Page 177 of His Forsaken Alpha

Avery set the bag on the coffee table and rooted inside. He soon came back with an envelope.

“That’s it,” Wynter said. “That was our gift for you and Wilder. I’m not sure what it was. I’d had a vase shipped home from Eurasia for you, but Warden apparently broke it without telling me.”

“I think I should wait until Wilder gets home and we can open it together.” Avery tucked it under his leg before he glanced around the family room. “We could’ve used a vase. These sparse rooms are starting to get to me.”

“And here I thought you were going for a minimalist vibe,” Cav said with a grin. He liked it. Furniture plus an assortment of plants.

“Oh, I don’t plan on adding too much more,” Avery said. “But I also want it to feel like we live here. We’d just managed to get the house renovated before the ceremony. Then Emory… then the funeral… so decorating hasn’t been a priority. The study is more a catch-all right now, with a slew of unpacked boxes from the apartment. The only reason the plants are out is that we needed to water them, otherwise, they’d likely still be in boxes, too.”

“Well, now you have photos from the ceremony to add,” Wynter said. “And I’m sure there are already a ton of photos of this little one on your phones. You need to pick a couple of masterpieces from those and have a few printed.”

“I hear we might be hosting a Jaymes Family Reunion in the near future,” Avery added. “We’ll have to take family photos with the whole gang.”

“Wilder now has the big house,” Cav said, continuing to leaf through the earlier pages in the album they’d already seemed to have looked at. “That might be a better place to host that crew.”

“No,”both Avery and Wynter said in unison. Both men turned to look at one another and smiled.

“There’s more space,” Cav said.

“Agreed, there is,” Wynter said. “But there’s a million terrible memories in that house. Hopefully Wilder sells it. And soon.” He glanced at Avery. “What was the reason behind your vehement no?”

Avery shrugged. “Wilder and I stopped by one day while you two were away. He wanted to show me where he’d grown up. It felt like I was walking around in a museum… not a family home. It didn’t feel warm, at all. I couldn’t even find photos of him and his brothers from when they were younger.”

“Warden didn’t believe family photos should go on the walls,” Wynter replied. “There are plenty of them in my suite, though. I’ll have to dig up the old photo albums of the kids and let you take a look. Maybe pick out a few of Wilder to hold on to and show your children someday.”

“I’d like that… Where do you plan to live if he sells the house?” Avery asked, feigning disinterest.

Cav’s head bobbed up. He was quite interested in Wynter’s answer to that.

“I don’t know,” Wynter replied. “But don’t worry. I won’t abuse your generosity much longer. In fact, Cav wants to take me away for a few days to relax. After we return, I’ll move back to the house and get out of your hair. And I’ll take Harris with me, so you can have some peace and quiet.”

“I grew up with two younger brothers. Peace and quiet feel weird, to be honest. When they moved in with my uncle and left me behind in the cottage while I was at the university, it was eerie at times. I didn’t like it.” Avery smiled at Wynter. “Which is my weird way of saying you’re welcome to stay as long as you need to. I’m quite sure Wilder will agree.”

Wynter smiled softly. “I appreciate it, but I won’t abuse your offer, either.”

“I have no problem telling you if you have,” Avery said.

Cav chuckled to himself. He liked Avery more and more as the days passed. His son was bound to someone very much like Wynter.

“What’s so funny down there?” Wynter asked him.

“Just laughing at how much Avery reminds me of you when you were younger.”

“Oh, I’mnothinglike Avery,” Wynter scoffed.

Cav didn’t miss the way Avery’s face fell.

“No, Avery’sfarmore courageous than I ever was. He’s strong. Self-reliant. And he’s stands up for what he believes. I wishIwas more likehim,”Wynter said, smiling down at Emory. “And he’s going to teach this little one to be just like him, I hope.” Wynter lifted his gaze and smiled at Avery.

Avery’s eyes misted over, the corners of his mouth curling up into a humble grin. “I, uh…thank you.”

“I had hoped to find time during your reception to get you aside and apologize for the things I said to you when we first met—and tell you that I knew just how brave you’d been to do what you did. It took me a bit, and yes, I’d been worried my son was harboring a criminal when you first showed up on his doorstep—but I was very wrong about you. The kindness you’ve shown me since Warden’s passing is much more than I deserved.”

Avery leaned closer and hugged Wynter. Cav sat back, smiling at the pair. When they broke apart, Avery dabbed at his eyes. “Now, this better not be you greasing me up for more Emory time.”

“Is that on the table?” Wynter asked, a wide grin on his face. “Do I get more cuddle time if I ply you with compliments? Because I’ll keep a running list handy if that’s the case.”

Avery laughed, reaching over to wipe a bit of spit-up from Emory’s mouth. “Compliments are always welcome.” He lazily turned the page in the photo album, clearly unaware Cav had been turning pages here and there.

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