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“Marley, since it’s a lax day and Travis seems to be doing well, would you mind giving me a hand with a few tasks for my campaign to become superintendent?”
Marley’s face brightened with a warm smile. “Of course, Lana. I’d be more than happy to help! What do we need to do? I think I have some poster paint lying around the house somewhere.”
“Of course you do,” Lana teased. “Miss Overprepared.”
“You can never be too prepared,” Marley shot back.
As I listened to their exchange, an idea struck me. Since the girls were spending the day together, it seemed like the perfect chance for Travis and me to bond a bit. And it would be a good chance to get his help with the whole asking-my-girlfriend-to-be-my wife thing.
I cleared my throat. “You know, Travis,” I began, “I’ve been contemplating a potential location for our pack headquarters. There’s an abandoned hotel up in the mountains by the lake that I’d like you to check out. Wanna go up there with me? I could use my accountant to help me determine if it’s something we can actually afford to do.”
Travis looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and interest. “Fuck, yeah,” he said with a mouth full of food. “You’ve really been doing some moving and shaking, huh?”
“No rest for the wicked,” I said. “We’ve got a pack to run.”
“No kidding,” Travis said.
With the hearty brunch devoured and plans set in motion, our time at the dining table came to an end. Lana and Marley shared a final laugh as they cleared their dishes, their laughter echoing the camaraderie that had developed within our little family. Travis and I pushed back our chairs, keen to get on with the day.
As I stood, I reached over to Lana and gave her a brief, affectionate hug. “Good luck with the campaign work,” I said, offering a supportive smile. “You know we’ll be rooting for you. If you need any help with the financial—”
“Don’t even think about it,” she cut me off. “I can do fine on my own, and the last thing you need when you’re starting up a pack is any documented political affiliations.”
My mouth dropped open and then closed again. I hated to admit it, but she was right. I couldn’t be as open about my affiliations now, not without alienating potential pack members, or worse, the powers that be when it came to pack licensing and financial aid. The idea didn’t sit right with me, and it must have shown on my face because Marley patted my chest.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll work hard and safely. We’ll get that old jerk who fired me canned, you’ll see.”
“Damn fucking straight,” Lana said, her eyes flashing with fury. “Once I set my mind to something, you’ll be hard-pressed to watch me fail.”
“You guys are going to rock it,” I said. “And we’ll have some exciting news about the potential pack headquarters when we get back into town.”
Marley nodded in agreement, pride lighting in her eyes. “Absolutely. We’ll all have something to celebrate when we reconvene later.” She stood to her toes and kissed me. “We’re going to head out now, but I’ll keep you updated on things throughout the day.”
I nodded. “Yeah, we will, too,” I said, kissing her forehead. “Be safe, okay? You know where to find me if anything goes wrong.”
“Don’t worry, boss,” Lana said, linking arms with Marley. “I’ll keep her safe.”
They left with a wave and a smile, and I heaved a soft sigh as I heard the car start up and pull out of the driveway. When I looked over at Travis, he was looking strangely at me.
“What is it?” I asked.
“So what else are we doing, big guy?” he asked. “I know what you look like when you have a plan in mind, and I know for a fact that we’re not going to look at real estate.”
“We are,” I said. “We’re just going somewhere else first.”
“Where?” Travis asked. “What’s so secretive that we couldn’t tell Lana and Marley?”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “I don’t think it’s in style to tell your girlfriend that you’re going shopping for her engagement ring,” I said dryly.
Travis blinked rapidly, then his face split open with the biggest smile I’d seen in a good long while. He pulled me into a bear hug, slapping my back.
“Cole, you old dog! This is the best news I’ve heard all day,” he said. “Let’s go buy a fucking ring.”
We hopped into the car and made our way out of town in case Marley and Lana wound up doing some shopping for Lana’s campaign. We talked about this and that, catching up on other things I’d been too busy to keep abreast of with all the stuff I’d had to do for...well, for Travis and the pack.
He and Lana seemed to be doing really well. They were talking about getting a place together, which was exciting to hear. It’d been years since Travis seriously dated anyone, and I’d been wondering if he would wind up a permanent bachelor.
I told him about Marley and me making up and the conversation we had the night prior.
