Everything feels so… normal. Domestic.
I don’t know what I’ll do if Lia doesn’t accept us as pack.
Amber’s perched on one of Walker’s tall stools, her legs swinging while Eli finishes plating dinner. She’s got a big ol’ smile on her face while she talks about all of the things she got up to with her grandparents, but when she spots me watching from the doorway, she grins.
“Hi, Knox!” she says with a wave.
I toss her a playful wink. “Hey, squirt.”
She hops down from the stool and jogs over. I crouch down, bracing myself just in time to wrap her up when she throws her arms around my neck.
“You smell like the vineyard,” she announces.
Walker snorts from the counter. “It’s because you’re at the vineyard.”
She lays her head on my shoulder. “Yeah, but Knox smells like the outside part.”
I laugh, ruffling her hair. “That’s because I was helping Walker with the hot tub earlier.”
Eli gives me a look that says, “you’d better keep it at just that.” I pick up Amber and swing her around, listening to her giggle while her feet kick with glee. When I place her back down she wanders toward the kitchen table where Lia is sitting with a glass of water clutched between both of her hands.
She looks better.
But not perfect.
Not even close, actually. If her scent from earlier didn’t tell me, the silence she’s brought with her this evening would: Her heat is close. The grayish tension that wrapped around her earlier is gone, at least, replaced by something softer. A little tired, a little foggy.
Her gaze meets mine, and when she graces me with a smile, my heart stutters in my chest.
She has to choose us.
Surely, we’ve shown her that we can take care of her and her dreams without putting her life at risk the way her prior pack did.
“Dinner’s ready,” Eli announces as he brings a couple of plates to the table.
He sets one down in front of Amber before placing the other in front of Lia. Walker comes right behind him with two more plates, so I make my way into the kitchen to grab whatever’s left.
Walker’s dining table is big enough for eight, which feels ridiculous until we all start filling the chairs. Amber wedges herself between her dad and Lia like she’s claimed the territory permanently, her head falling against Eli’s arm while her hand holds Lia’s.
“Did you have a nap, Lia?” Amber asks her.
Lia nods. “The best nap.”
Amber snickers. “Hope you didn’t nap with Dad. He snores.”
“I do not,” Eli protests.
Amber picks up her head and turns to Lia with absolute seriousness. “He does.”
I bite back a laugh while Walker pours sweet tea into everyone’s glasses.
Lia glances around the table. She watches as Walker finishes filling our glasses. She watches as Eli gets up to grab the rolls out of the oven. She watches me as I rearrange the food on the table, making sure she and Amber can reach everything easier.
She seems so relaxed. So unguarded.
It’s a good look on her.
Dinner turns into the easiest thing in the world. Amber talks about her time with her grandparents and everything they got up to. Eli questions her about a science experiment she’s supposed to be doing for school.
