4. Avery
Avery
B y the time I wake up after my post-breakfast nap, the sun is already dipping over the horizon.
The guys unloaded the truck into my old room while I helped Mama make biscuits.
Even if I felt comfortable here, I realized that I had lived on my own for too long to stay here.
What I needed was a job and a place of my own.
Which, I admit, I was privileged in both aspects. Though, I’d give all the inheritance money back if it meant having my dads with me.
“Where did the guys go?” I asked as I poked my head into the living room where Mama had cozied up in her favorite armchair, blanket tucked around her while a book rested in her lap. She’d been a reader as long as I could remember, losing herself in the romance novels while she tried to keep herself together without my dads.
“To the pub. They said for you not to freak out about it,” she said with a small smile on her lips. “You know those boys are just looking out for you.”
My answering scowl just made her laugh more.
“I’m heading there, too,” I said. “I may as well get used to it so I can help out while I get my life together.”
Mama sat her book down and leveled me with a stare.
“You are allowed to grieve and find your footing here,” she said gently, but firmly, in that way only a mom could. “There is no rush to get to work. The boys and I have it covered.”
From the impression I got from Nash, that wasn’t true, but I didn’t need to burden her with those thoughts.
“I know, mama. Consider this me finding my place here,” I offered, throwing her what I hoped was a normal smile, before rushing back upstairs to my room.
Finding my clothes in all these boxes was a mess. I ripped open the first three before I found a pair of dark jeans and a cute lacy, black top. My brothers would hate it but it was something I felt sexy and powerful in, which I needed right about now.
Even if I was happy that all the lies were out in the open, there was a small part of me that was truly wounded. They had pheromone spray that meant I may have reacted like we were scent matched when we weren’t. We had to be compatible to some degree or the spray would have had the opposite effect, but in the end I was still scent catfished.
And I bought it, letting them tear pieces of me away until I wasn’t sure what was left.
Maybe being home could help me find that spark again, give me a purpose and time to heal.
It was so strange. Even if I was hurt and sad, the thought of my exes makes my skin crawl now. I wanted nothing to do with them and I felt no attachment there whatsoever.
Seeing them fuck Wren took care of that.
After sliding on my black boots I tucked my wallet and keys into my pockets. It wasn’t until I was halfway down the stairs I realized I sold my car years ago, the guys convincing me we’d car shop again and we had enough vehicles to go around.
That meant my only option was Mama’s beat-up pickup truck.
“Hey, Mama—” I started but she cut me off, not even looking up from her page.
“Keys are by the door, drive safe,” she said, shooing me away. I stared at her for a moment more, taking in the light wrinkles on her face and the grays sneaking into her dark hair. She had it half up, some of it tumbling free.
She’d always been pretty, but right then she looked lost. I swallowed down the pain that I always kept neatly tucked away. She lost true mates, ones she had kids and a life with, and had never looked at another man again.
No wonder my brothers never left. She’d be left all alone on all this land. Even I could see how bad that would be.
“Stop worrying about me and go,” she huffed, giving me a look over her reading glasses again. She’d mastered the ‘mom’ looks long ago and this one had me rolling my eyes.
“Fine, fine, I’m going,” I grumbled before heading for the back door, snatching the key ring from the hook.
The truck looked the same as it did when I left the first time, coated in a faded blue paint with spots of rust poking through.
Soft, worn leather covered the seats and dashboard, the large steering wheel felt strange in my hand.
I tried not to overthink how strange this night was going to be as I navigated through town.
Even after the sun set, Rockwood Valley was beautiful. The dark mountains made the lights in town shine brighter. Vintage style street lamps line the sidewalks through Main Street and twinkle lights surround the windows of the businesses.
Whitaker Family Brewery used to shine the brightest but I can see what the years have done to it. The brick is coated in grime, the windows are streaked from the recent rain and the sign had a few bulbs that went out who knows how long ago.
