Page 84 of Talk About… Trouble

For a man who couldn’t cook, he sure knew how to prepare these. That was the beauty of it, everything was premade and artfully arranged and cut.

He’d even put out decorations around it that brought it all together. It was definitely picture worthy. He took all the feedback seriously, writing it down so he could adjust things later.

I loved that everyone was supporting him, but being honest, too. They also promised to spread the word when he was ready.

“I bet Cameron is regretting those foam dart guns,” Charlie snorted as chaos struck again.

We looked over to see Cameron get pinged in the forehead by one, the suction cup at the end sticking there and making everyone laugh. Henry and Ben were losing it, practically rolling on the dirt laughing at him.

“Get them!” the girls yelled, running over to defend Cameron.

“Keep the darts away from the food,” Braxton warned, ushering them out to the empty pasture.

To prepare for all the crowds, we’d gotten the animals to their barns a bit early today. There were a few protests, especially from Mabel and Astrid.

Now that we had more skittish animals, a petting zoo was out. We’d have to put some work into finding alternatives for his grants. He loved this farm and these animals too much to give up on those.

I would donate some of my money to it, but I knew Shepherd would never allow it.

“So,” Avery said as she flopped into the chair next to me, a plate full of food resting on her pregnant belly, “what’s up with the lack of bites, omegas?”

“We came together kind of fast,” I explained. “I had a heat spike, and then we’ve just kind of settled into life.”

“We’re really just waiting for my heat to hit,” Devon reassured her. “But we’ve discussed it. In fact,” he said, lowering his voice, “Wren and I are looking for rings. We want to propose to the alphas and our beta. A little backwards, but we want a ceremony, not just an at-home bonding.”

“Oh my god, a wedding!” Avery gushed. “I have this amazing contact… well, really, Maverick does. I’ve just been helping him with the Artisan Fairs, but they make custom bands. Do you want me to put you in contact? Most of it would be over the phone, so you just have to figure out ring sizes, and if nothing else, he can do an average size, and you can send the ringsin later for adjustments. Or come by the artisan fair next time it’s in town. I only know this much because I just looked into something for the guys.”

“Actually, that would be perfect,” Devon said, pulling up his phone and searching the socials for the jeweler. “Oh my gosh, baby, look at this!”

He held it out for me to see the main page, where it showed a gallery of their work. They had everything from custom rings that looked like vines wrapping around fingers, to simple bands, to big rocks for the omega who likes a shiny ring.

We scrolled for a few minutes before I saw something that was perfect. “Look at this.”

I tapped the screen to make it bigger, showcasing a whole gallery of more angles of the ring set. The men’s rings were all variations of the same black stone. It wrapped around their finger with a rose gold or wood border and underside. They were classy and simple but gorgeous. The omega rings that paired with them were more delicate variations, one with black stones and a rose gold band that I loved.

“Oh, this is beautiful,” he said.

His eyes closed for a second, and I watched sweat form on his brow.

“Are you all right?” I questioned, but he shook it off, tapping Avery.

“If I give you my credit card, can you handle the rest if I give you all the information? I’m pretty sure my heat is hitting any day now.”

Her eyes were wide, but she nodded. “Of course! I bet I can even get a rush order on that.”

“That would be amazing,” he said, looking relieved. “Wren, help me pick which ones.”

I showed him the band I loved, while he picked out his favorite. Then, we decided for the others.

It felt right that Shepherd’s would be the wood-bordered one, and I thought Nash would appreciate the gold more. Braxton’s was a mix of the two, one band of rose gold at the bottom, the polished wood at the top, the black in the middle that matched ours.

They were, in every way, a matching set. Even Devon’s was a variation of Braxton’s, the mix of wood, rose gold, and black, just a more delicate version.

I loved that each one had a unique twist but that they fit together.

Avery took down every bit of information she needed and promised to call us if there was anything else.

I knew she’d get a hold of me at the very least. Even if my omega went into heat, I couldn’t since I was pregnant.

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