12. Sunny
Chapter 12
Sunny
T hat evening, once Walker had left his office and Luka was asleep, I fully went through the plastic bins of what remained of my belongings.
While I was thankful the guys had managed to pull some of my stuff out of the ruins of my building, I couldn’t help but wince when I rummaged through the plastic bins. The clothes were from before I had Luka. My hips were wider now, so a lot of the scraps of lace I used to wear would be a little tight now.
Thankfully, one of the bins contained thrifted clothes I had bought for Luka. They’d all been too big when I bought them, hence storing them under the bed in the sealed tubs, but now that he’d grown a little, a few of the items would fit perfectly.
My choices were limited from my old wardrobe. I had two or three pairs of threadbare old yoga pants that were slightly too tight on my ass, but they were still comfortable. The tops were a lost cause. They were far too low-cut now, and the bras were too small. I had opted to breastfeed Luka for the first year of his life—mainly because it was free. For some reason, though, my chest hadn’t deflated when I stopped, and I still had quite a large chest, much to my displeasure.
If I wore any of my old tank tops, I would look like a medieval wench with titties up to my eyeballs. Thankfully, I had a few of Blaze’s T-shirts. Several of them had appeared in my room. They weren't ideal, but when worn with the yoga pants, they were somewhat passable. I was honestly just thankful I didn't have to wear the sweatpants anymore, because I had been tripping over them all day.
I was also happy for the items I had picked up on my little shopping trip with Rune. Even if none of the salvaged items fit, at least I had a few things I could wear.
As I folded up the few items of clothing I had, I began to get teary. Sure, my apartment had been run-down, and most of the items inside had been thrifted or repaired a million times, but now I was starting from scratch…again.
I had worked my ass off to get Luka his baby clothes and everything he could need. Now I needed to rebuild it. These firefighters had been more than generous, replacing his sippy cup and getting diapers. Not to mention what I’d purchased for him with Rune’s gift card. Still, a small part of me felt like I was failing as a mother because I couldn't provide for his basic needs.
Realistically, I knew it wasn't my fault that my building had caught on fire, but it was the building that I chose to move into because it was cheap. I didn’t have any insurance, because that was an extra expense, so I was screwed.
Then again, it may have been someone’s fault the building caught fire. Blaze had mentioned the arson investigator. That’s what I got for moving into a bad neighborhood.
My laptop had been completely destroyed, so there was no chance of me getting any of my college work done anytime soon. Part of me had already accepted that I was probably repeating this semester, so I was focusing more on making sure Luka was okay and getting back on our feet. I didn’t have a phone or a computer, but as soon as I was able, I would message my professors and beg for leniency. An apartment building burning down certainly qualified as extenuating circumstances.
Not that I had a single clue how I was going to get back on my feet. I had next to no money and no possessions. Part of me wanted to insist that the firefighters send me to the shelter, but deep down, I was comfortable at the firehouse. After only a few days, I felt oddly comfortable in their space.
I felt safe . Logically, I should have been panicking and freaking out, trying to figure out my next moves, but all I wanted was a few more days to catch my breath. When I was around these alphas, I felt so unusually comfortable. Would it be the worst thing to let my guard down and take my time getting my act together?
Who was I kidding? Walker probably wanted his room back. I was a burden to them.
Luka was already asleep in bed, and I was doing my best to tidy the few possessions I had when Rune’s soft Cajun voice sounded from the doorway.“You’re thinking mighty hard there.”
“Lost in thought,” I said softly. “I think it's only just starting to hit me how much I've lost.”
“They’re only things. I know it hurts, but I'm sure you'll get back on your feet. You're not going anywhere until you've got somewhere better to stay,” he reassured me.
I snorted lightly, putting the last pair of yoga pants back in the box. “Rune, that's a nice sentiment, but I'm a single mother with no job, trying to go to school, and I've just lost everything. I think it's going to be a while before I can find myself a good place.”
