Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Hayes
W e all go to the testing facility the next day, even though they only need Hael and Gracie. Once that’s done, we have a late breakfast together, and Morris and Hael break off to go to the shop.
I parked a little ways down Main Street, and since Arbor and Gracie are with me for the day, we meander along the sidewalk.
Arbor spots one of the boutique clothing stores and stops to browse the mannequins in the window. She still has so little that it makes my chest tight when I think about it for too long. We’re doing our best to change that, but she doesn’t seem comfortable with grandiose gifts, so it’s a slow process.
She’s been dropping weight like crazy, and the books say breastfeeding helps burn extra calories. I’m not sure if it’s rude to mention, so I don’t, but she really didn’t have much to begin with, and what she did have was all maternity clothes.
Gracie is snoozing in her stroller, and we aren’t in any rush.
I snag Arbor’s hand and give her a tug. “Come on. Let’s see what we can find. You need some new stuff.”
She smiles but shakes her head. “I’ll be okay. I’ve got plenty.”
“Should we revisit the whole you going over my knee thing?” I ask, keeping my tone playful.
Her lips push together, her nose scrunching. “For the record, I’m not afraid of that, as long as they’re sexy spankings, but I don’t think that’s what you meant, so I’m willing to browse.”
I chuckle, bending to kiss her temple. “Good choice.”
Gracie wakes up while Arbor is trying on clothes, so I keep the little lady preoccupied. She’s growing so damn fast. She’s a pro at cooing, grunting, and squealing.
I snap a few pictures, trying to catch her smile. Then it dawns on me. She usually only smiles when she’s gassy.
It’s still cute.
Nuzzling my cheek to hers, I shove my phone away as an older lady approaches. The stroller is already pulled to the side of the hallway, but I tuck in behind it.
The woman comes to a stop in front of me, nodding at Gracie. “How old?”
“She’s almost seven weeks old.” I laugh as Gracie attacks my cheek like it’s Arbor’s tit. “And apparently thinks she’s starving.”
“Hasn’t even been on this earth for two months, and she’s already got Daddy wrapped around her little finger.” The old woman smiles and disappears into one of the open changing rooms.
“She’s right about that,” I say, rocking Gracie in an attempt to keep her from crying before Arbor is done trying on her clothes.
The door to her stall pops open, and Arbor’s long hair falls over her shoulders as she steps out, running her hands down her sides.
My mouth goes dry as I study her curves. She’s in a dress that almost looks like a men’s collared shirt, but it has long sleeves and falls to her knees. Over the top half is a V-neck sweater vest-thing. Since I don’t know the words for all the pieces, there’s no way to do it justice. But it fits her style to perfection.
“You are stunning,” I say, licking my lips. “I don’t know how you feel about it, but that one is a yes from me.”
She clasps her hands in front of her chest and beams. “Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah. That one was made for you, gorgeous.”
Her excitement floods the bond, and my heart races. I need to find a way to tell her how much she means to me…before I end up blurting it out randomly.
“I do really love it.” She plants a hand on her hip. “I better hurry. She’s going to eventually realize those fingers of hers aren’t providing any milk.”
I laugh, digging the pacifier out of the stroller. “She can make it five minutes for you to try the rest on. If we need to, I’ll pace her around the store.”
Arbor spins around and retreats into the changing room once more. “Thank you, Hayes.”
Yeah, that woman is my heart walking around in another body.
Arbor and I settle on the couch to watch a movie once we get home. Since Arbor needed to nurse, it took a while before we could leave the parking lot. I was surprised she put Gracie down in her crib to nap, but we’ve got the baby monitor on the coffee table, and this way, we don’t have to worry about the TV waking her.
My sweet little omega snuggles farther into my chest, tilting her face up to meet mine. “Can you believe how much life has changed?” She laughs. “What that woman said at the store really hit me. In less than two months, everything changed.”
I tease my thumb over her cheek, nodding my agreement. “Yeah, but I don’t regret a single thing. You and Gracie are everything to me. I hope you know that.”
“I do know.” Arbor surprises me by climbing into my lap, facing me. “I still can’t believe you had never delivered a baby before. You did an incredible job.” She cradles my jaw in her hands, nuzzling her nose to mine. “I love you so much, Hayes.”
“I love you too.” A growl rattles around the room as I palm the back of her head and shove my tongue into her mouth. Her contentment pulses in the bond, and I lose myself to the kiss.
I love the feeling of her fingers brushing through my beard as our tongues clash. My hand lands on her ass, guiding her as she grinds over my lap.
I’m never going to get tired of that electric scent of hers. At some point, we probably should do some research on what it means because I still find it strange that she thinks Hael and I smell identical.
Groaning against her lips, I’m just about to see if I can get her panties down when the front door slams open.
My entire body goes stiff, and I pull Arbor off my lap, putting her down on the couch. It’s damn uncomfortable moving that fast with a hard-on, but my jaw falls as Easton comes around the wall from the entryway. He has a woman with long brown wavy hair tucked under his shoulder.
She has a massive gift basket in her arms, and her jaw falls when she spots me. “Wow, you can absolutely tell the two of you are brothers.”
Easton frowns, glancing down at the woman who must be his omega. His mouth opens and closes, like maybe he changed his mind about saying some smart-ass remark. He finally clears his throat. “Don’t worry. We won’t be staying long, but Briar insisted on giving you your baby gifts in person.” His eyes meet mine, and something I can’t quite place flashes. “Hael and your other packmate should be along shortly. Briar, why don’t you and…” When he looks to me, I roll my eyes.
“Arbor,” I say, wrapping my arm around her lower back when she appears at my side.
“Yes, I knew it was something lovely,” he says. “Why don’t the two of you start with that basket, and I’ll send Calder in with the rest.”
