Page 40 of Firefighter Midlife Wolf

“Don’t forget that you need to help carry some of that stuff in!” Jessica called behind her as the rented moving van pulled up.

Hayden, Pierce, and Rick got out of the cab. “I think we managed to get it all packed in one load,” Pierce noted. “It’s a bit tight, but it’s in there.”

Hayden pointed a thumb at his brother. “Tetris world champion, over here.”

“Hey, it’s going to save rental time on the truck,” Pierce argued. “That means it’ll save money.”

“I think I would’ve rather paid a few extra dollars instead of listening to you twist and turn every piece of furniture to use up every square inch of that van,” Hayden replied.

“Don’t argue, boys,” Rick cautioned as he lifted the back gate of the truck. “Otherwise, you won’t get ice cream after dinner.”

Jessica stood back and watched as the three Westbrook men decided who would get what and how they would do it. She studied Hayden, who moved the heavy items so easily, laughing and occasionally looking at her with a spark in his eye. She knew exactly what that meant, but she had to wonder if they’d actually have the time and energy that night once they’d moved everything in. Who was she kidding? They’d find the time and energy.

“What are you grinning about?” Hayden asked, walking up to her with a box of books in his hands.

“Just you, your brother, and your dad,” she replied. “The reason you all go back and forth like you do is because you’re all alike.”

“Okay, I’ll take that as a compliment regarding my dad, but don’t you dare tell me I’m like my brother.”

“Uh huh.” Jessica glanced at Pierce. He was just a few years younger than Hayden. They weren’t twins, exactly, but there was absolutely no doubt they were brothers. “Sure.”

“You codgers should probably go sit in the shade with a cold glass of lemonade.” Jack let the screen door slam behind him as he jogged down the porch steps, no longer showing the least bit of evidence that his leg had been broken a couple of months ago. “I’m here now, and I’ll take care of all this.”

“I told you he’d be impossible to live with,” Hayden said with a grin before he turned to his son. “Where’s your sister?”

“Upstairs with Paige.” Jack hopped up onto the back of the truck. He pulled out one end of Paige’s bed frame, which had been disassembled and carefully stacked on top of everything else. “They’re already planning slumber parties.”

“Sounds like things are already going smoothly,” Rick said with a smile as he took that end of the bed frame and pulled, pausing to let Jack grab the other side.

Jessica nodded. “Now we just have to figure out where we’re going to put everything.”

“Oh, it won’t be a problem,” Hayden said with a shrug. “We’ll fit it all in.”

His optimism was nice, but it wasn’t exactly accurate. Moving into a house that was already occupied proved to be quite a challenge, and not even Pierce’s Tetris skills could save them by the end of the day. Jessica had left her bigger furniture and appliances in her apartment to be sold off, since she wouldn’t need a bed of her own, and they might as well use the fridge and oven already in place. Even so, boxes were stacked in the corners and shoved under the beds. Part of the garage was now a tower of Jessica and Paige’s things.

Jessica stood with her fists on her hips, looking at it. “I’m going to have to get rid of a few things.”

“No.”

She turned to Hayden. “What do you mean?”

His arm slid easily around her waist. “You already changed your life faster than you meant to. I don’t want you to feel like you had to sacrifice anything just to come and live with me. We’ll go through it, even if it’s just one box at a time, and we’ll figure out where to put it all. And if it turns out we really don’t have enough room, then we’ll both get rid of a few things.”

She turned to him and started feeling the energy she’d been thinking about earlier in the day. “You’re sweet, Hayden.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Thanks, but don’t tell any of the guys.”

“You’re also an ass.” She reached around behind him and grabbed a handful of his muscular backside. “But you have a nice one, so that makes up for it.”

He pulled her close and kissed her softly. Her shoulders ached and her feet were sore. She didn’t know where half of her stuff was, but all those worries went away when she could be close to her mate.

“What are we going to eat? Ew!” Jack was hanging out the door into the garage. “Never mind. I lost my appetite.”

Hayden laughed. “I’ll remember that the next time you’re talking to Natalie Blankenship.”

Jack’s face reddened, and he flipped his hair self-consciously as the girls came into the garage behind him, pushing him out of the doorway. “Whatever. I really am hungry, though.”

“We should have a bonfire!” Ellie exclaimed. “We’ve got hot dogs in the fridge, and we can roast them!”

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