Chapter Forty-Two
Keller
When the door closed behind Agent Brooks, Keller spun around and jacked Linc in the gut. Linc doubled over, but didn’t go down. “You son of a bitch. Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused? Because of you, Coop was mouthing off to the Feds and Molly was going out on breakfast dates. Hell, I almost shifted in front of the bastard because I was so pissed. You knowingly slept with a chick that was engaged.” He jabbed a finger in front of Linc’s face. “That’s a dick move and you fucking know it. I love you, man, but maybe the girls are right—it’s time to grow up.”
Linc took a deep breath, meeting Keller’s gaze straight on. “I’m so sorry for all the trouble I caused these past couple of weeks. If I’d had any idea that Brooks was pissed at you because he thought you were me, I would have confronted him and told him the truth. You have to believe that. When I hooked up with—uh, aw hell. I can’t even remember her name.” Linc sank down onto the loveseat and put his head in his hands.
Molly walked over and put her hand on his back, shooting Keller a look when he snarled. “Linc, it’s okay.”
Keller’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Like fucking hell it’s okay. I got sucker punched. He ruined that man’s life.”
Coop sat on the arm of the loveseat next to Linc and started to rub his head. Dom growled. “Linc. Don’t be so hard on yourself. The most important thing is that you recognize what you did was wrong. You see now, right? How your actions have a ripple effect? You don’t want Jasper following in your footsteps. You want to be better, make better choices.”
Linc lifted his head, but leaned into Coop’s hand so she wouldn’t stop massaging his scalp. “I do. I will. I’ll try and be better. It won’t be easy. I’ve been this way since my first shift.”
Molly rubbed soothing circles on his back and Keller had to clench his fists at his side to keep from hauling her off the couch. “All that we ask is that you try. And that you set a better example for the kids. Deal?”
Linc gave both girls his best puppy dog eyes. “Deal.”
Baze shook his head and chuckled. Dom grabbed Coop’s hand and pulled her away from Linc. Riley rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen, probably to sneak a beer.
Keller flicked Linc’s ear so hard he was surprised it didn’t fly across the room. “You are so full of shit. Stop with the sad voice and puppy dog eyes. We can see right through you.”
“Keller.” Molly scolded him. “Linc has promised to make better choices. We should give him the chance to be true to his word.” She slapped Keller’s arm. “Apologize for flicking his ear.”
“No.”
“What are you, five? Say you’re sorry.”
“No.”
Molly raised her eyebrows, and gave him the look. The one that said Do it or I’m sleeping in flannel jammies tonight. “Keller.”
“Linc, I’m sorry I flicked your ear.”
Coop nodded. “Good. Now how about we all grab a beer and go out on the porch and decompress a little?”
Linc got up looking pretty damn proud of himself. “A beer sounds perfect right now.”
Corey snorted, “Aw, buddy. No beer for you.”
“What? Why?”
“I’m empathetic, not stupid. I know you only meant maybe half of what you just said. I’m all for giving you a second chance. But you still need to atone for your sins, my friend.”
Linc scoffed. “What are you now? Guidance counselor and priest?”
Molly giggled. “I guess in all actuality, she’s the alpha female. So, she outranks you.” Keller had seen her Googling wolf pack traits and facts the other day at the breakfast table.
Coop smiled. “Well, Miss Molly, I do believe you are right.” She turned to Keller and winked. “Right? I mean we are a pack. And I was the first female in it, which has to count for something.”
Keller nodded slowly, grinning from ear to ear, loving where this was headed. “Sounds good to me. Baze? Riley? How do you feel about that?”
Baze walked up to Linc and took a loooong pull off his ice-cold beer bottle. “I agree. Corey is alpha female. She’s higher in the pecking order than Linc.”
Riley shook his head, laughing. “Corey has been the boss of me since the day we met so I am okay with Corey being the boss of Linc too.”
Dom stuck in his head in the room. “I am one hundred percent okay with Corey being Linc’s superior.”
“Wait a minute. We were talking about Corey being alpha female. How did that turn into Corey being the boss of me?” Linc looked from Baze to Riley pleading with his eyes.
Coop shrugged. “Vote passed. I am in charge. You cannot drink any beer for the rest…of…the day.”
Molly laughed. “Just a day? After all that?”
