43. Rosie
Chapter 43
Rosie
“S hit,” I curse, tearing open the envelope. I repeat the word the more I read.
“What does it say?” Nash asks.
I hand over the stack of papers, massaging my forehead to alleviate the tension building there.
Nash repeats his question.
“What?” I throw a glance his way.
He hands me back the papers, his eyes on the floor. “I suck at reading. My brain doesn’t always work right. I’m dyslexic. Tell me what it said.”
Clearly, he doesn’t want to tell me more about that, and that’s fair. He’s done a lot of sharing today.
“Hey, look at me.”
His eyes slowly rise, and his cheeks are pink under the edges of his beard.
“Thank you for telling me. It helps me understand, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you, okay? So, whenever you want to tell me more about it, I want to listen.” His acceptance is a grunt, and I let it pass, answering his original question. “My aunt, Aster, claims that because she is the natural heir, she’s best suited to be my grandmother’s guardian. It looks like there will be a hearing…”
Nash’s hand finds my back, rubbing my tense shoulders. “You knew they were up to something, and Mr. Daniels is working on it. Now, we just have a better idea of their plan.”
I bite my lip, fear washing over me. I just don’t understand. If Grandma Lily needs full-time medical care, she and I will make that call, but I’ve always done my best to do right by her. What will this accomplish? Why drag my name in the mud? Is it to destroy my reputation, or are my aunt and cousin really that desperate to get their hands on her estate?
I wouldn’t put it past them to use her money and move her to a cheaper place, but it’s not as though Grandma’s pack was loaded. If it’s about money, that seems petty, although I guess the embarrassment of the accusation would be trivial too.
“Why do they hate me so much?” I ask, not really expecting an answer. It sucks, that’s all, and I don’t get why they act this way.
“Because you already won. Bullies only work through fear. That’s how they take power. We won’t let them take it back. We’ll fix this, I promise.” Nash pulls me into a bear hug, swaying with me until I smell less bitter.
“Thank you,” I murmur. His warm scent is soothing, and his purr is enough to loosen my muscles. I’m grateful he’s here. He’s a wall of alpha strength helping me hold it together.
Leave it to Marigold to kill my very first knot buzz. I have to give her credit—her timing is impeccable.
“Come on, we’ll bring this to Mr. Daniels before we meet up with everyone at Jace’s shop to start working on the float,” he says, planting a kiss on my forehead.
I’m a goner for his hugs and forehead kisses. They’re as lethal as Dane’s confidence.
I wipe under my eye and give him a tentative smile. “Deal, but maybe we could call Dane first? Mr. Daniels scares me.”
He laughs, tugging me toward the stairs. “Yeah, we can do that.”
* * *
Mr. Daniels is an older version of Dane, handsome and distinguished. He sits back in his chair, tosses the court papers on his desk, and takes off his glasses.
Dane puts his hand on my bouncing leg. I give him a sheepish look, trying to calm down.
I may be slightly panicked.
Nash disguises an amused laugh with a cough. I glare at him, but he just makes this face like he’s unbothered. The flare of annoyance helps me pull myself together.
Dane’s dad sits up, steepling his hands together. “We’re going to counter. We’ll rightly claim that you’ve been her guardian and a good one.”
“And our chances?” Dane asks.
Bless him for saying our because I know he means it. The moment Nash called him, Dane left practice to meet us at his dad’s office downtown. He spoke with security at the nursing home on his way here just to make sure they knew not to let my aunt come in or try anything. He’s so protective… and I really like it.
“I expect the pack judge will award Rosie temporary guardianship, with either a trial or a settlement to follow. But it will take a few weeks, maybe months, to sort it out.”
“Great,” I say, the word slipping out before I can filter it.
Mr. Daniels looks amused. “It will be fun because I plan to give them hell. We’ll need to speak with your grandmother about this. My paralegal will give you a call to set up a time for an interview with her.” He dismisses us, standing to usher us out. “We’ll get this sorted, don’t you worry.”
I shuffle between Dane and Nash, unable to focus while they talk about Dane’s coaching on our way to the front of the office. At the door, I turn back and throw my arms around Mr. Daniels. “Thank you for helping me. I really appreciate it.”
He pats my back a little awkwardly, seeming embarrassed by the display of affection.
You and me both, buddy. But I couldn’t not hug him. He’s helping me in such a big way.
“No thanks necessary. I’m glad you’ve found your way back to your pack, Rosie,” he says as he passes me off to Dane.
