*** Silas POV ***Sitting on the back porch, I looked out into the forest behind us. I had a drink in my hand as my elbow rested on the wood arm of the outdoor lounge chair. Taking a sip, my lip curled up for a moment before it burned down my throat and sat warm in my stomach. My head was already feeling lighter as the sky boasted colors of pink, purple, orange, and yellow.Today had been hectic. Originally, we started rebuilding the school, thinking that we would have it done through the summer months and maybe into the school year for a couple of months. Nothing terrible and we could have the kids work around the construction.Three whole years it took to finally cut the ribbon. We’d run into every single kind of issue imaginable. Foundation was crumbling, plumbing wasn’t up to code and some roots from trees nowhere near the school had filled the pipes. There was an issue with
* Three Years Later *“Dad!”I cracked my eye open just before I got pounced. Landon jumped on my stomach and I groaned, curling up. Flipping over, I caged my little troublemaker under me and tickled him. He, of course, screamed for his sister, who was already in the room. I got pounced on by a little pup and tickled in the same spots.Grabbing for Amelia made an opening for Landon to slip out and he ran, grabbing his sister. The two of them raced out of my room and I laughed, shaking my head. Sliding out of bed, I rubbed my eyes and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. It was seven in the morning and I really wish that they gave me another hour.“Dad! Can we have Stra-pa-pa-?”I stepped into the hallway to see the doors of the refrigerator open. “Strapatsada?”“Yeah! That! The egg thing.”Chuckling, I walked over and pulled out some orang
My Dear Short Stack of a Mate,I gave a bunch of information last letter. I’m sorry if that was overloading. It just…seems useful for someone who actually has a golden bond to know more about it. It’s useless for me now. I’ve told Finn and Noah about some of it as well. The two of them…well…they aren’t exactly the studious type.I guess in this one, I should tell you something. A confession. I did something for you. Something…crazy. I didn’t really mean it. It just kind of fell into my lap. While I worked on getting everything set up for everyone. I don’t want to give it to you just yet, though. I don’t think enough time has passed. Still. If it all goes tits up, just know I have you. Specifically, you in mind. I know the boys probably will help if anything happens, but this w
“How you doing, Gamma?”Sam let out a loud scoff. “How am I doing? Are you kidding me right now, Nate? Months! You haven’t reached out for months! No word. No nothing. We didn’t even know if you were okay outside of what little Finn told me.”“You got rid of that sedan, yeah?”“Goddess above, of all the things…”I realized he was crying. Quiet sobs came through the line. Looking down, I crossed my feet and stared at my ankles. Leaving them had been hard, but I knew it was probably just as hard on them, too. I had too much to worry about, to also worry about Sam or Charles. Hearing him cry broke my heart, though. It made me realize I should have called earlier.“I’m sorry, Gamma.”His voice rose. “You’re not sorry! You’re not…so don’t pretend like you are.”“I am. I knew it would hurt you and
With my eyes closed, I was sitting on the couch in the living room. Both Landon and Amelia were latched onto my nipples. It was so easy to just slip into a quick nap while they fed. Instead of them being on a schedule, I was on theirs. My eyes opened when I heard the door open.“What the hell Nate!”I smiled at Finn. He was carrying Leah in his arms, Noah behind him, holding multiple bags.“Surprise?” They both rolled their eyes at me, and I chuckled. “Choose whatever guest room you want, Noah. You know where they are.”He smiled and nodded, heading down the hall and up the stairs. Finn came over, sitting next to me on the couch. His smile was so wide it made me happy. I didn’t realize how much I wanted them to be proud or happy about my pups. How much I needed to feel like I hadn’t done something wrong. Finn simply sitting there, smiling softly, made me want to cry.“So Amelia and&hell
I sighed and arched my back, rolling my shoulder blades, hearing them crack like a bag of potato chips. I had hunched over too long while doing some last checks to make sure I had everything for next week. Noah and Finn were flying in on Monday. Today was Wednesday and there were five days left. Then it would be one more week before my due date.The front door opened suddenly, and I looked over at Nessa, who slammed the door shut behind her. My eyebrow rose as she plopped down next to me and grabbed my glass of lemonade.“You okay?”“Do I look okay? Were you in the middle of something?”I shook my head. “Finn and Noah will be in next week. I was making sure I didn’t need anything else for them flying in or me or the pups. Apparently, they are coming to help, but we’ll see.”She sighed heavily, and I realized I lost her attention.“You know you can talk to me. I’m on the out