12. Avery
Avery
“ O kay, I need to know why you’re ignoring your best friend,” Sidney called out as she burst into my room, the door slamming hard enough I jumped.
She had a point.
After the meeting at the clinic and the exam afterward, I buried myself in my project for days, refusing to dwell on any of it. They were taking the lead and talking to my lawyer, Lance. He’d reached out after they contacted him so I could sign a few consent forms. He knew I didn’t want to be present for anything to do with my exes.
My looming deadline made it easy to not dwell on the Network or my exes, at least.
Mama popped in every so often to give me a drink or a plate of food. My brothers tried but they must have sensed my need for this and backed off pretty quickly.
They all knew something happened, but not exactly what. At some point, I’d have to talk it out but it wasn’t happening now.
“I’m sorry, I’ve got the meeting with the mayor coming up in like two days,” I said as I stood up and stretched. My voice felt scratchy and unused. Fuck, how deep had I gone into my work?
“Girl, you need a break… and maybe a shower.” She wrinkled her nose but burst out laughing when I threw a pillow at her.
“I showered this morning,” I laughed. “Don’t be an ass.”
“Sorry, it just comes naturally to me,” she said, completely unapologetic like she always had been. “I ran into Grace. She was excited you’re back and wants us out for a girls’ night soon.”
“That might be fun. I haven't done a girls’ night in… well, since I left.”
“Damn,” Sidney said, shaking her head. “I thought you were supposed to be out there living your best life.”
After she said that, she winced, opening her mouth to apologize most likely.
“No, don’t take it back. I was supposed to and I knew you didn’t mean it in a bad way. Exes aside, I did try in college but I didn’t really fall into a ‘party’ crowd, more of an ‘order in pizza and study’ crowd.”
“Ew,” she laughed, wrinkling her nose. “Come on, let’s grab some lunch. I’m starving and I swear you’ve lost ten pounds in the last three days. You need food.”
“Mama, fed me,” I said, glancing at the last plate and realizing it was mostly full. “Oops.”
“Girl, the guys told me they were worried about you, which means your mama is, too,” she admitted. “Get dressed and meet me down there in ten. If you don’t I’ll sabotage your video.”
She was bluffing but I wasn’t going to risk it. “Fine. Give me ten.”
Sidney gave me one last glance and left, tapping her watch to remind me to hurry before she was heading down the stairs.
I finally checked my phone and winced at the insane number of texts lighting up the screen. My brothers had all apologized about not trusting me the other night. After the stuff at the clinic and prepping for this, I’d nearly forgotten about it.
Avery: We’re fine. Just stop assuming I make bad choices. I know they lied to me and used me, but you don’t get to hover over every choice I make now.
Cameron: We’re your brothers. It’s our job.
Nash: What Cam means is we’re sorry for making you feel that way and we will try better to trust you.
Maverick: While also looking out for you.
I rolled my eyes and dropped my phone, knowing that was as close as I was getting to what I wanted. They knew I wasn’t going to be a pushover but we all knew they’d never truly back off.
Especially now that I was back.
Dressing up was the last thing I wanted to do, but one glance in the mirror and I was a bit more motivated. The dark circles and tangled hair wasn’t a vibe.
Ten minutes came and went, but by twenty, I was freshly dressed, hair was brushed and put in a loose braid, and I’d put a bit of makeup on.
I had to give it to Sidney, I already felt more human.
The house smelled like cookies and I found Sidney and Mama in the kitchen. Mama was piling a new batch of chocolate chunk cookies on the platter and Sidney was chewing away.
“I thought maybe the cookies would lure you down. You look beautiful today, my girl,” Mama said as she slid a cookie my way.
“Thanks, Mama.” I gave her a genuine smile before picking the cookie up and taking a bite of gooey, warm, chocolatey goodness. “Oh my god. I missed these.”
“I’ll seal up a batch and hide it in your room before the boys come home,” Mama laughed. “You know there won’t be any left otherwise.”
“We’re heading to lunch, want me to bring you anything back?” I asked. She patted her stomach and shook her head.
“No, I’ve been a bit nauseous.”
That had my attention and I studied her, noting the circles under her dark green eyes and the slight paleness to her skin.
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m fine, don’t do that. Go have fun.”
“Okay, okay,” I laughed, pulling her into a quick hug before following Sidney out.
“Bye, Mrs. Whitaker!” she called back before the door closed.
We barely sat down in Sidney’s car before I was pulling up the group chat with my brothers.
