Chapter 44
The lodge was exactly what we needed. It was a different sort of beauty than our conservation land, but still wild, still treasured.
Snow kept falling, covering the trees and the ground.
The quiet blanketed everything. It was the perfect spot for Maisie and Bryan to recover.
We slept in as much as possible, indulged in afternoon naps, and ate incredible food.
The kids made snow angels and snowmen, Morgan and her pack took them out on the snowmobiles, and our evenings were filled with steaming hot chocolates and crackling fireplaces.
Foxtrot lifted her head to look at me. Our little hero.
She had split her duties between Nora and Maisie, apparently deciding that Maisie needed extra protection.
Nora lay fast asleep against her back. Paisley was lying on her stomach, coloring while Tango watched, and Cody was wedged against my side, reading a chapter book quietly to Whiskey, who had his head on Cody’s lap, listening intently.
All of our dogs had become fast friends with the resident dogs, Muffin and Pumpkin. A good thing too, because that meant they could chase each other around and get tired out for the evening.
The phone connecting the two buildings rang and I picked up the receiver. “Carter here.”
“We’ve got a batch of apple cider going,” Kit told me. “Do you want us to bring a couple of thermoses over?”
“That sounds great, thank you.”
Maisie yawned, uncurling from where she was napping on Wyatt’s lap. “I fell asleep again?”
“You’re healing,” I reminded her. “It takes a lot of energy.”
Bryan wasn’t any better. Colt had lovingly bullied him all the way to rest in an actual bed after he’d nearly slid straight out of his chair. He had fussed away until Colt climbed in next to him.
I thought we might get bored out here, but even with our responsibilities reduced, there was really no shortage of things to do.
The kids had been set up with an online teacher we had connected with through the sheriff’s department for security, so Cody was studying the regular curriculum.
Paisley was easy enough for us to keep up with for school, but it was nice to have the extra support for Cody.
Bryan had lamented not being able to continue teaching him, but they didn’t really recommend doing a lot of reading and writing while recovering from a concussion and we didn’t want Cody to fall behind at all.
We slotted ourselves into daily life here. Maverick and Ryder were New York transplants like Bryan and I so we had plenty to talk about whenever we went over to help them make meals.
Maisie let out a sigh. “I love it out here, but I miss our house.”
My heart squeezed at her calling it our house. Had we truly made it feel like home for her?
“They’re working ’round the clock. We’ll get to go home soon.” What I didn’t tell her was that we were slipping in a bit of remodeling while the crews were already there. I wanted it to be a surprise.
I couldn’t wait for her to see it.
We ended up staying at the lodge through the holidays and well into the new year.
My brother and his pack came to stay for a few days, everyone’s families filtering in and out.
Sometimes the kids loved it, and sometimes they got overwhelmed, needing a cuddle in a quiet room.
It never failed to melt my heart when one of them sought us out for comfort.
Maisie and Bryan were both physically back to one-hundred-percent, their bruises healed and their symptoms negligible except for the occasional headache.
The quiet woods had done us all a world of good after all the stress, especially after we’d gotten the call last week that the DA had officially declined the charges against Maisie.
Maisie sat down next to me on the couch, curling against my side with a cup of tea. “Every day I wake up thinking we’ll get the call that everything is handled and the compound is gone.”
“I wish I was more optimistic about that.” I looped my arm over her shoulders and kissed her temple.
“I’m worried about my mother, and my brothers and sisters.”
“I would fix it for you if I could.” She had been able to talk to her oldest brother on the burner phone, but the police hadn’t been able to get back in touch with her mother. Her siblings were harder to track with the holidays, but outside of that they were still regularly attending school.
“I know.” She pulled me in for a kiss laced with the taste of peach green tea. “What time are we heading home?”
I nodded my head in the direction of the other couch where Nora was having a nap on Wyatt’s chest. “Sometime after the little lady wakes up.”
The trucks were already packed and the roads had been cleared of the most recent snowfall. All that was left was to put people in vehicles and drive. My parents were still at our property and had updated us regularly that the horses were doing well and the renovations were going smoothly.
The police kept tabs on the roads near the compound, and my parents had hired private security for their whole stay. No one ever showed up besides the contractors. The agents would be escorting us back home, but wouldn’t be staying nearby anymore, though we’d have access to a panic line if needed.
“Do you think we could risk a meeting with one of my friends when we get back?”
“How would you get in contact?”
“School drop-off. She has kids that go to the same school mine were at. If we time it right, I could talk to her for a few minutes. She doesn’t live on the compound, but her husband was friends with Paul.”
“Sure, we can arrange it. I’ll rent a car for you in case anyone is watching, and you can tuck your hair into a beanie.”
