Page 15 of Talk About… History

Yet, somehow, I had a feeling that Cohen wasn’t going to care about any of that. In fact, he might be far more comfortable through messages than in person.

Maybe that was exactly what I needed.

Before I could do anything, the family group chat lit up.

Maverick: See you at the bar in ten minutes.

Nash: What our grumpy brother meant to say was, we’re heading in, can you meet us at the bar now?

Avery: On my way. Anyone want coffee?

Cameron: Is that a trick question?

Biting back a laugh I went up and put in their orders. Even now I knew damn well what each of them would order, from Maverick’s black coffee, to Nash’s fancy latte, and Cameron’s hot chocolate.

When I climbed back into my car, I breathed in, the lingering scent of my mate still clinging to my clothes and the car where the bags had rested.

Now, how do I explain this to my brothers?

Avery

My head was still a mess when I walked into Whitaker’s Brews. I half expected my brothers to see the guilt on my face or figure out what I was hiding.

The sharp corners of the business card were digging into my hand where I clutched it inside my pocket so they couldn’t see. I wasn’t sure why I was being so cagey about it; mates weren’t exactly a secret.

No matter what my underlying worries were, I wasn’t quite ready to tell them about the mate I’d just found. I’d barely processed it myself and he seemed just as skittish as I was about it.

Plus, it might be kind of weird for the youngest sister to be the first one to find her pack.

Well, maybe not first. Cameron found his mate first and then threw it all away. He was scared, even if he never wanted to admit it. I suppose he thought if he pushed his mate, Oriana, away, and broke up with her, that he wouldn’t ever have to be hurt.

Instead, he hurt her by ripping away all the plans they’d built for the future. She’d been nothing but supportive and he didn't care. I knew one day he’d wake up to regret it, I just hoped it wasn’t too late.

Oriana was amazing and like a sister to me. Little did he know that I still kept in contact with her from time to time because she didn’t deserve the way he treated her, and I refuse to just abandon her.

I still held out hope that he’d come to his senses at some point.

Growing up, everyone expected my brothers to pack up. It wasn’t unheard of for brothers that close to be pack, but mine broke the mold. Cameron found Oriana, and she wasn’t the others’ mate, but long before that we all knew they were far too different to end up with the same life.

Which was why my dads bought and divided the land into five, one for them, and one each for all of us kids. They knew we’d all need the separate spaces but wanted our family to always be close.

I paused as I approached the front doors, taking a breath and trying to make sure my face wasn’t full of guilt. Mama always said I wore my emotions like a neon sign.

The guys were already settled at the bar waiting for me. Maverick had his laptop open, checking financials since he handled the administrative side of things. A stack of papers were next to him and a pen was tucked behind his ear.

Thick glasses rested on his nose, a new addition I hadn’t seen before. I swallowed down the sadness rising. I’d missed so much because of my exes and it was yet another reminder.

You’re fixing it now, I reminded myself as I leaned against the wall, taking them all in. It was crazy how much I missed them and didn’t even realize it.

Nash was behind the bar with a clipboard, checking off inventory and looking through the stock of bottles. Every few minutes he’d mark down a note and move on to the next. He was always the wild one growing up, so it was funny to see him so meticulous.

Cameron had the front of the jukebox open with a toolbox next to him, tinkering with something inside. He let out a soft curse every so often but clearly he was accomplishing something since he wasn’t getting truly worked up.

Even if they didn’t want to admit it, my brothers had done a damn good job of keeping this place together and in working order. It may need some updates, but it was taken care of.

“There’s our long lost sister,” Nash called out, giving me a wink to show he was just teasing, even though his voice held sarcasm. “Ready to rope us into something?”

“You know she was always the one to get us into trouble,” Cameron called out, turning around and narrowing his eyes playfully. “Don’t act like you didn’t throw us under the bus to Mama more than once growing up.”

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