Elliott #2
The facility Jet spoke of was owned by the SOS and wasn’t far from the hospital that I and the other omegas been taken to after we’d been rescued.
After we were treated, our group could have gone there, too, because many rescued omegas lived and worked there.
But I refused, too afraid of the unknown.
The others wouldn’t leave me. I’d seen in Riku’s eyes how much he wanted to go live at the facility, where the special ops lived and trained, but he wouldn’t go without Ren.
I’d always wondered if he resented me for it.
Gracefully, Jet rose to his feet, then offered his hand to help me up. I wouldn’t have accepted, but I still felt weak and wasn’t sure that I could stand on my own.
I focused on the bulging cords in Jet’s forearm as he pulled me up.
As soon as I was steady, I let go of his hand and stepped back several paces.
Recalling what Gail had taught me in the past about setting boundaries, I forced myself to look Jet in the eyes and said, “I’m uncomfortable with being touched and with having you so close.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll got back to the barn. I’m only a shout away, okay?”
“Okay.”
Jet turned and strode back toward the barn and Brandon, whom I was thankful hadn’t approached me during my panic attack. That would have really triggered me.
Deciding I’d had enough of garden work for the day, I began gathering up my tools to take to the shed.
After making sure the weeds I was drying out were in a suitable spot for the sun to hit them, I headed for the goat pen, noticing that Emma had come back and was following at a distance.
I spent half an hour or so collecting goat manure to use as fertilizer in the garden before settling down to talk to the animals.
I liked goats. Some people thought their eyes were weird and creepy, but I thought they were unusual and interesting.
The goats on the ranch provided milk, cheese, and yogurt.
I also made soap out of their milk, something that David had done a few times on their ranch.
Eric took everything to the farmers’ market once a month in spring, summer, and autumn to sell, including the soap I made, and Laura insisted I keep a portion of the earnings.
I’d been saving that money for a while now.
The ranch hadn’t been in operation for long.
The SOS had bought the place from Nova and Eric Border, who had been cheated on the purchase, with the stipulation that they would fix it up and let the Borders run it if our group of seven omegas could live there, too.
So far, the arrangement was working out well.
Laura had mated Nova and Eric. Thinking about it, she was probably the one who had come up with the idea.
I couldn’t imagine Laura leaving us to be with them.
I enjoyed being outside and liked animals.
The winters in this region were hard but also beautiful.
I’d especially enjoyed riding the snowmobiles to visit Ben, David, Jackson, and Trey.
Our houses were all next to one another, or would be as soon as Trey’s and Jackson’s were finished being built on the property between the Angels’ ranch and this one.
Trey’s house was closest to ours and Jackson’s was closest to Ben and David’s.
After the first time we rode one of the snowmobiles, Keane told me that he’d never seen me laugh like that before.
We had Saanen and Alpine goats, as well as a mixture of both because we bred them.
We disbudded the kids, so none of our goats had horns.
The Saanens were more affectionate and so pretty with their white or cream hair, but I loved the Alpine goats, too.
Several nannies would give birth to kids soon, and I was excited about that.
I hoped I would still be here when it happened, but I wasn’t sure.
My favorite billy goat was a Saanen that I’d named Steve.
He had a long beard and longer hair growing along his spine.
I named him Steve because he reminded me of an older man by that name who had lived near my house growing up who had a long, white beard.
Anytime I went in the goat enclosure, Steve would run up to me and nuzzle my legs so I would give him attention.
When I was doing chores, as I was today, he followed me around the enclosure bleating until I had a chance to sit down and pet him.
Another goat that I named Bella always tried to chew on my clothes.
I had a lot of holes in my jeans and sleeves because of her.
“How are you today?” I asked Steve, stroking his back with one hand while I scratched his head with the other. Steve grunted softly and made humming noises, pushing at my thigh with his muzzle.
“You know, I bet if I put some gel in your back hair, I could make it stand straight up like a mohawk. Then you’d be a punk goat. Would you like that?”
“Who ever heard of a punk named Steve?”
I looked over my shoulder at Riku leaning against the enclosure wearing a black, short-sleeved shirt, dark pants, and shiny black boots.
He and his twin brother were both striking in appearance, being half-Japanese, half-Caucasian and having an exotically androgynous look.
