Page 91 of Knot Her Beta

“Good.” She pats his thigh and turns toward the living room. “I’ve got more boxes to bring in. Stay put.”

She’s gone before he can respond, boots heavy on the hardwood, her orders cutting through the chaos.

Grady stares after her, his hand still resting where hers was, and the flush has returned to his cheeks, lighter this time. “She really is special.”

I stack the last pot in the lower cabinet and close the door. “Yeah. She is.”

But so is Grady. He gave her exactly what she needed, just as pack should.

Grady slides off the counter, grabs his cane, and tests his weight on the bad leg. “We should finish these boxes before she comes back and finds me walking around.”

I hand him a messy stack of dish towels. “Probably wise.”

As Grady folds the towels, his bad leg braced against the cabinet, I hope, with a fierceness that surprises me, that he stops hesitating soon and realizes that he belongs with us.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Grady

“Uncle Holden, did you make brownies?” Quinn bounces on her toes beside the Homestead’s kitchen island, her rainbow-striped pajamas swapped for jeans and a sweater that’s too long in the sleeves. “Did you? Because Sprinkles is extra tired, and he needs brownies.”

Holden stirs a saucepan, garlic, butter, and an herb I can’t quite identify rising with the steam. His golden-brown curls flop across his forehead, and flour dusts the sleeves of his Henley. “Brownies are for dessert, princess. After real food. And dogs can’t have brownies. You know that.”

“Real food is boring.” She leans forward until her chin rests on the counter. “Can I help?”

“If you wash your hands.”

She bolts for the sink.

After getting most of my possessions unpacked and put in their places, everyone had headed over to the Homestead for dinner. I had taken it slow on the hay-covered path while Jared walked beside me, his arm brushing mine whenever the trail narrowed. Emily and Leif had walked ahead, her hand on the small of his back, their shoulders touching, and Sprinkles raced between all of us until his energy finally gave out.

As soon as we arrived at the Homestead, he laid down in front of the fireplace with his tongue lolling, his massive chest rising and falling in slow, exhausted waves.

By the time Jared and I arrived in the kitchen, the place was chaos in the best possible way, with people drifting through in clusters.

Nathaniel carries plates out to the table, while Blake lounges beside the refrigerator with a beer in hand, his rainbow bead bracelet catching the overhead light whenever he gestures. Dominic moves between the kitchen and the dining room, carrying serving bowls, his French braid coming entirely loose now, black waves falling past his cheekbones.

Chloe occupies a stool at the far end of the kitchen island, turned to the side to give her pregnant belly room, a mug of tea steaming between her palms. Her pink hair is pulled back in a ponytail, the long strands curling around her shoulders in soft waves.

I stand by the sideboard with my cane, one hand braced on the top, my bad knee throbbing after the walk from the cabin.

Quinn rushes back to Holden, bringing a stool with her that she plants at his side and clambers up onto.

As Holden lets her stir the pot, Leif appears from the hallway that leads to the side door. His mauve-taupe hair is damp at the temples, and he has changed into a soft blue sweater that brings out the periwinkle of his eyes.

Leif takes the long way around the island to ruffle Quinn’s hair. “How do you still have all this energy?”

She giggles and ducks her head. “I took a nap while Aunt Chloe was rearranging all the furniture.”

“Don’t you mean when I was rearranging all the furniture while Aunt Chloe pointed from her chair?” Blake demands.

“Hey, I helped too,” Dominic protests as he comes back into the kitchen. “You weren’t lifting that couch alone.”

“I helped with the couch, too!” Quinn shouts and flexes both arms, her little biceps nonexistent beneath the sweater sleeves.

“You carried a throw pillow, princess,” Blake says.

“It was a huge pillow.”