Chapter 12
“Quite the day.” I sank down at our kitchen table with my pack, Bryan putting together a pot of herbal tea.
Maisie was up in Carter’s nest with her kids, getting them ready for bed. They’d all sleep there tonight until the bedrooms were finished, though I wasn’t convinced she’d be comfortable letting them sleep alone after that, either.
Wyatt looked exhausted, his cheek resting on his palm, eyes going out of focus as he stared down at the table. He was quiet in the bond, like he’d used up all his fire and was only embers now.
Carter tucked himself under my arm, holding my wrist in front of him. “It’s certainly been a lot.”
“You okay with giving up your nest?” I asked gently. Typically, omegas were possessive as hell over their nests, but curiously, Carter had handled things with complete grace.
“Feels right to let her have it. I’d prefer to be in there, too, but she needs it a lot more than I do and it’s good for her to have all the kids close by while they settle in.”
“Did your mother purchase night lights?” Bryan asked, setting a cup of chamomile in front of Carter, then fetching two more for Wyatt and I.
“I’m not sure.”
Everything June and her pack had brought over was still in our living room. Maisie and the kids could go through more of it tomorrow when they were rested, making sure there was nothing they’d overlooked that they’d need.
“I saw a cute idea online,” Bryan continued, “of using glow in the dark paint on baseboards to show children the route to the bathroom so they don’t get lost in the dark.
Or a different color of night light outside each of their bedrooms so they know which door is theirs if they get up in the night. ”
“Easy enough to do.” I nodded. “What are we doing for Maisie’s room?”
“She won’t stay in the nest with me?” Carter peeked up at me.
“If it was just her, I’m sure she would, but she won’t want us up there with her and I doubt she’d be comfortable with her children being on a different level with us across the hall. Best option to give them space is all of us up in the nest and her on the second floor with the kids.”
Carter pouted. “I guess that makes sense. I wish I could temporarily pop her into the bond so she could trust you guys right away.”
“Honestly, she’s already being more chill than I was expecting after everything I’ve heard whispered about that compound.” Maybe Maisie wasn’t as indoctrinated as people thought the omegas there were. Maybe none of them were. They could all be as desperate to get out as she had been.
What I was most interested in was what life would look like going forward.
We had more strays at this point than permanent fixtures, and as much as I wanted to know how long everyone was staying, that answer wasn’t particularly forthcoming.
Boundaries had to be figured out. New systems, new routines, a way for everyone to coexist comfortably.
My pack and I had discussed children before, though not biological ones since pregnancy freaked Carter out, but we were open to alternatives if and when the time came.
Either Maisie’s kids would be good practice, or Carter’s and Wyatt’s crushes on Maisie would expand into them becoming our kids.
The idea was sweet enough, but definitely getting ahead of things.
“I think the best way to get the kids comfortable,” I began, “will be to get them on a predictable schedule. That’s easy enough to do if we can get them involved with the horses and dogs.”
“How so?” Bryan asked, sipping his tea.
I nodded toward our three dogs sprawled across the living room floor amid all the chaos.
“Animals are the best way to keep you on schedule. If you’re late with breakfast, they’ll let you know what they think of that.
Gives good structure to the day, and even if the kids aren’t doing any chores, coming along with us can still help. ”
“I could try to assist with lessons,” Bryan offered. “Not sure I remember what kids learn at their ages, but I could give it a go.”
“I think Mom picked up a bunch of educational material,” Carter said.
Bryan rose to his feet, carefully navigating the dogs. “I’ll have a look.”
While he did that, I kissed my omega’s hair. “Carter, be honest with me, all right?”
“About what?”
“About what you want out of all this. You loved Maisie once. Are you hoping things will rekindle now that she’s here?”
His gaze dipped, darting to Wyatt before glancing back up at me.
“I’m not opposed to the idea. Mostly, I just want her safe, but it’s so easy to be close to her again.
I could imagine a life with her in it, with those kids growing up here, and Maisie healing.
Obviously, even suggesting that is off the table, but if she sticks around a while, it won’t always be. ”
“And what if she doesn’t want that, even if she stays?”
Carter chewed his lip. “I don’t think that’s the case, but if it were, then I guess we just have a very pretty roommate. We could build another guesthouse on the property with bedrooms. She’d be safe out here and that’s what matters, regardless of how things go.”
Some people never healed from their traumas.
Sometimes it could consume a person until there was nothing left.
For everyone’s sake I hoped that wouldn’t be the case with Maisie, that a steady environment with people who gave a shit about her well-being would go a long way to helping her find a healthy place in the world.
A life in hiding was no simple thing. Leaving the state with children but without a protective order or something similar could result in kidnapping charges, but registering the kids for school or doctors would alert everyone to their location.
Paul wasn’t only the father of Maisie’s children, he was her first bond, and too many places gave authority to the first alpha to bond an omega.
