Page 70 of Where There's Smoke
Fitz put down his bucket of plaster and beamed at me. “Who’d you take?”
“Walnut. He’s been full of energy lately, and the rescue said he could use an extra run.”
“Oh, he is so sweet.” Fitz beamed. “I swear to god, I don’t think I’ve ever met a friendlier dog. He must’ve been a golden retriever in a past life.”
“Well, now that you’re here, you can help us with the building—considering you and Fitz are the ones who decided we were going to rebuild this place,” Elliot said, handing me some tools.
“Yes, sir,” I said, saluting him jokingly as I got to work.
Part of me was sad that Melody was working in another part of the rescue while we did the building, but she had so many things to sort through from the fire. We were more suited to the heavy work. Though, I had no doubt that if she put her mind to it, Melody could rebuild the entire place herself.
She was independent and capable, but wewantedto help. She was already physically exhausted—the last thing I wanted was for her to do construction and heavy lifting too.
And it reminded me of the fact that she’d just come out of her first heat. Pushing her body past its breaking point wasn’t on the agenda, by any means. We could handle it out here, and when we took a break, I’d go in and check on her, offer any help necessary. Being there for her through all of this felt…right.
And there was very little I wasn't willing to do for our reluctant omega.
Melody Smoke, with all her melony goodness, had changed me the moment she’d arrived in our lives, and while the fire was still a tragedy, it was difficult for me to be too upset because it had brought her to me.
One attractive silver lining.
Chapter 34
Melody
We had stopped on the way back from the shelter to get a sweet treat, much to my delight. The ice cream shop had so many flavors, I had agonized over what to pick before settling on a cookie dough brownie flavor that looked heavenly.
I was very happy to discover that it tasted as good as it looked.
“You know, I should have gotten three ice cream cones,” Fitz mused as we returned to the station.
“The two cones weren’t enough?” I asked. He had opted to order two cones with two scoops each.
“I’m a growing boy!” Fitz said indignantly, chuckling as he licked along the side of each one.
“Sure.” Samson snorted.
Spending time with the guys was starting to feel so natural and easy, and I was struggling to imagine going back to a life without them. They had insisted I was part of their pack now, but what that meant for our relationship, I wasn’t sure.
My feelings for them were growing by the day, and that was scary.
We entered the lobby to the firehouse, all of us pausing as we noticed the stranger standing there. I hardly got a glimpse of him before the guys were in front of me, blocking my view. Their protectiveness was cute and all, but it was a little annoying at times.
“Who are you?” Elliot asked, his voice stiff.
I craned my neck so I could look around Samson’s bulky frame, doing my best to peer at the stranger who’d gotten the boys so riled up. I nearly fell over as I was attempting to get a good look before the man’s voice broke through the chaos.
“I’m—” the man started to say.
“Chord?!” I exclaimed, recognition washing over me as I stepped around Samson and got some space from the protective wall they’d created. “What on earth are you doing here?”
“Youknowhim?” Fitz asked. There was no mistaking the tone of his voice: sharp, on edge, and suspicious.
“Yeah.” I nodded, still shocked by what I was looking at. It’d been years since I’d seen Chord or Reed, and either of them showing up wasnoton my bingo card this morning. “This is Chord. My brother.”
I hadn't seen him in so long, years at this point, but it was undeniable that he was my brother. The sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes were the same as they had always been when he had been a gangly teenager. Only, now, he was slightly taller and a bit more filled out. He was still a beta, of course, so compared to Pack Wilder, he was much smaller and less imposing.
Still, my stomach tightened and did flip-flops simultaneously. We weren’t close, but it wasn’t like I hated the guy.
