17. Beau
Beau
I'm worried about her.
That thought repeats in my head the entire walk downstairs behind Nash. Nelly shifts tighter against him every time thunder shakes the building. Her face stays buried against the front of his shirt while Nash carries her like it's the easiest thing in the world. Like he was built for it.
I wonder if I could carry her like that.
I follow close behind as Levi disappears in front of us. Lightning flashes through the stairwell windows. I don't blame Nash for not wanting to take the elevator. The entire building groans beneath the wind outside and the lights flicker with it.
The last thing we need is to get stuck in an elevator.
"I'm okay," she whispers weakly.
"No, you're not," Nash says. "And that's okay."
His tone is gentler than I've ever heard.
He'd be a good Alpha for her if they could stop bickering long enough.
We reach Nash's floor and he glances back at me over his shoulder. "You don't need to escort us, Beau. I can take care of her."
"I'm not here for you," I answer.
His jaw tightens, but I keep my focus on Nelly. Her face is flushed. Her breathing's uneven. Every now and then her fingers flex against Nash's shirt like she's trying to ground herself.
"She's stressed out," I continue. "And uncomfortable. I'm staying until she settles."
Nash nudges his front door open with his hip. "I said I've got—"
"Can we can it for two seconds for the Omega who's clearly not okay right now?" I cut in. "We can dick measure later if that's what you want. I'm sure you've got a tape measure somewhere."
Levi lets out a startled laugh from inside Nash's apartment.
Nash shoots me a look that I'm sure is meant to bury me, but Nelly's expression is the only one that matters. She peeks up from Nash's chest long enough to look at me with gratitude shining through all that fear and hormonal haze.
That alone makes Nash's look worth it.
Levi emerges from the hallway as we make our way inside. "Her room's all set."
Another harsh crack of thunder rattles the building, and Nelly jolts hard enough that Nash tightens his hold.
"I'll go get the beer from my place," Levi says as he brushes past us. "I think we might need it."
"You think?" Nash mutters.
But when the lights flicker again, Nelly practically launches out of Nash's grip.
"I need my nest," she chokes out.
I reach out for her. "Levi got you set up in—"
Her bare feet hit the carpet, and she rushes straight for the couch.
The completely empty couch she says is uncomfortable.
"Oh, no," she whines as she stares at it. "No, no, no. Where's my stuff?"
Nash blinks at her. "You said you didn't like my couch. I told Levi to put your things—"
She whips around. "I don't want the bed."
Nash tilts his head. "You said you didn't like the couch."
"I don't care. A couch is always better. Beds are too… much."
"That's objectively not true."
I interject. "Nash, are you really going to question how she wants to nest right now?"
Nash opens his mouth to argue, but pauses.
"Right," he says, relenting.
Nelly turns in frantic little circles near the couch cushions. "I need my things. I need my blankets. The blue one's supposed to go on the bottom and the soft one goes on top and—"
"I'll get it from the room," Nash says immediately.
He disappears down the hallway toward his guest room without another word. Nelly sinks onto the couch and drags both of her hands through her wild hair, and I can't help but make my way to her.
I crouch down in front of her. "You okay?"
Her eyes look glassy when they meet mine. "No. This isn't good. This isn't supposed to happen. I'm not due for another month."
The raging storm outside makes her flinch, and that has me reaching for her hand. I offer it rather than take hers, in case she doesn't want the contact.
She grips it immediately, though.
Hard.
"I hate storms," she mutters.
I smooth my thumb along her skin. "I know."
"I don't know why everyone keeps moving around so much. There's too much of… everything."
Nash comes out and drops a couple of blankets and two pillows onto the couch before he disappears again. Nelly stares at them but doesn't move.
"Because we're trying to help you, that's all," I say.
"Oh."
That seems to genuinely surprise her.
I'm not sure why.
The apartment door swings open again, and Levi strolls back inside carrying a case of beer. "All right, alcohol delivery service has arrived."
He pauses when he sees Nash come out again with another armload of Nelly's nesting things.
"Huh," he says as he walks the beer into Nash's kitchen. "Guess we didn't need that bed."
Nash reappears yet again with more sheets and pillows, and the look on his face is one I've never seen on him.
Worried.
Nash is worried about Nelly.
Nelly reaches for the pile the second he drops everything onto the couch beside her.
"That one," she says, pointing. "No, wait, the other one first—"
Nash stares at the pile helplessly and I bite back a smile. His Alpha instincts must be going a million miles a second. I'm not sure I've ever seen the stoic sheriff so lost.
But then, he moves as if he's suddenly remembered something and strides into the kitchen. A second later, plastic rustles before he returns with two fuzzy blankets and a stuffed bear tucked awkwardly beneath one arm.
"I got these for you," he says.
Nelly blinks rapidly as the bear and the blankets settle onto her lap.
Her entire expression softens. "Are these the ones you got me?"
Nash just nods. "Hope they help."
I stand and perch on the edge of the couch. "Here, why don't I help you organize all of this? You tell me what you need, and I'll hand it to you."
"You want a beer, Nash?" Levi asks from the kitchen.
"Sure," he says as he backs away from us, "I should make us some food, anyway."
Nelly watches me with a wary look in her eye. Does she think I'm going to hurt her? Or take advantage? I just want to help. She looks scared, and I don't like it.
I want to make her smile.
"Beau?" she asks.
"Yeah?" I ask, ready to hand her whatever she needs from the pile of stuff dumped on the couch.
Her eyes line with tears. "I'm really sorry."
I still. "For what?"
Her voice lowers to a whisper. "For how I treated you at the house. That wasn't nice."
Oh. I reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "What makes you feel like you should apologize for that?"
Her lower lip wobbles. "I basically used you to de-stress and then shoved you out the door so I could go hit things with a hammer."
Levi coughs into his beer and I can feel Nash's stare on both of us.
I ignore them completely.
Nelly is clearly bothered by this, and I want nothing more than to clear her head of those worries.
"You didn't use me," I say as I reach for one of her fuzzy blankets and hand it to her.
She shakes her head at it. "Still, it wasn't nice."
I pick up another blanket and hand it to her, watching her take it and rub it against her cheek.
"Well, I'm not sorry about what happened," I say as I wait to see what she'll do with the blanket. "It was a great time. I'd absolutely do it again if given the chance."
Her cheeks flush instantly and the tension in her shoulders loosens.
There we go. There's the Nelly I enjoy. Loosey-goosey Nelly without a care in the world.
She blinks away her tears as she shuffles onto her knees, shoving everything to the side so she can tuck the fuzzy blanket on top of the couch cushions.
"Can you hand me that blue pillow?" she asks as she points vaguely.
I reach for it and place it into her waiting hand. "There."
"Thanks."
But when she peers over her shoulder at me, I can tell she's about to say something else.
I shake my head. "Let's just focus on getting your nest set up, yeah? We'll talk more once you're comfortable."
She sniffles. "Yeah. Okay. I can do that."
And I have to resist the urge to call her my good girl when she points toward one of the fuzzy blankets Nash gave her.