Rune beamed at me and shrugged. “Then I guess you're going to be here for a while,” he said simply.
“I can't just live at a firehouse,” I pointed out.
“Why not? If it's a problem, we've got a spare room at our apartment. You could stay there instead.”
My eyes widened at his invitation. He was offering to let me go home with him? That was downright insane. We had only known each other for a few days!
“You don’t even know me.”
“I can tell you're a good person who's in a bad situation. Plus, it would be nice to have someone around the house who knows how to be in the kitchen without burning it to the ground. But don't tell Blaze about that offer, because he will probably beg you to move in just so you can make cookies for him.”
I snorted. Blaze was obsessed with the cookies.
“It’ll be our secret. I will get back on my feet, I assure you. I will only be here for a few more days, I hope.”
“We will be happy for however long you stay because you are a treat to have around, and not just because of the cookies.”
My face heated, and I looked down at the tub of clothing I had been sorting, trying to find words.
“Hey, I have a question. Last night, your team went on another call, and you stayed behind, right? Why didn't I hear any alarms?” I frowned. That thought had been plaguing me throughout the day, and I hadn't found a good time to ask it.
Rune pursed his lips. “I bet Walker turned off the alarms in this room. One of the impressive things about the captain’s room is that it has thick doors and the option to turn the alarms on or off. Sometimes the captain doesn’t go on calls and has day meetings and stuff that means they need to sleep… not that I’ve ever seen Walker take advantage of that option. I kind of forgot it was a thing.”
It was sweet of him to think of that. I would have to thank him when I had a chance. The alarm probably would have freaked Luka out—and myself, to be fair.
“I don’t know how you can get up and go like that… I need at least twenty minutes to join the land of the living,” I said, scrunching my nose.
Rune chuckled. “Not a morning person?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I like mornings. Especially with a nice cup of herbal tea, a good book, and some baby snuggles. I’m just not a fan of sudden, jarring wake-up calls.”
Rune glanced pointedly at Luka. “I’m sure the little man gave you a few sudden wake ups in his time.”
“Too many,” I grumbled. “But I simply had to grab him from his bassinet and feed him, so it wasn’t much effort.”
“Making bottles takes math,” Rune said, cocking his head to the side.
I burst into laughter. “No need to make bottles when I was a walking all-you-could-eat buffet!” I said, gesturing vaguely to my chest.
Rune’s eyes widened, and the tips of his ears turned pink. “Well, that’s darn useful, isn’t it?” he said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “We are all going to watch a movie in the den tonight if you want to join?”
I bit my lip. “Who is we?”
“Me, Walker, and Blaze. The others are out on a call, and seeing as we aren’t on shift, we can just relax. So, it’s just our little pack.”
His use of the word our made my heart stutter. That sounded good, too good. I knew he meant his pack, not ours , but for a brief second, I wanted to let myself dream.
I glanced down at my snoozing baby. “I don’t want to disturb him…”
Even though the idea of a movie night was really, really appealing.
Rune’s face broke into a smile, and he held up a finger. “One moment!” he said, before turning and walking out of the room.
I was left staring at the door frame, confused.
After a moment, I shrugged to myself and returned to folding the clothing.
“I picked this up when I got the milk for Luka.” He handed me a box, which I took gingerly.
“A baby monitor?” I asked. It looked fancier than any baby monitor I had seen before. “Rune, this is top of the line, it had to cost ? —”
“Worth it,” Rune interrupted me happily. “This one comes with a little screen you can carry around with you, or it can be connected to a phone. I wanted you to have a screen option because I knew your phone might not work after the fire, but if you want to connect it to a phone to get motion alerts, you’re welcome to use mine until we replace yours.”
He had thought it through so well. I swallowed down the rising tears and turned to him with a watery smile. “Thank you.”
His smile widened. “We can set it up so the camera is on the little man while we watch the movie. He’ll never be out of sight.”
