“Thanks, Carter.” He laid his head on my shoulder. “Though I’ll admit I’m kind of annoyed I can’t tell you all what to do anymore.”
Kelly snorted. “Like we ever listened to you to begin with, Alpha or not.”
We found a spot where the sun filtered through the leaves. We lay down on the ground, the grass tickling our skin. Kelly rested his head on my stomach, and Joe put his face in my neck, breathing me in. I watched the clouds go by above us. A dragonfly buzzed around us, its translucent wings flashing in the sunlight.
We were quiet for a time, each of us lost in our own thoughts. It was a good place to be.
Kelly spoke after a while. “We’re always going to be together.”
I put my hand in his hair. “Yeah. We are. No matter what.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
My heart remained steady.
Joe started snoring only a moment later, his breath warm on my neck.
There was nowhere else I wanted to be.
GAVIN AND MOM WERE BACK at the house by the time we returned. Kelly headed into town to go meet Robbie for lunch before he had to go to work. Joe went with him, saying he’d promised Ox he’d bring him food. I watched them as they got into the truck, dust kicking up as they drove down the dirt road, taillights flashing briefly before they disappeared.
I went into the house. Gavin and Mom were in the kitchen. They sang along with the radio. Mom was dancing, Gavin sitting on the counter, bouncing his head in time with the music.
They turned to me when I leaned against the doorway. Mom reached over and turned down the music. I arched an eyebrow. “Well?”
“Well what?” Mom asked, as if she didn’t know.
I rolled my eyes. “Are you going to share what the hell you two were up to that was so secret you couldn’t tell me?”
“Not if you continue with that tone, we won’t.”
“Yeah,” Gavin said. “Lose the tone.”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered.
Mom nodded toward me. “Do you want to show him? You might as well. He’ll be insufferable otherwise. You know how he gets.”
“I do,” Gavin said. He gnawed on his bottom lip. “You… think it’s okay?”
“I know it is,” Mom said warmly. “He’ll think so too. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m feeling creative. I have a new painting I’ve been working on. I’d hit a roadblock, but I think I’ve found a way beyond it.” She kissed me on the cheek before disappearing up the stairs.
I turned back to Gavin. His hands were curled into fists in his lap. I was starting to get concerned. I walked toward him slowly. He spread his legs, letting me step between them. I pressed my forehead against his. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“Like you’d let it go,” he mumbled.
“I would if you asked me to.”
“It’s….”
“Important?”
He nodded.
“Big?”
He nodded again. “It was… my idea. And I asked Mom first, and she said it was good.”