17. Avery
Avery
“ S idney, SOS, help,” I gasped into the phone the moment I got in the car and dialed her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Whose ass do I need to kick?”
She probably wasn’t ready for the rant I went on, but she got every detail of my day from the builder, to the guys, to the rescue from my brothers, to the lunch, the panic, the lake, and the doctor mindfuck that followed.
I’d even gushed a little about the alphas’ scents. Mason was this rugged outdoorsy mix of apple, cedarwood, and fresh fallen leaves that made me feel safe. Ford was a rich and decadent mix of coffee and cream. Arden was a mix of rich vanilla and marjoram, laced with an herbal and spicy undertone that was perfect. They were all etched into my brain along with Cohen’s now.
“Holy hell, girl. Remind me that I never want to find my pack. That shit sounds complicated as hell,” Sidney said with a laugh.
“I still have to tell Cohen, I feel like he deserves to hear it from me,” I said. “Now, I also need to figure out something else for the house build and I need to get started on the bar’s account.”
“Girl, you came into this town and dove head first into keeping yourself busy as fuck,” she laughed.
“I thought it would help me settle in and find my place here. I didn’t sign up for this whole ‘finding an entire pack’ thing!” I protested.
She fell into another fit of laughter that had me huffing, but biting back my own.
“You’re not helping, Sidney. What the fuck do I do?!”
“Girl, you’re asking the wrong omega. My scenting is already off, I have no hope of figuring this out,” she said, more somber now. “But I’d start with Cohen. Just call him while you get ready to go in for work. I’ll be in later for a drink and you can vent some more.”
“Ugh, fine,” I groaned, ending the call right as I pulled onto Whitaker Ranch. Mama was waiting on the porch and I nearly turned around. I knew damn well my brothers filled her in on everything.
She offered a smile as I parked, yet I could tell it wasn’t her greeting smile, but one expecting answers.
I forgot how fucking fast the rumor mill went around here.
“So, I take it you heard?” I asked as I walked up.
“It seems you’ve had quite the day. The boys told me about the construction guy, and fuck him, but I want to know what happened after and why my daughter apparently has mates she hasn’t told me about.”
I sighed and sat down next to her. She slid over a tall glass of sweet tea and I took a sip before answering.
“Well, two of them I met today,” I started, before giving her a full, detailed recap of my insane day. She didn’t interrupt me as I got it all out, like she could sense I needed to just ramble it all out. “So now, I have to tell Cohen, figure out how to accept them all while protecting my heart, and not lose my mind.”
She laughed. “Oh, no big deal then. Right?”
“Right,” I snorted, taking another long sip and looking out at the view. “God, I missed this place.”
“We all missed you,” she said softly. The moment I went to apologize her expression turned fierce. “Don’t you dare apologize for living your life and finding yourself. I always knew you’d find yourself home one day.”
I snapped my mouth shut and sat back.
“It’s hard to ignore the guilt. I feel like I’ve abandoned you guys and yet when I needed you guys, everyone was there for me.”
“Of course, we were. You’re family and we love you, and that includes Sidney,” she said, giving a shrug.
Maybe it was her reassurance, but it felt like I just needed someone to tell me to stop beating myself up, that I don’t have to hold onto that guilt anymore.
I took a deep breath and let it out, letting the stress dissolve with it. The last thing I needed was extra to worry about.
“Tell me how you met my dads?” I asked. It wasn’t a story she had shared before but my own crazy meetup had me too curious to resist. “If you don’t mind talking about it.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know, your mama is not as delicate as you guys think.”
“No, but you can’t blame us for worrying,” I said.
She chose to ignore that, giving me the side eye before a nostalgic smile drifted over her face, her eyes faraway.
“They quite literally swept me off of my feet. I grew up in Rockwood Valley, but they didn’t. This farm was in their family and they were here for a summer. One summer was all it took.”
I’d seen the pictures from their first year. It was a fast romance, getting bonded and pregnant within a year. She was gorgeous and they were smitten, their omega at the center of every single photo and all eyes on her.
“We ran into each other during a lakeside campfire. Someone was always planning one and it always snowballed into a big event. Everyone brought out drinks and snacks and it went into the night.”
“I’m kind of sad they stopped those. Maybe if we didn’t stay open every night of the week we could host one,” I joked.
She sighed. “I’ve been telling them to hire a bartender for years.”
“Someday,” I mused. “Now finish this fairytale story.”
She laughed softly. “Some guy was being rude to me. I don’t even remember what his name was or why, but the way he spoke to me got your dads all riled up. They ran over to intervene on my behalf. I scented them first, they were all too busy to notice. When I put a hand on Gideon’s chest to stop him, it was like the whole world melted away. The rest was history.”
“But did they jump into the lake with you?” I teased, both of us laughing at the idea. “I can’t believe he did that.”
“Well, it worked,” she said, not even the least bit sorry for me. In fact, she was holding back laughter.
