Chapter 2
Chapter Two
brIELLE
T he front door opens as I stand from the car, my legs unhappy about the long hours I’ve spent behind the wheel. I shake them out, trying to get feeling into them both, as I duck back into the car and grab my phone from the passenger seat. I slide it into the back pocket of my shorts and then sling the small purse across my body.
There’s a bright, happy squeal as I’m turning back toward the building. I manage to catch a flash of blonde hair tucked under a simple brown cowboy hat before Melissa’s slight weight slams into me, knocking me back against the car. Her happiness is like a drug, and I wrap my arms around her, laughing despite all the mixed up emotions rolling through me. Her coffee scent surrounds us just as quickly as her laugh.
“You made it!” she says, her chin tucked against my shoulder and her grip still tight where she holds her wrists against the small of my back. “I got worried when you didn’t text after lunch.”
I take a moment to soak in her touch. It soothes that bone deep ache that’s been building since last fall—though I don’t dare name it now. With any luck, being with Melissa will be enough for it to stop digging its thorns into me.
I gently push her away from me, taking her in. Her glasses are larger than last time, the rims thinner and a happy rose gold that accents the cool pink undertone of her skin. She’s dressed in a practical pair of light wash jeans that flare at the bottom and a pink shirt with the words “Omegas Do It Better” written in a frilly black script across her chest. Though I can’t see it, I know I’ll find the symbol of our Omegas exclusive sorority scrawled along the back.
We joined together freshman year, over a decade ago. Seeing it makes my heart lurch. We were so young, practically untouched by the world. In comparison to now, at least.
“You still have it?” I ask, running my hands down her arms.
She shrugs and twists our fingers together, like she can tell I need the touch. “You know how attached I get,” she says.
I did. It’s a trait we share. Just like most Omegas, really. We’re creatures of comfort and stability. We attach to objects significantly more often than others. The small box tucked under my passenger seat flashes through my mind, but I ignore it. Should I have gotten rid of every last item my cheating bastard of a husband owned? Yes. Was I actually able to? No. Not yet, at least.
“By the time I was willing to think about decluttering, everything happened with Brandon and then again with Kayla.” Her blue eyes are bright but haunted, and her smile doesn’t quite make them light up the way it used to. I change the subject, steering us away from the absolute mess those six months had been.
“It took me three tries to figure out where to go,” I say after a minute. “Why the hell isn’t there some kind of sign? I thought I was just disappearing into the freaking mountains, girl.”
She flushes. “It’s been a bit of a problem this year,” she says. She sounds… ashamed?
Before I can ask why missing a sign is cause for her own shame, the door opens again, not as violently, and Melissa takes another step away from me, turning toward the person stepping onto the porch. The woman’s honey brown hair is long and stick-straight, reaching nearly to her hips. Her brown eyes are light enough they could pass as hazel—or amber if we were in a romance novel. She wears a simple gold chain around her neck, a star pendant resting in the hollow of her throat. She looks like she belongs here.
She’s stunning. She’d look just as much at home on the runway during fashion week. I force a swallow, trying to gather my thoughts. I’d expect nothing less of Emily Monroe, though. She’d been studying abroad when I stayed here that summer. Thank goodness, too, since it meant that the only people who knew about my fling with her brother were Melissa and Olivia—and I’d sworn both to secrecy when the thing went up in flames.
“Hi, Brielle,” she says, offering a wide smile. Her eyes crinkle around the edges as she does. She holds out her hand. I take a step toward her, taking her hand in a light grip. That gnawing ache settles nearly at once—practically all evidence of my becoming touch-starved fading away.
I don’t realize I’m taking another step toward her until her vanilla scent weaves around us both.
Oh .
Melissa never mentioned Emily had designated as an Alpha. And I hadn’t really interacted with her when I’d come for Brandon’s funeral.
“Sorry,” I offer, blushing. Scenting random Alphas isn’t something I do. Ever. Brett was too jealous to let me near them. Yes, I know that’s super toxic. You don’t notice sometimes until it’s too late, you know? “I’m, um, newly off suppressors, and the adjustment is more intense than I expected.”
I threw them out the same day I handed Brett the divorce papers, damn what the doctor had said about tapering the dosage to avoid a reaction. I needed a clean slate and that included with my designation.
She shakes her head.
“Don’t worry about it.” Then she glances over my shoulder, her lips pursing. “You want to get everything unpacked first? Or grab something to eat?”
My stomach rumbles, answering for me.
She smiles. “Dinner first then. We’ll go to Lefty’s. They have the best burgers.”
