“You want to get out here so you don’t have to walk so far back to the trailer park?” Riley asked Lazarus.
“Nope. I don’t mind the walk. Maybe by then both Roman and Lucas will be inside. They’re both so moody lately it’s like living in a freaking mine field,” Lazarus answered.
Riley huffed a laugh. “And here I thought you were the moody one.”
“Oh, hell no. Not even close,” Lazarus said, lifting his baseball cap off his head and readjusting it before pulling it down snugly over his eyes.
“Be glad when Base and his family get back. Even if Roman’s mate hasn’t come around yet, Base and Kaiser seem to cheer him up a bit,” Riley said.
“Yeah. I think he’ll be a bit easier to live with when they get home. When are they coming back?” Lazarus asked.
“They been traveling a bit since baseball season wrapped up. They’re in Disney World right now. Should be back the week of Christmas,” Riley said.
“I guess we can hold on that long,” Lazarus grumbled.
“Got to, it’s what you do when your people are hurting,” Riley said.
“Got a good mind to go snatch that woman up and bring her back here myself,” Lazarus said.
“Let’s wait and see if she comes around on her own,” Riley said, chuckling and watching Lazarus from the corner of his eye. He knew Lazarus wouldn’t actually snatch a woman up against her will, but it was hard for him watching one of his closest friends hurt over not having access to his mate. “Besides, if you snatch up Talie, you’re going to have to snatch up Libby, too. We can’t be having that. She’s one of us,” Riley added.
“Yeah, but you know what? I told him time and time again. Do not get attached to that woman. She is not yours. So, what does he do? He gets attached. That one’s on him.”
“I don’t think Lucas realized how attached he was getting until it was done,” Riley answered.
“Maybe. So, what are we going to do for the next few weeks?” Lazarus asked.
“Relax. Enjoy family. Let our animals run. Christmas shop. Get ready for the holidays. You know we do it big,” Riley said, pulling the truck into his regular parking place.
“Yeah. I do. Just not used to it. I can go shopping, though. See what I can find,” Lazarus said, getting out of the truck and closing the door. “You need help with anything today?”
“Naw, I’m good. Gonna go inside and see what Maia’s got going on,” Riley answered.
“Alright, then,” Lazarus answered. He looked back over his shoulder and smiled. “They both inside. I’m heading home, gonna have some lunch and catch a few Z’s.”
“You should call Alex. She may have something she needs help with,” Riley teased.
“Hey! Now that ain't funny,” Lazarus said, pointing at Riley as he walked backwards.
“If you can consider snatching your Pride brothers’ mates and bringing them home to make your Pride brothers happy, I can certainly suggest you bring yours while you’re at it.”
“Yeah, uh-huh, I see what you doing,” Lazarus said grinning. “Me and Alex are just fine,” he said firmly.
“Yeah, I bet you are. When you go shopping, consider a gift for her, too. I know Maia’s inviting her here for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.”
“Really?” Lazarus asked.
“Really,” Riley answered.
~~~
Roman let himself in his home and closed the door, leaving the room in shadows since he didn’t turn on any lights. He looked around the living room and his eyes fell on the doll house he’d bought for Darcie, and the pretty linen and lace tree skirt he’d bought to place beneath their tree. He’d not gotten the tree yet, he was hoping that Talie and Darcie would be there in time to go with him to pick it out. But lately Talie had stopped calling him, and stopped answering his calls.
He couldn’t help it, he knew something wasn’t right. No matter how many times Riley, and Maia, and even Richie and Constance told him to be patient, he couldn’t help but feel there was more to it and that she needed him. He’d asked her the last time she’d answered if there was a problem, something he could help her with, and she’d insisted that everything was okay, she was just a little stressed. Then she lowered her voice and whispered that she’d have to call him back. But she never did. And she didn’t answer her calls anymore. The calls went to voice mail now, which to him seemed like she didn’t even turn on the phone anymore. He knew some males were rejected by their mates, and he was beginning to think he was one of them.
Roman looked over at his sofa and considered collapsing onto it, but he knew if he did, he likely wouldn’t move until tomorrow. “Need some food,” he muttered, as he started walking toward his bathroom, shucking his clothes and leaving them wherever they fell. Fifteen minutes later he was drying himself off, and pulling clean jeans and a sweatshirt from his closet to put on. He pulled on socks and slipped his feet back into his boots before grabbing his wallet and his keys and walking out his front door, the diner on his radar.
~~~
Richie looked up when the door opened. He smiled when he saw Roman walk in and meander over to his favorite table.
“Hey, man! Ya’ll finished up?” Richie called out.
“Yeah. ‘Til after Christmas unless some emergency comes up,” Roman answered.
“What cha want to eat?” Richie asked.
“T-Bone?” Roman said.
“Yep. We got ‘em. Coming right up,” Richie answered, turning the sausage he was grilling for the sausage and pepper poboy he was making for another customer.
“I’ll get the steak,” Constance said to Richie as she came back behind the counter. “Won’t be long,” she called out to Roman.
“Thank you, Ms. Constance,” he answered, fiddling with the napkins in the napkin holder.
Constance brought the steak and some steak fries to Richie from the cold storage pantry and then grabbed up some silverware and filled a cup with ice and sweet tea. On the way back into the dining room, she picked up a bottle of steak sauce and then delivered all the items to Roman’s table. “Here you go, sweetie. Can I get you anything else while you wait?”
“No, ma’am. Thank you, though,” Roman answered. “Hey, where’s Libby? Shouldn’t she be working?” he asked, finally getting out of his own head enough to look around and realize she was missing.
“She took a few days off to help Travis get the Christmas Tree Village off the ground in time for this weekend,” Constance explained.
“Really?!” Roman asked, surprised.
“Yeah, she did. She said there was no way he could get everything done on his own and she was going to help as much as she could. Seems they might be working things out,” Constance said. “At least I hope they are. They are both too stubborn to see how badly they need each other.”
“Yeah, they are. Hope they get it together,” Roman said.
Richie left the kitchen to bring him his steak and Roman sat quietly eating his lunch, thinking about Libby going to Travis’s aid when he needed her. But still, it would only be the two of them, and maybe Scotty after school, if Scotty didn’t have to work. He finished his lunch and got up, leaving enough money on the table for the meal and a handsome tip.