Page 81 of Talk About… History

My poor mama was a hot mess, but this was the best for her. Now that she had a plan, she seemed a little less worn down—a little more the mom we all knew.

I gave her a quick hug goodbye before heading inside and grabbing my bag. When I stepped out to the driveway, my jaw dropped.

All three of my brothers along with Mason and Ford were standing next to a gorgeous teal Jeep.

“You needed something to get around town,” Maverick started.

I was still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that my brothers and some of my pack were in on something together.

They seemed to be getting along fine, and it was like another layer of my armor fell away—another small reassurance that this was right.

“What did you guys do?” I demanded, taking a few steps forward, my bag slipping from my hand and hitting the ground with a thud, sending a plume of dirt up from the driveway.

“Don’t worry. This was one of the safest ones we could find,” Mason said. His proud alpha smile adorable. I couldn’t help but grin back.

“You guys got this for me?”

“We did,” Nash said, “and it’s in your name. I made sure of it. We all spent a little bit of our inheritance on it, so the only thing you’ll have to cover is insurance.”

Tears welled behind my eyes, and I blinked them away furiously, not wanting to blur the view in front of me for even a second.

“Thank you,” I managed to choke out.

Cameron rolled his eyes, clearly over my dramatics, and dangled a set of keys between his fingers.

“Well, are you going to test drive it?”

“Shotgun!” Ford yelled out, running to the front seat and diving in before anybody else could react.

Mason didn’t bother to protest as he got into the seat behind mine, leaving the driver’s seat for me.

Maverick walked over, helping me into the seat and giving me a rundown of all the safety features. It had been a long time since I’d had a car this nice.

Honestly, it was nicer than my previous car, too, which I’d bought used.

“We had them install a new sound system, so you should have great quality. I know how you like those back roads in the fall.”

My chest ached with how sweet this all was. They truly thought of everything. My brothers and my mates had all gone out of their way to find me something perfect—to make me feel a little bit safer and more at home here.

“Independence,” Maverick said quietly. “You can have it and still be part of the pack.”

“I know,” I answered. He gave my wrist a squeeze before stepping back.

They all headed inside, leaving me, Mason, and Ford alone.

“Was it too much?” Mason asked, a bit of worry in his tone. Ford just rolled his eyes.

“Dude, did you see her? She loves it. Come on, omega, let’s get going.”

He didn’t wait for my answer, adjusting the radio until rock music filled the car. I adjusted the seat and the steering wheel so I could be comfortable before I turned to them.

“Have you guys experienced the back roads yet?” I questioned.

“I feel like I should be worried,” Mason joked as he shook his head.

“Oh, you should be,” I laughed as I rolled down all of the windows. It wasn’t quite fall, but the air was cool enough. My brand new car might get dirty but that was small-town living.

It didn’t take me long to find my favorite back road—a long, bumpy stretch that had enough hills to make your stomach drop and enough straightaways to get to a decent speed.

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