Chapter 30
thirty
JULIA
Seven boxes were stacked on the front porch when I came downstairs, and I may have squealed.
“Easy, Sparkles.” Ransom was leaning against the porch railing with his morning coffee, eyeing the pile with the wariness that said he knew he was about to be recruited to carry things. “Should I be concerned about my credit card?”
“Your credit card is safe. Mine, on the other hand...” I crouched beside the first box and ripped the tape off with my fingernail. “I may have had a few late nights recently with my phone.”
“A few.” River laughed from the porch swing, his boots crossed one over the other. He peered over his mug with a cheeky smile as I tore into the cardboard. “FedEx guy knew your name, Julia. He asked how you were settling in.”
I smirked. “We’re friends now. Dale and I have a very special relationship built on mutual respect and next-day shipping.”
He was right, of course. I had been ordering things lately, starting a few days ago when I bought some extra throw blankets and wall decor for the Omega suite.
Then I wanted a couple of western shirts I could wear when I went out riding with Ransom, because I wanted to look the part.
But today’s haul was bigger than usual and full of things the Omega part of me had wanted for the house.
The screen door opened behind me and August filled the doorway, a dish towel slung over his shoulder. Gideon appeared right behind him, coffee in hand.
“Did the delivery come?” Gideon asked, looking genuinely interested.
“You knew about this?” Ransom turned to his Beta, betrayed.
“She told me a few days ago.” Gideon shrugged. “I helped her measure the living room windows.”
I pulled the first item free, a set of deep sage-green throw pillows with a subtle leaf pattern stitched into the linen.
I held them up, suddenly self-conscious.
“These are for the couch. If that’s okay.
And I got a few other things for the house, too.
Some blankets, a vase for the kitchen table, new curtains for the living room, and some stuff for Sunny’s and Wyatt’s rooms. You can absolutely say no. I just thought—”
“Jules.” River’s voice was quiet and steady from the swing. I looked over at him. He’d set his coffee down, his amber eyes warm. “Breathe, Pretty Girl.”
I took a breath. Then another. “I just don’t want to overstep. This is your home. I should’ve asked about all of it before I started redecorating—”
“It’s your home.” August said it from the doorway like he was correcting a minor factual error. The sky is blue. Water is wet. This is your home. He nodded at the pillows in my hands. “Those are nice. What else you got?”
The knot in my chest loosened.
I dove back into the boxes with significantly less hesitation.
River came off the swing to help, crouching beside me in the easy, unhurried way he did everything, handing me a pocketknife to cut the tape when my fingernail gave up on box three.
Ransom jokingly grumbled that the only reason I wanted him around was for manual labor but carried two boxes inside without being asked.
He made another trip, heading to the yard this time before disappearing back into the house.
When he returned, he’d already put the new vase on the kitchen table with a sprig of wildflowers he’d handpicked.
“What?” He shrugged when I stared at him and arched a brow. “The vase looked lonely.”
I smiled. “It’s okay, Ransom. Boys can like flowers too.”
Gideon snorted while he sorted through the smaller packages, pulling out the book light I’d ordered for Wyatt’s nightstand.
He turned it over in his hands, read the description on the box, then looked in my direction.
The expression on his face made my eyes sting, and I had to look away before I did something embarrassing.
“She got Sunny new sheets,” River mentioned, holding up a plastic-wrapped set of bedding covered in tiny pink unicorns she liked to call ‘magic horses.’ “And a stuffed animal.”
“It’s a cow,” I corrected. “Because she keeps trying to adopt the real ones and I thought a stuffed version might be a safer outlet.”
August huffed a quiet laugh from inside the house, and I could hear him moving things around—the soft thud of couch cushions being shifted, the rustle of a blanket being unfolded.
He hadn’t said a word about decorating, but apparently my throw pillows had already been absorbed into the living room like they’d always been the missing pieces to their home decor.
The last two boxes were mine. Outdoor cushions in a deep forest green, a cascading water feature, and a set of solar-powered string lights I’d spent forty-five minutes comparing reviews for.
“These are for the grove,” I told them, looking over the boxes.
River stood, brushing dirt off his knees from where he’d been crouching beside me. “You need help carrying those out there?”
