Chapter 27
JUNE
Sunlight streams through the curtains, pulling me slowly from sleep.
I stretch beneath the covers, my body pleasantly heavy, limbs loose and relaxed in a way I haven’t experienced in years.
The bed is empty beside me, but the sheets still hold traces of warmth, of scent, of the man who held me through the night.
Seth.
I smile at the ceiling, remembering last night at the book club with Sophia and the girls, which somehow turned into a book club with Seth awkwardly perched on the edge of the couch, looking as if he’d rather be wrestling an actual bull than discussing the romantic entanglements of fictional characters.
“That’s not how any of this works,” he’d muttered at one point, arms crossed, brow furrowed. “No Alpha would ever say that. It’s ridiculous.”
The room had gone quiet for a beat, then erupted in giggles and questions and demands that he explain exactly what he meant. By the end of the night, Seth was being asked to rate fictional Alphas on a scale of one to ten.
He’d been mortified.
It was incredible.
Carter and Kai hadn’t made it home by the time we crawled into bed. I remember Seth pulling me against his chest, his heartbeat steady beneath my cheek, his arm heavy and warm across my waist. I was asleep within minutes.
All week we’ve been sharing the bed, the four of us tangled together in various configurations.
They take turns on who gets which position, and there’s an entire unspoken hierarchy about what constitutes the best spots.
Kai insists being in front is superior. Carter claims being behind is the real prize.
Seth just wants to be wherever he can wrap himself around me most completely.
Their dedication to the sleeping arrangement is oddly endearing.
I push myself up, swinging my legs over the edge of the mattress, and that’s when I spot the folded note on my bedside table.
My heart stutters, then picks up speed. For days now, I’ve been waking up to these little gifts of words, carefully crafted, left where I’ll find them. Carter’s poetry.
I eagerly snatch the paper up, unfolding it with trembling fingers.
When the world goes quiet and the stars blink out,
When the weight of tomorrow makes you want to shout,
Remember you are my dawn,
The light I reach for when the dark feels too long.
I’ve wandered through storms and slept under rain,
I’ve buried my heart to outrun the pain,
But you, wild girl, with your laugh like a song,
You make me believe I can finally belong.
Tears prick my eyes. I read it again, then a third time, letting each word sink into my bones. He writes as if he can see inside my soul, as if he knows exactly what I need to hear before I even know I need to hear it.
I rise from the bed and cross to my chest of drawers, pulling open the top drawer. Inside sits a small wooden box I found at a thrift store, its surface worn smooth with age. I lift the lid and add Carter’s latest poem to the growing collection inside.
Just reading them sometimes makes everything in the world seem less stressful.
I close the box gently and grab some clothes before heading into the bathroom. The shower is hot and soothing, washing away the last traces of sleep, but it does nothing to calm the anxiety that’s been building in my stomach for days.
Today is the final day of the rodeo and when Kai rides Brutus.
The thought tightens my chest.
I try to push the fear down as I dress, but it clings to me. All I can do is be there for him. Support him and maybe, somehow, use whatever strange calming effect I have on Brutus to help.
When I finally emerge from the bathroom, fully dressed, Carter is leaning against the doorframe.
He looks rough, hair disheveled, eyes slightly bloodshot, a shadow of stubble darkening his jaw.
He’s wearing clean jeans, a button-up checkered shirt, his hair still partially wet as if he just recently stepped out of the shower.
He’s gorgeous.
“Hello, handsome,” I say, unable to suppress my smile.
“Hello, sexy girl.” His voice is raspier than usual, but his grin is the same. Warm. Genuine. “I missed you.”
“I know.” I close the distance between us, reaching up to cup his face. “I read your poem.”
Something shifts in his expression, eyes narrowing.
“You make me so happy when I read them,” I continue. “You know that, right? Every single one. I keep them all.”
“You do?”
“Yep, I read them when I need to remember that good things exist in this world.”
His hands find my waist, pulling me closer until our bodies are flush. The scent of him wraps around me. “Then my job is done,” he murmurs, but his eyes are serious, searching my face.
“Carter, I…” I pause, suddenly overwhelmed by everything I’m feeling. The fear about today. The gratitude for his words. The bone-deep certainty that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be. “Your poems mean everything to me. You mean everything to me.”
He smiles.
“I love you,” I whisper, revealing the truth.
“June.”
I’m blushing furiously now, looking away, unable to meet his eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to scare you off, as I know we’re still getting to know each other and—”
His finger hooks under my chin, tilting my face up until I have no choice but to look at him. His expression steals my breath.
“You have no idea how much I wanted to hear that.”
“Oh…”
“I love you.” Carter’s voice cracks on the words, raw and honest and utterly without pretense. “I love you so fucking much, June. I know this feels fast and it seems crazy, but what I feel for you is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”
A tear escapes down my cheek. He catches it with his thumb, gentle as a whisper.
“I spent years running from anything real after I lost my brother in a rodeo,” he continues, swallowing hard like the memory still has teeth. “Hiding behind pretty words and easy smiles. Telling myself I was fine and it didn’t matter that I was hollow as long as I could keep moving.”
His hand shifts, settling at my jaw like he needs the contact to keep himself steady, and my heart breaks for him.
“I thought my job in this world was simple,” he says.
“Ride the circuit the way he did. Win what he never got to win and be there where he can’t be, so he’s never forgotten.
