Page 71 of Frayed Owner

“No,” I chuckled. “Mrs. Reid is awesome and figured out how to fit a square peg in a round hole.” I bounced that back and forth. “Kind of. Or maybe—I actually don’t know the right analogy, but she’s fucking awesome.”

“My mom always is,” Taylor said from behind me, his tone curious. “And she just texted me to talk to you about my sessions and stop being so assuming. That you’re the master and every lesson is different, not PT, so to pull my head out of my ass.” His lips twitched. “Basically. So what’s the plan to—”

“Gonna stop you right there,” Winter cut in with a chuckle and gestured to the crazy with me. “She’s got a lot going on already. And a date. So people need to remember everything isn’t on their timetable just because they can catch her.”

Taylor glanced between us and nodded. “Fair. Sorry, Bevin. Habit.” He picked up a few of the bags. “Where do you want all of this?”

It took me a moment to get my mouth to work. “Oh, just inside. I have to talk to Tracey.” I blew out a deep breath. “And Wyatt. He needs to know about this.”

“Now?” Winter hedged. “It’s spa night and I have dinner.”

“No, not now,” I hurried to answer. “Sorry, just—can’t forget.”

He nodded and leaned in, kissing my cheek. “Good. Thanks. This is the last Friday night I can take for a while and we both need it. I was hoping we could talk spa night maybe being Mondays when I’m off.”

I opened my mouth but then closed it again, glad when he just chuckled. I gestured to the bags people were carrying inside. “This was a lot. My mind is racing. We like spa night, so we’ll figure out something.”

“Something is good,” he accepted. “You’re going to talk to me about what happened, right?”

I snorted. “I tell you all my secrets when you massage my scalp. Don’t act like you’re abused.”

“I like feeling special,” he chuckled and grabbed the rest with me. “Seriously, they’re super light. Did you rob a feather store?”

“Yes, yes, I did,” I teased, feeling lighter as well.

Tracey came home with food too, so she joined us with Taylor crashing, asking what had happened with the “garbage bag galore which clashed with the décor.”

I wasn’t the only one who laughed.

“That’s amazing and so is Laura,” she praised. “Now, tell me why you keep giving me worried looks. And Taylor. Are you afraid I’m really going to gobble him up?”

I barely smothered a giggle when Taylor coughed on his bite, thumping his chest. “No, but I’m not sure you’re going to like what I want to do. What I want to try with his sessions.”

Her eyebrows shot up, putting it together. “You want me involved? Why?”

Winter chuckled. “You’re amazing, Bev.” He nodded when I glanced at him. “You want to try and combine the sessions and let Taylor and Cheese see what they could have.”

It was my turn to be shocked. “Yes. Yeah, exactly that. They’re so hesitant and really just want to spend time together. They don’t seem to understand—they never had what was then lost like others have. He was too young. The time they should have started really focusing on building the bond, he abandoned it.”

“Ouch,” Taylor muttered.

“Sorry, but I’m not wrong,” I apologized… Sort of. “I’m not trying to be mean. And—I think you need the push. Cheese needs to see what you’re trying to give him even if you don’t fully understand it.”

“Bev, that’s a lot of magic and something you’ve never done while you’re doing alotthat you’ve never done,” Tracey worried. “Case in point, all the trash bags in the living room.”

“But that’s why it has to be you,” Winter surmised. “You’re not just a constant. You’re the foundation, and nothing can hurt your bond with Woodchuck. Even if it doesn’t go exactly as planned, it won’t be a disaster with you involved. Plus, Bev trusts you more than anyone else in the world, so she’ll feel safe to try something this new.”

“Okay, I didn’t think you got any sexier than telling Taylor to chill out and not stomp on my time, but you understanding all of that about me is seriously fucking hot,” I blurted… And wanted to melt into the chair when I realized I did.

But Winter didn’t let me run or hide, turning our chairs to face each other and letting out a long breath as he met my gaze. “I love that you were so open and honest about that and praise me so easily. It’s exactly what I need in my life after so many years of being torn down or being seen as nothing because I’m an orphan. You don’t get that because of how you lived.”

“Even I flinched but not because you were one,” Tracey admitted.

“It’s because you know how hard his life is over something not his fault and so stupid that our society judges,” Taylor mumbled, nodding when she did. “It’s not pity, but… I get the same.”

Winter nodded that he heard them but kept his focus on me, taking my hands in his even. “You have been told this narrative all of your life that you’re broken and not good enough. Yes, because you hid your magic, but also because—you know why. Growing up as you did—I know you don’t hate how you turned out because you didn’t have the influences we had.”

I nodded, having thought a lot that I was more confident than most women my age about a lot of things.

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