Rowan #5
She leaned against her favorite oak tree, which had been there long before they’d moved in and would be there long after they left.
Rowan gazed up at the canopy of leaves above them.
These trees had watched him grow up, from an awkward boy to an even more awkward teen, and were finally getting to see him as the man he was meant to become.
Or at least, the man he was trying to become.
“No. I knew there was something between us for a while, but I thought it was just a really deep friendship. Not that that isn’t special, but it wasn’t exactly something to write home about.
” His ma gazed steadily at him, and he chose his words carefully.
“I found out that Milo and I were fated the same day Ruben met Ray. In all the excitement about Ruben, I didn’t…
” Rowan looked anywhere but at his ma as he said, “I didn’t know how to speak up, so I didn’t say anything, and I just planned to introduce them to everyone today but then Ruben had a similar idea, and... ”
He could count on one hand the number of times he’d tattled on Ruben. The laxative cookies had been an accident, since he’d truly thought he was dying of the plague, not that his brother had accidentally poisoned him in an attempt to defend his honor.
Thankfully, Ma didn’t make him say anything else. “Did you two have a good talk in the kitchen at least?”
Rowan ran the toe of his sneaker over a fallen branch. “We did. I think…it went really well, actually. I’m also seeing a therapist. Emma? From when I was a kid?”
Ma studied him in only the way a mother could. “That’s good, sweetie. I’m sure there’s a lot to catch up on after all these years. You had a bit of a rough patch there for a while.”
Maybe it was how close they were standing to each other or how many memories surrounded them in the woods, pressing in on them from all sides, but Rowan could actually feel every inch of distance between them.
It would be so easy, almost natural, to agree that things had been rough, but he was fine now. Everything was fine, because everything was always fine.
But maybe it could be better than fine.
“If…you ever want to join for a session…there are a few things I’d like to talk about.”
It took her a minute, but slowly Ma nodded, her familiar, sun-warmed alpha scent permeating their small corner of the woods. “I would be happy to join. I’m sure your mom would be as well, either with me or on her own. Whatever you need, Rowan.”
For now, that was all he needed.
They walked back to the patio together, and Rowan took the seat Milo had saved between themself and Raina.
Riley was in the middle of asking Ray about his career goals, and she wordlessly used tongs to place buns and then a burger on Rowan’s plate.
Meanwhile, Ruben had half his arm in the hot dog bun bag, digging himself out a bun.
Milo effortlessly went from discussing thrifting with Raina to asking Mom about her rose garden and answering Ma’s questions on what they did for work. All the while, Rowan’s hawk danced around, shamelessly shimmying, bobbing, and swaying.
They stayed outside, moving from the patio out to the firepit, until well into the night. When they eventually fell into their separate beds, Rowan didn’t have more than a moment to wish that they could fall asleep next to each other before sleep overtook him.
Luck, or fate, or maybe just the love of his brother came through for them the next afternoon.
Rowan was leaning against the kitchen doorway, watching as Milo tried their very best to follow their mom’s recipe to make pancakes.
The family had been warned about Milo’s cooking, which was why the pancakes would be served as an afternoon snack rather than as a full meal.
“Uhm, Rowan?” a soft voice called, and Rowan turned around to find Ray standing with his duffel bag clutched to his chest. Ruben was behind him, backpack over his shoulder.
“What’s up?” Rowan asked, his hawk breaking out of his dance to go on high alert.
“We’re actually going to head back to the city,” Ray said. “We just wanted to let you know you’re welcome to have the guest room. The linens are all in the dryer right now.”
Ruben shouted goodbye to the rest of the family. No one seemed surprised, so he must have already told them he was leaving. “The next time we see you, we’ll be mated,” Ruben said with a quick salute for Rowan. “Hopefully you won’t be far behind?”
“Let them go at their own pace,” Ray chided as he took Ruben’s hand.
“They’re welcome to go at their own pace. I’ll just be cheering obnoxiously from the sidelines,” Ruben said, giving Rowan one last smirk before turning and heading out the door.
Unlike countless times they’d been in this position, throughout childhood and well into adulthood, Rowan didn’t feel even an ounce of dread watching him disappear down the sidewalk.
Ruben would probably show up on Rowan’s couch in a few weeks, or maybe they would plan another, better dinner for the four of them.
There was no doubt in Rowan’s mind that he and Milo would not be mated by then, but as he watched Milo laugh as Raina blew flour at Troy across the counter, he knew they really would get there at their own pace.