“Thank you. I know it’s a hassle, but—”
“Anything that makes you feel safer is never a hassle.”
She snuggled in harder. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Always have, always will.”
“Does that mean you’d want to bond me?”
“Is that a trick question?”
She peeked up at me through her lashes. “No, it’s a serious one.
I’ve been thinking about it. Paul isn’t in the way anymore.
The only one in the bond with me is Bryan, and whatever damage the broken bond with Paul caused isn’t noticeable anymore.
I thought it might linger, like he would be able to hurt me even from the grave, but I think it was closer to cutting out a cancer.
The removal itself hurt, and the healing afterward made me tender, but now it’s gone and it’s never coming back. ”
I drew her mouth to mine, indulging in the sweetness of her lips. “The moment you’re ready, I’ll bond you. I’m more than ready to have an official start to our lives together.”
Icy air slipped over us, Colt, Bryan, Cody, and Paisley coming inside, all laughter and bright smiles. Paisley kicked off her boots and ran over to us. She threw herself onto my lap, Maisie skillfully raising her teacup to avoid spilling.
“We made a snowman bigger than Daddy!”
“That’s amazing, honey.” Maisie set her tea aside and tugged off Paisley’s beanie, smoothing down her staticky hair and helping her blow her nose. “There will be lots of snow at home, too. You can make a whole army of snowmen.”
“Can Auntie Morgan and the uncles come visit us? I want them to meet Merri the pony.”
“Of course they can,” I replied. “We’ll get settled back in first and then we can start having people to visit. Are you ready to go home today?”
Cody flung his arms over the back of the seat and over my chest, pressing his frozen cheek against mine. “I’m ready.”
Colt bent down, popping his head between Maisie and I, turning first for a kiss from me, and then her.
Nora woke up with all the fuss, still clinging to Wyatt as they sat up together.
“Everyone use the washroom before we go,” Bryan reminded the kids.
The next half an hour was composed of getting everyone ready to leave, and saying our very grateful goodbyes to Morgan and her pack. The drive home took about three hours with the winter roads. Mountains turned into the rolling hills of home.
The agents went ahead of us to do a sweep before we were allowed in. My mom was waving from the living room window when we pulled up and glided into the garage. She met the kids at the door, pulling Cody and Paisley into a hug. “Welcome home, my angels.”
Wyatt carried Nora in, the rest of us trailing in afterward. We could get the bags later.
I hugged all of my parents, thanking them for taking such great care of our home.
“No worries at all,” Lester said with a nod. “Family does for each other.”
“Dinner is almost ready,” my dad told us. “I hope you’re hungry after the drive.”
“Starving, thank you. It smells great.” I hugged him, properly looking around. The main floor looked pretty much the same. A few sections of floor and wall had been replaced, but the house itself was pretty new anyway so it was difficult to tell exactly what had changed.
“Daddy, can we go see Merri?” Cody asked.
I turned to see him holding onto Bryan’s sleeve, my sweet alpha looking like he was on the verge of tears.
He took so long to collect himself to answer that Cody turned to Colt. “Dad?”
I felt his delight like a straight shot of liquor down the bond.
“Hell yeah we can go.” Colt scooped Cody off his feet. “I bet all the horses could use a bit of love.”
“Do you want to go see the horses, too?” Wyatt asked, kissing Nora’s chubby cheek.
She held out a little hand, signing “yes” and then put it against her chest to sign “please.” Morgan’s alpha, Bear, had taught all of the kids a few bits of sign language during our respite.
“You’ve got it.”
While the alphas took the kids out, I hooked my arm around Maisie’s waist. “We have a few surprises.”
“Oh?”
“We upgraded the windows so they’re all bulletproof, and the exterior siding is fire resistant now.”
She let out a relieved sigh. “Good. I’m glad to know that.”
“And now for the bigger, more fun surprise.” I took Maisie upstairs to the second floor. “The others all know what it is, and I imagine they’ll benefit from it later so I don’t think they’ll mind if I sneaky show you now.”
She looked at me curiously, but when I didn’t elaborate, she turned to the door we stopped in front of. “My room?”
“Open it.”
She turned the knob, swinging the door inward, gasping softly. “It’s huge!”
“We took out a wall while they were fixing things. Now you have a bed big enough for everyone, including the kids if they want to crawl in, too.”
The walls of the formerly next door room we had integrated were painted to match, and a pack bed was installed, along with some library shelves so she could fill in her own collection.
“Carter, it’s beautiful.” She sprawled faced first onto the bed. “I can’t believe it’s mine.”
“We can still use my nest whenever we want, but this way we have flexibility.”
She rolled over, opening her arms to me and I leapt on the bed to join her, kissing her until she giggled.
“You like it?”
“I love it. I can’t wait to break it in.”