Page 35 of Ready or Knot

I smile. “We talked about it yesterday. They all took the day off to help me settle in,” I say, and Violet smiles. “They’re supportive of whichever avenue I take.”

“Seems like you really hit the lottery with them.” She says it with a laugh, but there’s a layer of discontent underneath that has me wishing I could hug her.

“Has it gotten better?” I ask on a whisper.

She shrugs. “Maybe. It’s hard to tell since he’s never really around.” She blows out a breath, and her eyes grow hard, her lips pulling down. Her voice is full of restrained anger. “Even Rylan and Jasper are getting fed up with him, but they can’t separate from him since there wouldn’t be the minimum number for a pack.”

She blows out a long breath and sets the phone down, propping it against something so she can pull back her hair. Her eyes are glassy when she looks back at me.

“Losing Jasper a second time will break me, Fae,” she whispers, and my heart clenches. I wish I could hug her.

“I’m so sorry,” I say even though it’s not nearly enough. “If you need me, I’ll make it happen, ok?”

She offers a watery smile before blowing out a breath and shaking her head. “Fuck me, I’m not a crier. My heat must be coming soon.”

“If you disappear for a few days, I’ll know not to panic, then,” I joke.

It works. Her laugh is thin but present, and her eyes lose the haunted look.

A door closes downstairs, and I hear Carter’s baritone voice carry up the stairs. I double check the time. It’s only noon.

What has him here during lunch? Is this his usual Friday routine? He didn’t mention it to me when he left for work this morning, though that might have been because I had only just woken up and was still working on making coffee.

Violet notices the change, of course. “You need to go?”

I shrug. “Carter’s back.”

She smiles and adjusts her hair. “Definitely should go, then. Text me with what you pick. It’s going to look so cute.”

I smile and assure her I will. The screen flicks to black a moment later, and I take a deep breath as I unfold myself from the floor.

Carter is gathering several bags on the dining room table, rifling through each one and making notes on his phone. He glances up as I start down the stairs, and his eyebrow cocks, his hands stilling as he turns to me.

“I thought you were out with Logan,” he says, leaning against the table.

I shake my head and stand next to him, looking at the group of reusable totes he has set up. “He got a call from one of the teams, I guess. I’m not totally sure. He had to leave a few hours ago.”

He mutters a curse. “I would have been back sooner. Sorry you ended up here alone. We planned on being here the first few days.”

I shake my head and offer a smile, not bothered by the alone time. “I went for a walk and found a cute little plant shop a few blocks down, so don’t feel bad. And Violet called for a bit, too. It’s been fine.” I pull one of the bags towards me and peer inside.

A bottle of wine. A shirt. A hoodie. A couple notebooks. A…headlamp?

Before I can voice my confusion, Carter says, “They’re completion bags for a backpacking event next weekend. Normally I have my assistant fill them, but she’s had this week marked for vacation since March, and I didn’t want her to have to cancel.”

“Can I help?”

He smiles with a nod before pointing at a box on the island. I grab the box before he can, bringing it back to the table, opening it. There’s two stacks of gift cards to various stores. Most of them are outdoorsy, but a few are what I assume to be higher end restaurants.

“We’ll need to put three of those in each bag,” he explains. “I try to make sure there aren’t any duplicates. And then these fifteen over here will need four.”

I pull the cards and start making piles, careful to keep each stack diverse.

“You’re a corporate sponsor?” I ask. He pulls a cute fabric pouch from the nearest tote, tucking each card so that a corner is visible.

“For the last few years, but Jude and I have been participants for over a decade,” he says, moving the finished bags to the floor. “It’s actually how we met Logan.”

I hum and glance at him. “It sounds like there’s a story there.”

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