With that, I left before any more questions could be hurled at me. I dropped my dirty plate off with Aubrey at the sink before cautiously approaching Wes. He was still talking to Ms. Elsie and neither of them noticed when I grabbed a clean plate and started filling it.
I worried my lip between my teeth as I tried to figure out how to cut into their conversation and broach the subject I was there to talk about. Finally, when there was a short lull, I took my opportunity.
“Could you pass me a roll?”
Wes turned to look at me, his lips curling into a carefree smile. “Sure.” He grabbed a dinner roll off the mountain of bread and placed it on my plate.
“Thanks, Wes.” I bit my lip once more as he turned around and continued to pile food onto his plate. Before I lost the nerve, I opened my mouth and let the words rush out. “Is Wyatt around?”
Wes slowly turned back around, his face almost comically curious. “Wyatt?”
“Yeah. Your brother. I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Have you been looking for him?”
I glanced away, focusing on spooning mashed potatoes onto my plate so he couldn’t read the truth in my eyes. That I’d spent every day of the past two weeks looking for him and I was done waiting. Finally, I shrugged and set the serving spoon down. “Last time I saw him he had to run off and I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
I could feel Wes’ gaze on me, but I focused on carefully pouring the perfect amount of brown gravy on my mountain of potatoes.
Finally, after what felt like forever, he spoke. “Yeah, he’s fine. You want me to tell him you’re lookin’ for him?”
My heart skipped a beat before racing full steam ahead. “Um. No. That’s fine. I’ll just see him tonight during the full moon.”
I could still feel Wes’ gaze on me, so I dropped the gravy ladle and got the heck out of there. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of glancing at Ms. Elsie before I did and found a small grin on her weathered face. I chose to ignore it and instead walked back to my sisters with my shoulders so tense they nearly reached my ears.
I had no doubt Wes would tell Wyatt I’d been asking about him. What I questioned was whether that was a good thing or not. Did I want him to know I’d been thinking about him? Asking about him?
Is that something a concerned packmate would do? Because I needed to stay firmly on this side of that line. I couldn’t afford to think of Wyatt in any other way, and I definitely didn’t have room for anything more.
It was that thought that I let run on repeat in my head as I stuffed mashed potatoes in my mouth and watched the sun slowly move across the sky outside.
Chapter 11
Wyatt
“Will you quit fussin’ over me?”
I held in a sigh and continued to steep my mom’s tea. I knew she could do it herself, but I wanted to make her life as easy as possible. She hadn’t been doing great the past few weeks and it had me and Wes worried.
To make matters worse, tonight was the full moon and we wouldn’t be there to help her if she needed it. We weren’t going far of course, and one of us would stay near the house, but we wouldn’t have opposable thumbs for about twelve hours, so I was determined to do everything I could for her before the sun set.
“I’m just making you a cup of tea.”
“I can make my own damn tea.”
I just barely held back another sigh. “I know, Ma. I’m just doing what I can before I have to leave for the night.”
She shuffled up to the kitchen counter and took the mug and tea bag from my hands. “And I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself for one night. You boys worry too much.”
Maybe that was true. But neither one of us was willing to find out what would happen if we stopped worrying about her. She was the only parent we had left, and we were going to do whatever it took to keep her around as long as possible.
The front door opened, and my brother’s unmistakable scent of cedar hit my nose.
“What’s up, fuck face?”
My lips quirked into a smile as Mom reached out and slapped the back of Wes’ head. “Don’t talk like that!”
He shrugged, his grin not moving an inch. “Hey, Ma. How you doin’ today?”
She tried to keep the disapproving look on her face, but she’d always had trouble staying mad at her youngest son. He was like a big dumb puppy. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes and shake your head at his antics.
“I’m fine, Wes. But if you could get your brother to quit bothering me, I’d feel even better.”
Wes slung an arm around her frail shoulders, careful to make the action look carefree while also being extra gentle with her. “Ma, he’s just trying to help. You know we’ll be gone for a while tonight and won’t be able to help you if you need something.”
She shot him a sideways look and ducked out from underneath his thick arm. “Not you too.”
He smiled wide at her and I watched the annoyance fade from her face almost immediately. He had that effect on everyone, which is why he hadn’t had his ass kicked more often in his life.
“We just want to make sure you’re all set before we have to leave for the night.”
She rolled her eyes, but her lips slowly curled into a smile. “All right, all right. Fuss if you want. I’ll be in