We took a few minutes to set up the camera, whispering quietly among ourselves so we didn’t disturb Luka. After a little trial and error, we discovered that the best place to put the camera was on a small stack of books on the bedside table, angled down to watch him.
Once we ensured Luka was secure in the bed, I dimmed the light, and with the little monitor in hand, I followed Rune through the firehouse.
Walker and Blaze were already in a small, den-like room that had three couches surrounding a TV.
Both of them smiled warmly at me when I followed Rune in.
“Hey, sunshine!” Blaze said loudly, sitting up and removing his feet from the coffee table to greet me. “Joining us for movie night?”
“I am. Rune set up a baby monitor so I could keep an eye on Luka.” I beamed.
Walker gave his pack mate an appreciative nod. “Good idea, man,” he complimented.
“You going to sit with me, sunshine? Rune takes up a whole couch because he’s bigger than the hulk, and I have the popcorn.” Blaze gave me a cheeky, playful smile, shaking the popcorn bowl.
Walker snorted, and I glanced at the bowl in his lap. “Walker also has popcorn,” I pointed out.
Blaze frowned. “Do you prefer sweet or salty popcorn?”
Usually my answer would be sweet—I had such a sweet tooth—but after all the cookie baking, I was craving something different.
Scrunching my nose, I said, “Salty today, I think.”
Blaze pouted at me as Walker and Rune chuckled.
“I’ve got the salty popcorn,” Walker said.
“In that case, can I join?” I asked softly. If there was an empty couch, I would have opted for that, but the idea of being close to Walker’s scent again was appealing.
Walker tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Who said I was willing to share?” he asked with mock seriousness.
I snorted, wandering over and plopping down next to him, taking a moment to place the monitor on the coffee table, so I could clearly see Luka, before looking at Walker.
My hands shook ever so slightly as I did so, my entire body lighting up at the proximity to Walker’s scent.
“Well, seeing as I was so nice and shared the cookies…” I trailed off.
Walker shook his head, a grin plastered on his face. “You’ve got me,” he said ruefully.
“How does a fantasy movie sound?” Blaze asked, directing his question to me.
“Sounds wonderful. What do you guys usually watch?”
“Well,” Rune started, “we tend to watch mainly supernatural or fantasy shows and movies ? —”
“We love dragons.” Blaze nodded with a faux serious look.
Rune shook his head, rolling his eyes, but kept talking. “Well, we tend to stick to that genre because if we watch anything that involves fire, police, or even medical, we tend to hate it.”
“Why?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.
“Because none of those shows get it right,” Walker said, offering me the bowl of popcorn. I took a handful with a smile.
“None of them?”
“It’s rare they do get something right, and instead of enjoying the show or film, we spend hours criticizing their every move because we know better.”
I winced. “That doesn’t sound fun.”
Blaze beamed. “So, dragons it is! No one can complain about dragons!”
“You’re not wrong there,” I agreed, sitting back and settling in as Blaze flicked through the movies until he found the right one.
Leaning back, I basked in their scents.
Even though the sofas were old and slightly lumpy, they were so comfortable because all my body could focus on was those sweet, smoky s’mores scent that surrounded me.
Without another word, Blaze started the movie.
My body couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. On the one hand, I was relaxed… so goddamned relaxed, I could have easily fallen asleep basking in that s’mores scent. Then again, every once in a while, their scents hit me in a way that made me tremble with need.
Desperately, I did my best to hide my reactions. If these alphas saw me shaking with need from a simple sniff, I would be completely humiliated.
Without even realizing it, Walker and I were both gravitating toward each other until our thighs were a mere hairbreadth away from touching.
I hardly kept up with the movie.
All I could think about was them. The way Blaze cocked his head to the side when he was amused. The way Rune’s arm muscles bulged as he crossed his arms.
I was obsessed with these guys. I needed to get myself under control!
Thankfully, exhaustion got the better of me, and before we were even halfway through the movie, I was drifting off.