Page 91 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

She was so thrilled to have a day away in the city, and I didn’t want to dampen that with my issues, but I was having a hard time.

“I don’t know, whatever you want to do,” I said, the words coming out harsher than I’d meant.

“Excuse me?” Avery crossed her arms. “Why are you in such a shit mood right now?”

“I’m sorry,” I said, slumping down on the bed. “I didn’t mean that. It was a rough morning at the bank getting the money. That’s all.” A white lie, but better than the truth.

“Really?” She looked dubious.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “This isn’t on you. I’ll get in a better mood. I promise. Okay?”

“You better,” she said, and that gorgeous smile of hers returned.

I hoped I could keep my promise.

21

AVERY

Cole’s demeanor changed a bit after I called him out for it. I understood that he was under enormous stress, but I hoped it wouldn’t put a damper on the rest of our time away together. I wanted to have a good time, and the only way that could happen was if he was in a good mood, too.

After ordering room service for an early lunch, I brought up the idea of shopping.

“I’d like to get Ashton a few more things. The kid is rough on clothes, and what we got the other day won’t last.”

“Sure,” Cole said. “We could head back to the mall.”

“Great, let’s do it,” I said, and hopped up.

“Hey?”

“Yeah?” I turned to Cole.

“You know you can get yourself something, too, right? I know you love Ashton, but it’s okay to treat yourself every now and then.”

I smiled. “You know what? You’re right. If I see something Ihaveto have, I’ll get it.”

The mall wasn’t very busy because it was still fairly early in the day, which made it easier to browse the shops. Cole spent most of the time strolling the concourses while I bounced around to different stores. I didn’t think it was intentional, but every time I came out of a store with a new bag, he got a weird, apprehensive look on his face. It took me a while before I figured it out. He was worried about money.

He was rapidly depleting the money he’d spent years working for, the nest egg that would have kept him comfortably for the rest of his life. Now, due to his responsibilities, that was vanishing, with no real guarantee that he could get it back. Even after all these years, I knew Cole always wanted to provide. He was doing that for the pack, sure, but with Ashton and me back in the picture, he had more people to provide for. I didn’t need it—I’d gone most of my life without it—but saying that would only kick Cole while he was down.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said.

Cole, who’d been checking out a display of jeans, gave me a questioning glance. “Really? You’re done?”

“Yeah. This is plenty. Let’s go.”

With a nod and a very vague look of relief, Cole agreed. We stowed the shopping bags in the backseat of the truck and spent the next couple hours strolling through one of the public parks near downtown. It was a gorgeous day, and this seemed a much better use of our time rather than going to see a movie or something else where we’d be cooped up inside.

As we walked along a stream, I asked, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Cole said, tossing a rock into the stream.

From his tone, I could tell he was anything but fine, but I left it alone. Being with someone who was struggling was a little stressful. I didn’t know how to bring him out of his funk, and that was disappointing, especially with how great the day before had been. It was like withdrawing that money had flipped a switch in him. Knowing he’d have to turn over that hard-earned money to Kyle had devastated him in some way. How the hell was I going to snap him out of it?

By the time we were done at the park, the sun was dipping toward the horizon.

“Are you hungry?” I asked.

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