Avery: Mama didn’t want to eat lunch. She looks like she’s not feeling well. Have you noticed anything off?
Maverick: She’s been going to bed early.
Cameron: We’ve been keeping an eye on her for a few weeks, but we didn’t want to freak you out, she seems fine
Nash: We’ll keep an eye out, don’t worry, Avery.
Nash: You finally out of your cave?
Avery: Sidney forced me out. Don’t worry, the council meeting is in two days and I’ll be back to normal and my full focus will be on Whitaker Brews and our videos
Maverick: No
Avery: Oh yes, big brother, just wait.
“So, where to?” Sidney asked, refusing to let me ignore her for long. “What are you feeling?”
“I don’t know who else is still open outside of Starlight Diner, so surprise me.”
“It’s Rockwood Valley, we don’t exactly have a million options,” Sidney said as she turned onto Main Street. “But there is a cute bistro facing the lake. It’s nice enough we can sit outside and gossip.”
That was Sidney’s way of saying she needed to vent. I was more than willing to focus on her drama instead of mine for a bit.
“Sounds perfect,” I said with a grin. The lake that rested in the valley was gorgeous and I hadn’t had a chance to hang there in a while. “I wish I would have picked up my new camera.”
“Where is it? We can stop first,” Sidney offered.
“At the electronics store on South Street. But we don’t have to detour,” I said quickly.
“Ew, don’t do that,” she said, giving me a look. “Don’t let them change who you are, you were never a people-pleaser.”
Fuck, there was so much I did because of my exes that I didn’t even realize how deep it ran.
“Okay fine, yes let’s stop so I can snag some extra pictures. Maybe I can sweeten the deal for the council.”
“I want all the details on that, not just the vague ones,” she demanded as she turned onto South Street instead of heading for the lake.
“Okay, fine,” I relented as she parked at the curb.
The store was busy so we had to wait in line for a few minutes before I was able to pick up my package. They weren’t fully stocked here and had to order in the right lenses I wanted.
It was an expense, but one I could write off at least.
By the time we were back in Sidney’s car, I couldn’t keep my excitement under wraps. I was like a kid at Christmas, opening up the box and putting my camera together before safely storing it in my leather storage bag. I’d thought ahead and got a few backup memory cards as well so I was prepared.
“I think you know most of the details about me taking over the social pages for Whitaker Brews, but I put in a proposal with Mayor Adams that I could help boost our tourism for the town,” I explained as I zipped up the case and glanced at Sidney.
She raised her eyebrows, apparently that was news to her. I was a little shocked word hadn’t spread, then again Cohen wasn’t a gossip and Mayor Adams might be trying to not get hopes up around here.
“A boost in tourism could help this town. I miss the way things were,” she admitted. Her family ran a ranch on the edge of town, so the lack of tourism affected them, too.
“I think a lot of people are. It’s not the same. I want to convince the guys to bring the Artisan Fair back to life. I don’t think they all like that idea, though. When it was brought up, Maverick kind of shut it down.”
She frowned but didn’t seem surprised. “You aren’t the first to bring it up. Everyone hates that we lost your dads and we respect it was a family-run thing, but we all miss what Rockwood Valley used to be. Hell, even the summer tourism at the lake took a huge hit.”
“I’m not one to give up easily,” I reassured her. She focused on the road but there was a small smile on her face as she navigated toward the lake.
Seeing her sadness reflected on her face on behalf of the town made me realize just how much things had changed. I had no clue how much the ranch was affected and what she did for them now.
Yeah, this lunch was way overdue.
The bistro on the lake was an adorable converted cabin. They’d extended their balcony that ran alongside the shore so it felt like you were right on the water. Cute wooden tables and chairs were set up and the overhang gave just enough shade so you weren’t eating right in the sunlight.
There were only two other tables seated outside and one more inside, so the hostess didn’t have any issue leading us outside and leaving us with our menus.
“What have you tried here?”
“Pretty much everything. I do a lot of the finances for the ranch so I bring my laptop out here at least twice a week to get some uninterrupted work time in,” she admitted.
“How are things going out there?” I asked gently, unsure if it was a sore subject or not.
“We’re making it. Not thriving like we have in the past but our bills are paid… just not a ton of profit especially after staff is paid. They also insist on paying me for my work,” she said with an eyeroll.
“If I get this job, I’ll make sure to do a good segment on the ranch, too,” I promised. She latched onto the subject change.
“What’s the presentation about?”
