Page 36 of Truth or Pack

"Well, ma'am, we are here to help. If you'll have us," I told her, returning her smile. It was a kinder one that I was used to, but I couldn't bring myself to be irritable in the face of this cute, old beta.

"Oh, that would be wonderful. I was just about to go to the hardware store and get some plywood for the picture window and door. Would you two clear the glass away and the broken door? That would be a wonderful start to getting this place in order," she said. “Plus, two strapping alphas will have an easier time than little, old me.”

"It would be our pleasure," Ash told her, amping up his charm again. Sometimes, I envied his ability to so easily talk to people and come off as unassuming.

"I have some trash cans out back you could bring in to place the glass in. There’s a dumpster out there to empty them into as well," she said.

I held out my hand. "I'm Holt and this is Ash."

She shook with a firm hand. "Deb."

"Well, Deb, you can gather what you need and leave us to work," Ash promised her.

"You two are just the angels I needed today, and alphas at that," she said with another smile.

"Glad to help," was the only thing I could think of to say.Way to go, Holt. Always so smooth.

"Ash, you go grab the cans and I'll start making piles of glass and wood," I told him as I pulled on the gloves we had purchased at the hardware store. We found brooms and dustpans in her utility room, snagging those as well.

Ash just gave me a nod and didn't argue. We may both be alphas, but once I started a task there was no stopping me and he knew it. There was something about manual labor that got me out of my head and into a rhythm.

Maybe it was an OCD thing, I wasn't sure but I always felt more useful and that was a feeling that I thrived on.

"Hey, Holt, you want to leave some for me?" Ash said as he set a trash can next to me.

"You, get the wood and I'll do the glass," I told him with a nod of thanks and started to load my can.

"Sure," he huffed and got to work. "I wish we had some music."

"Why? You'd just start singing and dancing and we'd never get this done," I reminded him with a laugh.

"So, says you. It helps pass the time for me," he said, grabbing the bottom panel of the door. "It's amazing that the door broke apart but this is still intact. Just shows you never know what Mother Nature is capable of."

"Ash, we are here to help, not chat like school girls," I reminded him. Working in silence was my thing, not his, though.

"If we were actually chatting, Taryn would be the topic and how we are going to get her to move in with us," he said, matter of factly.

He wasn’t wrong there. I’d give anything to load her up in our SUV and take her right back with us. But we had to keep in mind we were fusing her life to ours, and that was a delicate dance we didn’t want to fuck up.

"We are still working on trust. I think if we push too hard we will have her running for the hills," I pointed out as I dumped another round of glass in the can.

"Who knew you were so deep, Holt?" Ash asked as he scooped up a pile of wood, shooting me a look that said he saw right through me.

"Ha, ha, I just don't want us to fuck this up," I groaned. “I’m already an asshole, and we have a past, it’s not as easy as a blank slate.”

"Language, young man," Deb piped up from behind us.

"Sorry, ma'am," I muttered and got back to work.

I heard a little laugh from her. "Can I bother you two for a minute and have you unload this plywood for me?"

"Of course," I answered as I dropped a few more pieces of glass into the trash can. I dusted my gloves off over the bin and headed back towards the door where she was waiting.

"You two are the sweetest. How have you two not been snatched up?" she mused as she led us to her truck out back. It was almost comical to see her standing next to the big, old pickup truck.

"It's not for lack of trying," Ash told her.

"Is that so?" she asked, all ears now.

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