Helping kids isn’t exactly the worst way to spend a night.
I crack my neck and roll my shoulders. “Alright, brother. Show us where you need us.”
Vegas snaps his fingers dramatically. “Casino, you owe me twenty bucks. I told you he’d agree.”
Casino grunts. “You said he’d smile, too.”
I glare at both of them. I’m used to them making bets, but I won’t lie and say it’s annoying as hell when they’re using you as a means of entertainment.
Vegas nods. “Yeah, okay, fair point.”
Colt laughs again. “Let’s get this shit done.”
We head into the main room where stacks of toys, boxed meals, and wrapped gifts cover every available surface. It looks like Santa’s workshop got drunk and exploded everywhere.
Vegas gestures around. “We gotta load the trucks, deliver to three different neighborhoods, and help out at the community center. Think you two can manage?”
Colt and I share a look. “This everything we’re working with?” Colt asks.
“This is it,” Vegas confirms.
Colt rolls up his sleeves. “Let’s get started.”
For the next few hours, we load boxes, organize toys, check names off lists, fix a busted dolly, and help Vegas haul in a massive wooden donation bin someone idiotically left outside overnight. At one point, while I’m lifting a stack of stuffed animals, my phone buzzes in my back pocket with a message from Paige.
A picture from Hope fills the screen. She’s in the clubhouse kitchen, covered in flour. Her head is thrown back in laughter.My chest warms instantly, knowing she’s making herself at home.
Colt glances at the screen. “She’s cute.”
“She’s mine,” I say automatically.
He smirks. “Whipped.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
I can’t help the smile that stretches across my face, and for once, it doesn’t feel like a weakness.
Vegas walks past and peeks at the photo. “Aww… Frost’s heart is growing like the Grinch.”
I flip him off.
He grins. “You’d better get back quick, brother. Women who bake in your kitchen? That’s wifey behavior.”
My stomach tightens, not in a bad way but in a dangerous, hopeful way.
Colt slaps my back. “Come on, lover boy. We got more toys.”
I slip my phone away, heart lighter than when I arrived. This might not be what I had in mind when we took off this morning, but the kids need us, and deep in my soul, I know Hope will be waiting for me when I return.
By the time we finish loading the last box for delivery tomorrow, I’m exhausted. I scroll through my phone for the thousandth time, staring at the picture Paige sent earlier—her smile soft, her hair messy, and flour on her face. I want to be there with her, not here doing toy deliveries in Vegas, even if it's for a good cause. Mind made up, I hit the call button.
“Hi,” Hope answers, her husky voice damn near brings me to my knees.
Fuck, I missed that voice.
“You in bed?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. I can hear the quiet behind her.
“Yeah,” she says. “Everyone went to sleep hours ago. Amy took digs at Chaos all day. Trying to keep them apart was anadventure.”
