Heading over to his grandparents, Tristan was amazed at the number of pack members who greeted him and shook his hand, voicing their support for him. Seeing how warm and welcoming they were touched him and reinforced his decision to become their Alpha. The pack had suffered long enough and it was time their lives took a turn for the better.
Knocking on his grandparents’ door, he noticed new flower plantings in front, along with cut grass and trimmed bushes adorning the house. On the whole, a far better appearance than when he’d first seen it. Turning around when the door opened, Tristan flashed hisgrandfather a smile. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”
“It’s all your grandmother’s doing,” Pete said, chuckling. “Since we didn’t have to pay Rudy and his goons anymore, she decided we could splurge a little and buy some flowers.”
“They look great.”
“Next on her ‘honey do’ list is painting the house.”
“Heath and I can do that.”
“So you sorted out things with your mate, have you?” Pete asked, grinning.
“Yup…fully claimed.”
“Well, you better come in because your grandmother has been on pins and needles about it.”
Walking in, Tristan inhaled deeply, the scent of bread baking in the oven reminding him of home. And in that moment, he realized his grandparent’s home was now his, too. Just as it had been with his mother, it had become a place he knew would always be there for him for whatever his needs might be. “Freshly baked bread…mmm…mmm.”
Bustling out of the kitchen when she heard her grandson’s voice, Kathy greeted Tristan with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then looking around, she asked worriedly, “Where’s your mate?”
“Back at the office,” Tristan replied. “I’m sorry I haven’t brought him over yet but something came up and I could use your help.”
“Anything, sweetie,” Kathy said, pulling Tristan into the kitchen. “Sit down.”
Doing as he was told, Tristan glanced over at his grandfather who had also joined him at the table. Then, before he could speak, a plate with two slices of freshly baked bread appeared before him along with a jar of blueberry jam. “Oh wow! This smells great!” he exclaimed, looking up at his grandmother. “Mom used to make bread on the days I needed some comfort food. I never did figure out how she always knew.”
“As the great poet said, ‘Ours not to reason how’,” Pete said.
Chuckling, Tristan replied, “Grandpa, that’s not what Tennyson wrote.”
“Oh, I know,” Pete said, chuckling. “But I know he wouldn’t mind me taking a few liberties with it.”
Shrugging, Tristan replied, “Your version certainly works, especially when it comes to my mother knowing what I needed before I did.”
Kathy gave her husband some bread along with a jar of raspberry jam before sitting down between them. “Now, what brought you here today?”
Swallowing his bite of bread, Tristan told them about Rudy’s escape from the High Council prison along with the others, and then explained his plans for evacuating the pack members. “I’m waiting to hear from Jackson but I have a feeling the answer will be yes.”
“That bastard!” Pete exclaimed. “Just let him try to go after you and I’ll show him what’s what!”
“Hush, old man,” Kathy chided. “Putting yourself in danger isn’t going to help anyone, especially our grandson.” Glancing at Tristan, she asked, “What can I do to help?”
“Time is of the essence, but I don’t have a way to reach every member quickly yet so I thought your Petticoat Express could help spread the word for everyone to show up at the main building. They should also pack a small suitcase for each member of their family because they might be gone for a few days,” Tristan explained.
Nodding, Kathy rose. “Go ahead and eat. I’ll be right back.”
Stunned, Tristan looked at his grandfather after his grandmother left the kitchen. “Where’s she going?”
“To give your instructions to the pack,” Pete replied, spreading a spoonful of raspberry jam on his bread.
“But she left her phone here,” Tristan said, pointing to it on the counter.
“She’s using her computer,” Pete said. “At one point, Rudy threatened to take all our phones away because he caught Old Wolf Johnson trashing him to someone on a call…so the Petticoat Express decided they needed an alternative means to communicate. Her friend, Julia, has a son who’s a computer whizz and he wrote a program for the ladies to use. It worked so well, your grandmother thought it should be expanded to include additional homes in case there came a time when Josiah finally went insane and we all needed to flee. So right now, she’s sending out a red alert to everyone, passing along your orders.”
Laughing, Tristan said, “Josiah never had a chance, did he?”
“Not if your grandma could help it,” Pete said, chuckling. “Let that be a lesson to you, son, never piss off a mother. Kathy never forgave Josiah for what he did to her daughter and every chance she got, she made sure he paid for it many times over.”
