Page 42 of Holiday Surprise

Chapter 18

“How’s he doing?” Lily asked when she stopped by the shop with coffee in hand.

I took a long sip and let the heat soothe me. I shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s shut me out entirely. It’s like he’s a walking robot just going through the motions right now.”

“I can see that. This can’t be easy on him,” she defended.

“This isn’t easy on any of us,” I argued. “There are twenty-nine people living in one house, Lily. There are only three bathrooms! I sneak home each morning just to get a shower in peace and ready for work, and I feel guilty for even opening the store, but I don’t know what else to do. Luke keeps telling everyone to just go about their day as normal, that we need to hold on to that.”

“Get someone to cover the store this week. The kids are home from school, one of the teens would probably jump at the opportunity to make a little extra cash.”

“How about one of the Larkens? Do you think Thomas would be okay with that?”

“Syd, Thomas would do anything to help you guys. He feels just as lost wanting to help but not wanting to overstep with Luke.”

I nodded. I could definitely understand that.

“I think it would be good for Chasity and she’d do a great job. Help keep her mind off things some,” I told her.

“Call Thomas to make it official and all and do it. He may say he has everything under control, but that man of yours just had his entire world ripped out from under him. He can’t be okay right now.”

I nodded. I knew better than anyone how true that was. On the exterior, Luke had everything together right now. He was strong and sturdy. He said all the right things to make others worry less. He was diligently filing all the claims with insurance and working to get them expedited. He had met one of the claim adjusters out at the trailer park just yesterday, despite it still being the holidays. He was everything an Alpha should be, but he had closed himself off, especially to me. He still said the right things, but he wasn’t present, and I knew it.

Still, in the dark of night, he whimpered in his sleep, and he reached for me and clung for dear life. We hadn’t had sex since our bonding. I wasn’t complaining about that part, but it was just another sign of how emotionally cut off he was, and I didn’t know how to get through the thick wall he was erecting around himself.

“I’ll call him on my lunch break and get it set up for tomorrow. Thanks, Lily.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” she told me. “Go now. Call him on your drive back to Peyton’s and get the approval you need, though I’m telling you he’ll be fine with it. Send Chasity over and I’ll start training her this afternoon. You need to be with Luke right now, even if it feels like he wants to handle everything on his own. Trust me on this.”

I hugged her, trying not to cry. She was so amazing. She didn’t have to step in to help me, that was just the kind of person Lily was.

As I drove to Peyton’s I made a quick call to Thomas. He approved it immediately and wished me well, just as Lily said he would. I really had no doubts but felt like I was treading water stuck between two packs now. I hadn’t given up allegiance to Collier yet, but I was Larken in every possible way. It was hard being torn between the packs. Peyton was the only other person I knew who could truly understand that, and I was grateful to have her to vent to whenever I became overwhelmed by everything. I made a mental note to talk to her again soon.

I pulled up in front of Peyton’s house. The yard was strewn with cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Some had been destroyed by the fire, but anything salvageable was now sitting in her front yard as another reminder of just how overcrowded we were at the moment.

Luke was standing out front talking on his phone and pacing back and forth. That was never a good sign for a shifter. It meant his wolf was in a very agitated state.

I watched as he stopped and put his phone down. I thought that meant he was off his call, but as I got out of the car, he put the phone back to his ear and yelled.

“If you’d just do your damn job, we wouldn’t be having these problems!”

He disconnected and put it in his pocket. His back was towards me and I could see the muscles stretched taut beneath his shirt.

I went to my mate and started rubbing his back. He immediately began to relax as if that was exactly what he had needed most. Our wolves responded greatly to touch, so it was possible that I really was doing what he needed though I was just acting on instinct.

“Are you okay?” I finally asked.

“I am now,” he said softly before turning to face me.

He pulled me into an embrace, and I sighed in relief.

“I take it things with the insurance company aren’t going so well.”

He gave a curt laugh. “That would be the understatement of the year. I have another adjuster coming out to the site to look things over. I need to get going. He should be there any time now.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” I asked hopefully.

“No, that’s okay. You stay here. I’ve got this. Everything is under control.” He smiled, kissed the top of my head as if I were a small child, then turned and walked to his truck.

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