Page 72 of Blizzards and Brews
And you know what? For the first time, I didn’t feel any lingering anxiety over it.
A wave of warmth flowed down the bond from Adam as I dug out my phone and passed it to Leander. “That’s exactly why you’re here.”
Seeing the looks on the guys’ faces at my statement was worth every single moment to get here.
Spencer, Adam, and Dustin stood in the back by the adorable penguin, who we named Percy, while Ollie and I stood in front of them with wide grins on our faces.
“Say Blizzards and Brews!”
All of us laughed at his choice of words, knowing damn well they were what had brought us all together. We still had a long way to go, but today felt like the first day of the rest of my life.
The flash went off just moments before my phone started ringing. I went to take it from Leander only to see that Hunter’s name was flashing on the screen.
Unease filtered through me as I accepted the call, the guys looking at me with concern.
“Hello?”
“Hey Lindsay. You got a second?” Hunter asked, the tone of his voice not the least bit promising.
“What’s going on?” I questioned.
Hunter sighed. “I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is we found your house and we brought it back to your lot. The bad news is, it’s not in good shape, Linds. We’re still trying to find Jason and I called in a few more favors out of state. I’m doing everything I can.”
“I know you are,” I assured him, swallowing the harsh lump in my throat. Adam came up to me then, raising his eyebrow questioningly as he pulled me against him and wrapped me inhis arms, as if somehow getting drowned in his caramel-latte scent would take care of everything.
“I’ll let you know when I have another update,” he said, his voice gruff. “I know it’s not my place to ask, but can you call Autumn soon? I can’t keep this from her anymore. You know how much she and the girls care about you.”
“You can tell her and she can kick my ass later,” I said with a humorless laugh. “Tell her I’ll buy the first round next girls’ night and fill her in then.”
We hung up quickly after that, but that numb, surreal feeling still lingered around my brain at the news.
“I need to go,” I said, looking up to the guys.
Dustin pulled his keys from his pocket. “Where are we going, Linds?”
My heart throbbed at his words. His steadfast assumption that they’d go wherever I went.
“They found my house, and put it back on my lot. Apparently, it’s not in good shape, but I need to see it. I need to know…”
There were things that were replaceable and things that were not, and until I had the full details I knew I wouldn’t be able to begin fully processing.
“We’ve got you, firefly,” Adam promised.
I’d never been more grateful that we’d hired holiday help then when we were in the truck five minutes later. Adam and Dustin were in the front while Spencer and Ollie had me crushed between them in the back.
The two of them were purring, the sound a comfortable hum as I closed my eyes and rested my head against Spencer’s chest.
When I felt the truck stop, I almost didn’t want to open my eyes.
“Angel,” Spencer said, stroking my hair. “Whatever we find in there, we’ll face together. You’re not alone.”
I opened my eyes, finding his emerald ones on mine. Spencer and I may have not known each other as long as I had known the triplets, but there was no denying the connection between us. I’d felt it the first time I met him and it only had gotten stronger since.
“Let’s do this,” I said, finding my backbone again and steeling myself for whatever there was to find.
As we exited the car I saw that the house mostly looked the same on the outside, aside from my missing windchimes and bench I put on the small, outdoor porch.
It wasn’t until I walked through the front door that I realized exactly all I had lost.