It required the legal system to overlook a lot of things and invalidate a soul connection and remove parental rights. If they didn’t side with her…
We’d be better off helping her build a case so if it came down to it, she’d be ready.
“Do you like her?” Carter asked.
“Sure, I like her just fine. You and Wyatt both like me, so I know you’ve got good taste.”
That got a smile out of Wyatt.
“So, if she wanted to join the pack, would you be okay with it?”
“If Maisie gets to that point, I’d be happy to have her.”
“Me too.” Wyatt nodded.
Carter chewed his lip. “If the opportunity to court her comes up…”
“Then you take it. Meet her where she is, and let her take the lead, however that looks.”
Bryan returned to the table with a stack of workbooks. “I think these will be a good start. I’ll have to brush up on fractions.”
“All the more reason to get some good sleep tonight.”
Once our tea was finished, we watched to make sure Bryan made it back to the guesthouse before heading up to my room to sleep. I drifted off with Carter stretched out between Wyatt and I, his sweet peach in my nose, and woke to a bright, crisp morning.
I was first up, getting ready for the day before searching for the dogs. They weren’t in their usual napping spots and I found them all waiting patiently outside of the nest door.
I knocked on their behalf. “Anyone awake in there?”
The door cracked open, Maisie and her kids all dressed from what I could see. Her gaze dropped down to where Foxtrot was trying to nose her way inside. “Oh, my goodness. Good morning.”
Maisie opened the door wider, the dogs gliding through like slippery eels, each going to a different child—Foxtrot to Nora, Tango to Paisley, and Whiskey to Cody.
“I wanted to run a plan by you,” I told Maisie.
“Oh, sure. Plan for what?”
“For the kids. Getting them on a schedule will probably help them adjust better since a lot is still up in the air.”
Maisie nodded, stepping aside to let me come in, but I stayed where I was, keeping an eye every so often on the dogs who were getting belly rubs.
“Every morning and before bed we care for the dogs and horses. The kids don’t have to do the chores, but they could come with us and see how everything works.
We can teach them to ride, too, if you want.
Bryan has offered to do lessons, and we can work together on that so there’s no gaps while they’re out of school.
I think we’d be able to keep them occupied most of the day with lots of time for play still, and they can learn how this place functions, be as involved as they want to be. ”
Maisie’s eyes were so big, like she had no idea what to make of the offers. “That actually sounds lovely. I’ve been feeling terrible for taking them out of school and I know a routine really helps. Could I join to see the horses?”
“You can join in anything you want,” I assured her. We wanted Maisie involved, and the routine would be good for her, too. She needed ways to focus her energy and attention without having to second-guess what was next or what she should be doing.
“I can help Bryan with cooking. I know it’s his job right now, but I’m pretty good at it, and I’d like to continue. Or I can take over laundry.”
“I think all our stomachs would appreciate you helping Bryan with cooking. He’s relying exclusively on recipes and never actually learned, so a hands-on teacher would be great. If the kids are dressed and ready, we can get started with the day.”
She collected them all and we came down the stairs like a little train with the dogs.
Carter and Wyatt joined us a few minutes later while I was showing the kids around the kitchen so Cody and Paisley could help me set the table.
That mostly involved Cody white-knuckling a single plate at a time, determined not to let another one break and Paisley holding the utensils in both hands for me so I could lay them out at each place setting.
When Bryan was on his way over to start breakfast, I let the kids scoop the dog food and showed them the command for the dogs to wait until we were finished.
That let the bowls stay on the floor while the kids added the extra toppings, and Paisley was bouncing in place when I told her the release command and the dogs raced to their respective bowls to eat.
Next was out to the horses with my pack, everyone dressed in their coats for warmth as we walked to the stable.
We had seven horses in total—my Percheron, Sunny, Carter’s Clydesdale, Lucky, Wyatt’s Shire, Pippin, and three more Clydesdales: Leon, Cornelia—more commonly known as Corny—and Thor we rode interchangeably so everyone got a rest. Our seventh was a pony named Merriweather we’d adopted when a friend’s kid had outgrown their pony.
Our horses were sturdy draft breeds, though they rarely did any of the work typical of those breeds.
“Mama, they have a pony!” Paisley screamed, bouncing outside of Merri’s stall.
“We shouldn’t yell around the horses,” I said gently, taking Paisley’s hand to walk her up to the pony. “They have really good ears, so yelling can hurt them when you’re close.”
“I’m sorry, pony,” Paisley adorably apologized to Merri.
“Her name is Merriweather, but you can call her Merri if you’d like.”
She came over to nibble at Paisley’s hands, searching for treats.
“I think that means she’d like some breakfast. Do you want to help me with that?”
“Yeah!”
We were definitely right about getting the kids involved with the animals. Cody and Paisley both took their jobs seriously, and I could already see them relaxing when I told them that after their own breakfast and some school lessons, we would come back out to see the horses again.
My days hadn’t exactly been empty before their arrival, but I felt the change, too. This would be good for all of us. We just needed to give it some time.