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Holiday Hollow was small, so I knew my way to Beatty's place. It was one of the oldest homes in the Hollow, and she always took great care of it. Mainly because no self-respecting person could say no to payment in the form of her delicious pies, so she always had helping hands.
Theo and Summer were outside when I arrived. He was digging through a pile of dirt with his trucks while she sat on the porch swing. The first thing that caught my attention was the pinched look on her face. When she rubbed at her temple a third time before I'd even made it to the porch, I was worried.
"Everything alright?" I asked. She squinted up at me, wincing as the sun hit her again.
"My head. I'll be fine, I just took some medicine," she reassured me. "Wait... how are you planning to get back?"
“Bash is going to pick me up in a few minutes,” I told her. “Mind if I join you?”
Her eyebrows flicked up in surprise, but she gave me a small nod. “Sure.”
Theo gave me a small wave but went back to focusing on his toys without a second glance, clearly invested in the excavation site he was working on.
Summer scooted over on the porch swing, giving me more room, but I still saw her nostrils flare and her whole body stiffen as I sat beside her.
“Do you want me to go?” I asked softly, my mind racing over the possibilities of why she was reacting like that.
I swear if someone had hurt her in the few years they’d been apart, I didn’t care if I just met her, I would hunt them down and pump them full of motor oil.
“Your scent caught me off guard,” she said in way of explanation. “You don’t need to go before Bash gets here. I know you probably timed it so that you had a few minutes to talk to me, otherwise he would have followed you here.”
“Smart girl,” I praised. “But I’m also not trying to overwhelm you either.”
“I’m going to give you a piece of advice, and I would appreciate it if you shared it with your pack while we’re sorting all of this out,” she said, turning to face me.
Her sun-streaked blonde hair swirled around her face as the wind picked up, and even though she still had a slight wince in her eyes from the headache she was sporting, the determination shone through.
“I’m listening,” I promised her.
“I don’t need to be treated with kid gloves,” she said, not unkindly. “If you want to know something, just ask. I don’t need compliments and caution. I just need openness and honesty. I don’t know how everything is going to play out with Cole. How this looks now that he knows about Theo and wants to be a part of his life, but I do know that merging the life I’ve had with him for almost three years is going to be difficult.”
Her words stole my breath for a moment, and once again I was impressed by her fortitude. But she had asked me to be direct, and I would respect her wishes.
“It is going to be difficult,” I leveled with her. “That’s why I wanted to have a chance to speak with you. Cole was…in a bad way when we first found him. I don’t know what the experience was like for you, but I’m guessing it wasn’t pretty. Losing a mate, no matter if it’s by choice or not, is painful. I’m aware that there are things the two of you have to talk through together, but I need you to know,really truly know,that you’re not alone anymore.”
“You speak as if you’re talking from experience.”
I nodded, the phantom ache that had once haunted me no longer present after all these years. “I lost my omega, Dean’s mom, due to complications with his birth.”
“Oh god, Miller. I’m so sorry,” she said, her hand coming to rest on my thigh as she scooted closer to me.
“I’ve healed,” I said, “but it took a while. You and Cole are still healing, and him finding out that he’s a dad, and seeing you again, are going to test that. Test both of you. We’ll be here when you need us.”
Whether you like it or not.
“You care about him a lot, don’t you?” Summer asked, her teeth digging into her bottom lip.
The sound of Bash rolling up in his electric green duotone car that he’d custom painted to match the colors of Dean’s eyes, or so he said, had me looking up. He had the windows down, music blasting as he sang along. His scent carried over like a fresh lemonade stand settling happy in my heart.
“I care about Cole very much,” I told her. Maybe more than I’d like to admit. “I care about all of them. We’re pack.”
I never expected to form a pack with my own son, but when I had him as young as I did, we ended up growing up together in some ways. My focus had always been on him, and it made sense that when he’d found his mate, and his wonderful best friend, that I’d welcome them into our home with open arms as well.
I’d gotten a hellfire of an omega son-in-law and my own close friend in Miles, who seemed to get a side of me the others sometimes didn’t understand. They’d given me so much, and in turn, I tried to give them as much as I could in return.
A legacy. A home. A pack.
And when Cole came into the picture he just fit. Just like Summer who was sitting beside me.
