Page 52 of Shelter from the Storm

“So why the long face?” Sam asked.

“Let me guess,” Maverick said. “Gretchen doesn’t feel the same way.”

Theo sighed heavily—because that was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? “I’m not sure how she feels.”

“She probably feels like you’re her boss and starting a relationship would be stupid.” Leave it to Maverick to speak the hard truths.

“She did mention that, yes.”

“Wait.” Jace raised one hand. “Why would she say that? Did you come out and tell her how you feel?”

Theo grimaced. “I knew I needed to approach Gretchen differently than the way Levi did Kasi. She and Levi had known each other their whole lives, so when he went all caveman and started beating his chest, she didn’t feel threatened.”

Levi rubbed his beard. “She might not have felt threatened, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t also freaking out at my abrupt about-face, suddenly claiming she was mine and always would be. It took some convincing to get her to understand my feelings were sincere.”

Theo knew that, knew Kasi had been resistant at first, but Levi still had an advantage because, on top of Kasi knowing him well, she’d also harbored a crush on him since she was in high school. “I get that, but up until five weeks ago, Gretchen didn’t know me from Adam, so I started at square one. Because of that, I was attempting to practice patience. Become her friend first.”

Sam frowned. “Can’t help but notice the past tense. What did you do?”

“We were in the barn a week ago, the day of that nasty thunderstorm. The thunder frightened her, so I hugged her. One thing led to another, and…” He raised one shoulder.

Maverick filled in the blanks. “You kissed her.”

“For a good twenty minutes. I swear to God, I’d still be there now if I didn’t need to eat and sleep and work.”

“Wow,” Jace said. “That good?”

“It was perfect. Heaven on Earth.”

“And when it ended, she realized her mistake.” Maverick was batting a thousand today.

“She did. Pointed out it couldn’t happen again, and the boss thing?—”

“Remove the boss thing,” Levi interjected.

“What?” Theo asked.

Levi raked his fingers through his hair again. “Take that problem off the table. Make Nora her direct supervisor.”

Theo liked that idea. And he was sure if he explained the situation to his cousin, she’d be more than happy to assume that role. It wasn’t like it required much extra work, because Gretchen had proven herself to be a competent employee, perfectly capable of working autonomously. Not much managing required at all.

Gretchen was looking at this connection between them differently than him, thinking that if things went south, she’d lose her job. Theo, however, knew that wasn’t going to happen because she was it for him. Lock, stock, and barrel.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll call Nora, but…” Theo grimaced.

“What else did you do?” Sam asked.

“I counteracted her arguments by telling her she was mine.”

All four of his brothers groaned in unison.

Jace shook his head. “Premature chest-beating, bro.”

“I know that! What’s worse is, Gretchen came to Gracemont with some pretty heavy baggage. Her upbringing sucked, her mom and stepdad were neglectful and cruel.”

Levi scowled, his feelings about parents hurting their kids matching Theo’s. “I don’t like hearing that. Gretchen is a gentle soul.”

“It was bad enough that she and her brother ended up in foster care,” Theo added.

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