I grimace as I take in my dads’ legacy. It definitely needs my help, and I had a feeling my brothers were struggling with it all far more than I thought possible.
Music filtered out as someone pushed their way out of the door. The scent of booze and filtered, lightly scented air hit me. They’d clearly upgraded the filtering system in here or it would have been unbearable.
“I need to see some ID,” a gruff voice demanded. I raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the bouncer. I guess they checked IDs at the door these days. I couldn’t blame them but it was a stark reminder of just how long I’d been gone.
“Sure,” I said, digging out my wallet and flashing my license at him. His eyes widened at the name and I let out a small laugh. “Yes, I’m their sister.”
“Welcome back, Avery,” he offered, much nicer now. “Sorry about the greeting. We’ve had a lot of underagers trying to get in lately. This town doesn’t have enough for them to do, I guess.”
“Understandable,” I said before giving him a quick wave and pushing my way through the growing crowd. Apparently, everyone in town hit the bar scene this time of night.
There was one barstool open and I hurried for it, sliding in just before someone stumbled over to take it.
“You caught us,” Nash said as he came over. I noticed he didn’t slide a coaster over or take my order. Maybe my brothers forgot that I’m twenty-five now and well old enough to drink.
“I did. You should have woken me up so I could help out,” I shouted over the music.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Mav wouldn’t have allowed it. Cam, Maverick, and I have this under control.”
I winced. “Do you?”
His eyes shadowed for a second but he just gestured around at the crowd. I glanced out at the crush of bodies, noticing a few familiar faces but a lot weren’t recognizable.
“The university in Moreno gives us plenty of people and the locals keep us busy,” he said, almost defensively.
“Let me help? I’ll come back tomorrow during the day and see what I think we could improve. I also ran a pretty big social media page at my last job before I left, let me make and run a PackVlog for us,” I said, the ideas already spinning in my head. Maybe if I built some hype for this town, it could bring in a few more tourists… something that had been lacking since the festival took a nosedive into nonexistence.
It was too painful for anyone to run the years after my father’s died. The accident at the brewery was a freak occurrence. When the valves malfunctioned and the gas leak went undetected until it was too late, it devastated everyone who knew my dads and the two workers who died.
The fire was awful, but having to bury all four of your dads is far worse. My mama barely functioned, my brothers acted out, and the only ones who held us together were Cameron’s mate and Sidney.
Before Cam broke up with her and shut down completely, at least. Then it was just us and Sidney left to keep us together.
None of us were the same, but eventually we learned to adapt and carry on. The brewery was shut down and the bar was the only thing staying open, selling local beers instead of Whitaker home brews.
We made enough to live but the town took a huge hit. We were national news, then without the Rockwood Valley Artisan Fair, more and more locals had to leave to make a living.
I was one of the ones who left. Found a university in Virginia and never looked back.
Now, I wasn’t sure if I could forgive myself for putting all of this on my brothers’ shoulders.
“If you want to pitch it to the board, we’ll have lunch delivered tomorrow and figure out how to include you going forward. Tonight, though, you’re off the clock. Adjust to small town life again, Avery.”
“Fine, give me a shot of whiskey and a soda to chase away the nerves.”
Nash eyeballed me as if he wanted to argue but finally did as I asked. When he slid over the amber liquid, he poured himself one, too, clinking it to mine before we both slammed them back. I winced as it burned its way down my throat then chased it down with my drink.
“Avery!” Sidney’s voice was loud enough that I heard her the moment she walked inside. My name yelled out got a few stares and some waves that I returned, before she was shoving her way to me. “Girl, having you back is the best. I’ve been severely lacking girl time.”
I barely stopped myself from apologizing when she gave me the stink eye. My friend knew me well.
“That was not a dig. You are allowed to live your life how you want,” she said.
“The usual, Sid?” Nash asked. Sidney locked her green eyes on him before nodding. Apparently, she’d frequented the bar while I was gone. I was just glad my brothers were here to protect her.