“I’ve got it. I’ll just make two trips. But thank you.” I stacked the string lights on top of the pile of cushion boxes, which immediately started to slide. River caught the lights before they hit the porch, set them back on the stack, and held everything steady while I adjusted my grip.
“Stubborn,” he teased, close enough that his warm breath ghosted over my ear, sending a pleasant little shiver through my body.
“Independent,” I corrected.
His mouth twitched. “Same thing, Pretty Girl.”
He let go of the stack slowly, making sure I had it, and his fingers grazed the inside of my wrist as he pulled his hand away.
From the yard, a sharp whistle followed by Stetson’s voice cut across the property. “Ransom! River! I need you on the south pasture. We’ve got forty head to sort and load, and they’re not gonna walk themselves onto that trailer.”
The rodeo. The cattle auction was happening alongside the weekend events. The guys had been talking about it at dinner all week—which steers they were selling, which ones were staying, the logistics of trailering that many animals to the county arena.
“Duty calls.” Ransom drained his coffee and set the mug on the railing. He stretched, cracking his neck, and gave the remaining boxes a pointed look. “I’ll have to get my presents later, Sparkles.”
I pursed my lips to hide a smile and rolled my eyes at him instead. “I didn’t get you any presents.”
“Excuse me?” He pressed a hand to his chest. “Sunny gets new sheets. Wyatt gets a book light. The couch gets throw pillows. And I get nothing?”
I couldn’t resist teasing him back. “Only nice boys get presents, and I’m pretty sure you’re on the naughty list.”
“Wow.” He clutched his heart, wounded. “That might be the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me, and you once told me my hat looked like it lost a fight with a tractor.”
“It did,” I deadpanned. Literally.
He grinned that charming, panty-melting grin before closing the distance between us and was at my side in two easy strides.
His hand caught my chin and he tilted my face up.
The kiss was quick and warm and tasted like sugar and spice and him.
Pulling back just enough, he murmured against my mouth, “I’ll take that as consolation. ”
“You’re shameless, Beaumont.”
“And yet, you kissed me back.” He winked, jogged down the porch steps, and was halfway across the yard before I could think of a comeback.
River didn’t rush after his brother. He paused at the top of the steps, thumbs hooked in his belt loops, and studied me even though Stetson’s whistle was still echoing across the pasture.
“You know what you’re doing, right?” he asked, his voice low enough that it was just for me.
I shrugged, careful not to disrupt the tenuous balance of the packages. “Carrying boxes to the grove? I think I can manage.”
“That’s not what I mean.” He stepped closer and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his calloused fingers lingering against my cheek.
“The pillows. The vase. Sunny’s room. Wyatt’s book light.
The grove.” His thumb traced my jaw. “You’re planting yourself in every room of this house, Julia.
And every single one of us can feel it.”
My throat tightened. “Is that okay?”
The question came out smaller than I intended. River’s warm amber eyes searched mine for a beat.
“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to this place.
” He dipped his head and kissed my forehead, his lips warm against my skin.
He stayed there for a breath, then two, his hand cradling the back of my head.
When he finally pulled away, his voice had dropped to that low, private register he saved for moments like this, just between us.
“Plant yourself anywhere you want, Pretty Girl. We’ll grow around you. ”
Then he stepped back, adjusted his hat, and followed Ransom toward the south pasture without looking back.
I stood on the porch, blinking, my heart doing that fluttery thing that would make me worry about my health in any other situation.
Gideon and August lingered on the porch for another minute, both wearing the kind of quietly satisfied expressions that told me they’d been waiting for this, for me to start claiming their home and their pack as my own.
August disappeared inside one last time and came back with my travel mug, already sweetened, and set it on the porch railing next to my boxes so I could grab it on my second trip.
“Colt’s on the east fence line today,” Gideon mentioned casually as he pulled on his work gloves. “In case you need anything.”
“Thanks, Gid. Be safe out there.”
“You too.” He smirked.
I rolled my eyes playfully. “Oh yes. In the treacherous wilds of the backyard.”
August passed me on the steps, and he landed a quick, playful swat on my ass that made me yelp. “That sassy mouth,” he rumbled, not even breaking stride as he headed for the barn.
I gaped at his retreating back, my cheeks flushing hot. Gideon just shook his head with a low chuckle and followed him out.