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Need us to pick anything up?

Already taken care of. You guys just bring your asses home.

Don’t have to tell me twice. See you when we get there.

I’ll be waiting.

“Roark said they’re forty minutes from the garage. Baz is asleep, which is why you haven’t heard from him.”

A fond smile crossed Charlie’s face, like he could picture Baz slumped against the window in the SUV, snoozing away, just like when he got comfortable in one of the easy chairs. Logan dug into the food, wanting time for a shower before Wren got home, which wouldn’t be too long now, unless Kale had stops he needed to make.

“While he’s been here, Emari introduced the pups to one of his pudding painting sessions,” Charlie said, moving around the table, collecting empty plates from the pups’ trays once they’d finished. “We’ve got them hanging in the pantry to dry.”

“I have the perfect frames at the gallery too,” Emari said. “That way you can hang them wherever you’d like.”

“How much of it did they eat, and how much did they get on the paper?” Logan asked.

Snickering, Emari wiped his mouth, then stood to help Charlie. “Mmm, I’d say about fifty-fifty. We used blueberry juice for blue, strawberry juice for red, and so on and so forth. Each did their handprint next to their pawprint too. That’s always a fun one to repeat as they get older, so they can see how much they’ve grown.”

“Gives us mementos to treasure too,” Logan said.

“Exactly.”

Coming home to the domestic life he’d always dreamed of, even their unconventional arrangement, was exactly what Logan needed. He was learning to leave work at the door. Someday, he hoped to leave thoughts of it all the way back at Central Command, but like everything in his new life, he knew it would take time. Emari and Charlie wiped little hands and faces while Logan finished eating, the pups’ happy babbles following him down the stairs as he went to get a shower.

The hot water felt amazing cascading over his head, steam clouding the stall, making everything hazy. That burst of energy he’d been hit with at the toy store faded by the time he sat down to eat. It was barely a memory now, leaving exhaustion in its wake. That five-hour nap had been so long ago it felt like yesterday. Had things gone differently, there was a good chance they wouldn’t have had downtime at all.

Was it always this hard to wash his hair?

Either it was getting longer or he was running on fumes. Logan’s arms felt like Jell-O by the time he reached the ends, lather covering his fingers before the water washed it away. Rubbing conditioner through it took twice as long. By the time he finished, Logan was happy to let the tile hold him up while he washed the rest of his body.

Falling across the bed was going to feel amazing, but not until his mates came through the door. He might have to pry his eyelids open with toothpicks or something, but there was no way he was going to sleep when they were so close. Logan craved the scent of them and the feel of their hands in his hair. Falling asleep to their heartbeats. Waking up to one of their tails in his face. Ms. Constance had always told them that home was when you were with the people who loved you. This house had been built on a foundation of love. One Logan was grateful to be a part of.

His mates would get here soon. Logan couldn’t wait to greet them with open arms the way they’d welcome him and Wren into their lives.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

(Rusty)

Nothing was better than getting to spend the day playing with his pups. When they’d returned to Comet Lake after their trip to The Slaughter Bowl, the first thing Cage had done was close the garage for three days and order everyone to stay the hell out of it. No catching up. No special projects. They weren’t even allowed in the building to do paperwork. That edict had gone double for Flame, who’d been told not to return to work until Doc gave him a clean bill of health.

Rusty and Roark had raced for their snowmobiles, Baz hot on their heels, the three of them rushing home, excited to get back to their family and enjoy the days off they’d been given. The first day and a half they’d been stuck indoors, as the storm finally unleashed it full fury, starting as rain, before a cold front had turned it all to snow again, dropping a heavy load of fresh powder all over the wet ground.

Now Rusty was busy keeping his snout low and away from the prickly evergreen needles of the bush he was hiding in so it wouldn’t make him sneeze. Baz was somewhere hiding too, as the pups worked on their tracking skills, led by Wren, while Roark watched over them as they explored.

YIP! Yip yip!

They were getting closer. Through the branches, Rusty spotted Acer excitedly investigating a nearby bush, one Rusty had attempted to wedge himself into when he’d been searching for a hiding spot. The pup sniffed it thoroughly, as did Bowie, Clover, and Anais, while Wren looked straight at the bush Rusty was in, tongue lolling out.

Wren knew he was there. Instead of sounding the alert and leading the tiny pups to the correct bush, Wren gave them the opportunity to try to work it out for themselves. Rusty had dashed around several other trees before trying the bush he was in, intent on throwing them off.

Acer raised his muzzle in the air, nose sniffing the breeze, before he whirled around and headed straight for Rusty’s bush.

YIP! Yip yip yip! Acer yelped, pawing at the branches.

Rusty poked his nose through cautiously, to not scare the pups, and was rewarded with more happy barks, in addition to nose rubs. He squirmed the rest of the way out so they could crawl all over him and celebrate their triumph.

How long ago did you spot me? Rusty asked Wren.