Something about his tone sets me on edge, so I bend, kissing Arbor’s temple. “Maybe the two of you could open that in the pack bedroom?”
Easton nods, telling me that was the right choice. Seriously, he couldn’t fucking call before showing up? Oh, apparently, he called Hael. It’s just that no one decided to give me any warning. If he had popped in five minutes later, I would have been balls deep in my omega. And it’s not like he knocked and politely waited.
Fuck.
I hate dealing with his mind games. Somehow, I forgot how exhausting he is to deal with.
Arbor and Briar head upstairs. Hopefully Easton’s wife is a hell of a lot more personable than he is. I still have no idea what’s happening, but I stomp over to finally shut the door.
“You do know it’s the middle of winter in Maine, right?” I growl, stopping mid-close when I spot Morris’s truck coming to a stop in the driveway. He and Hael rode to the shop together after breakfast. “And why the hell didn’t you call me?”
Easton scoffs. “I did. However, my nose seems to indicate you were otherwise detained.”
Raising a hand, I flip him off. “What’s going on? Why are you really here?”
We both know it’s not because his omega wanted to hand deliver presents.
“It wasn’t necessarily in my plans for the day, but I think it would be best if we wait for everyone.” Easton swipes his long dark hair back from his forehead. “You know how little I like repeating myself.”
Morris and Hael finally make it inside, and I frown at the guy in glasses leading an older woman up the stairs.
I’m almost positive the man with glasses is Calder, Easton’s tech guy and packmate.
“Who the hell is that?” I grind out.
“That’s Vernie. She’s a notary.” Easton holds out an elbow for the aged woman. “They have to have a table around here somewhere. Let’s get you all set up, dear. Calder, you’re responsible for bringing the other gifts to Briar.” He gestures aimlessly over his shoulder. “She’s somewhere up there. Let Keir know we’ll be ready for our package in just a moment.”
Hael’s eyes widen, and he takes a step back. “I’m officially freaked the fuck out.”
Yeah, me too.
The only time Easton is that polite to anyone is when he’s in major manipulation mode, which makes me wonder what purpose he has for a notary.
“We need Arbor’s ID and signature for Vernie’s book,” Easton says, looking at me.
“ Fuck no ,” Morris growls, perfectly echoing my thoughts. “Not until you tell us what is going on.”
“What room are they in?” Calder asks from behind me. “This one is pretty heavy. Briar went overboard, especially since she’s made it clear she doesn’t want kids.”
“She just enjoys spending my money,” Easton says drolly. “Hael, if you wouldn’t mind?”
Hael looks a little like the top of his head might pop off, but he growls, “Once you hit the top of the stairs, head straight. Third door on the right.”
“Bring back her ID!” Easton calls after his packmate as Calder scurries away.
Morris and I take a step forward in unison.
Easton snorts. “You don’t want to try my patience today, gentlemen. Not when I had to charter a private flight to make this entire endeavor possible. Someone owes me twelve thousand dollars.”
“Who is that woman?” Hael nods to the old lady, still laying out supplies from her bag. “And what the fuck is going on?”
Easton sighs, pulling out his phone. “I’m notifying Keir that it’s time to bring in our package.” He types quickly and shoves the phone away. “Your pack commitment paperwork has been filed. You should have the legal certificate within seven to ten days. Congratulations on your union.” Easton glances at me and Hael, and I guess Morris too. We all stand in a line near the wall just inside the kitchen. “I might not have many core values, but I look after what’s mine. You’re family. That means something in my book.”
“Yeah,” I scoff. “You totally give a fuck what happens to us.”
Easton shrugs. “Think what you will of me, but I’ve had Calder monitoring Adam Newman. His family is a problem I would generally avoid, simply out of principle. However, Calder made me aware late last night that Adam accessed Arbor’s old email account.” His jaw gets tight, and he rocks on his heels. “She was smart to document the pattern of abuse. Of course, he attempted to delete everything she’d tried to preserve, but that’s not what forced such immediate action. Arbor’s email contained appointment confirmations for Gracie.”
“And he saw that?” Morris growls, shoving off the wall.
“Indeed.” Easton nods. “It didn’t contain your address, but it did show the date and time of her next appointment. He rented a room at the closest hotel here in town and booked himself a flight. I don’t have assets everywhere , and he was already in the air by the time we determined what happened. As such, my pack and I came to handle your problem.” He gestures to me. “Our deal still stands.”
Wow, he’s really willing to go to extreme measures to keep Mom out of his house.
“Jesus Christ,” Hael whispers.
“No, you can thank me.” Easton smirks. “Adam flew into Portland, rented a car, and headed this way. We talked about apprehending him before he could leave the city, but the sheer number of cameras made that impossible. Luckily, it’s much less populated out here in the middle of nowhere, and we took possession of him en route.”
“You brought Adam here?” Arbor asks.
My head whips to the doorway.
My omega stands next to Briar.
Calder is just behind them, and he raises his palms. “I know I was supposed to keep them busy, but the one person who scares me more than you is Briar.” He must be talking to Easton because my brother mutters something under his breath that I can’t make out.
Morris stomps over and pulls Arbor into his arms. “You don’t have to see him. He won’t hurt you or Gracie. Not ever again.”
“We’re in agreement about that,” Easton says, clapping. “Now, Briar, would you like to explain why you explicitly went against my instructions?”
Briar snorts. “It’s not your call. It’s not mine either. The only person who can decide if facing him will make her feel better is Arbor . I get that you all mean well, but the choice is hers to make.”
My jaw falls. I’ve never seen anyone speak to Easton like that, and it makes me strangely grateful to know he doesn’t walk all over her in their relationship.