Chapter 2
Never alone.
Henley
I have three suitcases that I’m supposed to fit an entire summer’s worth of clothes in, and it’s stressing me out.
When Parker told me that I could only take three suitcases because of the lack of space in his Jeep, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. But now that I’m trying to fit my clothes, yarn for sock knitting, and books into my suitcases, I realize it’s not enough.
I suppose I could just read books digitally.
I do like reading books on audio and on my e-reader app, but there is something about a physical book that just hits the spot.
I sadly put my books back on the shelf.
I will buy you books in Florida, Parker says through our mate link.
I perk up at that. I will never say no to new books.
Now you have more room for clothes, he says.
Or yarn.
I can feel his laughter through our bond.
It’s not like I’m going to need wool socks to wear in the summer in Florida, but I enjoy knitting socks. So, I’m going to need a lot of sock yarn.
Okay, only one suitcase for yarn, I tell myself.
I have to be sensible. And I am going to need a lot of clothes.
I go into my walk-in closet and look at the multiple bins of sock yarn.
I wonder how I’m supposed to pick colors for a trip like this.
I usually just pick whatever I’m feeling for the current day.
A knock on my door has me walking out of my closet. A moment later, Dad walks into my room.
“Hey, Dad.”
He eyes the suitcases on the bed. “You’re packing.”
“I’m… trying.” I eye the still empty suitcases. “I don’t know which yarn to take.”
“You can always buy more yarn in Florida,” Dad says.
“Yeah, but Parker already promised he’d buy me books. And yarn is more expensive than books.” I chew on my bottom lip as I glance from the empty suitcase to Dad.
“I’ll give you money for yarn,” Dad says, like it’s a simple solution.
I shake my head. “No, it’s okay. I don’t need more yarn. I should use what I have.”
Dad chuckles—he knows my yarn buying habits from over the years. It’s his credit card I’ve always used.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving.” He looks around my room with a frown.
It hasn’t changed that much since Parker moved in. He took over a small section of my closet, but that’s about it.
“It’s just for the summer.” I tuck a stand of hair behind my ear. “I’ll be back by fall.”
“And then you’ll be moving into your own home,” he says. “It will never be the same.”
My heart sinks.
This is what I’ve been dreading—leaving my dad. Because I don’t want to leave him alone.
At least he has Hailey now…
Hailey is a wolf shifter from a neighboring pack. She lost her soulmate at a young age and never had children, a lot like my dad. They’ve been seeing each other for a few months.
“You have the pack. And Hailey,” I say. “You won’t be alone.”
Dad takes a step closer. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”
“About what?” I look up when I hear the serious tone in his voice.
He motions toward the ottoman at the end of my bed, motioning for me to sit. I do, and he sits down beside me. He’s quiet for a long moment before he speaks.
“I wanted to ask you what you think about me asking Hailey to marry me,” he says bluntly.
I look at my dad as I slowly process his words. “You’re going to… propose?”
He nods. “If it’s okay with you.”
He’s going to ask her to marry him.
Wow.
I knew they were serious, but I had never considered marriage. Dad’s never even had a girlfriend before Hailey.
He won’t be alone. I won’t have to feel guilty for leaving him alone.
Tears press against the back of my eyes. “Yes, Dad. I’m absolutely okay with that. Hailey is awesome, and I will happily welcome her to the family.”
He’ll have somebody to come home to when I’m not here. He won’t come home to an empty house. I won’t have to worry so much about him.
I lean over and give him a side hug. “I’m so happy for you.”
He squeezes me. “Thank you. I am sad that you’re growing up and moving out, but I’m glad you have Parker. I know he’ll take care of you.”
“He will,” I confirm, knowing nobody can take care of me better than him. “When are you going to propose?”
“Tomorrow, before your graduation party,” he says. “I want to do it before you leave so you can be there.”
My heart swells at the idea of him including me in the proposal. “Thank you, Dad.”
“Of course.” He hugs me and then stands up from the ottoman. “Parker just pulled up, so I’ll go and let the two of you pack.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
I watch as he leaves the room. It’s a bittersweet moment because I know we won’t have talks like this anymore. Sure, we’ll talk, but it won’t be the same. I won’t live here anymore. But I’m also so excited about starting my life with Parker that I can barely stand it.
Parker saunters into the room. He pauses to eye my still empty suitcases. “I thought you were going to pack.”
I grin. “Sorry. I got distracted.”
He shakes his head. “And you’ll be less distracted now that I’m here?”
I nod. “Yep. I’m totally going to focus.” I eye the open closet door. “Do you want to help me pick out yarn colors?”
“Sure.” He sighs, resigned to his fate.
Together, Parker and I spend the next hour packing our bags to get ready for our trip to Florida. Once they’re filled, Parker puts them in a pile by the door so we’ll be ready to leave the day after graduation.
“I can’t believe you have an entire bag of just yarn.” Parker shakes his head at the pile of suitcases.
I raise an eyebrow. “Have you seen the plastic tote filled with just knit socks? And those are just the socks I haven’t worn yet. Maybe I should give some to your mom—we wear the same size.”
