Page 19 of Broken Chains

“Fine,” Thomas pouted. “I can’t believe you’d stoop to that level.”

“Who’s Lily?” Kenneth asked.

“My mate,” Thomas said, rolling his eyes.

Oliver laughed. “The one person in this world you’re terrified of?”

“You have no idea,” my brother said before hauling the last bag from the bed of the truck and setting it on the ground. “You win this round, Pey, but we’ll be talking real soon,” he warned.

I bit my lip, knowing they could all see right through me. My siblings knew me too well.

Thomas drove off as I flipped him the bird. I could hear him still laughing when he turned on the road in the direction of town.

“Nice,” Oliver said with a snort.

I playfully shoved him, not at all prepared for the shock that jolted my entire body just from touching him.

“He’s, uh, my—”

“Alpha,” Oliver finished for me. “I know who Thomas Collier is.”

“I was going to say obnoxious baby brother,” I joked. I looked over at Kenneth and winked. “I’ve spent enough time with this guy here, so I believe you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Hey, not cool,” Kenneth teased back. “What have I ever done to you, Peyton?”

“Oh, let me count the ways,” I said dramatically, but we were interrupted by the baby crying through the monitor.

I watched as Oliver went on high alert, looking around for any threats before running for the door.

“Wait,” I said, and was happy when he stopped and turned to face me.

Kenneth went back to work, completely unaffected by my bantering as I tried to deflect my personal feelings and keep the mood lighthearted.

“I need to get the baby,” Oliver said.

She was still crying. I walked over to him and held the monitor out. “Just watch for a sec. I know, I always want to just run and scoop her up, too. Just trust me.”

He tensed at my close proximity, but I ignored it and showed him. We watched together as Eve cried, then frowned and sniffed three times. Her eyes never opened as she repeated this once again, then sighed with a frown and settled back down.

“What? She went back to sleep on her own?” he asked.

I smiled and nodded. “It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve been working on it all week. She should be down for another good twenty minutes and much happier when she wakes from her nap,” I informed him.

“I know I didn’t sound very grateful before, but thank you, for everything,” he said.

I smiled and nodded. “You’re welcome.”

“If you really think Eve will be out for a while, I’m going to get to work and help Kenneth.”

“He still owes you a tour of the place, too,” I reminded him.

Oliver flashed me a smile that made me weak in the knees before he turned and walked back inside.

I stood there for a minute, then turned and walked over to the diner. I let myself in the back door and headed for the second kitchen. I loved that room so much. Wyatt had built it for Kate, but I had quickly claimed it for myself. It was used mostly on the weekends for special occasions. It was the perfect date place.

Couples would come in and I’d have the table formally decorated and they’d sit and talk while I did my best to ignore them and focus on my cooking. I didn’t have any certified culinary skills, but no one in Collier seemed to believe that. I made sure it was a fun, romantic time for every couple who sat in my kitchen.

I let myself think of Oliver for a minute. He was gorgeous, yes, but rough around the edges, too. He was buff and hard all over, but that was only his exterior. I saw how sweet and vulnerable he was on the inside. Not just from Kenneth’s stories of his biggest idol, but also in how he watched his child and in the pride and relief he showed when he shared Kenneth’s test results with me.

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