I couldn’t answer right away, the waiter interrupted with a friendly smile.
“Welcome to The Landing, I’m Taylor,” he said in a cheerful tone. The omega was adorable with curly, brown hair and bright blue eyes. The combination gave him a youthful look though I could tell he was around our age. “What can I get for you?”
“I haven’t even looked yet,” I admitted as I finally opened my menu. “But I’ll take a sweet tea.”
“Don’t worry, I’m clearly not slammed out here, take your time,” he reassured me before turning to Sidney and offering a smile I could only call flirty. “The usual?”
“You know it,” she said, blushing slightly before he was rushing off. I didn’t start the conversation back up as I looked through my options before settling on pasta. Carbs were always a good choice when you needed a pick-me-up.
Taylor came back with our drinks, Sidney and I cracked up as we ordered the same thing.
“I’ll throw in an order of breadsticks and salad if you want?” he offered.
“Duh,” Sidney teased. He rolled his eyes at her and moved away, her eyes watching him go. When she realized I caught her, she groaned.
“Taylor?” I prompted, wanting to know if it was a crush or more.
“We’re not matches, my scent has always been dulled so I don’t know if I would even know,” she admitted, staring off at the water for a second. Her sadness was etched on her face.
“Sid, I didn’t realize, I’m so sorry,” I said, my heart breaking for my best friend. She waved me off but I could tell this was something she struggled with. “I’m here if you ever need to talk it out.”
“The doctor’s think my mates might trigger it, that it’s just a dormant thing, but I guess I haven’t found them yet,” she said with a shrug.
Fuck, it was a hard place to be, stuck between chosen and scent-matched mates. There was no real wrong choice but it was a complicated scenario.
“Can we talk about the project?” she begged.
“Sure,” I said as I pulled out my camera. “I started with Cohen over at Cohen’s Creations. I’m doing interviews and taking photos and videos of the shops. The goal is to showcase the shops and things Rockwood Valley has to offer, give people a reason to visit again.”
“How did the interview go? He seems so nice but he’s so quiet,” she said.
Taylor swept out with an armload of things, dropping off the salad, bread, and plates before he was gone again.
“He’s my mate,” I admitted. I’m not sure what possessed me to admit it, but it felt like I was constantly hiding from everyone. At least Sidney wouldn't go around and gossip about it.
She gasped loud enough the other tables turned our way but we ignored them.
“Shut the fuck up! Mates?” she hissed. “Is that why you hid away?”
“Partly,” I admitted. “He said we could take it slow and I did have this to handle, but I also had a not so pleasant meeting with The Network a few days ago and it rehashed some old memories.”
“Fuck those assholes for doing this to you,” she said, her voice quieter now.
“We’ve all got our skeletons. I’ll be alright,” I reassured her. Sidney nodded, she could understand that.
She didn’t press further as I stood and took a few shots of the water and the building. When Taylor brought our food out, I took a few more before I couldn’t resist the bubbly cheese and scent of the alfredo.
“So, you’ve got all these work plans, but what about living arrangements? I know how crazy it can be living at home,” she said. “At least I have the old stable-hands’ cabin for my own so my dad and uncle don’t drive me too crazy.”
“My dads left us some land and I have a bit of an inheritance. The plan was to build but I feel weird doing it without pack input. I want to be close but I need to have some independence, too.”
She nodded, listening to every word. Sidney was an amazing friend and always had been. She saw right through me most of the time so I didn’t usually bother holding back.
“At the end of the day, a house on your land will always be yours. Inheritance is generally protected by law, so talk to your lawyer and see if you need to do anything to protect it, and build with a pack in mind. At the end of the day, you are the omega in this equation. Any pack that wants to be with you, will want you to be comfortable.”
“I guess it couldn’t hurt to meet with someone about building it,” I said as I bit into a bite of chicken, chewing it as I mulled over her idea.
A place of my own, that I put thought and care into, that would forever be mine. Somewhere that I had my own space but also space to grow with a potential pack. Where they could integrate with what I already had so it didn’t have the risk of being ripped away.
“There’s a construction company in town, schedule a meeting. Actually,” she cut herself off and tapped at her phone for a few minutes.
“What are you doing?” I hissed, startled at the abrupt change.
“Setting this up. No more running, Avery. It’s time to reclaim your future.”
“I’m not running,” I muttered but stopped arguing as someone answered her call. Hell, I couldn’t even be mad as she arranged a meeting for a week away.
Maybe it was time to do something for myself, something permanent.