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Roark looked at Logan, who cocked his head, the look on his face a cross between amusement and outrage.
“Did he really just try to dismiss us?” Logan asked.
“Pretty sure that’s exactly what he did,” Roark replied.
“What do you think we should do about it?”
“I say we ignore him. Clearly he isn’t in his right mind right now, which is understandable, so we’ll just pretend he didn’t say that,” Logan said.
Nana laughed and leaned back in her chair. “You found yourself a fine pair of mates. Best not piss ‘em off. They’ve already got the hang of double teaming you.”
“Won’t let me wave a white flag, either,” Rusty said. “Last time I tried, one of them stole it from me and buried it somewhere.”
Mama G arrived next, and she wasn’t alone. Three other elders arrived with her, carrying picnic baskets. When Nana spotted them, she stood and refused to be waved off when she attempted to join them. Mama G hugged her and passed her a basket, then they headed down to the other end of the hall to tend to the young family with the injured pup. Bless her. Nana wasn’t one to sit. On the rare times when Roark had seen her sitting in one of the chairs on the porch, it had always been with something in her hands. She made duck calls and fishing lures too. He made a mental note to tell Tate about them the next time he ran into the owl. Roark got all his lures from her too.
Emari emerged, eyes red-rimmed, and squeezed Rusty’s shoulder to get his attention. “Thank you. I think I’m going to stick around until he wakes up.”
“You want us in there with you?” Logan asked when Rusty stood.
“Naa, I’ve got this. I’m just glad you’re gonna be here when I come out.”
“Says the wolf who tried to send us away less than twenty minutes ago,” Roark said.
“Yeah, I’m glad you ignored me,” he said before disappearing into the room.
“He’ll learn eventually,” Cage said. “Every time one of you finds a mate, I get a preview of what life will be like if I ever find mine.”
“Think you can get the hang of nodding and rollin’ with shit?” Roark asked. “Because you’re more stubborn than he is.”
“Fair point,” he admitted, inclining his head. “But if Brooks can change, there’s hope for all of us.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
(Logan)
It felt good to get back to normal after a week of popping in and out of the clinic. After the third day, they’d finally persuaded Rusty to go home with them to sleep in their bed for a night and see the pups. The following morning he’d been gone when they’d woken up, back at Flame’s beside until the wolf had finally opened his eyes.
Thank fuck for that.
Flame would be in the clinic for at least another ten days, with Doc threatening to hog tie him to the bed if he tried to get out of it. When Flame joked about liking ropes, Emari had leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
Whatever he’d said resulted in Flame being a model patient. Whatever Doc told him to do he did without question, including physical therapy, which Rusty claimed that Flame wasn’t particularly thrilled about because of the pain and discomfort involved. Unfortunately, it was also completely necessary given the nature of his injuries. If he didn’t want his left side to be weaker than the right, he’d have to start rebuilding the damaged ligaments and tendons now, before they started to atrophy.
Tonight, Lysander and Logan were seated beside one of the windows in The Observatory, the only fine dining establishment in Comet Lake. Operated by a pair of red-tailed hawks who’d taken up residency here after being rescued, The Observatory offered the perfect view of the valley and Comet Lake in all its glory.
“Finally,” Lysander said, rubbing his hands together. “This meal is at least four years overdue.”
“Never pictured anything quite this fancy when you said we were gonna have a proper meal together when we finally got off the road. No scarfing something while we stood around chatting or woofing something down cold because it was too dangerous to light a fire.”
“There were way too many nights like that,” Lysander said. “I’m glad it’s over.”
“Hi, I’m Zoe. I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Have you had the chance to look at the menu yet or would you like me to give you some more time?”
“I’m ready to order,” Lysander replied.
“Same.”
“I’m celebrating tonight, so if you don’t mind, Zoe, I’m going to have dessert first. Your panna cotta looks amazing, Could I have that, please?”
