Page 12 of Talk About… History

Three songs in and Sidney was dragging me back to the bar. This time it was Cameron who walked up, running a hand through his black hair and eyeing us both.

“You’re both drawing a crowd,” he said, making his annoyance known. At least I never had to worry about anyone stepping out of line with three alpha protective brothers watching me.

“We need another round,” I said, ignoring him.

He grabbed us two shots of whiskey along with two bottles of water, sliding the water toward us first and holding our liquor hostage.

Sidney and I didn’t even question as we uncapped the bottles and chugged at least half. We set them on the bar and were rewarded with a fresh shot.

I grinned at Cam before taking the shot, emptying it and downing the rest of my water.

“One more!” Sidney insisted. He obliged us this time, happy we at least hydrated, too.

“Last one,” he muttered as he gave us our fresh shots. We didn’t argue and shot them back. If all else failed I still had one brother to go, though Maverick was by far the most protective and the hardest to crack.

“Are you ladies ready to go back out and dance?” The southern drawl was slightly slurred and we both turned to the group of alphas behind us. They had grins on their faces but it was a solid no from me.

“Sorry boys, it’s girls only night for us,” I said, giving a grin.

One stepped forward and tried to put a hand on me. The situation went from annoying to chaos in a single breath.

Glass shattered and a body flew over the bar. Maverick was in front of us before either of us could do anything. At a slightly slower pace, Cameron and Nash joined them, Nash holding my brothers back.

“This is a business, boys,” Nash said, his voice a firm warning. “Now I suggest you keep your hand off of these two and back away before you’re kicked out on your ass.”

“We’re paying customers, you can’t kick us out,” one snarled, clearly the angry drunk out of the group. Fists were already curled but the bouncer was closing in. He stood back, waiting for the signal.

“I can and I will,” Maverick said evenly. “Especially if you touch my family.”

That was enough for several of the alphas to put their hands up and step back. My brothers stood shoulder to shoulder and that was enough to convince the stragglers.

They walked out with more than a few curses but the mood was officially ruined. I wasn’t the only one who thought that. Sidney was frowning and Maverick was steering us toward the back.

“Let me give you a ride home. We’ll drive the truck back later.”

Avery

The pounding in my head as I woke up was a stark reminder that I was no longer in college and hadn’t drank much since then.

I groaned and shoved out of bed, trudging to the bathroom for a shower like a zombie, feet shuffling and groaning.

Mama always kept the medicine cabinet stocked, so I pulled out a few pain pills and drank them down with water straight from the faucet.

The old farmhouse was slow to heat up the water but once steam started rising in the room I hurried into the shower, hoping to wash away the hangover and stench of the bar from my skin.

Twenty minutes later, I was clean, dressed, but no more ready for my day. The house was quiet as I trudged down the stairs but there was a huge pan of cinnamon rolls waiting and coffee warm in the pot.

I hummed happily as I took a bite of buttery, flaky, cinnamon roll. No one made them like my mom.

After making a coffee and grabbing a plate for my cinnamon roll, I took it out to the porch.

The morning air was cool out here and I could see my mama moving about in the garden. I sat in my favorite chair, slowly chiseling away at the hangover one bite or swallow of coffee at a time.

Finally, Mama spotted me and trudged over, garden shears in hand and a streak of dirt across her freckled cheek.

“Fun night?” The smile on her lips told me she heard about the commotion.

“Just some random alphas who tried to overstep. You know my brothers did not let that slide,” I said with a chuckle. “That ended quickly and no damage, so we’ll call that a win.”

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