Melissa groans. “Oh my gosh, yes they do. I’m so excited.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say with a smile. “Thanks again for letting me stay in your guest house. I’m hoping to find a small place in town once the tourist season dies down a bit.”
I can afford the prices as they are now. I could buy any of the four large ranches for sale along this stretch of highway, actually, without making much of a dent at all in the estate’s assets. But I want a chance to get a sense of the town and surrounding land before committing to something. It’s been ten years since I called Creek Falls my temporary home. I wanted to make sure I chose the right place to make my permanent one.
And if the prices go down in the winter, I won’t complain about it.
“No rush.” She waves off my offer. “It’s not like it was getting a ton of use anyway.”
Melissa loops her arm through mine. “I’ll ride with you. I left my car at Emily’s this morning anyway.”
Which is how I end up back in my car following Emily’s bright teal Jeep down the highway. Melissa’s ranch is one of the furthest from town. I used to hate the drive, always so impatient to meet up with him . Now, the distance didn’t bother me in the slightest—outside of my legs protesting being stuck behind the wheel again so soon.
The speed drops off when we get to the town limits, and not long after buildings start to line both sides of the road. Mostly quick and easy things for the tourists passing through: a gas station, a grocery store, and a smattering of novelty shops sporting a variety of Wyoming blazoned items.
“Turn up here,” Melissa says, pointing to the next stoplight. “It’s tucked back behind the hardware store.”
“This wasn’t here last time,” I say.
“Hudson opened it a couple years ago.” She taps her fingers on the door. “Ethan helped him strip out all the old wiring and stuff. It took them an entire summer.”
Somehow, I’m not quite ready for the lurch my heart makes at hearing his name after all these years. I swallow and focus on the other person she mentioned.
“Wait. I don’t think I know Hudson.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, that’s Caleb’s youngest brother. I think he was still enlisted last time you were here,” she says.
Last time I was here was for her brother’s funeral, nearly exactly four years ago. She takes a quick breath, and her fingers tap faster.
“And that whole weekend is kind of a blur if I’m being honest, so I’m not sure who all you even met.”
Her voice wavers. I grab her hand and squeeze it. After a minute, she blows out a breath.
“Sorry,” she says.
I shake my head. “No apology needed. To be fair, I don’t remember most of that weekend either. Brett was ridiculously overbearing. If he’s an Alpha, I doubt I met him.”
She guides me to the little restaurant. It’s a converted house, the gables painted a bright white while the rest of the building is a dark navy. It almost reminds me of the little Cape Cod houses that litter the coast in New England. I ease into the spot next to Emily and turn off the car.
“This… doesn’t feel like Wyoming at all,” I say.
Melissa chuckles. “Oh, yeah, he caused a fuss when he painted it. But according to him, it reminds him of his favorite place.”
She closes the door, and I scramble to follow her.
It’s surprisingly busy when we walk in, a wall of chatter hitting us the moment Emily opens the door. The hostess glances up from where she rolls silverware, and then her cheeks flush.
“Hi Emily,” she says.
“Hey Mallory.” Emily offers a smile. This one, though, doesn’t light her eyes. “There’s three of us tonight.”
She nods and marks something on a laminated sheet and then grabs a handful of menus. As we settle into the table tucked into the back corner of the restaurant, she gives me an odd look, almost like she’s sizing me up.
The girls don’t say anything, though, so I keep my mouth shut. Small towns thrive on gossip. The last thing I need is to end up in the rumor mill sooner than absolutely necessary.
“Is the Rustic Roast still here?” I ask.
Melissa’s eyes light up. “Yeah, Joan still runs it. You remember her, right? Being a grandma has made her even sweeter. We should swing by. I bet she’ll be so excited to see you!”
There my heart goes, lurching again.
“She’s closed already,” Emily says. “But she makes cinnamon rolls fresh every Sunday.”
“I’m excited to have them again,” I offer.
Joan’s cinnamon rolls are one of those things that have stuck with me. They’re that good. I steer the subject away from anything relating to Ethan, though, not sure I can keep up my feigned indifference for much longer. I’m exhausted from the drive, and Emily being an Alpha means she’ll pick up on more subtle changes in my scent and body language than Melissa will, even with my scent blockers.
“You still all right with me shadowing you tomorrow?” I ask. “I know I’m not a paid stable hand, but I’d love to help out where I can.”
Melissa nods and pushes her glasses up her nose. “Oh, definitely. The stable hands don’t help with our private horses. I’m happy to show you around the barn. Maybe we can even go riding!”
I manage a smile. “Sounds perfect.”