Page 32 of A Beta Protects

It feels like he’s asking me on a date right in front of his friends. My cheeks heat, and I don’t know where to look under their scrutiny as their conversation grinds to a halt.

“Uh, I don’t watch movies,” I admit.

A sweet wife doesn’t sit on her ass watching movies, being lazy, while her husband works hard to put food on the table. She keeps busy. Bryce didn’t watch movies. He liked football games or baseball, so along the way, I stopped watching them too.

Everyone stares at me.

And I realize I should have kept my mouth shut, or at least thought before I spoke. Now I’m going to have to explain that movies are for relaxing and relaxing is something I could never do with Bryce.

The one time I was feeling rebellious and put a movie on, I fell asleep, and woke up much later than I should have. Bryce was home, dinner hadn’t been started, and I was once again the useless fuck up of a wife.

“Kira?” The soft note in Dom’s voice returns me to the present.

“Sorry, I was thinking about something.”

He gives me a long look. “We stream out here. How about you pick something out to watch and we get all the snacks out for it.”

“But don’t you have…” My voice trails off as I’m once again reminded of something.

In all the time I’ve been here, no one has talked about going to work. No has gone to work either, unless they did it while I wasn’t paying attention.

“Don’t you work?” I ask.

A strange silence fills the room.

Should I not have asked? Am I being rude or small town nosey?

“We did before we settled here,” Galen says, as he places his empty glass in the dishwasher and walks over to stand behind Sierra’s chair, resting his hands on her shoulders. “But we’re pretty self-sufficient here.”

“So you, uh, won the lottery and no longer need to work?”

He flashes me a grin. “If only. We live frugally for the most part because we don’t need a lot. If anyone needs help with something in town, we can earn some money that way.”

Dom must read my confusion to say, “We also own land and some real estate. Not a lot. Some commercial properties that generate income.”

“And we invest in other opportunities to grow our wealth.” Galen takes over. “But the goal isn’t to be rich. It’s so we have enough that we can focus on the things that matter.”

“What things matter?” I ask.

Dom pushes himself to his feet. “Family. So, how about this movie?”

Everyone looks expectantly at me.

“Someone else can pick a movie,” I say. “It doesn’t have to be me.”

Chloe snags my hand and tugs, and we leave everyone behind. “Nope. Your pick. Nick can make snacks for us.”

As she pulls me into the den, a navy room with plump gray cushions, a corner sectional couch and armchairs, as well as a projector set up, I realize they’re always trying to include me.

I’m not sure how I feel about all this attention, but I think I like it.

Movie night was fun, even if I spent the end of the movie falling asleep.

I forgot to ask Dom where he was sleeping. Again. It’s only when I’m brushing my teeth in the bathroom opposite my room—or Dom’s room—that I realize I have an opportunity to do some night time laundry.

The house is quiet. Everyone was going up to bed, or talking about it. I saw a dryer in the utility room while I was hanging out with Nick and Chloe in the kitchen earlier. So I could do laundry and dry my clothes while everyone is sleeping and no one would even know that I don’t have any clothes to wear.

Just in case someone is still awake and asks me what I’m doing, I don’t undress. Instead, I creep down the stairs in my skirt, creased T-shirt with a fluffy bath robe belted over the top.

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