Chapter Forty-Seven #2
“How is Jasper doing? Has anyone talked to him since he was released from the hospital?” I added.
“Nia says he’ll be out for a while, though at this point he is still hoping to come back before the end of this season,” Grif replied.
Yeah, I wasn’t sure that would happen.
Kylee marched into the room and went straight for us. Inwardly, I sighed. What did I do now?
“Pack Himbo shirts at the charity event? Really? I take one day off…” Kylee sighed.
“It's just for fun. We’re not actually calling ourselves that,” I replied.
“Please don’t. I feel like you need to run your pack name through four or five functional adults before you make any decisions,” she replied.
“Dusty was talking about doing a vote on a livestream.” I made that up, but it was a really good idea.
“I can’t even.” She threw her hands up in the air and left.
As we finished, I leaned over and asked Grif the question I didn’t want everybody else to hear.
“Where can I buy some rings? Nice ones but not necessarily designer?” I asked. If he didn’t know, I’d ask Dimitri. But Grif did buy Verity nice jewelry sometimes.
“Let me text AJ. He always tells me which place to go for what thing.” He started texting someone.
“Thanks.”
Everyone left the dining room, some to go to other meetings or appointments, others to workout, or go home.
Dimitri just sat there holding a cup of coffee, looking at his phone.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I know I shouldn’t have shoved him.” Dimitri looked up at me, expression carefully blank.
“I don’t know what he said or what he did. But I know you. If you shoved him, there was a good reason. I didn’t invite him over. He sat down with us because we were forwards,” I replied.
“You can be friends with him. He’s not a bad man,” he replied.
“Then what did he do? Never mind, you don’t need to tell me.”
“He lost something. I’m also angry that I can't find something. Different somethings.” For a moment he looked like he would tear out his hair.
My phone lit up with a text from Grif with the name of a jeweler. I didn’t have anything else to do today so I could leave if I wanted.
I looked at Dimitri. “Do you have anything left that you have to do today?”
He shook his head.
“Do you want to come with me to buy some rings? Or we can just get out of here and have a beer somewhere we don’t know people? We don’t have to talk,” I offered. He had good taste.
“I don’t wish to talk. But yes, your mates deserve nice rings, so I will go with you.” He stood.
“Thanks,” I replied.
Yeah, let’s get out of here.
“Anybody home?” I called as I walked through the front door, which was open again. Brown paper covered the floor, and the smell of paint permeated things.
I walked in and went to the kitchen.
“No shoes.” Saoirse was taking things out of shopping bags.
“Right.” That would take a minute to remember. I took them off and just left them there, which seemed kind of strange.
“She ordered something for the shoes,” Saoirse added, putting things in the cabinet. “I did the grocery shopping today based on the list and a few basic dinner ideas. I wasn't sure what market you usually go to, but this seemed better than the close one that Fiona and I found the other day.”
This wasn’t the store I usually shopped at, but I wasn’t even sure if there was one around here.
“This one’s fine. I don’t know how you feel about outdoor markets. There’s a couple of really good ones,” I told her as I opened the fridge and grabbed a cold drink.
“Oh, I like outdoor markets. I couldn’t find some of the things that you had on the list. I’m guessing I might find those at a different place?” She continued putting things away.
“It’s fine. I can always get those.” I took a sip, leaning against the counter. “Um, I have a grocery delivery app and I’m happy to share access for it if it makes things easier.”
“That would be good. They’re upstairs. She says she’s making her nest. I think she’s just covering Hale with blankets and then he chases her around.”
“Sounds fun.” I could see it now. Her ring gleamed as she put things away. “You’re still wearing the ring?”
Her look went bashful. “I actually took it off for a while. Kace reached out and asked her if she wanted it back. She said she liked that it would bring someone else happiness. I think Dusty was giving her concert tickets because she didn’t want compensation.
I probably won’t wear it always, but I think I’ll keep it as a reminder that people can be kind for no reason whatsoever. Something I need to remember more.”
“That’s profound. What about the gold dress? I have to admit Hale looked fucking hot in it,” I replied.
“It’s around here someplace. I don’t know if they tracked that person down or not, or what they were wearing after it ended up on me.” She took some fruit out of the bag and carefully arranged it in a beautiful glass bowl.
Wow, we were fruit bowl people. But were we fruit bowl in the kitchen people or fruit bowl in the dining room people?
“Are we allowed to eat the fruit in the bowl or is it just to be pretty?” I asked.
