He came in behind Monty, shutting and locking the door wordlessly.
The hope of Rue accepting what they were about to talk about left Monty dry-mouthed.
In the living room, Rue’s gaze went straight to the iPad, and a sense of trepidation grew inside Monty.
“I’ve heated some chicken parmigiana, I’ll go grab it.” He darted out of the room, hands shaking. He ran them down the sides of his legs, halting in the kitchen and taking a deep inhale,then another after slowly releasing the first. It did fuck all to help, so Monty grabbed a cloth to lift the plate out of the oven, placing it with some cutlery on a tray.
He paused in the kitchen doorway to see Rue standing, his laptop bag still in his hand. Wasn’t he planning on staying?
“Here we go. You can give me your laptop, I’ll store it with mine while you eat.” Monty swapped the tray for the laptop bag before Rue could say differently. “Sit. Keep Kendrick company, he’s got something to talk to you about.”
Rue, who bent at the knee to take a seat, looked like his back had seized up on him and he’d got stuck the way he froze. His unreadable gaze went to the iPad.
“It’s all good, honey, sit. I can explain what I was planning while you eat.”
The pace at which Rue moved showed his reluctance and Monty’s nerves were now climbing the walls like a professional rock climber. What was wrong?
He chanced a glance at Kendrick, seeing signs that he had also noticed something was off.
Alone in his bedroom to get some perspective before he had a freak out, Monty told himself off. “You’re overreacting because of this morning. Rue has not come to tell you that whatever this is, is over. Now stop catastrophizing and get your butt in the living room.”
He used the bathroom, having a nervous pee. When done, he plastered a smile on his face and went to sit cross-legged next to Rue. His plate was nearly empty, and Kendrick was regaling a funny incident about Trey and coping with Cassidy’s pregnancy.
Had he mentioned the trip to Hazardville?
He looked between the iPad and Rue, unable to tell.
When Kendrick’s laughter died down, Monty was bouncing with anxiety. “Did you tell him?” he blurted out.
Kendrick’s chuckle said not.
“Told me what?” Rue placed the tray on the coffee table, away from the iPad, shrugging out of his suit jacket. His moves were jerky as he slung it over the back of the couch, next tugging at his tie like it could be strangling him as both Monty and Kendrick eyed him with apprehension.
“You know all the double shifts I’ve copped recently?” Rue had the tie sliding from his neck as he nodded. “I’ve got some time owed to me, and after interviewing today, I could potentially have two guys who could fill in when I take time off.” The shrug he gave suggested it was nothing big, but the way his lips pinched said otherwise. “So, I was thinking of flying up to see you both. Staying at Monty’s for a few vacation days.”
With the air hissing through Rue’s teeth, Monty couldn’t assess whether the reaction was good or bad. His expression remained unreadable. The man had a great poker face.
“How’d you feel ‘bout that?” Kendrick asked, when Rue didn’t reply.
“I… you wanna see me—us?”
It was a damn odd question when that was clearly what Kendrick was suggesting? What were they missing?
“Isn’t that what I just said?” Kendrick’s amused tone sounded forced to Monty.
“I had an interesting meeting this evening…very interesting.”
“Good or bad, interesting?” Kendrick asked, a furrow appearing between his brows, revealing his unease.
“You two can tell me.” For the first time, Rue looked directly at Monty. “How do you feel about moving to Bayfield for a few months, possibly six?”
“What!” Monty exclaimed, swamped by a wave of want that left him drowning.
“You serious?” Kendrick growled.
Rue looked between the two of them, nodding. “Very. Someone needs to facilitate the move of the omegas from Drinkwater to Darling Ranch… and I offered.”
At Kendrick’s confused look, Monty explained, “Drinkwater is a place where we visited a factory. The conditions the workers were forced to endure got Starling Enterprises buying the factory. It was in the press—”
