Page 81 of Knot my First Rodeo

Voicemail.

Tripp tries next.

Nothing.

Briggs slams his hands on the table. “Fuck!”

Then the stairs creak, and all three of us look up.

Autumn appears, and she’s clearly not okay. Her hair looks messier than before, gray eyes glassy, and she pauses halfway down the stairs. One arm wraps loosely around her stomach, while the other grips the railing.

“You alright?” I ask gently.

Her mouth opens and closes without a word. For the first time since she got here, she looks scared.

“I need my brother. Call Hunter. Please!”

The room fills with her scent. I can feel my cock harden instantly in my jeans.

“Shit,” Briggs mutters. His jaw tightens once before he scrubs both hands over his face hard enough to look irritated with himself. His eyes flick toward Autumn once, then away so fast it almost looks painful.

“I need a minute.” He storms from the kitchen through the backdoor out into the rain. I don’t know where he's going, or what he thinks he’s doing, but he’s a grown man. If he wants to die in a flood, so be it.

“We tried to call him, but he didn’t answer,” Tripp tells her, and a tear trails down her cheek.

“My suppressants are gone. I know I packed them, but they must have fallen out of my bag in the Jeep or at home. I asked Hunter to get me a script out here or send them to me, but now Gidge is kidnapped and he’s busy,” she sobs.

“I-I-I can’t be in here,” Tripp gasps, and bolts from the room, heading down to the basement.

There’s nothing down there but nonsense we didn't wanna part with, and seasonal decorations. It’s not much of a basement at all, just limestone and a constant musty smell.

I look back at Autumn. Her eyes are filled with tears and her bottom lip quivers as she watches two alphas bolt from the room. Assholes.

“Autumn, listen to me. You’re going into heat. This is just the beginning. Don’t be scared, it’s gonna be okay. We’ll get you a nest set up in your bedroom, and I’ll send one of them to town tomorrow, first thing, and get whatever you need to get through it.”

Her eyes widen and a shiver rolls through her body at the mention of her heat. “What I’ll need?” she asks while wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

“Ummmm…toys. They make toys that can help an omega through their heat. It acts like a knot. You know what I mean?” I really don’t wanna spell it out for her, but she’s acting clueless. Surely her brother had her take basic omega classes in high school, right?

“You mean vibrators and dildos?” She smiles and I cough out a breath.

The little shit was teasing me.

“I’m glad you haven’t lost your sense of humor in all this.”

“I don’t want to lose my virginity to some rubber hammer. Can’t you guys help me through my heat? Am I not good enough, or experienced enough?” She's crying again, and it’s breaking my heart.

Her voice cracks on the last question, and fresh tears spill down her cheeks.

Hell.

She's looking so damn vulnerable it hurts to look at her, small hands twisting in the hem of her shirt while she waits for an answer she already seems convinced she doesn't deserve.

The same woman who marched onto this ranch and somehow made herself at home, who learned chores without complaining, and punched somebody in the face for touching Briggs.

She's funny, stubborn, and mouthy as hell.

Briggs and Tripp practically bolted from the room, which leaves me sitting here trying to figure out how to answer a question that feels a whole lot bigger than sex.