Nash walked away to make her drink and I wondered if they blocked guys from hitting on her like they’d do for me.
“Do they stop you from having fun?” I asked, glancing behind her where the guys were all watching over us and the crowd.
“All the time,” she laughed, not seeming upset by it. “It’s kind of nice to know someone is looking out for me.”
“You say that now,” I joked. “Watch out when we find a pack. They’ll be insufferable.”
“Is that why you moved away?” she asked. There wasn’t judgment in my best friend’s tone, just curiosity. For Sidney, she always wanted to be here, but I needed to get out a bit.
“Not completely. Sometimes it was suffocating, but I think I needed to know that I could take care of myself… too bad I couldn’t in the end.”
“You did, though,” she argued. “You ended that bullshit the moment you saw it and called for us to come help. Having someone help you doesn’t make you less independent, it makes you smart.”
“Cheers to that,” I said, not wanting to bring down the evening. We grabbed the shots Nash sat on the bar. Sidney took hers without a chaser then slid her card over, but he ignored it, so she shoved a five in the tip jar instead.
I threw my own shot back and took a sip of the soda Nash slid me. It was strange to feel like I just got back, but never left, at the same time. This town, these people, they knew me well and I was slowly starting to accept that I loved that.
“He never lets me pay unless some poor bastard is buying me a drink,” Sid grumbled, clutching at the conversation that was safer than the last.
“Of course, he doesn’t. You’re family,” I said as I tugged her toward the dance floor. “Let’s get some energy out.”
The song changed to a pop remix that had a good enough beat to dance to. There were a few people on the dance floor, this wasn’t exactly a club, but Sid and I had never cared.
We threw our hands up and sang along while we danced our hearts out. I let the lingering tension fade from me as I settled into my new life. One where I danced without worry, where I found my place and no one shot me down or kept me at home.
Three songs in and Sidney was dragging me back to the bar. This time it was Cameron who walked up, running a hand through his black hair and eyeing us both.
“You’re both drawing a crowd,” he said, making his annoyance known. At least I never had to worry about anyone stepping out of line with three alpha protective brothers watching me.
“We need another round,” I said, ignoring him.
He grabbed us two shots of whiskey along with two bottles of water, sliding the water toward us first and holding our liquor hostage.
Sidney and I didn’t even question as we uncapped the bottles and chugged at least half. We set them on the bar and were rewarded with a fresh shot.
I grinned at Cam before taking the shot, emptying it and downing the rest of my water.
“One more!” Sidney insisted. He obliged us this time, happy we at least hydrated, too.
“Last one,” he muttered as he gave us our fresh shots. We didn’t argue and shot them back. If all else failed I still had one brother to go, though Maverick was by far the most protective and the hardest to crack.
“Are you ladies ready to go back out and dance?” The southern drawl was slightly slurred and we both turned to the group of alphas behind us. They had grins on their faces but it was a solid no from me.
“Sorry boys, it’s girls only night for us,” I said, giving a grin.
One stepped forward and tried to put a hand on me. The situation went from annoying to chaos in a single breath.
Glass shattered and a body flew over the bar. Maverick was in front of us before either of us could do anything. At a slightly slower pace, Cameron and Nash joined them, Nash holding my brothers back.
“This is a business, boys,” Nash said, his voice a firm warning. “Now I suggest you keep your hand off of these two and back away before you’re kicked out on your ass.”
“We’re paying customers, you can’t kick us out,” one snarled, clearly the angry drunk out of the group. Fists were already curled but the bouncer was closing in. He stood back, waiting for the signal.
“I can and I will,” Maverick said evenly. “Especially if you touch my family.”
That was enough for several of the alphas to put their hands up and step back. My brothers stood shoulder to shoulder and that was enough to convince the stragglers.
They walked out with more than a few curses but the mood was officially ruined. I wasn’t the only one who thought that. Sidney was frowning and Maverick was steering us toward the back.
“Let me give you a ride home. We’ll drive the truck back later.”