Today, with his black hair slicked back from his face, Riku looked more like he should be walking down a runway in a fashion show than standing by a goat pen.
He’d recently gotten Ren to pierce his lip, which leant him a bad-boy appearance.
“Don’t name-shame him,” I said.
Riku let out a huff of air that, for him, passed as a laugh.
“Eric sent me to get you for dinner. How come you didn’t respond to the bell?”
“I didn’t notice it,” I said before giving Steve a kiss on the head and standing up.
“Gross, El! Did you really just fucking kiss the goat?” Riku shook his head as we walked side-by-side toward the ranch house.
“So what if I did?”
“You’re never going to get a mate if you do nasty shit like that.”
“Good. I don’t want one anyway. Do you?”
Riku shrugged. “Maybe. Someday. I have things I want to do first.”
“Like join the SOS ops even though you’re an omega,” I said.
“That’s right. I’m going to pick the brains of the guys here and find out everything I need to do. Did you know Jet can do Tae Kwon Do?”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“He told me, how do you think? I also saw him practicing one evening out by the barn. He can do a scorpion kick.”
“You weren’t alone, were you?”
“No, Ren was with me. And Anson. Why?”
“It just isn’t safe to be alone with an alpha, even if they’re on suppressants.”
Riku shrugged, obviously not worried.
We entered the house from the back door in the kitchen. Inside, delicious-smelling aromas intermingled, and my stomach growled loudly.
“Chicken!” I exclaimed when I saw the heaping platter of fried goodness on the wooden table in the center of the room.
There were also steaming dishes of mashed potatoes and green beans and a deep bowl of pinto beans.
“I love chicken. Uh…these aren’t from our hen house, are they? ” I looked at Eric accusingly.
“Nope. These are total strangers.” He grinned, showing off the deep dimples in his cheeks.
I blew out a breath. “Good. I can eat, then.”
“You seriously wouldn’t eat this if it came from our ranch?” Riku asked, picking up a golden-fried drumstick. “Man, you’re nuts.”
Keane and Zeke were bringing the last of the food to the table, and I hurried to the bathroom and washed up before returning and taking a seat beside Riku.
“I hope you washed the goat off your mouth while you were in there,” Riku said.
In answer, I puckered my lips and leaned toward him.
Riku pushed me back. “Ew! Get away!”
“Goat?” Camp asked, frowning as he passed the platter of chicken to Zeke.
“I kissed Steve on the head,” I said. “Z, pass it here.” I took the plate from him and plucked a breast and thigh before giving it to Riku.
“Is that one of the goats?” Laura asked.
I nodded and bit into the chicken breast. “Mm, this is so good. Eric, you’re the best cook.” Good food could raise my spirits. That, and goats.
“Thanks. You always say that.” Eric chuckled while wiping his son Jeremiah’s face with a napkin.
“Because it’s true,” I told him.
“You probably think that because you’ve had to eat hospital food for so long,” Eric replied.
I shook my head. “You’re just modest.”
“You’ve got chicken juice dribbling down your chin.” Zeke leaned across the table and mopped my chin with a napkin just like Eric had with Jeremiah. “Are you three?”
I pushed his hand away. “Let me enjoy my lunch.”
Across from me, Laura smiled and shook her head.
She seemed to be feeling better lately, and I was glad.
Shortly after announcing that she, Eric, and Nova were expecting a baby, she’d had a miscarriage.
We were all really worried about her because she’d been withdrawn for a couple of months, but lately she looked much better.
I hoped she would get pregnant again soon, if that’s what she wanted.
She had done so much for me and the other omegas in our group. I wanted her to be happy.
“Where are Gail, Ace, and Dallas?” I asked. They usually ate with us.
“They’re eating with the ops group tonight,” Nova said.
I wound up eating two more pieces of chicken and was stuffed when I walked home. The rest of the guys had gone to finish their chores, but I had things on my mind and wanted to write them down.
Jet nodded to me before I went inside the house. I’d forgotten he was trailing me again. He didn’t make himself obtrusive, and I appreciated that.
In the bedroom, I sat down cross-legged on the bed Keane and I shared, took out my notebook and pen from the drawer of the nightstand, and started a list.
Things I need to do:
1. Leave town.
a. Can’t be near the ranch—don’t want to put the others in danger. That means I might have to go to another city pretty far away. Note: Count money.