Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Brooke ate another bite. “Do you live with your two brothers?”
“No. But all three of us live on the same mountain. I have a cabin large enough to house my woodworking shop.” I looked around. “Like this place, but bigger. We could move that stuff out and build a separate workspace.” I hoped it wasn’t too soon to talk about moving in together. “Or we could move down the mountain to Cooper Valley. So long as I’m on land that abuts the mountain, I’ll be okay.”
Fuck, I hoped my PTSD issues weren’t going to mess up this relationship. If they did, I’d figure it out. There was no choice. If she decided to stay in Denver, I’d make do.
I mentally sighed. I could try therapy. Take up Ironman competitions to keep my wolf subdued. Anything as long as we were together.
Right?
“It sounds nice,” was all she said then flicked a gaze my way. “When you were telling me about the PTSD, you said you joined the military because your family was fucked up.”
“Yeah. I’m close with my brothers. It’s just us up on the mountain. Summer now, too. Boone’s mate,” I reminded.
She nodded, so I continued.
“My mother died giving birth to me.”
Brooke gasped and set her plate on the coffee table. She shifted up and onto her knees and took mine from me and set it down, too. Then she climbed in my lap and set her hands on my shoulders. I had no choice but to look at her.
With her this close, she was all I saw. Her dark eyes laced with concern. Not pity, no. She was mine, and she wanted to be there for me as I shared the worst. It made it easier. So I pushed on.
“Our father was, well… an asshole. Growing up it was hard. He had aspirations of one of us taking over the pack. Being alpha. So he tried to get Boone to challenge for it. It didn’t work out. He tried again with me, and he was ultimately banished.”
She frowned. “Alpha?”
“Rob, the leader of our pack.”
“Rob banished him because he stirred up all kinds of shit. I’ll just leave it at that. We all said good riddance.”
“He’s your dad, though.”
“Not everyone has loving parents,” I admitted. “Your mom sounds like a piece of work.”
Brooke laughed. “Oh, I know. My mom loved me, but she definitely never put me first. I mean, maybe in her mind seducing a string of men to take care of us financially was all for me, but it didn’t feel that way.”
“I’m sorry, sugar.” I pulled her close, so our foreheads touched.
27
BROOKE
* * *
I leaned against Roy’s forehead for a moment then pulled back enough to stare into his eyes. They weren’t glowing green, showing his wolf, the way they were before he marked me. They were just warm brown orbs filled with appreciation.
For me.
I drank it in–I wanted every last sip.
My shoulder hurt where he bit me, but I relished the pain. The physical sign of Roy’s claim on me.
“It’s okay,” I assured him about my childhood. “Nothing terrible happened. We just moved a bunch because of the latest and greatest man. We swung from opulence to poverty several times. It was chaotic and unstable. It just made me very determined to never rely on anyone else for my security. I learned I couldn’t trust my mom. Definitely not the stepdads.” She gave me a rueful smile.
“Where is she now?”
“In Texas or Florida. Somewhere on her way to husband number five. “We get along fine, but she’s still unpredictable. It makes sense that I took refuge in numbers. Accounting is boring but predictable. I guess it felt safe.”
“No, I get it,” Roy said. “After I got out of the Marines, I was too restless for a conventional job. I was grateful just to sit in the workshop and let the simple craft heal me.”
I pressed my lips against his in a soft kiss. “Think I can see it sometime? Your work. You’re… workshop?”
Wow. Did I just say that out loud?
Before I could walk it back, I watched hope kindle and spark in Roy’s eyes, and it was a magnificent thing to behold. He sat up straighter and swallowed. “Does that mean…” He brushed my hair away from my face with the back of his fingers. “Are you really thinking about moving to Montana with me?”
My pulse picked up speed.
Was I?
It seemed crazy. I just met this guy and my life had completely turned on its head. But not all because of Roy. In fact, if I hadn’t met him, my life probably would’ve ended. If he hadn’t rescued me, I would’ve been murdered in the parking garage Friday night. And if not there, at my house the next day.
Roy was the reason I was still breathing, not that it meant I was obliged to spend the rest of my life with him.