"Nothing's ever simple, especially not this mess. But presence? That gets through to him. Trust me." Her voice dropped, almost conspiratorial. "You just get to be there. Hedoesn't need you to fix anything or explain why it all went to hell."
While she talked, I caught Kearan's eye. He glanced down the hall toward Ryker's room, and it clicked. He was making room for him. Building a safe little pocket and letting the bonds settle on their own clock. It hit me all at once. The way Kearan kept cracking doors open for Ryker was the exact same thing Grayson had done for Kearan. And the same thing Ryker was doing for Kearan.
"And you think Kearan needs the same?" I turned back to Seph, trying to line up what I wanted with what she was handing me.
Seph shrugged, going soft again. "I think he wants to be wanted too. You really think he hasn't been waiting on an invitation of his own? Not every connection has to be a fight. Sometimes just being in the same room is the thing that moves you forward."
I let that sink in and found the thread she was handing me. My heart rate picked up. What if I actually took the step?
Kearan glanced down the hall again, his brow tightening. "He's really trying, isn't he?" I got out, half to myself.
Seph's smile came back. "Yes! Exactly! He cares about Ryker, genuinely, but he's also using it to put off dealing with himself. The two of them are doing this whole careful dance, both hauling stuff they think they've got to carry alone. You've got to push back on that. Show them both what it looks like when somebody actually steps up."
Her words landed somewhere solid. She was so sure of it. She'd seen the whole thing clear as day. "You know what? You might be onto something. I just..."
Then Kearan again. He turned back to the pot, but his head was a hundred miles off, wound tight in a way I'd learned to spot. The tension was climbing back into his shoulders. Allthat pressure he kept stacking on himself. And just like that, everything lined up. My head went quiet. The little voices of doubt shut up, and something steadier took their place. "I think I need to go to him."
"I think you should." Seph's whole face backed the words. "Do it."
I caught the little challenge in Seph's eyes, pushed up from the table, and let the charge of it carry me. Kearan returned to the stove, fussing over the mess he'd made. Ryker would be fine without me hovering over him. The clarity sat solid in my chest, steady and bold, as I crossed the kitchen toward whatever came next.
Before I talked myself out of it, I was on my feet and next to him.
"Hey." The word interrupted whatever he was in deep thought about, and he stopped cleaning as he turned to me.
His gaze settled on my face, curiosity moving through it. "Hey."
My heart gave a little jump. This was where it started coming together, where I finally started to understand Kearan and how I could help him come around to our mating. Every flick of his wrist carried an attention aimed at more than cleaning up.
"Everything okay?" I stepped in and leaned against the counter, the surface warm where the sunlight had been pooling on it.
"Yeah. Just..." Kearan let it trail, throwing another careful glance down the hall, eyebrows pulling together like he was working out a puzzle. "Thought I heard Ryker."
I smiled at how automatic it was, the protectiveness. He went back to the stove.
"What's the deal with him today?" I kept my voice low, like we were trading a secret. I wasn't sure what I was fishing for. He was talking to me, which was a win.
"Woke up in a mood, I think." He shrugged one shoulder. "Slept too long or not enough. Tension..." He let it trail again, like he wasn't sure how much to give away, or which word would actually cover whatever was riding Ryker.
We both knew what was wrong with Ryker. He was still upset that the bond had rejected him.
He glanced down the hall again, like he could will Ryker into the doorway by wanting it hard enough. "Because it's all wall and no door right now. You've got to give him room. He'll come around when he's ready. We all do."
Except that didn't sit completely right. Kearan wanted to help, wanted to fix what was broken. But the care he kept handing Ryker doubled as a shield he held up between him and me, and there was still something chained to all that restraint of his.
"He's looking for a way in and bricking up the windows at the same time, you know?" I shrugged, trying to put shape to it while Kearan worked. "I think part of him is sure there's a line he can't cross. Like he won't be welcome if he does."
Kearan stopped mid-stir, those amber eyes settling on me. "Thing is, sometimes what they need most is for us to meet them in the quiet. Remind them they don't have to cross alone." He tipped his head toward the hallway, small but not nothing. "You're right. Timing's everything."
I let that settle. "So if I'm supposed to just hold space for them... what do you need?"
His brow pulled tight at that. The question felt bold coming out of me, some shot of nerve showing up right when I needed it, ready to poke at all the unfinished business sitting between us. He worked it over, tension flickering across his face, fingers stilled on the cleaning cloth.
"I..." He started, then his gaze cut away.
I embraced the silence, just making room for him to respond when he was ready.
His gaze flicked back to me, something going soft under that careful surface, then he covered it again with the easy look I'd gotten to know. "Just be here. That's what all of us need."