Corey nodded solemnly. “I am a merciful leader.”
***
The rest of the evening had been pretty comical. Coop and Molly both yelled at Linc again. Riley’s head had swelled to the size of Texas after hearing that the waitresses at Moon Bar brought him up to a complete stranger, so Corey and Molly turned their irritation on him. Keller was glad that Coop and Molly had become so close but it didn’t bode well for the men in this family that they liked to yell in tandem.
Keller looked down at his mate whose head was resting in his lap as they watched a movie, finally alone in their home after the rest of the pack had left. She smiled without taking her eyes away from the screen. “What? Why are you staring at me?”
He ran his fingers through her hair. “Because you’re beautiful. And you’re mine.”
“I am yours. Mated and cohabitated.”
Keller chuckled at her rhyme. “Yes, ma’am. I’m actually glad Coop made moving everyone’s punishment. It’s nice to be almost done unpacking already.”
Molly turned over onto her back. “I know, right? Are you okay? After everything that went down with Agent Brooks?”
“I’m still not his number one fan. But I get it. The man was brokenhearted. He had a chance for revenge, why not take it? I wish he would have left you out of it. He could have come to me first, saved everyone a lot of trouble.”
“All of you guys seemed to know about the nurse. Were she and Linc together long?”
“No. Not at all. I think he slept with her a handful of times. It must’ve been convenient for him or he wouldn’t have even kept her around that long. We all knew because after Dean McCormick fired her, he refused to hire another nurse. He makes us take care of the sick kids down in the trainer’s office. Punishment for Linc’s behavior.”
“Is that what Baze meant when he said it was Linc’s fault he had become Florence Nightingale?”
Keller nodded, lips poised against his beer bottle. “Yeah. For some reason Baze is always the one around when someone comes in looking for help. Baze banned Linc from nailing any and all medical professionals in Colorado for five years.”
“Really? Linc agreed to that?”
“We all backed Baze—Linc was outnumbered. Baze made him sign a contract and everything. It’s written up on a Moon Bar napkin somewhere.”
“You guys crack me up. You are perfect for each other.”
“We are. And now we have you and Coop. Even more perfect for us.” Keller leaned down and kissed her slowly once, twice, before turning back to the movie.
Molly snuggled in a little closer. “I’m glad all this is behind us and the Feds are gone. No more arguing about Brooks. We can start arguing about more important things now.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Doing the dishes, the toilet seat, stealing covers, how many kids we are going to have.” Molly grinned up at Keller.
“You do the dishes, I’ll put the seat down, we’ll get two blankets, and is this a subtle way of telling me you want to have a baby?”
Molly giggled at the scared look on his face. “Calm down, Keller. I’m not ready for kids. But…soon. Is soon okay?”
“How about soon-ish?”
Her brow wrinkled. “What does the ‘ish’ do?”
“Adds a couple more months.”
“Soon-ish is good.” Molly reached up and ruffled his unruly hair. “What now?”
Keller smiled, remembering the first time she had asked him that. “Well, Miss Molly, I was just about to ask you the same question. Tell me what you need from me. Do you want to get married? Do you need the traditional engagement and wedding?”
Molly was quiet for a few moments before answering him. “I love you. I have loved you from the moment I saw you, even though I didn’t realize it at first. You make me laugh. You make me feel safe. You make me feel all kinds of wonderful things.”
“You’re talking about the mind-blowing orgasms, right?”
“Right. I just didn’t think the word orgasm belonged in my declaration of love speech.” She pursed her lips.
“Oh, okay. Sorry.” He waved his hand, signaling her to continue. “Go on.”
“In my mind, in my heart, we’re married. It’s me and you. We’re a team. I don’t need a piece of paper or a ring to prove it. But that being said, when we do decide to start our family having the same last name and wedding rings, it would only make it easier on our kids.”
Keller grinned. “You just want a pretty, sparkly ring, don’t you?”
“A little bit, yeah.” She smirked. “After all, a ring would keep all those human males at Moon Bar who can’t smell your scent from hitting on me.”
“Oh, you’re quitting Moon Bar.”
“Keller, I swear to everything holy—”
He silenced her with a kiss and laughed when she bit his tongue.
St. Leasing continues with Linc and Madden’s story –
Jaw Dropping