She chuckled. “You can eat the fruit.”
I took the bag of cake pops out of my bag and set it on the counter. “Hale’s sister made these.”
After I finished my drink, I went upstairs. The room on the second floor was empty, but a huge amount of progress had been made. The bed in there was giant. Not sure how many people Fiona planned on having in that bed, but it could fit our pack, a bunch of kids, and a number of dogs.
The walls had been painted, there was new carpet, beautiful bedding that looked too nice to lay on, curtains, new light fixtures, and lamps. A cozy little couch and table sat in the corner.
Her nest was empty of people, but filled with pillows, blankets, and fairy lights. They weren’t in Hale’s room either. I found them on the top floor in her room.
“Right there, right there,” she directed as Hale held her up while she hung lights, which looked like butterflies, by the window.
“That looks fun.” I looked around her room.
Boxes of her things lined the walls. There was gorgeous bedroom furniture, including one of those beds with the tops and the curtains.
One of those little couch things, like you might see in a historical drama, sat by the window near a desk with a laptop on it.
The little alcove by the fireplace was filled with packages.
And there was her creepy doll from the Christmas market in Switzerland, staring at me from the bookshelf.
“Pumpkin!” Fiona finished hanging the lights and wiggled. Hale put her down.
She ran to me and gave me a huge kiss.
“I missed you, too.” I gave her a big kiss back.
“Did you miss me?” Hale asked, only a tiny bit anxious.
“I did.” I gave him a kiss as well. “Oh, Verity sent cake pops, they’re in the kitchen.”
Hale brightened. “Oh good. See, she wasn’t really mad, after all.”
“Thank goodness.” I looked around the room. “Looks like you have done a lot of stuff today.”
“We did. There’s still so much to do though.” She gestured at all the boxes.
“At some point, I’m going to need to get some of my things. I’ve been washing my clothes, but I’d still like a little more to wear than just what I brought for the rave.” Hale’s scent remained anxious.
Shit, I hadn’t even thought of that. We all got more things from home, and he was literally living out of a suitcase.
“We should figure that out. I’m happy to take you to the store and get you some things,” I offered.
He hesitated.
“If you want, I can time you, like on that game show where you get to have everything you can put in the cart in a couple of minutes,” I offered. That’s what we did with Gwen when her ex destroyed all her shit, since she didn’t like taking help either.
His face lit up. “I love that show. That’s something you can just do? Wow, I never actually thought of that.”
“Yeah, you pick the store. I’m not sure where you like to shop. Swoop? Athletes’ World? Cowboys Are Us?” I grinned.
Hale chuckled. “I could do a lot of damage in the western store in two minutes. Swoop is good because I can get socks, underwear, T-shirts, and maybe an extra pair of shoes. Things that it never hurts to have more of.”
“Perfect. We need household stuff anyway,” I replied. “Like cleaning products and garbage cans for the guest bathrooms.” You could get pretty much anything there.
Fiona blinked. “I don’t even know what a Swoop is.”
I exchanged a look with Hale. It was one of those stores I thought everybody went to for basics. Sure, there were plenty of places that you could get better things at, but it was convenient and inexpensive.
“Where did you get your dorm shit?” He blinked.
“Um, CoCoCozy like most omegas?” Her eyebrows rose.
“A trip to Swoop it is then. Because, I’m yours for the rest of the day. But first…” Nervously, I went through my bag and got the boxes from the jewelry store.
“You got me a present!” Fiona asked.
“I did. Dimitri helped me pick them out. This one’s for you.” I handed her one box. “This one’s for you.” I gave him the other.
Fiona opened the box. “Oh, Pumpkin, this is so sweet.”
It was a heart-shaped emerald ring with little stones around it and an engraved band.
“It matches your eyes. Do you like it?” I asked.
“I love it. Thank you.”
“May I?” I asked. She nodded and I slipped it on her finger.
“It fits perfectly.” Fiona beamed, admiring it.
“I’m glad. I guessed. Do you like yours, Hale?”
Hale looked at the band. Though wider, it had the same engravings as Fiona’s band, only the emerald was rectangular and in-set.
“If it’s too much ring for you, we can take it back. I liked it ‘cause it matched Fiona’s. I bought one for myself as well,” I admitted.
“I like it. No one’s ever bought me anything this nice,” he admitted.
Wow, that said a whole lot.
I kissed him. “I’m glad you like it. May I?”
“I’d love that.”
Meeting his eyes, I slid it on his finger.