My biggest question now was why?
Chapter Nine
Nash
I couldn't stop thinking about Phin. I'd been pulled away on a call. A kid had gone missing out by the docks. We found him before having to call the Coast Guard and returned him to his parents, but by the time I'd made it back to the station, it was dark.
And I didn't know what I would say to Phin anyway. In an ironic twist, he'd approached me to learn how to flirt, yet I had no clue how to let him know that I wanted something more.
I'd gotten up that morning without a clue as to what to do. Went on my run without a clue. Showered without a clue. And now I was in the kitchen, with no idea what to do.
I heard the baby gurgle and jumped from the table at the chance to distract myself from my dilemma. I wasn't accustomed to not knowing what to do, especially in matters of love. Besides, Riley had been up since around two in the morning with the baby. Branson had taken the early shift, but he needed to be able to operate heavy machinery today, so Riley had taken over to give his mate time to sleep. And Bran Jr. had decided he'd gotten enough sleep for his lifetime.
I found Riley asleep on the couch and Bran Jr. on his mat, babbling at the sheep-and-cloud mobile spinning over his head. Riley's mouth opened as he snored deeply. He was kind of cute. Not adorable in the way Phineas was, but cute like a pug with its wrinkly face and booger bubbles.
I bent down and scooped Bran Jr. up. His little mouth turned up in a baby smile as his dark eyes watched me with a knowing gleam. Were all babies so wise when they were born? Looking into that chocolate brown gaze, I felt like I could find the answers to the universe if I just stared hard enough.
A new warmth and rumbling vibration against my palm beneath his diaper told me that the answer to my immediate universe was to find a fresh diaper. We'd transformed part of the living room into a second nursery so Riley wouldn't feel stuck in the bedroom at all hours. With five adults and a baby, we were looking at constructing an addition to the house sooner rather than later.
Funny how the idea of moving out never occurred to any of us. It had been the four of us for so long. Then Branson brought in Riley, and it felt like that had been how we'd lived all those years. He fit in seamlessly. Sometimes, it would have been nice to have more privacy. But how could I be around to help with the little things if I had my own place?
Nana was right about that. This was my pack, and we would stick together until we couldn't.
I set Bran Jr. on the changing table and prepped my materials, checking the clock before I began. My moves were fast and efficient, and from unbuttoning the first button to snapping it back closed, fifty-four seconds had passed.
Ha!
That was a new record. Faster than Aver's time of fifty-six seconds.
No one would believe me, but I would know.
I brought baby Bran with me, setting him in his chair while I washed my hands. I hefted his bouncer to the center of the kitchen table so we could talk face to face, like gentlemen.
"He likes me, Bran. I know he does."
Bran gurgled and drooled. As the first baby that I'd ever met born from a man, he was unique. Nana claimed blessed pregnancies had occurred in the past, but there wasn't a lot of documentation, and what she did have was all handwritten and anecdotal. No one had ever heard of it. We knew Bran Jr. was capable of shifting, but after his first shift at birth, he'd remained in his human newborn form. That was lucky. We'd have a much bigger problem hiding what he was if he kept transforming into a puppy. The story we gave people was that he was a son of a tragically deceased relative. I knew it bothered Branson not to be able to publicly claim his offspring, but that didn't change him being an amazing father. Better than any I had, anyway.
Maybe Branson remembered more of Patrick—his father and the former Alpha Walker. From what I remembered and had been told, he'd been the best of the elders. The only alpha out of three sons. He'd had a clear path to the top of the pack.
I sometimes wondered what our lives would've been like if he hadn't died. None of us cousins would have been in the running for becoming the next Alpha. I'd probably still be an asshole.
More of an asshole.
"But I think he was trying to break up with me. I don't know. I've never been broken up with."
Bran farted loudly and then grinned.
"You're right. You've never been broken up with either. We're both perfect male specimens."
The rev of the engine pulling up outside sounded like Wyatt's. He hadn't come home the night before, something that wasn't all that unusual for him. He had a small apartment in his bar that he sometimes crashed in or where he took dates. Judging from the overwhelming scent of cologne, I would've guessed he was coming back from a hookup.
"There you are. I noticed Riley alone in there," Wyatt said. He'd showered, but the cologne lingered on his clothes, which were the same ones he'd left the house in the day before. "What are you doing with Bran?"
"Just explaining who his favorite uncle is."
"Ha!" Wyatt barked. He lifted Bran Jr.'s hand, pretending they were doing a complicated secret handshake while the baby's hand just flopped around. "We're already close. He already knows."
"Hot night?" How long had it been since I'd dated? Days? It felt like years since a hand had touched Mr. Nash, my downstairs neighbor, that wasn't my own.
"Enjoyable. What about you?" Wyatt's eyebrow arched. He wasn't just asking to make small talk—he was curious.
I growled and shook my head.
"Phinster won't give up the goods?"
"Don't talk about him like that," I snapped, my claws growing without my telling them to.
"Whoa there, cowboy. I think Phin is a great guy. He seemed nice. He's got killer hands. You know, we haven't talked about the party, but I think there was something more wrong with my leg, and then Phin came over and just, like, snapped it into place. No more pain." Wyatt's eyes narrowed, and I worried he was going to guess Phin's secret. I told Wyatt everything, but this wasn't my secret to tell. "Is he… a massage therapist? You've been sitting on a man with magic hands for this long without bringing him around?" Wyatt rolled his shoulders like he was working out an ache.
I shared a conspiratorial look with Bran Jr.. "Something like that."
"You can tell me all the juicy details while I make something to put in my stomach. You hungry?"
I shrugged. "I could eat."
Wyatt's head disappeared in the fridge as he rummaged for supplies. He pulled out bacon and a carton of eggs, arranging his materials on the counter. "It was a wild night last night," Wyatt said, slapping bacon on a sheet pan before throwing it in the oven. "You should have been there. You know the Lanser's oldest son graduated law school. He came back last night to celebrate."
"And you helped the celebration continue into the wee hours?"
Wyatt cocked up his right shoulder before letting it drop. "I do what I can. Besides, we might need a lawyer some day. It's good to have one I already have experience with."
Under those rules, we were set with any legal, mechanical, medical, business, and hospitality issues. Between the two of us, Wyatt and I'd had many experiences. Was it strange that I hadn't thought of a single conquest since rescuing Phin?