“Thank you.” Nolan ran a hand over his face. “I’ve… I think I’ve forgotten that with everything going on.”
I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “We’re a pack. It's what we do. Now, I think it’s time weallgot a stiff drink, though. The clients can cool their heels a bit longer.”
“Yes fucking please. Make mine a triple.”
I blinked, and we’d already finished two drinks. Relaxing in the living room with our feet up, Nolan hadn’t even bothered to change out of his gym gear.
“I do think we’re going to have to upgrade Hailey’s car,” Nolan said, looking into his glass, eyes slightly crossed. “It’s way too old.”
“I agree. She needs something newer with better safety ratings.”
“Yes! Maybe a large car—those are safer, aren’t they?”
We’d quickly discovered that there was one thing we wholeheartedly agreed on, and that was Hailey's safety. Having a vehicle that was nearly two decades old was not suitable for the road anymore.
The front door opened, and in came our other pack mate, grocery bags in hand.
“Are we drinking?” Wilder asked in a cheerful voice. When I had updated him on Preston’s situation, he had simply beamed and said he never doubted his pack mate—but the relief was obvious.
"Yes, we are.” I smiled, handing him a glass. “Care to join?”
He grinned. “You know what? It's been a while since I've had a little bit of day drinking, so let's do this.”
Wilder sucked down the glass of whiskey in three large gulps.
Oh, this is going to be fun.
Chapter 29
Hailey
My entire pack was drunk.
I didn’t know what I expected when I heard giggling coming from the living room after my nap, but I hadn't expected to find them all sitting around a board game, laughing like a hoard of frat boys.
“What are you doing?” I asked, padding over to them and craning my neck to look around their shoulders while the smell of alcohol was strong.
“Hey, beautiful! We’re playing Chutes and Ladders!” Wilder exclaimed, the liquid in his glass sloshing as he spoke. “We did try playing chess, but we started to forget the rules. Way too many rules in that one.”
I had a sneaking suspicion that their forgetting of the rules had something to do with the almost empty bottle of whiskey on the floor next to them. Thanks to the baby, I had been exhausted, so I’d decided to take an afternoon nap.
I'd assumed they wouldn't be able to get into that much mischief in an hour, but apparently, I was very mistaken.
“Yes, well, chess is a very hard game,” I said with a nod, trying to bite back my smile.
“Too many rules. We don’t like rules.” Wilder grinned.
“I like rules,” Nolan rebutted, looking affronted by the suggestion.
Wilder laughed. “Of courseyouwould, Mr. Lawyer!”
“Like nurses don’t have a million rules?” Merrick asked, grabbing the bottle of whiskey and topping off his own drink.
No one even mentioned the strict rules that governed Merrick's job. Firefighters had such rigorous regulations to follow for the safety of themselves and others. But I wasn’t about to start something.
“I’m kicking Nolan’s butt,” Merrick said, turning to beam at me. He was genuinely happy. The realization hit me with surprising force.
“And I’m kicking Wilder’s.” Nolan laughed.
