55. Rosie
Chapter 55
Rosie
N ash pushes off with his boot, and the old metal bench swing sets a gentle swaying rhythm. I curl into my alpha’s side and let his heat seep into me, not caring that I’m huffing his balmy scent.
He doesn’t say anything out loud, but his purr is a gentle, comforting hum between us.
I needed a minute to breathe, so he took me across from the courthouse to a path by the lake. The late-afternoon spring sky is bright with sunshine, making the lakefront sparkle. People pass—parents with babies in strollers and old men carting fishing poles—without taking a second glance at us.
Sometimes, I like to pretend that I can master anxiety, that if I’m happy enough or prepared enough, it won’t find me. But it’s not something I can cure, no matter how much I wish it were. Sitting in that courtroom, my brain fed me a steady diet of the worst possible outcomes until my chest was tight and I couldn’t understand anything the judge said.
The heart-squeezing racing thoughts of a panic attack aren’t new. What’s new is that I could feel my mates through the bonds while it was happening. The panic still came, but so did this overwhelming feeling I wasn’t alone. I held tight to Dane’s necklace and focused on my bonds. It was like riding a merry-go-round, the world a dizzy blur, but I had this solid anchor to hold on to. Knowing they were there and had my back made it easier to get through.
Maybe past me would have been embarrassed that Nash carried me out of that courtroom. I’m sure it’s something my mother would find mortifying. But when I think about this afternoon, I have no regrets.
I feel Quinn and Dane before I see them. Nash must too, because he slows us to a stop. Quinn nudges his way onto the swing, squishing me between them and throwing his arms around me.
“It’s been a day in a series of intense days,” he says, nailing it exactly.
“You won for now,” Dane explains, his eyes studying me and his bond full of reassurance. “The rest we’ll work out later.”
“Thanks, Coach,” I say, wiping away the last of my tears and sending him a burst of gratitude through the bond for taking control of this.
“Always, sweetheart,” Dane says, that damn smolder of his making my heart jump.
“Take me home?”
“You got it, and maybe pizza?” Nash says before kissing my forehead.
“Pizza and PJs sounds great,” I say, climbing from the swing only to be swept under Dane’s arm.
Quinn hops right in step with me, taking my hand. “Let’s see if we can team up and beat the alphas at one of their shooter games.”
“Oh, you're on!” Nash says, jogging past us. “And when we win, I can think of plenty of ways to take my prize. That will be two you owe me. Where is my lingerie?"
"When the festival business is over, I'll make it happen," I promise him.
"Not so fast. The lingerie, yes, but when we win tonight, I think we could come up with a few prizes of our own."
Quinn keeps goading him with his naughty prize list, and they spar back and forth until my cheeks are red, which makes Dane crack up. We have stuff to discuss, and I need to speak with Grandma Lily, but that can be done tomorrow. Right now, I need them, and I appreciate the easy way they make it feel as though I’m safe in our little bubble.
When we get back to the pack house, we settle on the couch in our sweats with pizza from Tony’s. For obvious reasons of good taste, Nash has the entire pineapple and ham pizza to himself, but the rest is shared between us.
I haven’t played console games since college, and it shows. For the first several rounds of the shooter game, Quinn and I get wiped while our alphas either feign sympathy or outright trash-talk, but when we switch over to college football, we beat their asses through sheer luck.
“What dark magic is this?” Nash cries, leaping for Quinn and tackling him back into the couch when he intercepts the ball for the second time in ten minutes.
It devolves into sheer chaos from there, with thrown pillows and world-class wrestling moves. We end up in a cuddle pile on the floor, laughing over I don’t even know what.
I’m giggle-drunk and halfway to being turned on by the way Nash’s rumbly laugh vibrates against my chest. That’s the moment I realize I truly won today. My cousin and her bullshit are just noise. I may not have the family I started with, but the one I’ve made is the absolute best. Between Grandma Lily, my friends, and my mates, I’m loved for who I am.
And the time for me hiding or sitting on the sidelines is over. I will fight them in court and take back my town too. They can see me living my life out loud without regrets.
“I love you guys so hard,” I say, sitting up and looking around our pile. “My life was good before, but you’ve opened up a whole new world for me. I’m so grateful I’m a part of this pack.”
They tackle me then, each murmuring their own sweet things before carrying me off to our pack’s nest.
* * *
The rest of the week, I don’t really test my newfound resolve to take back the town. Everyone is back at work coming off Quinn’s heat, our whirlwind bonding, and the hearing. We spend the evenings working at the garage to finish the parade floats, then making dinner before falling into bed together. Actually, it’s mostly the shower. We can’t seem to make it to the bed, and when we do, it’s to pass out in an exhausted pile.
Of course, Grandma Lily is the one who reminds me of my promise to myself during my visit with her on Sunday morning. She has a knack for telling me exactly what I need to hear, even when I don’t always want to hear it.
“It’s time,” she says again. “Time for you to live your life.”
“Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean you have to stop living yours,” I say, struggling with what I think she’s about to tell me because I’m selfish and she’s been my person for so long.
Grandma Lily rolls her eyes. “I’ll have you know I walked the hallway this morning all the way to the big window and sat a spell with Mr. Blakey. And the girls have been coming by. Don’t tell the nurses, but Marbella snuck in a little bit of Mary Jane, and we had ourselves a card party yesterday in Sara Beth’s room.”
The laugh that escapes me is inappropriate. “Grandma Lily, you can’t?—”
“I’m seventy-three years old. I raised two daughters who turned out rotten and buried my soulmates one after another. I love you, Rosie Daniels, but I’ll do whatever I damn well please as long as I’ve got my wits about me, and I’m choosing to stay here.” She raises a weathered hand and tugs a curl. “I’m living with the time I have left, and I want that for you too. So, when all this business with the courts is done, I want you and your pack to move into my home and make it yours. And I want you to rediscover your love of football, ride rides at the town festival, go skinny dipping at the lake, and enjoy fancy dinners out on the town while you make pretty things. Then I want you to bring me treats when you show me the pictures and tell me all about it.”
“I can do that. I’m gonna try to do that.”
“Good. Start with figuring out how to jailbreak me for this parade.”
I laugh, and it comes out watery. She hugs my neck tightly, and for a few moments, I just hold her, full of so much gratitude for the home she gave me.
“You made it, Rosie. Enjoy it.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say with a nasally laugh.
She asks me to fill her in on the plans for my float, and I spend the afternoon with her until my bonds tug me back to my new home.