Page 78 of Broken Bonds

“Yeah, okay. Probably right. Does Link know what you’re doing?”

“And what are you doing that I need to know about, Rion?” Link asks as he walks in, freshly showered, throwing an unimpressed look over at Forde, which has his shoulders hunching and his face falling.

“I told Jillian I would build Ramsey’s nursery while she’s away this weekend,” I say, clearing my throat and rubbing the back of my neck.

He pauses at the open cabinet with his hand outstretched to grab a mug. I watch as he slowly grabs one and brings it down.

“Does she know you’re going to be in her house? Or that you’re doing this?” he asks as he pours his coffee.

He’s giving nothing away with his expressions or words, so I’m unsure whether he’s upset about this. I’ve noticed how protective of Ramsey he’s been since she finally started letting him in. Hell, even before that. Maybe after meeting her for the first time.

“Jillian is going to come up with an excuse for me being there. She wants to keep the nursery a surprise, like Ramsey’s alphas were planning on…” I say, my words trailing off.

“I’m, uh, just gonna go get ready for work…” Forde says, slowly easing off his seat while looking back and forth between Link and me before quickly escaping.

Pussy.

I sigh and look back at Link once he’s gone.

“Look, it’s not that big of a deal. I’m just trying to be helpful and to do something nice.”

Link takes a sip of his coffee and nods with a thoughtful expression painting his features. He was tense at first, but I watch as the tension slowly bleeds out of him and he exhales.

“I’m being a knothead. I know, you don’t have to say it. Forde looks like shit, and I’m sure me giving him the cold shoulder isn’t helping. You were nervous just now to tell me about you building the nursery for her. I’m just…” He rests his hands against the counter and hangs his head. “She’s been doing better. Especially after starting the meetings. I just want to make sure she’s okay. That she keeps going. I need to make sure she lives. For Lake.”

“Hey, I get it. We all want to make sure she’s okay. And you’re right. I think Forde is beating himself up enough without us making him feel worse. He’s been spending a lot of time with Ramsey, trying to pull her back out of her depression. We both know why he feels so strongly about helping her.”

Link glances over at me and raises a brow.

“You never did tell me why you were pissed at him for what he did.”

I can feel my neck heat as he scrutinizes me. There’s no fucking way I’m telling him the entire reason. I clear my throat awkwardly.

“Same reason as you. Just don’t want to see her going back to how she was when we first got here.”

He stares at me for so long I can feel beads of sweat accumulating along my spine. It’s like he’s trying to dig in my brain to find my lie. I mean, it’s not technically a lie. I just omitted a bit.

My phone chimes and I pull it from my pocket, seeing a new message from Jillian.

Jill: We’re all set. I told her I asked you to come do some minor fixes on the house while we’re away. Things the guys were always supposed to get to them but never did. Soooo… maybe do some of that just in case, idk. I’ll send the list. We’re heading out now. Key is in the mailbox. *peace emoji*

I blow out a breath when I read her message. I might need help getting all of this done as I read through the list she’s sent me. I send her back a thumbs up and stuff my phone back in my pocket.

“How do you feel about helping do some minor fixes around Ramsey’s while I work on the nursery?” I ask Link, looking at him hopefully.

He raises a brow again.

“Thought you were just building the nursery?”

“Jillian just texted to let me know they’re heading out. And that she told Ramsey I’d be there fixing things Lake and them never got to. I can’t get the nursery finished with all the stuff they orderedandtake care of some of the stuff on this list she sent me. So?”

“Yeah, alright. Not like I was gonna do shit this weekend anyway,” he says finally, blowing out a breath.

“Great. I’ll be hauling shit fromJinxback to her house when I leave tonight. I’ll probably head out early and leave Forde to handle things there so I can get started. I’m gonna ask Maribel if I can have the day off tomorrow so I can spend the whole day on it, so just come by there in the morning when you’re ready.”

I clap him on the back, leaving him to finish his coffee while I go take a shower and get ready to go into the bar for the day. My mind is riddled with ideas and thoughts about this nursery as I grab my clothes and head into the bathroom. I’m anxious about how Ramsey will feel about this, hopeful that she’ll be happy and that she won’t get pissed at me for taking the initiative to do this.

I just want to give her one less thing to stress about. She already has so much on her plate, and the nursery is such a big task. I have a feeling I won’t be getting much sleep this weekend as I try to get everything done before they get back.

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