Page 128 of Claiming Their Omega

“They’re going to be gone,” Jesse says. “One way or another.”

Grace lets out a little sigh of relief, and I can’t help it—I pull her in and kiss her.

An alarm goes off and Grace pulls away, pulling her phone out. “I think we need to get going, or we’ll be late. My mom will scold all of us.”

I’ve heard a lot of Mrs. Whitmore’s playful scoldings over the years. She’s never actually upset, but she will let us know if we’re late for dinner or forgot to wash our hands or something.

“Oh no,” Hendrix teases, voicing my thoughts. “We’d better get moving, then.”

We pile into the car, leaving the remnants of the McAllister’s ranch behind us once and for all. I’m excited to never see it again. I don’t know what’ll happen to the land if the McAllisters all go to prison, or even if only Leon goes, or if they’re able to weasel out of it—but we all know they can’t hang around this town anymore.

Good riddance to all of it, I say.

We get to the Whitmore house, where we don’t even make it inside before the front door is opening and Mrs. Whitmore hurries out. It’s clear she was waiting for us to arrive, and I can see a beaming smile on her face and tears standing in her eyes as Grace gets out and her mother sweeps her into a hug.

“Oh my baby girl!” Mrs. Whitmore hugs her tightly. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

News travels fast in this small town. Dr. Hazlett assured us that Grace wasn’t in any danger, but news about our leaving the auction suddenly to take care of our mate, and the fact the doctor was called out to our ranch, meant people would know something had happened.

While Grace slept, we obviously had to call her family and let them know what was up. We didn’t want them hearing third-hand gossip from someone else and fearing the worst. Grace called her parents on the way to the station and let them know she was awake and all right, and that we were going to speak with the Sheriff.

The Whitmores insisted on making us dinner and having us come over. And as much as I love Grace’s cooking and the meals my pack mates prepare, Mr. Whitmore really is a first-class chef.

Grace and her mom hug for a long moment, and I can tell her mom is holding her tight in a way she doesn’t usually. It makes my chest feel soft and open.

I’ve wondered about my ability to be a good partner, and a good father, given what happened in my childhood. My father loved me but you can’t say he exactly gave a healthy example of how to be a partner or a parent.

But Grace has amazing parents who showed her the kind of love toward each other, and toward a child, that parents should have. And it makes me wonder for the first time if I could actually be a father someday. With Grace as the mother, I’m sure that I could actually do a good job.

Mrs. Whitmore finally lets Grace go and moves to each of us, hugging us fiercely. “Thank you so much,” she whispers when she hugs me, and I’m sure that I’m not the only one she said that to. “Thank you for taking such good care of my baby.”

“Of course,” I tell her. I don’t have the words for the rest.

To me, taking care of Grace is instinct. Of course I’m going to look after her. But I understand that it’s not something Mrs. Whitmore wants to take for granted and she still wants to thank us, so I just hug her back.

“Hey now,” Mr. Whitmore calls from the doorway. “Who’s hungry?”

I grin. This is going to be a lovely evening.

Chapter 47

Grace

The Alphas don’t waste any time getting started on building a new barn.

The horses and other animals need a home, and you never know with Colorado weather when you’ll need shelter. They’re taking the chance to change some things, though, instead of just making an exact copy of the previous barn.

With the McAllisters out of the way, there’s more room for the rest of us to be successful, and the men are expecting a really great year. A few of the businessmen they work with offered them deals even though they missed the auction, having heard about the McAllisters and what they did to sabotage them.

I’m excited to help with the building of the barn. I’m not an expert on building, obviously, but I’m always happy to help and do whatever I can. There are a lot of things that need to be done that require another pair of hands.

As we predicted, the news about the McAllisters spread like wildfire. Nobody wants anything to do with them, and everyone is eager to help us in any way they can. I’m not surprised that my Alphas have built up such goodwill in the community. They’ve been around here their whole lives, helping people out in ways big and small. My family, obviously, but not just them.

It warms my heart that they get to see all that goodwill returned to them as people turn out to help them with the barn raising. My dad cooks a ton of food and we make a whole party of it, everybody pitching in.

What surprises me is how much people seem to like me as well.

The Alphas tease me and I know that they’re right, I was always far more liked in this town than I realized.

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