Page 30 of Fragile Heart

I swallow the lump in my throat. “I found a scent match. I haven’t confirmed it with the Council or anything, but… I mean, the Council’s pretty clear about the signs.”

“Oh my gosh, where? How? When?” She sputters the questions, her voice rising with each one. “I… I don’t even…What?”

I can’t help but laugh even as I cover her mouth with a palm.

“Stop screeching or someone will call security thinking we’re being assaulted or something,” I murmur.

She rolls her eyes but relaxes. When she pulls away and waves for me to answer, I hold up a finger, adding one as I answer each question.

“The private barn at Monroe Ranch. Total accident, I think. Yesterday.”

“Holy fucking hell, Bri. It’s someonehere?”

Her eyes are so wide, it’d be hilarious if it wasn’t also drawing a ton of unwanted attention.

“Yes,” I say. “And I don’t want anyone else to know yet.”

She glances toward the bathroom, digging her teeth into her lip.

“Who? You cannot just leave me hanging here,” she says. At least her voice has dropped back to a reasonable volume. “I will pull you out of this line and make you start all over again if I have to.”

I can’t help but smile.

“You swear you won’t bring it up?”

Melissa nods. “Scout’s honor,” she says, holding up her pinky.

I roll my eyes. “You weren’t even in Scouts, Mel. Either of them.”

She shrugs as I link my pinky with hers and then let it drop.

“It’s Caleb.”

Chapter Fourteen

CALEB

“Papa, look! We got popcorn!” Camden’s voice precedes him.

I glance over my shoulder, cutting off my response to Beau beside me, just in time to see my son stepping off the stairs and into our row of seats. Ethan holds two bags of popcorn, one larger than the other, where he walks a step behind him. Camden runs along the small pathway in front of the metal bench where we sit. Instead of dropping onto my lap, though, he focuses behind me, skidding to a stop just shy of my legs. Ethan does some fancy footwork to stop in time so he doesn’t accidentally barrel over our son.

“Kid, you need to be careful,” he says. He urges Camden onto the bench beside me and hands him the smaller container of popcorn. Once Camden is settled, he slides past me and sits next to Emily on the other side of Beau.

Camden twists on the bench, propping an elbow on my arm to give himself stability, and then waves at someone behind us. I glance over my shoulder.

And then have to take an extra minute to remember how to breathe.

Melissa and Brielle stand at the top of the arena, arms locked together at the elbows. Melissa’s shoulders are tense, and she bites at her lip as she looks out over the growing crowd. How had Brielle managed to convince her to come? Because there’s no way that Melissa is the one that offered between the two of them. The urge to help ease her nerves rides me hard for a moment, a natural response of an Alpha to an Omega. But before I can rearrange Camden and stand, my eyes catch on Brielle beside her. She’s dressed in a short white dress that hugs her curves before flaring away from her legs, landing mid-thigh. It offsets her brown hair. They’re far enough above us I can’t see her eyes, but I bet they pop against the white fabric, too.

“Bri!” Camden calls, giggling. His voice cuts across the din of the crowd talking around us. Both women focus on us. Melissa relaxes and starts down the stairs, pulling Brielle behind her and blocking her from my view. But not before I see her cheeks flame a bright red.

Hudson grunts from where he’s seated on the bench behind me. He nudges my shoulder before smirking.

“He’s made a fast friend, huh?” he asks.

I shrug and shove down the surge of irritation that rushes through me at his comment.

Camden makes friends. Don’t most four-year-olds make easy friends? Besides, Brandon always had. I still do, and Ethan isn’t a stranger to it. At least until Kayla killed herself when Camden was only six months old.

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