“What was fine?” he asks, frowning.
“The motel.”
“It wasn’t fine. Half the shit there doesn’t even work. I’m pretty sure there was a drug deal going down right outside while we were there.”
Everett’s jaw tightens, and I can imagine that his brain is running through all the things that could have gone wrong while Harper and Cora were staying there.
“So I brought her here,” I finish. Usually, before one of us makes a decision like this, we run it by the others first. It’s only fair, since we all live here. But I know that neither of them are going to throw Harper and her little girl out onto the street in the middle of the night. That’s not the kind of people they are.
“Of course you can stay here,” Cash says immediately. “You need a safe place to sleep, not to mention Cora.”
Everett nods. “As long as you’re in Silver Falls, you can stay here.”
“Just like that?” Harper asks, brows furrowed. “I can’t pay you rent or anything. The whole point of the motel was it was cheap and this place…” she looks around the entryway with its warm toned wood, “is not cheap.”
“You don’t have to pay us anything,” I tell her. “It’s fine.”
“Yeah,” Cash agrees. “No strings, no expectations. You deserve to be somewhere safe. Where you don’t have to worry about getting robbed or worse.”
He and Everett exchange glances at that.
“We’re not going to ask you for anything,” Everett tells her.
Harper bites her lip, and I can tell she doesn’t quite trust it yet. But she takes a deep breath and nods. Again, I have to wonder how long it’s been since she had a safe place she didn’t have to work and scrape for.
“Thank you,” she mumbles. “I… thanks.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I say. “Let’s get you settled so you and Cora can get some rest. It’s late.”
Chapter 7
Harper
Moving into the Alpha’s house is surreal as fuck. That’s the only way I can think to describe it.
The whole way to their house, I was convincing myself that Lincoln had jumped the gun, and the other two were going to read him the riot act for making a decision like this on his own. There was no way they wanted me to live with them. Maybe they would let me spend the night so I didn’t have to go back to the motel in the dark when it was well after midnight by then, but that would be it.
But no one argued. Cash and Everett seemed just as horrified as Lincoln was about the state of the motel, and I stand in their entryway, watching them scramble around to figure out a way to house a woman and a kid when their place is clearly built for bachelor Alphas.
It is a beautiful house, though. I can admit that much.
It’s big and old, but it doesn’t seem run-down. It’s been lovingly taken care of, clearly, all polished wood with exposed beams and stone. The decor is scarce, but it doesn’t feel empty at all. And their scents are saturated in the place, making my nose tingle with the combination of it.
It’s intimidating, and it’s definitely not set up for children.
That doesn’t stop them from trying to make it more comfortable, though.
Cash goes to dig through a closet to find extra blankets, and Lincoln disappears upstairs to hunt down pillows.
Everett comes back from what looks like a storage room, his arms full of books and a box of toys.
“Why do you even have those?” I ask, surprised.
“I was collecting them for a toy drive the school was going to put on,” he explains. “But it never happened. They’ve just been sitting in the storage room since last Christmas.”
It’s convenient that he had them, but what surprises me the most is that he thought to get them. He’s the sheriff. All of these men are powerful and important, and here they are, trying to make sure Cora has everything she needs. It’s kind of endearing, if I’m being honest.
“You don’t have to do all that,” I tell him.