Both alphas are silent on the short walk to the parking lot.
“Did I really fuck up or something?” I ask nervously.
Dane shakes his head, his smile a little dazed. “No. I’ve just never seen that happen,” he says as though seeing someone hugging his dad is the same as seeing a yeti mowing the lawn.
I shrug. “Old people like me.”
Nash laughs. “Come on, trouble. Let’s go build your meadow.”
* * *
“What do you think they’re up to?” I ask Bambi, eyeing my pack of guys.
When Quinn arrived at the shop after work, he was a little frantic and worried about what he had missed. He cornered Nash in a huff, demanding answers and ranting. “You pop a knot on our beta mate, then your bond goes haywire, and your explanation is, ‘It’s all good, but we need to talk in person’! I spent the afternoon horny and worried, which is a bad combination.”
His outburst helped clue me in. I understood bonds in theory… but I hadn’t put two and two together in practice. My belly swoops with heat, thinking about the fact that when I’m with either of the alphas, Quinn knows through his bonds. Dane had sort of hinted at that, but now I know he really feels it. That’s a level of hotness I didn’t know I needed.
But Quinn settled after Dane gave him a recap, so I don’t think it’s about this afternoon. Except every time I come upon them, conversation stops. It’s clear they’re hatching plans.
“I don’t know what they’re up to, but it's usually awesome whenever my guys get like that. I say roll with it instead of ruining the surprise,” Bambi says, wiping her brow. It tracks green paint across her forehead, and I giggle as I help her remove it.
The crew from the motorcycle club Bambi’s pack are members of came out to help today, and between all the workers, we’ve cut out most of the base pieces we’re using to frame the trailer. Now Bambi and I have to paint them.
We get back to work, singing along to the playlist she’s put on while the guys finish making the last pieces.
She turns to me when we’re almost finished with the first panel. “So, the Knotty Pines Omegas’ Club called today to schedule a fitting for their participants on their float.”
“That’s cool. Is the deal you’ve worked out with the Council to advertise the collections getting us lots of bookings?” I don’t look her way, focusing on my shading in the background.
“Yes, actually. People are going nuts over the pack collections you’ve placed together. It was smart offering types of collections by decades. I put some of the ones you’ve sent me in the digital marketing… which leads me to the problem,” she says, the inflection of her voice off.
I set down my brush. “What?”
“The Omegas’ Club, isn’t that the country club omega group?”
My mouth forms an O as I take that in. That would be my cousin and all her friends. I doubt Marigold realizes the deal she’s trying to make with the devil. “What did you say?”
“Hell no. They can find other costumes for the event. It seems fitting that everybody wants our stuff now, when they don’t know who they’re asking for.”
The smile I give her is probably going to send me straight to the underworld.
“Sounds like they should’ve been nicer.” If they want to be petty, I can too. Marigold and her friends are mean as snakes. I’m not going out of my way to make them look good.
Bambi gives me a dark smile. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
Quinn picks that moment to join us, collapsing on the tarp. “I’m exhausted.”
He folds his arms behind his head, accentuating the cut of his muscles. He’s in these dark-blue scrubs from work that make him look so hot it shouldn’t be legal.
“Yes!” he says. “Exactly that.”
“What?” I shake my head, realizing I must have zoned out eye-fucking him.
“I’m ready for whatever you’ve imagined in that creative brain of yours,” Quinn says playfully.
Bambi cracks up beside me, and I nudge her.
“I’m hoping it involves something naughty, but you must feed me first.” Quinn rolls to his side, propping his head in his hand. “I spent the day trying to learn the computer system, which made every appointment last twice as long, and I worked through lunch. Not to mention the way you guys tortured me today.”
“Poor baby,” I say, leaning in for a kiss.
He smiles into it before sweeping his tongue across mine. When I’m ready to crawl into his lap, not giving one fuck that we’re in a crowded shop, he breaks away from my lips and delivers a sharp smack to my ass. “I’ll race you to the car.”
Dane and Nash are quicker, chucking us around like sacks of flour, each with one of us over a shoulder.
“Showtime is over,” Nash says.
“Home now,” Dane agrees.
My cheeks catch fire from the sound of Bambi and her pack hooting.
“My bag, you barbarians! And I need to clean the brushes.” I flick Dane’s ass with a sharp smack, but he keeps walking.
I don’t know what it says about my propensity for a roleplay kink, but I smile the whole way to Dane’s truck, picturing him as a brute warrior come to carry off his prize.