Page 70 of Knot Her Mountain Men

“I donothave enough brain cells for this conversation,” Cooper groaned.

“Exactly why everyone needs rest,” I reiterated. “We’ll get another meal going. Cooper, you and your pack are welcome to the bunk room to discuss amongst yourselves. Morgan can enjoy her temporary nest, and we can all reconvene over dinner. Sound okay?”

“Yes,” Dakota answered for the others. “Thank you.”

They got Cooper back into bed, leaving the door cracked so I could hear that they were talking but not make out any of the words. Bear bundled Morgan into the remains of her nest, cuddling up at her back.

In the meantime, we had work to do. The wood wasn’t going to chop itself, and dinner certainly wasn’t going to cook itself either.

Ryder and Maverick took up the task of firewood, leaving me to monitor everyone inside. Morgan had passed out almost instantly after burrowing under a few blankets, and Pumpkin had gone outside to run some energy off. Surprising, since she was usually up my ass when I was cooking, knowing she was likely to get treats, but she had been too cooped up lately and needed to stretch her legs.

I got to work on some fresh pasta dough, meticulously mixing the egg and flour and kneading until it was smooth and elastic. I’d always found cooking to be soothing. That was as true now as it had ever been. Something about providing for an essential need to my loved ones satisfied my deepest alpha instincts.

Sauce bubbled away near the fire, made from a couple of gigantic jars of tomato sauce given to me by one of my beta cousins who had married an Italian woman who grew her own produce. Nothing beat homegrown, especially when it was prepared with love. I added handfuls of dried herbs to the mix, giving it a stir so all the flavors could meld while the sauce cooked down. Next up was browning a few pounds of ground bison to add into the mix. One of the perks of my extended community was that we all got to benefit from incredible food even if we didn’t have the space or resources to produce it ourselves.

Morgan yawned loudly, peeking at me through the blankets. “Whatever you’re making smells amazing.”

“You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“How am I supposed to sleep through you cooking when it smells that good?”

“Fair point. The fresh pasta takes only a few minutes to cook, but I figured the sauce could simmer until everyone is ready.”

She crawled out of Bear’s embrace and right over to me, tipping her head up in offering. I indulged myself in a slow kiss, doubly pleased when it kicked off her purr. She sat down next to me and huffed a sigh. “I’m sorry about my brother and his pack.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for, little fox. Your family is welcome here.”

“They’re so much louder than you guys, though.”

I laughed. “True, but that’s okay once in a while. It’s obvious they love you, and that means I’m happy to have them here, no matter the volume.”

Her eyes turned shiny, her bottom lip wobbling. “They were the only ones who ever took care of me before your pack. My other brothers are… oh, fuck it, they suck. I know we’re not supposed to hate family, but I don’t know how else to describe how I feel about the rest of them. I was damn lucky Cooper fought back instead of punching down like all the others did.”

“I’m sorry most of your family hasn’t treated you the way you deserve.” My words were placid, but I was quickly adding to the list of people I was going to help Bear feed to wolverines. “Are they why you’re aggressively independent?”

Morgan gave a half laugh, wrapping her arms around her knees. “Unfortunately. It was never quite as dramatic as kill or be killed, but it felt pretty close sometimes.”

I pulled her onto my lap, breathing in her sweet maple. “You deserved better. Cooper did too. I know nothing is written in stone, but I want to make a promise to you.”

“Yeah?” she asked, voice watery.

“I promise you’ll never feel that way with us. We’ll take care of you whether you stay or not, regardless of if you choose us, because we’ve chosen you. Whatever you need, if it’s within our power, we’ll give it.”

Morgan sniffled, burying her face against my throat and draping an arm over my shoulder. “I don’t deserve that, Kit.”

“You do, but deserving is irrelevant. We take care of our own and you will always be that. I don’t want you to make any choices because you’re worried about us. It sounds like you’ve spent way too much of your life having to tiptoe around what others want from you. Choose what you want for yourself.”

She shuddered, clinging tighter. “I don’t know what that is anymore.”

“You have time to think,” I assured her. “We’re not going to demand an answer today.”

“I don’t know what to do with that.”

“You don’t have to do anything with it. There’s no pressure.”

Morgan shifted on my lap so she was straddling me and we were pressed chest to chest, her arms around my neck. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

“I can’t get naked with you when your brother is in the next room.”

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