Page 70 of Coming Home

I grinned. “Shelby’s a Collier. She has some pretty tight connections with Westin Pack. It pays to be a wolf with a sexy mate, what can I say?” I joked.

Shelby laughed. “I’m pretty sure I did not have anything to do with this.”

“No, that makes sense, actually,” Mike agreed.

I shrugged. “I’ll take it, whatever their reasons.”

“Hey, the boys want to say a quick hi, then we have to go. They just got out of basketball practice and we’re heading over to have dinner with my parents,” Shelby said before Troy took the phone from her.

Some of the guys looked over my shoulder.

“Damn, he looks just like a little miniature version of you,” Jake noted.

I smiled. “Yeah, he does. This is Troy. Say hi to the guys, Troy.”

“Hey,” he said.

“Everything’s still okay?” I asked.

“We’re fine. Mom and Dad said they should be out in time for Christmas. We’re hoping you’ll be home this year for it, too.”

I hated to disappoint them. “It’s not looking very promising, but I’ll try,” I told him.

Will grabbed the phone from him, and listening to them argue about it made me long to be home. Shelby scolded them both for wasting my time.

“Guys, this is my other brother, Will,” I said, wondering why this was the first time I’d ever thought to introduce them. It’s not like I hadn’t been in contact with my family all these years, even if I was avoiding Shelby.

“Wassup?” Will said. “Do me a favor and don’t get him killed before we get him back.”

Mike laughed. “And that one sounds just like you.”

I laughed too. “Twins: one inherited my good looks, the other my charismatic personality.”

“So basically he just said, your twin is ugly, and you’re an asshole,” Crawley told Will.

“Dude, he’s twelve,” I told Crawley, though I shouldn’t be surprised. We had once rescued a school of young girls and he’d offered a group of them cigarettes to shut them up. It was clearly obvious he had no business ever being around kids.

“Ben, Shelby’s telling me to wrap this up, so I just need you to know what you’ve gotten yourself into,” he said seriously. “Shelby can’t cook. I mean like at all! You’d think having the same genes as Peyton we’d be eating well, but if it wasn’t for her mom and takeout, she’d literally starve us to death.”

“Give me that,” Shelby said, taking the phone back from him. “Don’t listen to them. I can cook just fine,” she insisted.

“She burnt the spaghetti last night,” Will yelled in the background and I knew it was true because Shelby’s cheeks flushed red.

“Don’t worry, Shelby,” Mike said over my shoulder. “Shay’s actually pretty decent in the kitchen. He won’t let you starve.”

Shelby covered her face with one hand in embarrassment. “I’m not that bad,” she insisted.

I laughed. “Doesn’t matter to me,” I assured her.

“We have to get going,” she said reluctantly. “Can I call tomorrow?”

“Call anytime. If he doesn’t answer it’s because I took his phone. He’s still on my watch until those papers clear,” Crawley said. “But you seem sweet, so I’ll try to go easy on him.”

“Uh, thanks, Crawley. I think,” she said.

“Talk to you tomorrow,” I told her. “Love you.”

The boys obnoxiously started hooting and hollering and making kissy noises in the background as I shoved the closest one away and shook my head as she waved bye and disconnected.

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