Chapter One
Vanessa
"Jesus, Nessie! You look like you're trying to conceal your identity in that outfit. Are you hiding from someone? Who hurt you, sweetheart?" Mom looks me up and down, taking in my entire outfit- which isn't even that bad for December- and then hollers for one of my dads to come up to my room. "Look at our baby, George! We will never get any grandbabies if she keeps dressing like this! Don't you have something to wear that shows a little cleavage?"
Daddy George rolls his eyes. "Leave our daughter alone, Abbie. She can dress however she wants to. I'm sure the other girls her age also dress like this. It must be the new fashion trend back in New York. We haven't been for a visit in a while."
"Not the girls here in Stonybrook. They at least flaunt what they've got. You look like a sack of potatoes, Nessie." Her eyes rake over me once more for good measure, and she shakes her head. "You look like you're on your way to audition for the church choir. Is that it, Nessie? I told you from a young age that as much as your daddies and I love hearing you sing, the lord did not gift you with the voice of an angel. It did come in handy to keep all the stray cats out of our garbage cans, though."
I glare at Daddy George, who is trembling with his effort not to laugh, but it's a losing battle. A full-body laugh escapes him, and he doubles over, clutching at his stomach.
"Maybe she's trying to join a cult?" My other dad- Raymond- leans in the doorway and shoots me a wink. "The one where they shave off all their hair and tie themselves to trees. Barry's daughter joined them when she finished college."
"Rebecca didn't join a cult for fuck's sake, Dad! She shaved her head because she could, and she was trying to stop a greedy company from cutting down a bunch of trees to build a new mall," I retort, my voice filled with frustration.
"Language!" Mom pauses. "Is that what is going on, Nessie? Is your dad right? Did you join a cult?" She stares at me, her eyes filled with horror.
I scowl at the three of them. "I think there must have been a mix-up at the hospital when I was born. There is no way I'm your kid."
"You get your grump from Papa Spencer and your beauty from your mama, baby," Raymond says, pulling me into a side hug. "I know you don't enjoy big crowds, but you've always loved the Holiday Market. We'll leave if it gets too overwhelming."
I groan, knowing there's no way I'm getting out of this but still trying. "Do I have to go?"
Daddy George perks up. "You'll never guess who's coming today, sweetie."
I wait for him to tell me, but after a while, it becomes clear he wants me to guess. "Fuck if I know, Dad. Brad Pitt?"
"If only," Mom sighs. "You should find a good man like that, Nessie."
"He cheated on his wife," I say bluntly.
"Allegedly."
"Your three best friends from high school. Zayne, Silas and Mason," Daddy George says quickly before an argument over Brad Pitt's innocence could start.
Butterflies spring to life in my stomach, and a shiver runs down my spine. "They're back?"
"Got back about a year ago. Formed a pack- which you would know if you didn't run off the day you graduated. Zayne started how owns secur-"
"Brad would have been a great son-in-law," Mom hums, wandering out of my room, lost in her own head. We follow her downstairs. "He would have bought a house for his parents-in-law, and we wouldn't have had to trust Garry Jones with the construction. All the tiles in the bathroom are crooked."
"Pitt is a beta, and our daughter needs a pack of alphas, darling." Papa Spencer is standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting for us, and I shoot him a look of gratitude. Even if what he is saying is not technically helping, at least it will get my mom to drop the Brad Pitt topic.
"Zayne started a big-time security firm with one of his friends. Mason and Silas both joined the NHL and signed with the Stonybrook Knights. Their pack is quite the catch. Still single too." Daddy George whispers next to me, wiggling his brows and making me giggle. "Anyway, everyone ready to go?"
I look longingly up the stairs where my laptop is waiting next to my Kindle. I could just stay home, read, and write all day. I could avoid the crowd and the three boys who still invade my dreams. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up."
Mom scowls at me. "No, Nessie. This is the first time you've been home in over six years. We didn't push you because it was obvious you were dealing with some things, but now that you're back, I refuse to have you hide in your room the entire time. You're coming out with us. There are so many people dying to see you."
"There are?"
"Ever since your mom found out you'll be home for the holidays, she's been bragging about you to all the single packs," Raymond says, snickering.
"Think of this as your coming-out party," Mom says quickly.
"My coming out party?" I ask, glaring at her. "Mom, I'm twenty-four. I'm good. I'll meet a pack when I'm ready."
"They might be there tonight! And you'll never know if you stay in your room all day and night instead of getting out there and mingling. I need you to find some nice alphas who will knock you up and give me grandbabies to spoil."
