she hadn’t texted by then, I’d leave. “Okay, buddy. Don’t wander off too far.” As soon as he was out of the truck he bounded off in search of a playmate. Sighing, I stood where I was for a few minutes, staring at the crowd of people. I’d never been good with parties, but this one bothered me more than it should. If Colt showed up, it would be the first time all six of us were back together since the incident on the mountain.
Maybe the others had moved past the tragedy, but it wasn’t easy to ignore the events even if we’d failed to talk about it as a group after being ostracized by almost everyone in town. They’d called us the Bad Boys of Missoula long before Belle had been consumed in the fire. While time had softened memories for some, I could still see the events of the evening as if captured in a movie.
I finally headed in the direction of the noise, immediately catching Snake’s eye. He grinned as he lumbered toward me, the limp he’d gotten while serving overseas less pronounced than when he’d risen from the dead. He had the girl on his arm to thank for that, her patience with him surprising almost everyone.
He was as grumpy as I was on the outside, but she’d managed to soften him. Maybe that’s what the guys hoped would happen with having Lily in my life. I didn’t see it. Not one bit.
“You finally decided to show up,” he said as he swaggered closer, proud to have his arm wrapped around his woman. “You remember Chasity.”
“How could I forget? I did save her life and all.” I was able to laugh as she shook her head.
“I seem to remember I held my own pretty darn well,” she purred in her lilting voice.
“Uh-huh. I saved you from eaten by wolves. That’s what I remember.”
“Very funny.” She gave me the same look of chastisement I’d seen multiple times from Lily. The two of them would get along famously.
“Where can a guy get a drink around here?” I asked, eyeing the barn that had almost been torched to the ground only a few months before.
“There’s a bar set up in front of the barn. Where’s Lily?” Snake asked, his grin remaining.
“Working.”
“You mean she couldn’t stand being around you any longer.”
I punched him playfully and headed toward the corral. Phoenix was holding court as he usually did and as I moved closer, I wasn’t surprised he was describing the sanctuary. “We just need another veterinarian, a whole lot of people who love animals in order to handle the other duties and we’ll be ready to go in thirty days. I’m not good at hiring people either.”
I thought about Lily given her love of animals but shoved it aside. She wasn’t ready to settle down anywhere. I had a feeling she wouldn’t stay in Missoula for long, the noose around her neck already getting tighter.
Not that I was the kind of man who could handle being tied down under any circumstances. I pulled away, scanning the facility.
The crowd was already lively even at barely seven-thirty in the evening. I felt like a fish out of water standing by myself while everyone else talked in couples or groups. I’d done this to myself, refusing to be a part of the city I’d grown up in. Maybe I still held resentment to the way all six of us had been treated over the years, only Snake considered a true hero after his return from the dead.
At least Houston was getting a warm welcome, already entrenched in the smokejumper life. I knew a few of the guys on the Zullie crew, smokejumpers as tight as teams of Marines. He’d served his country. Now he was going to protect Montana’s people. Good for him. He’d found a real purpose in life.
As I headed for the bar, I noticed Sam had already found his buddy, Apollo, the dog Snake had rescued overseas. Sophie wasn’t far behind, the pup Wren had rescued months before. At least the furry creatures were already having a good time. I grabbed a cold beer from one of the coolers, popping the top and immediately taking a swig. Then I felt a presence behind me and immediately bristled.
“I wondered if you’d show.” Houston’s voice was deeper than I remembered, but it still had the same hard edge that had made him appear the ultimate bad boy, the guy who always got the girl.
Including Belle.
Then again, she’d fallen hard for all six of us, refusing to choose just one. A few of us had joked at the time we could deal with sharing her. Everybody knew better. We were possessive alphas, incapable of sharing anything.
I turned slowly and the look we shared didn’t need words. I’d been the one to shove everybody away, our tight friendship all but demolished. “I’m here.”
