Page 11 of Laurels and Liquor

“I’m cooking,” Gabby replies, nonplussed.

Lucas sputters and then charges around the room, moving to put away the bottles and jars and bowls that Gabby pulled out and left on every available flat surface, making her cry out in defiance and go behind him, pulling the stuff out again. The two go back and forth, but their bickering is good natured. And it’s nice to see Lucas with some life in his eyes. He’s shaved and dressed in his own clothes, looking far more like himself than he did a few minutes ago. Lex slides onto the stool on my other side, smiling to herself.

“Why do you look like the cat who got the canary?” Mateo asks conspiratorially.

She just chuckles to herself and nods at Gabby and Lucas, who are playing tug of war over a bulk bottle of garlic powder, until Gabby lets go suddenly and sends Lucas staggering back into the cabinets while she cackles. Thankfully, she doesn’t fight him for much longer as she works on the gumbo she’s got going. The smell drifting out of the pot makes my heart squeeze with nostalgia, and I catch the knowing look in her chocolate brown eyes as she tastes it. Only for her smile to dissolve into an affronted gasp as Lucas dips his whole pinky into the pot and tastes it.

“Not enough Tony’s,” he grumbles, moving off to dig in the back of the cabinet.

I look to Lex as Gabby and Lucas work together to add the finishing touches to the gumbo, giving her a grateful smile.

“How’d you know?” I ask softly.

“Know what, sweetness?” she asks back, giving me a curious look.

“Know to do this? To bring Gabby over?” I clarify, nodding to the pair of betas.

Lex’s smile widens, and she leans in to kiss my temple. I smile at her easy affection, leaning into her warmth. Her mulled wine scent is mixed with pine smoke and marshmallows, Lucas’s scent, and her hair is slightly damp. She’s changed into leggings and an oversized sweatshirt, and she’s removed her makeup, but she’s still radiant.

“She called me and told me she was coming over, and I could either let her in, or she’d climb the fence,” Lex admits.

As I look back to my best friend, my heart grows full to bursting. I’ll never understand how or why it happened, but I’ll never cease to be grateful for the force of nature that is Gabby Fitzgerald.

Chapter six

Lydia

ThereliefofhavingGabby in the pack house only lasts for a few hours, but after she leaves to go back to Wickland House for the night, the creeping ennui moves in fast, swallowing me whole. And even if I’m more aware of my surroundings, I still find myself slipping away for hours at a time, the phantom ache in my chest throbbing like an open wound. I try to keep up appearances, to hide the worst of my longing from my pack, with limited success. It takes some convincing, but Mateo agrees to go back to work after a few days, because there are still clients to handle, and with Rhett gone, a lot of his work has fallen onto Mateo’s plate. Lucas is still taking a leave of absence, staying home with me as we wait for any news about Rhett.

I think about him nearly constantly, even when I’m actively trying to distract myself. Everything reminds me of my alpha in some way or another. The books I try to read are too like his scent. The sky is too close to the color of his eyes. Even the rumble of traffic sounds too much like his purr. And every reminder sends me back to the edge of the black hole, and it’s always so easy to let myself fall into the flat dissociative episodes.

As I blink myself back to awareness after one such episode, panic fills my chest. I don’t recognize my surroundings right away, but the scents of cedar and snickerdoodles calm my heart moments later. I’m in the Novak’s living room, though I can’t recall for the life of me how I got here. Looking around again, I catch a glimpse of Lucas in the kitchen, humming to himself as he works. A rustle of paper on my left draws my attention, and I find my stern bodyguard reading the newspaper. He’s dressed in jeans and a band t-shirt for a group I’ve never heard of, and the casual image is startling enough to bring me fully back into my body.

“I was wondering when you’d come back,” Caleb says softly, not looking up from the newspaper he’s reading.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter, toying with the edge of the blanket draped across my lap.

“I’ll admit that I wasn’t expecting to have you and your pack mate show up on my door this morning, but I can’t say I’m not glad you did,” Caleb goes on, still casual.

I flush hot, looking away, even though he’s not looking at me. Lucas is making an abnormally loud racket, his slightly off-key singing making me smile to myself.

“I’m worried about you,voyin, and so is he. We think we might know a way to help, if you’re up for it,” he says, paper rustling again.

I don’t answer, not sure what to say. But when I look back toward him, the piercing gray stare cuts through the half-baked denial I’d been about to form. In truth, I’m a bit worried about me, too. My soul feels unmoored, and I’m adrift with no shore in sight. I know Rhett is safe, and it’s a matter of time before I’ll be able to speak to him again, but that gaping void inside of me sucks away my hope and reason, and I’m helpless to fight it. So, I nod, willing to try anything at this point.

“Sylvie is going to be home in a few minutes, and she’d like to talk to you. Is that okay?” Caleb asks, voice warm and downright paternal.

“What about?” I rasp, my throat dry.

Caleb sighs, turning in his chair slightly to look at me. “Lucas suggested that you may need to talk to an omega about what you’re going through. And based on what he told me, Sylvie and I agree.”

I frown, guilt creeping in again. If Lucas and all his experience with omegas is at a loss for what to do with me, I must not be hiding my emotions as well as I thought. And they’ve got enough to worry about with me adding to the pile.

“It’s not like that, sweetheart,” Lucas says gently, appearing in the doorway.

I jump and look up at him, flushing. His eyes are kind, his smile understanding, but the way he’s drying his hands on a kitchen towel is positively sexual. I swallow the sudden moisture in my mouth and give him a questioning look.

“It’s been years since I was around my family, and none of them ever had to go through what we have,” he says, looking away slightly as memories darken his countenance.

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