Page 12 of My Three Hometown Alphas

The short walk back to her new home, at least for the next few months, is silent. I type in the code, opening the door. The place isn’t big, but it has everything anyone would need to live here for a short time.

Her eyes roam around the small space. It’s a cross between a cabin and a cottage.

She walks over to the couch, pulling me behind her. I finally release her hand when she adjusts herself on the couch, so she’s fully facing me.

“I’m so sorry,” she says.

I didn’t even say a word. She just knows.

I nod because what am I going to say? I’m not going to tell her it’s okay. It’s not.

“Your dad?” I ask, bracing myself for her response.

Her face falls even further, and I know the answer before she even shakes her head.

She swallows heavily. “He went through three rounds of chemo and went into remission.” There’s a glimmer in her eye. “I got two more years with him being healthy before it came back. He wasn’t as lucky the second time.”

“How long ago?” I ask.

“Two months,” she says, new tears welling her eyes.

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath. Grabbing her around the waist, I hoist her onto my lap, her knees resting on either side of me. “I’m so sorry, angel.”

The name I used for her back then comes back to me like riding a bike again after so many years.

“I couldn’t be there anymore, in Austin. Too many memories. Too much everything,” she says. A few tears fall down her cheeks.

I gently swipe them away. “I still don’t know how it happened, but I’m glad you wound up here.”

She gives me a sad smile. “Me too.” A few more tears fall with a deep inhale. “I really need this escape for the summer.”

My hands stroke over her shoulders.

“Is Will going to fire me?” she asks.

“No. I’d kick his ass if he did.”

Her laugh is quiet and sad. “We can’t do this. Can we?”

It goes against everything inside of me, but I know it’s for the best. I’m not the same man she met in Dallas. She deserves a lot more than the husk of a person I am now.

I slowly shake my head. “No.”

I hold her in my arms for a few more minutes before leaving her to get settled in her new space. A heaviness blankets my heart as I step back into the main house.

My eyes immediately lock on my older brother who’s leaning against the kitchen counter. Miles is perched on one of the barstools lining the island.

“You’d better start talking,” Will says.

So, I do. I tell them everything, or almost everything. Some of the details from the airport I skim over. Certain moments are too precious to share with anyone else.

CHAPTER FOUR

Avery

Okay.Maybe walking three miles back into Aspen Springs wasn’t my best choice to date.

I regularly go on walks, but the altitude here is no joke. I feel like my lungs are only filling halfway with air with each breath.