Eli looks skeptical. Rafe just laughs, reminds him that he already knows all his quirks, and heads inside. Eli shrugs, but none of us miss the small, crooked smile that sneaks onto his face. He wore his mask at the hotel, but it’s gone now. Deputy sits at his feet, leaning into his legs with steady pressure. It’s obvious it helps.
Once we’re settled, we gather in the kitchen. Corbin puts down a dog bed and Deputy lays in it while happily watching us, clearly hoping for a dropped piece of food.
“What about Winnie?” Eli asks, voicing what we’re all thinking.
“She wants to,” Zeke says, probably feeling it through the bond. “But I don’t think she’s ready.”
Corbin nods. “She really likes her cabin. She’s made it hers. I want her close too, but let’s give her time.”
We all agree without argument.
“Any of you chuckleheads learn to cook while I was gone?” Corbin asks.
No one answers, so we order pizza.
Pizza on the patio turns into stories. Stories about how we first met. Tattoo mishaps. Nick. Things we said. Things we should’ve said sooner.
At some point, we’re all holding beer bottles, lifting them in quiet tribute. To starting again.
“This has been a fucked-up road to get here,” Corbin says. We meet each other’s eyes. “But I’m glad we made it.”
“I’m glad we did too,” I tell him.
There will always be a scar running through this pack, just like the one on Corbin’s face. But thanks to Winnie, it’s one we can live with. She closed the wound a little more.
We’re not bleeding out.
We’re still standing.
Winnie
The nest space at Corbin’s cabin is big. It has smooth, circular walls like most nests, and there are no windows. It has no scent and no decor. Perfect for making it completely my own. The attached master bedroomdoeshave a scent. Unmistakably Corbin’s.
“I can call a company to come in and have it neutralized,” Corbin offers. He’s leaning against the hallway doorframe, watching me take the space in. His posture is calm and reassuring, but the way his eyes track me and his muscles stay rigid tells me he’s nervous about my reaction.
“Have you ever had anyone else stay in this house?” I ask as I make a slow turn around the room. Everything Corbin had in here has been stripped out. They want to take me to Traverse City to make purchases.
He takes a deep, steadying breath. “No.”
I barely suppress the smile creeping across my lips as I step closer. His arm bands around my waist, and my hands fist in the front of his shirt.
“You sure you’re going to be okay with all of this?” I ask.
“I—”
A crash comes from downstairs, followed by the sound of Deputy barking at someone’s clumsy mistake.
“It’s fine!” Zeke’s voice calls from below as chagrin ripples through the bond. “I’m fine! Everything’s fine!” He yells in a tone that clearly means everything is not fine, and we should absolutely not come look.
I bury my face in Corbin’s chest, holding in a laugh as he sighs deeply and runs his fingers through my hair.
We stay like that for a long moment, just him holding me in the doorway.
“I know you like your cottage, Sweetheart,” he says, and my heart sinks a little. “But when you’re ready, I do want you here. All jokes aside. I want this room to be yours, if you like it.”
I pull back enough to look up into his pale blue eyes, already focused on me, already watching.
I nod, but the words won’t come. I do want to move in. I do want to be with them. But that cottage is mine. It’s hard to let go of something you built on your own. It’s hard to plunge into the next thing, the big change, even when you know it’s what your heart needs. Letting go is hard.
