52. Sam
Chapter 52
T eddy’s heat breaks on Saturday afternoon, but they’re all so exhausted that they’re still asleep in the nest. Kelly did have to step in on Thursday evening and Friday afternoon as Steve and I started to wear down. After a little trial and error with the inflation, her new toy really helped with Teddy’s hormones. Of course, she said it’s a great workout, and she’ll have abs of steel if she does this very often. Garret gave a worried little groan that he may get volunteered for her to practice on.
We were able to keep a good system of breaks going to make sure Teddy ate—even when he didn’t want to—and stayed hydrated. Kelly said we need to invest in camelbacks before his next heat, but I think our girl needs to do a bit more research since the availability of water is less of a problem than a stubborn omega. I do agree with her on the mini-fridge suggestion, as well as installing some shelves and cabinets for storage.
Not that I can build anything. I’ve been checking my phone daily, and my email now that I’ve stepped away to make dinner. There’s still no word back from my insurance about the shop. I know it was under its own business policy, so that may take some extra time, but I’ll still be calling them again first thing Monday morning.
Jake’s following me around the kitchen, not quite begging, but sniffing every time my hand moves down. I’m half tempted to let him snarf up a chunk of one of the peppers I’m slicing so he’ll remember not to eat food he finds lying around on the ground. But he’s just now feeling back to his old self. I’ll just have to remind everybody else not to feed him any sort of people food in the kitchen.
When the chili is finally in the slow cooker, I head upstairs to get a shower. I haven’t exactly missed my bedroom with everybody in the nest, but my legs have been hating me for trying to get up off the floor each morning. The mattress is super plush. Kelly and Steve picked out a great one—but a new bed frame will be high on my priority list as soon as the shop’s back up and running.
The hot water feels fucking amazing, but I am gonna need to upgrade that soon too, since a twenty-five-gallon tank only worked out well for one guy. With five of us in the house, it’s already problematic. Just one more thing to add to the list of shit I need to take care of, and how I’m still not good enough. Sighing, I scrub my face and hair, the soap stinging the still raw bonding marks around my neck and making me hiss.
My mind is running in circles again, so there’s no point in wasting water while I try to figure shit out. Shutting the shower off, I step out and wipe the fog from the mirror. Kelly’s bite is the most noticeable just because it’s so much smaller than the ones Steve and Teddy left. Teddy’s is, surprisingly, the biggest, intersecting Kelly’s. He was a bit of a shock, but fuck, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Debating briefly if I should shave off my scraggly beard so they’re more visible, I rub the warm spaces on my chest. Teddy and Steve are barely there, probably still asleep. My eyebrows lower. Kelly feels…worried? Well, shit. I run the towel over my hair and chest before stepping out into the bedroom. Kelly’s lying there on the bed, staring at the bathroom door.
I stride forward, as she sits up. “You ok, Sugar, what’s wrong?”
She hums in thought. “I could ask you the same thing. I woke up, and you felt really frustrated and frazzled…I was worried about you.”
Shit.
Dumbass, of course it works both ways.
It’s ok, stay positive.
“Sorry, Sugar, I was just stuck in my own head.” The look she gives me is skeptical. “Ok, fine, I was thinking again that I’m failing y’all. My shop’s been burned down. I haven’t gotten the bed made for the nest. I’m worried about money, and I need to replace the water heater.” She slides off the bed—almost stumbling when her feet hit the floor—and wraps her arms around my chest.
“You know you’re not alone anymore, right? I mean…I get that you wanna take care of everybody, but we’re in this together. I only work part time now, but I’ll be out of college soon, and I’ll find something full time. And I’m sure Garret and Steve don’t just plan on sitting around all day. I don’t know what Teddy might want to do, but he doesn’t seem like the type to not contribute.”
My heart rips and chest rumbles a low growl at the thought of my omega or beta having to work since I should be good enough. But she’s right, and I have no problems whatsoever about any of them working if they want to. I just want to take care of them. That being said, the twins better plan on helping out. Is that a double standard? Probably. But I can’t bring myself to care. I’m happy to have them here since they make Kelly and Teddy happy, but we gotta have more than one income going on.
Kelly cuddles against my chest, and my breath comes out in a deep sigh, shoulders relaxing. Just knowing someone else cares makes shit easier. After a bit, I untangle her arms and step back so I can cup her jaw and make eye contact. “Sorry, Sugar, you keep doin’ that and I’m gonna want back inside you…but I’m thinkin’ you might already be a bit sore from the last few days. ”
Even after seeing her naked for the last three days straight—and nearly walking bow-legged myself—I want to drag her into the bed and claim her again when she blushes like that. Instead, I lean down to kiss her on the tip of her nose, making her giggle.