“I’m sure she’d love them.” He takes a step closer to me and tugs me into his arms. “I shouldn’t be surprised that you love knitting, but I am. It seems like an old lady’s hobby.”
I playfully smack his arm. “Hey, young people knit too.” I grin up at him. “Besides, knitting helped distract me. The voices weren’t as loud when I focused on knitting. It was the only thing that helped before I met you.”
“I wish I could’ve met you sooner.”
I shake my head. “Absolutely not. I was awkward when I was younger. Besides, we would’ve had to wait even longer before we were allowed to be married, and you barely survived as it is.”
“True,” he smirks. “But I hate the thought that you suffered for so long.”
I lean my head against his chest. “At least we won’t have to worry about our children suffering. I can teach them from a young age how to block out others’ thoughts.”
“Are you trying to tell me something?” Parker tilts his head back to look at me.
I shake my head. “No, thankfully. We have enough as it is between graduation and going to Florida for the summer. I can’t handle much else.”
“But you’re not alone, and you’ll never have to be.” Parker leans back so he can look me in the eye. “I’m with you every step of the way.”
“Even when we go see my Uncle Ferno, who is a king?” I worry my bottom lip between my teeth.
He brushes a strand of hair out of my face and tucks it behind my ear. “It’s not like this is the first time we’re meeting him. He visits once a month.”
“Yes, but this time, we’re going to see him in his element. And there will be a lot of other phoenixes around.” It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. The only other phoenix I’ve ever met was Blaze. And he kidnapped me.
Parker rests his hands on my shoulders as he looks at me with those blue eyes that still take my breath away. “You’re worrying about nothing, Henley. Everything is going to work out, you’ll see.”
I change the subject, wanting to talk about something happier. “Did you hear that Dad is going to propose to Hailey?”
His eyes widen. “Really? That’s incredible. They’re so perfect for one another. I know she’ll say yes.”
“Yes,” I agree. And it’s one less thing for me to worry about. I know Dad and Hailey will be happy together.
“You need to stop worrying about everybody else.” Parker tugs me toward the ottoman at the end of the bed. He sits down and pulls me onto his lap. “Your dad is a grown man.”
“I know.” I frown. “But he’s always had such a rough life. He lost his parents, his grandparents, and his mate. He’s been alone. And when he found me, he wasn’t so alone anymore.”
“He never had to be alone.” He wraps his arms around me. “Your dad chose to leave the pack. I know that he had his reasons, but the pack loves him. They never stopped.” He kisses me on top of the head. “Selfishly, I am glad he left the pack, or else he may never have met you and brought you to me.”
“I’m glad about that part too.” I sigh, leaning my head on his shoulder.
Coming here and meeting Parker is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
I never thought I’d be married at eighteen before I even graduated from high school.
A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed it.
But a year ago, I didn’t know there would be a man who could bring me so much joy and peace.
I thought the best part of Parker was that I couldn’t read his mind.
But now that we can read each other, I realize that reading minds was never the issue.
It was just that I was waiting for my soulmate.
“Are you happy now?” Parker glances down at me.
I nod. “Yes. You always make me happy.”
“You know, we haven’t yet discussed where we want to live once we come back from our trip,” he says. “Your dad is going to be getting married. He won’t need us here anymore.”
I grin. “I never planned to live here past graduation. We only agreed to that so that we could get married.”
He sighs. “Good. I was worried you might want to move back here.”
I lift my head so I can look at him. “You really thought I’d want to live with my dad? I’m a married woman, Parker. Besides, I do want my own place with you.” I put my head back on his shoulder.
“We’ll live on pack land,” he says. “So we won’t be far from our family.”
I pull back and look up at him again. “You know that Lucy is going to want to visit all the time.”
Parker’s younger sister, Lucy, is a sweet kid. Every time we see her, she asks if she can come to our house to spend the night.
Parker groans. “She’s so annoying.”
“She’s sweet,” I counter. “She loves you.”
“She loves you more.” He raises an eyebrow, daring me to argue.
“So where are we going to live?” I ask, getting back to the subject of our home.
He grins. “There are plenty of empty homes on pack land, but I do have one in mind. It’s actually on that mountain you love so much. It’s at the edge of pack territory. It’s perfect for us. Do you want to go see it tomorrow?”
I shake my head. “No. I trust you. Let’s just move in when we come back. If I look now, I won’t want to leave.”
“All right,” he says. “You might decide you want to stay in Florida anyway.”
I back away again so I can look at him as I narrow my eyes. “Why in the world would I do that? You’re the future alpha. We can’t move to Florida.”
He shrugs. “I have plenty of younger siblings who could take over as alpha. August is nearly as strong as I am. And he’s been doing a lot of alpha duties lately.”
I stare at him, not knowing what to think of what he’s saying. “But you love your pack, and you love being alpha. I would never ask you to abandon that.”
“I love you more.”
He kisses me, cutting off my rebuttal. I relax into the kiss, but I know he’s wrong. There is no way I’d want to stay with the phoenixes. Our home is here, in Montana, with our family and the pack. I couldn’t ask him to give that up, not for anything.