He immediately waves it away. “It’s not a problem. Cora might like them. And if she doesn’t then we’ll try something else.”
“Does she sleep alone?” Cash asks. “We’ve got a room for her, but if she’d rather be with you…”
“She—we haven’t really had the chance to try it out much,” I admit.
He nods. “We’ll see how she likes it, and if she turns out to want to bunk with you, we can make that happen.” Simple. Like it’s just an easy thing for them to make up a room for Cora that she might not even use.
All of them are like that, gruffly kind, acting like it’s no big deal, but they’re putting actual thought into making my niece comfortable. A child who has never spoken a word to any of them.
“Be right back,” Cash says, and then dips out of the house into the darkness. He’s gone for a while, and then I catch sight of him through the window, coming back onto the porch.
His muscles bulge in the golden porch light as he carries a stack of crates. He moves like it’s effortless, even though the stuff he’s carrying probably weighs quite a lot.
It shouldn’t hit me as hard as it does. It’s not like he’s the first handsome man I’ve ever seen before. But something about all that golden skin and muscle, the way his shirt strains to contain him. None of it is vanity muscle, and his scars and callouses prove that he’s worked for every ounce of that strength. It’s attractive in a way that makes it hard not to stare, and I have to look away quickly, before someone notices me doing just that.
“Okay,” Cash says as he comes back in. “I think we have everything we need. Let’s go upstairs.”
I follow him, still holding on to Cora and the bag of our few belongings. She wakes up as we climb, and I shush her, stroking her head as best I can.
Lincoln has made up the bed, a twin with clean sheets and fluffed pillows. Everett is lining up toys on a shelf and stacking the books nearby.
I set Cora down, letting her take in the space, and a new worry blooms in my chest. This space is unfamiliar to her, and it’ll be the first time since we’ve been in Silver Falls that she’ll have her own room. In the motel we shared a bed, so I was right there if she needed me. What if she’s scared? Or uncomfortable? This is better than the motel, but she has these three strange Alphas to contend with and a place she’s never been before.
I crouch down to her level and smooth hair back from her face. “We’re going to stay here for a while, okay, baby?” I murmur to her. “It’s nicer than the motel, right?”
Cora nods, looking around the room with wide eyes. That’s a good sign.
“No more being woken up by that lady down the hall slamming the door,” I say, going for a joke. “Do you like the room? Will it be okay?”
She nods immediately, and there’s something eager about it, like she wants to be here.
That hits me hard, and I have to take a deep breath against the emotions. Everything in me was saying that taking Lincoln up on his offer was a mistake, but maybe—maybe it’s not. Maybe accepting help for once was the right choice. At least it gets Cora this. A safe and warm place she can sleep, and I don’t have to worry about her. At least not more than I always do.
Lincoln was right, and I have to admit that.
“Your room is just down the hall,” Lincoln says, and then he and the other two make themselves scarce, letting me tuck Cora in.
She changes into her pajamas and climbs into the bed, wiggling around to get comfortable.
“If you need me, I’m right down the hall,” I tell her. “You can wake me up or come get in the bed with me if you get scared or feel alone. Okay?”
She nods, yawning in my face.
I laugh. “I’ll take that as my cue to get out of here then. Sleep well, baby.”
I linger long enough to watch her fall asleep just a few seconds later, the late night wearing on her. Then I leave her door cracked just a bit and go down the hall to the open door.
It’s more spacious than anywhere I’ve stayed in months. Sunset Motel wasn’t the first shitty place we’ve had to hunker down in, just the worst for the longest. But this room may as well be a palace compared to those places.
The bed is massive, piled with fresh pillows and made up with warm, soft sheets. There’s a window, and what little I cansee through it this late at night shows that it looks out over the mountains and not a parking lot.
It’s so different from the life I’ve been living lately. This is actually nice, actually comfortable, and I won’t have to convince myself that it’s fine because it’s all I can afford or that it’s better than sleeping in my car with Cora. I won’t have to stay up all night because I’m worried that someone’s going to try to break in and take what little we have.
It’s a lot to wrap my head around.
There’s a soft knock on the doorframe, and I turn to see Everett standing there, holding a large mug of tea. There’s an intensity radiating off him, and I wonder if he’s still pissed about the state of the motel. I guess it looks bad if there’s drug deals going down right in the open in the town he’s supposed to protect.
“Everything okay?” I ask him, lifting an eyebrow.