Page 124 of Somewhere We Belong

“I’m sorry I wasn’t supportive,” I sighed. “I just?—”

“We’ve never been apart,” Jude said.

“I swear you guys should have been twins,” Luke said.

“You guys are cute and I’m glad you had someone to watch your back, Theo.” Iris smiled.

“Don’t let me hold you back from living your life,” I mumbled, because those were some of the hardest words I've ever had to utter. “I’m ok here, you don't need to take care of me anymore.”

Jude bit his lip. “It's a hard habit to kick.”

“At least think about moving,” I said.

“Ok,” he murmured.

“I’m not going to lie and say I’m not excited to have one of you in Denver with me,” Luke grinned.

Jude laughed, “Don’t count your chickens just yet.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever, I can keep dreaming,” Luke said.

“Well, thank you guys for coming. You are more than welcome to stay here as long as you like, but I’m going to go shower and crash,” I said, standing up.

“We will probably leave tomorrow,” Luke said, getting up too.

“I have a shift tonight, but I’ll check in with you guys tomorrow.” Iris kissed my cheek as well as our brother’s cheeks.

“Is it ok if I stick around?” Jude asked.

“You know you are always welcome here,” I said, clapping his back. “Think about dinner and wake us up.”

“Gee, thanks,” he mumbled.

I chuckled as I walked down the hall to our bedroom, glancing back as I saw Forest hugging Jude. A part of me wanted to say something to Forest about staying away from Jude but another part of me was happy that Jude had someone here to lean one. Forest was a handful sometimes but he was a hard worker and he had been great for the ranch.

It was quiet as I opened the door, and they were all sleeping. Atlas was at the end of the bed with Colt next to him and then Sol and Nova. My throat clogged with emotion as I took in the family I had built over the years. The guys came into my life and then my girls. I never thought I would have anything like this. Home life had always been rough, I never really had friends and the only person I could rely on was Jude. Now I had so much love that sometimes it didn’t feel real and I needed to remember that I deserved this. I deserved to be loved just like everyone else.

36

nova

I laughedas Sol ran around the yard with Hula Hoop in a sequined little jacket, with Sadie and Howard. Her laugh was rambunctious, it warmed my soul, and it was literally one of the best sounds in the world. It had been two weeks since they had gone missing and things had been getting better and better.

I was sitting by the firepit making a list of things I needed to do for Sol’s birthday party tomorrow. The April air was still a little chilly and it was a perfect day for the fire. Atlas sat next to me with his leg up and next to him was Webber, Jude’s friend, with his leg up too. Atlas and Webber had bonded over leg injuries. Webber and Atlas were talking about some game they started playing yesterday since they couldn’t do much.

Sometimes I forgot how young Atlas was and how he was still in his twenties since Colt and Theo were in their thirties. There are days where I wondered if maybe this was too much for him, but then I realized he was a big boy, and he could make his own decisions and he had chosen us.

Luke, Camila and Genevieve arrived for Sol’s birthday. They were sitting around the fire talking and watching Sol. Iris was sitting on my other side looking out into the pasture, deep in thought, when I noticed a band on her ring finger.

“Iris,” I whispered, slapping her leg.

“What?” she clipped. “Shit, sorry, I'm not in the best mood.”

“It’s ok,” I said, grabbing her hand while wiggling the ring on her hand.

“Oh, shit,” she said, as I looked around while she took it off and put it in her pocket.

“Do it fast. I thought you said it wasn’t happening yet.” I said, worried that this was happening and she didn’t just let it go. “Is this why you needed me to cover your shift yesterday?”

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