Page 44 of Blizzards and Brews
“She’s coming home to live with us now,” Ollie said, matter-of-fact.
Beatty nodded sagely.
“Is this her decision or yours?” she inquired.
“Mine,” Ollie replied, taking the blame.
“After this morning… we aren’t willing to risk it. She bit Ollie, she’ll agree,” I added. The way her look was making me doubt my words was intense but I wasn’t the type of alpha to back down.
Beatty continued to rock in her chair for a few moments before she nodded. “Her room is up the stairs, last room on theleft. Now, that girl’s been through some shit in her life. You take care of her, you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said.
“Go on, then,” she warned, waving us off. “I can’t wait to see what she thinks of all this.”
I’m not sure she wanted us to hear the last part, but I bit back a smile. I wondered if Beatty was helping us because she was looking out for Lindsay or if she was helping us because she wanted to see some drama. Truth be told, if she wanted to kick our ass, she probably could. I wasn’t too manly to admit she was a bit scary.
Ollie led the way up the stairs to the room at the end of the hall. He pushed open the door and we stepped inside. Both of us stopped short, looking around, then glanced at each other.
“Did she already pack everything?” Ollie wondered.
The room was nearly empty. The only traces of her were the shoes placed near the door and a backpack of clothes in the corner. She hadn’t even bothered to put them in the drawers… we checked.
We hadn’t heard the full story about the tiny home she lived in. I’d only dropped her off here. I wondered if all her things were inside that, wherever it was. She barely had any clothes, and from the price tags in the trash can, she’d bought what she had now.
It took Ollie all of five seconds to pack up the various items in the room, while I checked the bathroom, putting her few toiletries and makeup into the single bag resting on the counter.
It was sad that she was living here, yet now it looked like she had never been here at all.
Ollie brushed his fingers over mine.
“It’s okay, we can buy everything she needs.” There was sadness in his voice. He was hurt she didn’t come to them forhelp and I couldn’t blame him. We were new and this was killing me.
I pulled him in and gave him a tight hug, not offering words because we really didn’t know what was happening here.
“Let’s go,” I agreed, leading him down the stairs, this time not letting go of his hand. We said a quick goodbye to Beatty, who just gave us a smirk and waved us out the door.
The drive across town was short and quiet. When we pulled up in front of the two-story home, we were the only car here.
We’d gotten the text saying that she was safe, which is why Ollie was determined to go gather her things. I wasn’t going to argue… I wasn’t going to repeat this morning.
She could have space here with us.
“I didn’t get the tour earlier, show me around?” I asked my omega as he unlocked the door. He didn’t drop her things by the entryway, instead he carried them further inside as he started to talk, pointing out each room as we went.
The kitchen was huge, shining with stainless steel. The hardwood floors and black appliances gave it a sleek, modern look.
The living room was next, complete with a comfy, black sectional, big TV, and a plush, gray rug.
Despite three bachelors living here, it had a cozy touch. I had a feeling that was all Ollie.
Pictures hung throughout the space of the triplets, their parents, and Lindsay at varying stages of their life. I didn’t get a chance to inspect many of them, he was already moving on, but I made a mental note to come back later.
He stopped at the bottom of the staircase and pointed to the hallway downstairs. “That hallway leads to a mudroom, the backyard, the laundry room, a storage room, and our shared office. All the bedrooms are upstairs.”
“How many rooms does this place have?” I asked. It was big, even from the outside, but I didn’t expect it to feel so airy and open on the inside.
“Well, I’ve got two—one for sleeping and one for my nest. You saw the first last night. Then, Adam and Dustin both have one, and we have two extras. It’s like fate was looking out for us,” he said happily.