I was putting my clothes in a drawer Gabriel had cleared out for me when my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a call, not a text, from the number Ron had given me. I quickly answered.

“Hello?”

“Hi, this is Preston,” a strong voice said from the other end. “Who’s this?”

“Preston, hi!” I replied, sticking my head out the door and motioning to Gabriel who was doing something in the kitchen. He came over as I took a seat on the bed. “My name is Percy. Ron from Bottoms Up gave me your number?”

“Ron…the Ron who buys jalapenos from me?” he asked.

“That’s right,” I replied.

“Oh, okay. What’s up?”

“Well, I remember you mentioning that you worked on a farm—or owned one?”

“Yeah, I own one with my pack,” he said.

“Are you looking for anyone to help out?” I asked. “My mate, Gabriel, is big and strong and has always wanted to work on a farm. He’s looking to change jobs at the moment and I thought I’d call and see if you were hiring.”

“Well, I’m not specifically hiring,” Preston replied, and I felt my heart sink. “But, I’ve always got room for a good hand. What’s he want to do?”

“Why don’t I just put him on the phone?”

“Sounds good.”

I covered the microphone with my hand as Gabriel came into the room. “Do you want to talk to Preston?”

“Sure,” he smiled, taking the phone. “Hello?”

I was all giddy inside as he and Preston talked. I couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation, but from the parts I could hear, it sounded like they were having a good chat. At one point, Gabriel said, “Yeah, I’ve been wanting to do some woodworking actually. I’d love that.”

He turned back to me and flashed me a thumbs up, and I had to contain myself from leaping into his arms. Instead, I waited until he hung up and then leapt on him.

“So!?” I asked excitedly. “What’d he say? What’d he say?”

“Well, he says he and the pack have been looking to add on to their house and he could use some help doing the carpentry and building furniture for the place.”

“That’s great!” I cried out, throwing my hands into the air like his own personal cheerleader.

“Know what else he said?” Gabriel asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What?”

He just looked back at me, a smile on his face.

“What, Gabriel!?” I pressed him, growing more anxious by the second.

But still, he held firm and just grinned.

“Tell me!” I cried out, pinching his arm.

“Okay!” he laughed, pulling his arm away. “He said once the addition is finished, we’d be more than welcome to stay with them—as long as we all get along, of course.”

I had a very mixed reaction when he said that. On one hand, it was great news and extremely kind on Preston’s part, but on the other hand, it meant leaving Gabriel’s place where I’d just started to feel at home. He must have seen all those thoughts written on my face as he took a step forward and put both hands on my shoulders.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing…it’s just…” my voice trailed off. I wasn’t even sure I could explain it to him, but I tried. “I don’t want it to be like your place isn’t good enough, ya know?”

Gabriel smiled kindly down at me and shook his head. “Don’t even think that. I’m not tied to this place any more than you’re tied to that apartment above the bar. Finding a nicer spot would be fantastic, and if this farm thing works out, we’d have a pack to belong to as well. Wouldn’t that be incredible?”

“Yes,” I said softly.

“Neither of us has a family right now,” he went on. “And we’re going to start our own, of course. But having a pack? A real pack to belong to with people to look out for us? That would be amazing.”

He was right, and having been on his own since the age of twelve, probably knew better than me what it was like to be alone. The pain from the loss of my parents was real, but they’d only been gone a month and the full reality of their absence had yet to really hit me. I’d just been trying to survive. But now, I was about to thrive. I just knew it.

“I think you’re right,” I told him, a fuzzy feeling coming over me. “God, can you believe it? Can you believe how much has changed in a single day?”

“And there’s more to come,” he replied, placing the palm of his hand on my belly. I looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

“Do you—do you think it’ll happen soon?”

“I’d put all my money on it.”

“How do you know?” I asked, pressing my head against his chest. Talking about things like this seemed to excite me and scare me at the same time. Life changes were always hard, and more than often not welcome. This was one major change that I was afraid of but also knew was the absolute right decision.

I could just picture it now: us living on a beautiful farm with an addition that Gabriel had built with his own two hands, a wonderful pack surrounding us and a child—or maybe more than one—running around like little terrors as we did our best to keep up with them.

It will be exhausting. The thought made me smile though. And I’ll love it.

We spent the rest of the day getting our things organized. Our move to the farm wasn’t guaranteed by any means, but we were both excited, and going through the motions of preparation was a good way of dealing with that. I tried not to worry that I was getting my hopes up. I know it was early, but so far, things had really been going well for us, and with any luck, they’d keep going.

Later, when I found myself lying in bed with Gabriel, both of us relaxing after a long day of cleaning up and organizing, I realized I’d never been so happy to do a day’s work in my life.

“You know what I can’t wait for?” I asked him.

“What’s that?” he replied, stroking my head absentmindedly.

“Nesting,” I chuckled. “Getting everything in order at the new place. Making it a home.”

“Don’t get too excited,” Gabriel replied. “It might not work out.”

“It will,” I told him, nodding confidently.

“How do you know that?” he asked.

“Everything else has so far,” I replied with a smile, rubbing my belly. “This will happen soon, and we’ll be like one of those couples at the end of a romance novel!”

“Oh, speaking of that,” Gabriel interjected. “Do you have a computer or a typewriter or anything to do your writing?”

“So far I’ve just been writing in a notebook,” I told him.

“Oh, we can’t settle for that,” he chuckled. “I’ll get you something to write on.”

“Yeah?” I asked, turning to smile up at him.

“Of course,” he replied. “If my mate is going to be a famous mystery author, I can’t have him writing slowly with a pen and paper!”

“I don’t know, it’s kind of romantic,” I mused.

“Yes, but if I know you, your brain can move faster than you can write,” he laughed. “You need something to keep up with you.”

“You can keep up with me,” I replied, turning and running my hand down his belly. He wasn’t wearing any underwear, and my fingers found his warm, thick, alpha cock. It stirred within my grasp and he quickly turned to me and pulled me to him.

“You know, you’re right about that.”

He kissed me, and we writhed together, intertwined in unspeakable pleasure, as the cool Texas moonlight streamed through the window like a spotlight, illuminating our mutual ecstasy.

If only the rest of the world could understand, I thought as he penetrated me. Then everyone would believe in true love.