“Imagine my surprise,” he continues, and his voice is full of wonder, almost disbelief, “when I go looking for you and hear you’re staying at Charlie’s house.” He pauses, his head tilting slightly. “And that rumors around town say you’re Pack McCrae’s Omega.”
The words hang between us, heavy with everything unsaid. I can see him processing it—the scent of three Alphas clinging to my skin, the bond mark visible above the collar of my shirt, the way I smell different now. Claimed. Bonded. Changed.
“It’s true,” I say quietly, lifting my chin even though my heart is hammering. “I’m bonded. To all three of them.”
Silence stretches between us. A horse whinnies in one of the stalls, and somewhere outside a dog barks. But in this barn, in this moment, there’s only me and my brother.
“My best friend.” He shakes his head slowly, a surprised laugh escaping that sounds almost strangled. “My business partner. Charlie didn’t even—” He breaks off, running both hands through his hair now, making it stand on end. “And Jake, your ex… don't think I didn’t know about him. And Beau McCrae, the most famous bull rider in the damn circuit.”
He looks at me like I’ve just told him I’m moving to Mars. Like he’s trying to fit together puzzle pieces that don’t make sense.
“Wills, I just… wow. That’s… wow.”
It’s so far from what I expected that I almost laugh. “Wow?”
“Yeah, wow.” He lets out another disbelieving laugh, shaking his head. “I mean, Charlie called me a couple of days ago. Said he had something important to tell me.” His eyes are distant, remembering. “But then he got all weird and nervous and changed the subject. We ended up just talking about the ranch for an hour, and I thought he was going to ask for a loan or something. Fuck, little sister. You never did anything easy.”
He pulls back and just looks at me for way too long. I get the distinct feeling he’s trying to organize everything he knows into something that makes this crazy situation make sense.
When he finally speaks again, his question surprises me.
“How long?” His voice is quiet now, carefully controlled. “How long have you been back?”
I swallow hard. “Almost three months.”
The silence that follows is deafening.
“Three months.” He says it slowly, like he’s testing the words. “You’ve been back in Muddy Creek for three months, and you didn’t—” He stops, his jaw working. I can see the hurt flash across his face before he tries to hide it. “Three months, Willa.”
“I know,” I whisper. “I know how it sounds.”
“Do you?” There’s no anger in his voice, just pain. Raw, genuine pain that makes my chest ache. “Because from where I’m standing, it sounds like my sister came home and didn’t think I was important enough to tell.”
“That’s not—” I start, but he holds up a hand.
“No, you’re right. That’s not fair.” He takes a breath, clearly trying to compose himself. “Fuck, this is hard… I didn’t reach outeither. Not really. Not the way I should have. We both… we both let too much time pass.”
“I wanted to,” I confess. “So many times. I’d pick up the phone and just… freeze. Too much time had passed. Too much had happened. I didn’t know how to bridge that gap.”
“Me too.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “After Dad died and you were already gone at college, I told myself you were better off. That you’d moved on, built a new life. That calling you would just drag you back into all the shit here.”
“He was terrible,” I say quietly. “After you left. Dad, I mean.”
Caleb’s jaw tightens. “I figured. When you stopped answering my calls as much, I knew something was wrong. But I didn’t…” He trails off, guilt written all over his face. “I should have come back. Should have checked on you.”
“You had your own life. Your own things to deal with.”
“You’re my sister. That should have come first.”
The words sit between us, heavy and true. There’s no fixing the past, no taking back the years we lost. But maybe we can start fresh from here.
“So,” Caleb says after a moment, and I can see him visibly shaking off the guilt, the regret. “Pack McCrae. Tell me how this happened. Because I’m having trouble imagining Charlie, that steady, responsible, never-breaks-the-rules Charlie, bonding with his best friend’s little sister.”
A smile tugs at my lips despite everything. “It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got time.” He gestures to a hay bale, and we both sit, the familiar barn sounds and smells surrounding us. “Start from the beginning.”
So I do.
