Page 56 of Fragile Heart

Once my shirt is back on, I run my hand through my hair.

Three knocks on the door have Brielle muttering a curse.

“Brielle? Is now still a good time?” a woman says. It’s not a voice I recognize.

“One second,” she calls. Her gaze catches on me, and she blushes again, the red tracking down her throat and onto her chest. I raise an eyebrow before leaving the bedroom, crossing the small guest house.

A woman about Brielle’s age stands on the porch, two girls maybe a year or so older than Cam giggling as they run around her legs. Beside her, a blond man holds an older baby against his chest, her eyes red and her hand pressed into her mouth. The wind cuts through the house. Brielle must have opened a window in the bedroom.

The mingled scents of lavender and cinnamon waft around us, betraying what we’d been doing to anyone that isn’t a Beta. The man doesn’t even blink, an eyebrow rising as he takes me in.

The woman clears her throat, blushing nearly as deeply as Brielle.

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt,” she says. Her blush gets deeper before she groans. “Logan, save me.”

The man laughs and pulls her into his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

“We’re supposed to be meeting Brielle for a tour of the chicken coops.”

“She’ll be out in just a minute,” I offer, leaning against the threshold.

Not even thirty seconds later, Brielle slides past me and eases her way onto the porch. Her dress is a little wrinkled, andmy scent clings to her even with her own hidden by her scent blockers. A dark bruise sits just under those damn flowers. That deep part of me that needs her to be mine, needs to claim her, settles at the sight. She’ll have a new mark that won’t be gone for at least another week.

The women hug as they greet each other, and both of the girls grab onto Brielle’s legs.

“Is this him?” the woman asks, glancing back at me.

Brielle nods and takes a step back, not bothered by the young girls vying for her attention. No wonder she’s so comfortable with Cam.

“Caleb, these are my friends Faedra and Logan,” she says. “Faedra, Logan, this is Caleb.”

I offer my hand and an easy smile. Logan takes it in an easy grip. Faedra runs her hand through her hair, moving it off her shoulders, revealing two silver bond scars along the left side of her neck.

“Nice to meet you,” she says.

I wrap an arm around Brielle’s waist and pull her toward me, kissing her before she can protest. She melts into me, and I smile against her lips.

“I’ll see you when I get back,” I say.

Her happiness dims as she nods. “Be safe.”

I carry the words with me all the way to my truck and down the gravel drive.

Chapter Twenty-Six

BRIELLE

Iris stands just next to me, her grip tight around the small vase full of wildflowers her and Rose had spent all afternoon picking around the guest house today. Rose giggles as she rushes past us and right off the patio. A moment later, and Jude rushes out of the house behind her, chasing her down and scooping her up into his arms. She squeals as he gives a raspberry against her belly.

“Papa, stop! Stop! It tickles!” she screams.

He laughs and sets her down. Her lips quirk, and then she’s off again, running around the side of the house. Jude laughs and follows after her.

I turn my focus back to the table, smoothing out the table cloth and folding back the first corner. Faedra steps onto the patio, a roll of heavy duty tape in her hands.

“Found it,” she says.

She tears off two strips of the tape and hands them to me, holding down the fabric as a gust of wind rips through the yard. Itape down the corners as fast as I can manage. Just as I’m taping the last one, someone calls through the house.

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