And my parent’s love? Mine had been breakable. It was forgettable on his part. And the foster situation was no better. My foster family had been cruel and their pack treated me like dirt, dirt expected to carry its own weight. That unconditional love people talked about was foreign to me.
But with these alphas, the ones who wore the ridiculous shirts as they waited for me for years? I was growing to believe that they would give me that love. Freid had already shown me his commitment, with Ty joining in.
I’d had the person who was supposed to love me most leave me, but now, I was holding back people who had already shown they cared more about a stranger they hadn’t met yet than anyone else had in my entire life. That was the catalyst for mereaching out, wanting to get to know them better, but also being brave enough to suggest we do it in a place where we could have a real conversation—not a restaurant where people could overhear, or where we might be too careful with our words or be interrupted.
I hadn’t even reached Freid’s door when it opened. Ty was standing there with a big smile on his face and wearing an apron.
“Are you cooking dinner tonight?” He looked good in an apron, but it was spotless, and that had me wondering if it was a prop or he was that careful or if Freid was one of those cooks who wanted to do it all and had you “help” only for the company.
“No, I’m just helping. Come in.” And it was option number three.
It had been easier to comment on his apron than to figure out if I should hug him or not, or how to greet him. And he seemed okay with that. There was no awkwardness. He just accepted it.
They really were willing to go at my pace.
“Freid’s in the kitchen, along with every dish he ever considered owning waiting to be washed. I’ve never seen a man use that many dishes for a simple meal.” He was teasing, but there was such affection in his voice.
“I know how to wash dishes.” And I didn’t hate the chore.
“But you’re not going to. You’re company.”
For some reason, being referred to as company stung.
“You are, too, but you have an apron on.”
“It’s not the same.”
Before I could find a comeback for our silly argument, Freid came out with two oven mitts on. “You’re here! Dinner’s almost ready. Why don’t you and Ty sit down while I finish up?”
We went to the dining room table and sat down. It was set semi-formally. There were no fancy silverware or napkins turned into swans, but everything was in its place, ready to go.
“How long have you guys been working on this?”
“Since noon.”
“I feel bad now. I didn’t even bring dessert.” I’d thought about it, but I wasn’t sure what anybody liked, and then it became an overwhelming decision, so I dropped it.
“Don’t. We had fun.”
“We’re not gonna have fun when it comes time for dishes,” Ty said, holding back his laughter.
“Ain’t that the truth?” Freid came out with a big casserole dish and set it on the trivet. “Can you grab the salad and the bread?”
I started to get up, but Ty put a hand on my shoulder. “I got it.”
It was the first time he’d touched me like that. It was just a normal type of brush that you would have with anyone. There was nothing extremely intimate about it. But try telling that to my body. It was ready to go.
“Rumor has it there are more dirty dishes in here than at Animals,” I teased.
“It’s not that bad.” Freid rolled his eyes and sat down next to me.
“Ty is just one of thosewash as you cookkind of guys,” Freid explained. “And I’m alet disaster strike, and after we’re full, we can take care of itkind of guy.”
“That sounds about right,” Ty said, setting the salad and bread on the table and sitting across from Freid. “How about you? What kind of cook are you?”
“Me? If it can all go in one pot, that’s the way I’m going. And I’d rather spend the money to have things already pre-chopped than do it myself. So, not really chef quality.”
“Sounds smart to me,” Freid said. He handed me serving utensils for the chicken bake he’d made. “Let’s eat.”