Like if I stayed on that road long enough, if I kept throwing myself into it, I could keep him alive in the only way that made sense. ”
He lets out a shaky breath, and his eyes shine like he hates that they do. I hold on to him. “You have been doing amazing.”
“So I stayed,” he murmurs. “Part of me believed quitting would mean letting his love for it die twice. And part of me… I didn’t know who I was without the circuit in my blood.
I kept showing up, kept doing the work, kept chasing that promise.
Some days it felt noble. Some days it felt like I was using the arena to punish myself. ”
His thumb strokes my cheek again, slower now.
“But you…” His gaze locks on mine. “You make me want more than survival. You make me want a future, a home I come back to, a family. Something that isn’t just me trying to outrun grief.”
“Oh, Carter, I am always here for you.”
His forehead drops to mine. “You make me want to stay for real, June. You make me want to be the man those poems describe instead of just the man who writes them.”
I cup his face, steadying him the way he’s been trying to steady himself all this time, and I don’t let him look away like this is something he has to carry alone.
“Carter, you don’t have to keep riding just to prove he existed.
Do it for yourself,” I say. “Your brother isn’t a promise you have to bleed for, and you’re not doing him justice by punishing yourself in his name.
” I lean in and hug him. “I love you, Carter,” I say.
“You don’t have to forget him. Just don’t leave yourself behind to keep him alive. ”
He embraces me, and we stay like that for a long time.
“You mean everything to me, June.” Then his lips find mine, and the kiss is sweet and slow and perfect.
It tastes faintly of whiskey too. I sink into him, letting myself be held, because I deserve this and I never knew love could actually feel this good.
“Okay, enough of that or we’re never leaving this house,” Kai blurts out.
We break apart to find him standing in the doorway, grinning. He looks slightly better than Carter.
“Morning,” I manage, wiping my eyes.
He strides into the room and physically pries me out of Carter’s arms, swooping me up and planting his lips on mine before I can protest.
Not that I would.
His kiss is different from Carter’s. Hungrier. More urgent. His hands grip my waist, pulling me tight against his chest, and I melt into him the same way I melt into all of them. Completely. Helplessly. Happily.
When we finally separate, I’m breathless and probably flushed and definitely not thinking about rodeos or bulls or anything except the three impossible men who have claimed my heart.
“So,” I say, trying to collect myself. “Did you two even sleep last night? I don’t remember seeing you before I fell asleep.”
Carter snorts. “I’m pretty sure Kai deposited me on the couch after we got home. Woke up around five, still in my boots. Let’s just say I had a bit to drink,” he adds. “But in my defense, it was all worth it. Tanner won’t be annoying you anymore.”
I look between them, suspicious. “What did you two do last night? Did Tanner actually show up for your challenge?”
“Oh he was there.” Carter’s grin is angelic and completely untrustworthy. “No fights or property damage. Just the agreement between gentlemen.”
“The idiot lost colossally,” Kai adds gleefully. “And his loss means he leaves you alone for good. That was the deal.”
“Really?” Hope blooms in my chest. “He agreed to that?”
“In front of witnesses.”
“Oh my God.” I throw my arms around Carter, then Kai, and then Carter again because I can’t contain my joy. “I love that so much. Thank you. Both of you.”
“Speaking of witnesses…” Kai pulls out his phone, his grin turning downright wicked. “Someone recorded the whole thing. It’s going viral.”
We crowd around the screen as he pulls up a video. The quality isn’t great, clearly filmed on someone’s phone in a dimly lit place, but the content is unmistakable.
Tanner, swaying on his feet, draws his arm back to throw a dart. He releases. The dart goes wildly sideways. Someone screams, and then Tanner pitches forward, face-first into the floor, and starts snoring.
The video has half a million views.
I’m laughing so hard I can barely breathe. “Oh my God. This is the best thing I’ve ever seen.”
“No one will ever let him forget this,” Kai says with deep satisfaction. “Best karma ever.”
“I sure hope you don’t plan to drive today, Carter,” I manage, still giggling. “That alcohol is probably still in your blood.”
“Nope. Kai is our designated driver.” Carter drapes an arm around my shoulders. “Which means you can snuggle in the back seat with me today.”
Kai is already bouncing toward the door, energy radiating off him. “Come on, come on. I made coffee for the road. Those big travel mugs that keep everything hot. One for each of us.”
I catch his arm as he passes. “Hey. Are you ready for today? With Brutus?”
“Yeah,” he says, and there’s a steadiness there even if his eyes give him away. “You have no idea how ready I am, but I know it’s going to be a great day.”
He tugs me in for one more kiss, and I let myself melt into it. For a moment, I allow myself forget everything that could go wrong.
Carter clears his throat, loud, dramatic, and completely unnecessary. “Okay. Seriously. We need to leave.”
Carter is guiding toward the door, while Kai thrusts coffee cups into our hands, laughter echoing through the hallway.
And just for a moment, I forget everything.
The anxiety about Brutus. The uncertainty about my future. The loss of my home and my business and everything I thought I knew about my life.
When I’m with these Alphas, none of it matters.
There’s only the four of us against whatever the world decides to throw at us.
I take a sip of my coffee, let Carter’s hand find the small of my back, and watch Kai practically skip toward his car with boundless energy. I’m starting to believe that change doesn’t have to be something to fear.
It might just be something to embrace.