“Ugh, I’m going in,” I laughed, pausing as I reached the door. “I promise to go car shopping this week so you can have yours back.”
She nodded, still giggling to herself as she picked up her book.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Cohen the entire time I was getting ready for the bar. My job wasn’t really bartender, though I would jump in and help when I could, especially with how busy we’ve been, so hopefully I could sneak away.
When it was time to leave, I took a second to pull my phone out and check in with Cohen. I had to get to him before he heard about the rest.
Avery: Hey, I was wondering if I could swing by after I got a bit of work done at the bar tonight?
Cohen: That’s fine with me. I don’t go to bed until around eleven usually.
Avery: Perfect, send me your address and I’ll message a heads up when I’m done.
Everything with Cohen was just… easy. He was laid back and sensible, I didn’t feel like I had to tiptoe around his feelings constantly or worry that if I said the wrong thing our night would be ruined.
I didn’t know enough about the others to guess their personalities. Mason seemed fairly up front, like he’d tell me like it is while considering my own feelings. Ford seemed sweet and funny, confident in himself.
And the doctor?
That was a whole mindfuck I never saw coming. The fact he didn’t react at the clinic was impressive, and that control was reassuring… but I’d seen control before. Would he want things his way and no other? Did he have the same hidden tendencies my exes used on me?
Fuck, trust was hard.
By the time I reached the bar I’d talked myself in circles enough times to drive the most sane person crazy.
It must have been written on my face because Nash narrowed his eyes the moment I walked in.
“What is it? Did they do something?”
“No,” I groaned. “Can we focus on anything but my out of control life tonight?”
“Sure,” he said. “The guys and I recorded a few videos for you to edit from those ideas you sent over.”
I raised my eyebrows in shock. “Even Maverick?”
He snorted. “Reluctantly, but we kept him in only a few. I’m sure you’ll have your work cut out for you.”
“We set you up in the corner, sis,” Cameron said as he walked past. I looked over and let out a startled laugh at the sight. They’d literally set up a VIP table, homemade sign and all. There was a fancy red table cloth they’d pulled out of who knows where, and it was partitioned off.
“That’s not going to stick out at all,” I groaned. “Really, guys?”
“What?” Nash blinked innocently.
“Fucking brats,” I accused.
“Nah, now you can work undisturbed this way,” Cameron argued, his mischievous grin on full display.
Maverick stepped out of the back office, taking in their grins and my crossed arms and let out a sigh.
“What did you assholes do now? She just forgave us for our last fuckup.”
“Nothing, just giving me the VIP treatment apparently,” I said, gesturing to the table. Maverick let out a sigh like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
“Clean it up before she gets shit from customers all night. I said save her a table to work at, not make it stand out,” he said, side eyeing them both before stalking away.
He seemed particularly on edge. After making them do all the social media stuff, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was too much for him.
While the others went back to work, I followed Maverick back into the office. He was sitting down, rubbing a hand over his forehead and looking years older.
“Hey,” I said softly, knocking gently on the door before coming in and closing it behind me. “What’s wrong? Am I being too much?”
He shook his head and finally met my eyes.
“Nah, I know what you’re doing is already helping and you’ve only posted once,” he said, letting out a breath. “It’s just… I’ve been thinking a lot.”
“About our dads?” I hedged. “The Artisan Fair? I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“No, stop that. I don’t need you to take the blame, Avery. I’m just realizing I’ve been holding back and everyone else is ready to move on and I can’t figure out how.”
“You’ve been keeping everyone together, don’t be so hard on yourself. You guys have kept Mama taken care of and this business running. My goal here is to give you the opportunity to hire staff and step back to manager roles. If this takes off, we’ll be able to have actual lives. You deserve one.”
He frowned down at his desk, still not convinced. He was more stubborn than the rest of us combined.
“I just don’t have the mental capacity to bring the fair back to life. It’s so much more than us, it’s tons of people who were involved and I can’t get hopes up for it to fail.”
“Then take it slow,” I said. “Put in the research, study our dads’ notes, then make plans. It doesn’t have to happen tomorrow or even this year, but if you want this to be your thing, start giving it some thought.”
He blinked at me as if he was shocked I’d suggest it. I wasn’t here to argue one way or another, so I stood to leave him with his thoughts.
“I’m going to get some work done. You think it all over and have faith that your little sister is planning to make it so you have a choice in the future. The brewery was our dads’ dream. It doesn’t have to be yours. If you want the artisan festival and taking part in that, then that’s fine. Just remember that what you want matters, too.”
He blinked at me before nodding once. Even if he didn’t say anything else it felt like we finally had a breakthrough. My brothers had spent years building this place back up and losing themselves in the process.
My goal now was to give them their life back. I knew with all my plans I could do it, and that motivation got me through hours of video editing.
I’d prove to them that this omega knew what she was doing, and one setback wasn’t going to define me.
This was my life now, one I actually wanted, and I wouldn’t be giving up easily.