Page 18 of The Alpha Option
They stared at each other across the mattress for a moment. Family, but also friends from way back. There had never been a time when Jace hadn’t trusted Blue. His cousin had always somehow been at the center of making things right, and even though they were both looking down the barrel of a pretty big gun, there was no reason to stop trusting now.
“One step at a time,” Jace said firmly. “I may not have mystical woo-woo powers, but this much feels right. I will answer any question Cassidy asks, but I’m not going to leap ahead and throw everything on the table. The priority is finding a way to get Timberwolf Lodge up and running.”
“Which means, now that we knowtheyknow about shifters, we can contact some of the old long-term summer residents.” Blue looked thoughtful. “Although, we both know fixing up this place and getting contracts back on the books are minor details to the real problem.”
Which would be the fact that by now Del would have heard Jace was back in town. “Still thinking of the best way to deal with that,” he confessed.
Blue followed him into the hallway and down the stairs. “I take it this means you’re not sticking with the status quo?”
Jace pulled to a stop in the kitchen, the sight out the window of Cassidy and Steph cleaning up around the firepit a sweet mixture of memories and hope for the future. “I can’t. If this had only been a short-term visit, I would’ve kept my head down or even groveled to keep the peace. But she changes everything.”
A hand landed gently on his shoulder. Blue nodded sagely, his wise and gentle expression completely incongruent with his outlandish clothing. “Matesshouldchange everything. And while I can’t absolutely promise everything will be hunky-dory, I will say I feel good about the coming changes.”
“Drat, I hoped you’d had a vision of Del walking up, shaking my hand, and everything falling into place.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice?” Blue muttered. “I hope neither of you ends up missing body parts.”
Jace was in full agreement, but it didn’t change the truth. “I’ll do what I have to. You know I don’t want to fight Del, but if that’s what it takes, I have no choice.”
His cousin turned to face him, amusement rising in Blue’s expression. “I hated when you left. I hated that you and Del nearly came to ripping out each other’s throats more, so leaving was the right thing to do.” Blue gestured toward where the women were now laughing. Stephanie wore a crown she’d made from pretty coloured weeds. “But now, thanks to our auntie, the players have changed. The ladies look right here. So, yeah, whatever it takes, I’m your man.”
Blue thrust out a hand, and Jace took it. That connection between them flared bright—family and friendship and something instinctual, deep on the level of wolves, that made the floor beneath his feet seem a little sturdier.
Jace still had no idea what the timeline would be or the best way to go about it. He had to follow his own instructions.
One step at a time.
Outside the window, Cassidy attempted to move an oversized birdbath. Jace hurried toward the door, ready and willing to do whatever his mate needed. Heavy lifting, answering questions.
Hopefully kissing. And more.
Inside, his wolf stretched and perked up his ears.
And yes, sometime soon, he needed to introduce Cassidy to his other half.
The restof the day flew past in a blur of activity.
Their focus was on setting up two of the rooms with attached bathrooms, one for Cassidy and one for Stephanie. They also began organizing and cleaning the living room and getting the kitchen in working shape.
Or, as Stephanie said, de-Marvinizing the space.
Somehow, in the middle of the work, Blue not only skipped out to the store but pulled together the fixings for a very small supper. Which was more than enough considering how much they’d consumed earlier in the day.
Some furniture in the house was at least temporarily usable. Some only needed elbow grease to be cleaned up. Between the two stuffed-to-the-brim bedrooms they discovered and the items in an outdoor storage shed, Cassidy could already picture what the lodge could look like in the end.
But the sheer amount of work needed to be anywhere near ready was exhausting to think about. Cassidy had a background in hotel and resort management but starting from the ground up was different. She needed to expand her plan and add a lot more details, especially after she got the rest of the information from the guys.
It was barely nine when Stephanie collapsed into a chair by the firepit, the back of her hand pressed dramatically to her forehead. “Stick a fork in me and call me done.”
Blue settled beside her, holding out a water bottle that glistened with cool condensation. “Hydrate. If you haven’t got your health, you haven’t got anything.”
Stephanie thrust her arm out in the air, fingers open, eyes closed, trusting Blue would move and meet her in the middle. “I’m almost too tired to appreciate thePrincess Bridequote. Almost. Go, you.”
“I aim to please.”
Cassidy sprawled back in her chair, staring up at the still blue sky. “All these hours of daylight are pretty cool, but I can see it being tempting to work way beyond what’s reasonable.”
“You did a good day’s work,” Jace said as he tended the fire, flames crackling over the wood.
