“Yes.” Rue sighed, placing his knife down and pinching the bridge of his nose.
“And what did you decide?” Kendrick asked hesitantly. He knew that it was the right thing for Rue and Monty to do as they were in Bayfield because of the omegas, but that didn’t stop him from hating it. He wanted to find some middle ground with Rue so he could feel free to talk openly about what was going on forhim. But he also wished he’d kept his mouth shut when he could have lived without the possibility that what they had going was ending before it began.
Monty forked more green beans aggressively, chewing them like they’d offended him. His attention remained on Rue, waiting the same as Kendrick for him to answer.
“Ethan believes it would have made no difference me being in the house, other than having been able to help with the search—”
“Okay, you’ve lost me. Search?”
Rue groaned and ran through the events of the previous night. Kendrick then got the reference about the shit. Two of them had buried themselves in manure to prevent scent tracking. One had hidden with the horses, and the fourth omega had gone in with the pigs.
“It took considerable effort to coax them into the ranch house, which is where they’ll now be living. They trust Oakland and Brier so they’ll be the only two alphas sleeping near them. Ethan has moved back up into his suite of rooms on the third floor of the house for the time being. I called Dad and after a lengthy discussion, everyone thinks another alpha in the house would be a bad thing.”
All of it made sense. What Kendrick couldn’t gauge was why Rue appeared upset by this. Wasn’t he happy to stay here? The possibility made him anxious. It was unnerving and as much as he wanted to take a mental step back, he couldn’t with Rue’s obvious distress.
“I admit I’m glad not to have to leave,” he confessed, sounding pained, stealing Kendrick’s breath. “Only the guilt in feeling relief, when it was a miscalculation on our part? Fuck, what do I do with that? They have suffered so much. This was supposed to help, not make things worse. Should we have brought them? Was I so focused on coming back for you that I didn’t see the pitfalls?” Food forgotten, fork on his plate, he ran agitated handsthrough his hair. Dipping his head between his shoulders, he did his best to avoid eye contact.
At Monty’s sound of distress, Kendrick placed his own cutlery on his nearly empty plate, reaching to give Monty’s hand a reassuring squeeze. One he wasn’t feeling, because Rue’s confession about wanting to be here for him was a double-edged sword. Guilt cut deep into Rue—fuck, all of them.
Kendrick rose and crouched by Rue’s side. He reached out and took hold of his hands, tugging them from his hair.
“Look at me, please.” Kendrick’s knees hit the floor with a thud, thrown off balance by the abject misery Rue was unable to hide from his eyes as their gazes clashed.
Monty jumped up and skirted around the table to wrap an arm around Rue’s shoulders as far as he could manage, placing a hand on Kendrick’s neck to connect the three of them. The bond—the glue—between them. Kendrick wasn’t sure if Rue even noticed that was what Monty was to their throuple.
He blew a kiss at Monty and got a sniff as he furiously blinked glistening eyes. “I don’t think anyone can truly understand what those men went through.” He made sure Rue was his only focus as he continued. “But, something tells me that you might have some idea.”
The eye widening and paling cheeks were answer enough.
“Honey, I’m not asking you to spill your secrets right now, unless you want to. Just understand that carrying guilt won’t change things. It can eat at the heart of a person. What you and your family did and continue to do, allows those men to be free. Don’t ever forget that. They’ll find their way because you’ve given them a chance to have a different path. A safe path, even though it might take time for them to realize.” Entwining their fingers, he brought a hand to his lips and brushed a kiss over the knuckles. “Make that your focus. Let that be your guide, not the guilt.”
A gusty breath hit his face as Rue fought an internal battle. Kendrick sucked in a lungful of air, held it and counted to five before releasing it, waiting for Rue to see what he was offering. “I’ll share something with you,”—he glanced at Monty, wearing a sheepish grin—“a selfish part of me is also relieved you both don’t need to leave my home. When Monty messaged, it was my biggest fear, losing this.”
“I’m selfish too,” added Monty, back to sniffling. “And I agree with Kendrick. You didn’t see the omegas with Cass today, Rue. They might carry the burden of life’s injustices on their backs, but they wanna be free. The ranch, I can see now, will—when they are ready—give them just that!”
Monty placed a kiss on top of Rue’s head and moved back to take his seat. It took two attempts before the smile stuck. “I think it’s time to check out Kendrick’s apple pie, see if he over egged the pudding.”
Kendrick went with a mock outraged look when Rue released another gusty breath, a myriad of emotions there to see.
“Pie sounds good,” was his quiet reply. It didn’t look like that was what Rue was going to say initially.
Kendrick considered maybe he was wrong and shut away the disappointment. He could be patient; these men were worth it.
“I’ll have you eat those words!” he stated emphatically, all teeth and sass.
When he stood up, he did the same as Monty and kissed Rue’s head, inhaling his warm scent. Stepping back was hard, except he knew they needed to keep it light for the time being, so he went over to the oven where the pie was warming.
“I’d rather eat…” Monty’s pause was all for effect. “Pie.”
Rue chuckled, as did Kendrick, shaking his head but loving Monty’s attempt to lighten the mood. “Honey, I’ll prove you wrong on that score later, too. Now ice cream, cream, or crème anglaise?”
Rue stacked their dinner plates, placing them off to the side. “Cream is my favorite.” He smacked his lips together for effect, making Monty groan and slip a hand under the table.
Using an oven cloth, Kendrick pulled out the pie and placed it in the middle of the table. Brown and glistening with the encrusted sugar, cinnamon and spiced apples scented the air. He met Rue’s gaze over the pie and gave him a salacious wink.
“Cream it is.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
