Page 107 of My Three Hometown Alphas

He isn’t here, though, so I’m walking at a leisurely pace along the trail on the outskirts of town.

It has been a month since they surprised me at my graduation and I agreed to stay in Aspen Springs. I still can’t believe they went through all of that so I would stay here and be with them.

I mean, I can believe it. They all show me every single day how much they love me. I don’t doubt that for a second.

Sometimes it still shocks me that this is really my life.

I have three men who might drive me crazy at times, but they all love me with their whole hearts. Being with them has been as easy as breathing, like it was always meant to be this way.

I’ve never been a believer in fate, but sometimes it sure as shit feels like I should be. It just feels right.

I have a little girl who brightens my world every day. She went back to school a few days after we returned from Georgia. I miss spending all day with her, but I love hearing her stories when she gets home from school every afternoon.

Weekends were always a time I looked forward to, but now they’ve become something almost sacred. It’s special because I get to spend it with all my favorite people. Even if we do absolutely nothing, it’s still a balm for my soul.

I still miss my dad. Some days are better than others. Knowing I have the guys at my side makes it a little easier to deal with the grief as it comes.

I’m not alone anymore, and neither are they. We help lift each other up when one of us is feeling the weight of everything a little more that day.

There is a small piece of my brain that doesn’t know how this is going to last. I have a job for now that I love, but that will come to an end in two months after the election in November.

My job security after that is still up in the air. I want to stay here more than anything, but I don’t know how that will happen if I can’t find another job.

My phone vibrates in the pocket of my leggings. I pull it out, seeing a text from Hadley.

Hadley:We just got approval for the venue for the town hall Q&A.

Me: Awesome! I’ll post everything on the social media accounts. And I’ll bring Lyla with me to help put the flyers up around town.

Hadley: Thanks for everything you’re doing with all of this! I appreciate you!

I smile as I type out my response.

Me: It really doesn’t feel like work.

It really hasn’t. I love doing this kind of stuff, and Hadley and I have gotten really close with how much we have worked together in the last few weeks.

Being around Hadley means I’ve also spent more time with Sienna. I can confidently say they are both my friends now. The connection I felt with them at the softball double-header wasn’t a fluke.

Hadley: Then…. I guess I should stop paying you.

She follows it up with a few winking face emojis.

Me: Hmm…. You love me too much to do that.

Hadley: More like I’m too scared of you to do it.

I burst out laughing.

Me: I’ll come by tomorrow and we can start going over practice questions for the town hall.

She writes back a series of emojis that make me giggle as I tuck my phone into my leggings.

I look up, realizing I’m standing right in front of the cemetery. I’ve never walked this far on the trail, so I had no idea it led here. I’m about to turn around and head back home when an invisible tug at my heart urges me in the opposite direction.

I take a deep breath, letting my feet carry me toward the only person I know who’s buried here. The familiar light gray stone comes into view.

Beloved mother, sister, daughter, friend. Forever missed.