“So, can I fix you up somethin’ to eat? I know it’s not breakfast time, but an omelet might help with your energy. I just put a pot of chili on for dinner, so it’ll be at least a few more hours.” She smiles and steps into me again, kissing the hollow of my throat, and making a purr rumble to life in my chest.
“That would be so good…but what about you? Did you already eat?” I nod and hum an affirmation as I pull on some briefs and jeans. If I was home alone, I’d probably skip the shirt. Then I realize again that they all live here now, so fuck it, shirtless it is.
Not gonna lie, the way she bites her lip when I walk outta the closet in just the jeans is fucking addictive.
It’s still quiet downstairs with just the two of us as she follows me into the kitchen. I make a mental note to add a bar top to the far side of the island so I can bring in some stools. Garret comes out about an hour later, immediately latching on to Kelly and snuggling her on the couch before going to grab a bowl of that god-awful cereal she brought into the house. I won’t say anything to her, but I’ll try to make sure we have some things on hand for mornings that aren’t 75% sugar.
Teddy and Steve roll out of the nest shortly before the chili is finished up. I’ve made up cornbread and baked potatoes to go with it. Hopefully, it’ll help everybody recover from the last few days. Plus, the weather is warming up, and we won’t have many more days where it’s a good meal option.
The rest of the day is relaxed enough, though Kelly and Steve do outvote the rest of us on what movie to watch. I get the feeling there’ll be a lot more animated or subtitled movies in my future.
Teddy and Steve have just pulled the sheets off the nest to toss in the washer when my phone rings. It was too much to hope that the rest of the world could give us one more day to relax before life goes back to normal. Unfortunately, it’s also not a call I can just ignore.
The dispatcher starts speaking before I can even say hello.
“Sam, sorry. Gabe told me not to call because you were on heat leave, but Pack Asher is all on probation because of last weekend, Pack Garcia has the stomach flu, and Pack Allen is out of town. I really hate to ask, but we need you here if possible. I’m hoping it’s a false alarm and won’t take long, but is there any way you can make it to the station?”
She sounds nearly panicked when she finally stops speaking. While I’d rather stay here and rest, I signed up for this shit so I could help people. Besides, Xan and the rest of them are on probation for that shit with Steve and Garret’s dad, so I can’t flake out now.
Actually, that’s a good idea.
Stuffing my phone back in my pocket, I point to the twins. “You two, get dressed. That was dispatch. You’re going to join the volunteer fire department starting today.” Garret actually looks excited, but Steve turns a little green, standing there and gaping at me like a fish.
“I don’t know anything about fighting fires, and look at me, I’m too scrawny.” He’s not wrong, he is scrawny, and underfed. But we can fix that. Right now, he needs to step up. Plus, he just sounds whiny, and he’s clinging to Teddy like he wants to hide behind our omega. I’m pretty sure Teddy would jump at the chance, but there’s no way in hell I’m letting him anywhere dangerous.
“Boy, get your pants on and get in that truck now.” I don’t like having to exert authority this way, but I will if I have to.
Thankfully Teddy has my back in this, pulling Steve around, kissing him hard and shoving him towards the stairs. “Go, get clothes on. Snuggles when you get home.” Steve blinks at him but mopes off as Garret is coming back down the stairs, carrying a pair of socks. He’s developed Kelly’s habit of no shoes or socks in the house. While it’s cute, it means I’ll have to be extra careful about tracking in any debris from the shop.
By the time Steve gets back downstairs, he looks less petulant—his brother and I are waiting in the truck as he scurries across the yard. I throw Garret a questioning look, but he just nods. “Don’t worry about it. This is the happiest I’ve seen him in years. It’ll be good for him to get a little physical activity. I need to find out where the closest gym is around here, otherwise you’ll be rolling us out of your house with how well you cook. ”
Steve climbs into the cab while I think about it and get turned around. “Sorry, Kid, the old gym burned up a few years ago, though it was already shut down. I think most people head over to the college. Students and families get covered by tuition costs, otherwise you gotta pay. It’s not a bad price if you need it.” I may or may not flex a bit since working on the house so much leaves me no time to go to the gym, but it’s left me in pretty good shape.