Page 52 of My Three Hometown Alphas

I drag in a deep breath. “She passed when I was a kid.”

Her hand squeezes my arm. “Sweetheart,” she whispers, “I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through all of that. Losing someone you love is the worst pain imaginable.”

I know she means every word she’s saying. They aren’t just meaningless platitudes said by someone looking to appease their own feelings.

She’s a mother who lost her child. She understands this more than most, more than anyone ever should.

“I’m sorry you lost Olivia. I know I didn’t know her, but she sounds like a wonderful person,” I say, swiping at the single tear that falls.

I can feel her hitched breath as she inhales. “She was,” she says.

We’re both quiet for a minute before she speaks up again.

“We have to keep living after they’re gone. We must live for them as much as we are for ourselves and for the other people we love who are still here.”

Her words hit me right in the chest. As hard as it might be, I have to find a way to live my life now without my dad. I need to find what that life looks like and what’s going to bring me joy, like I know he’d want for me.

I nod against her shoulder, taking a couple deep breaths. We both have tears in our eyes when we pull apart.

“We’re quite the pair, aren’t we.” She laughs, wiping at her eyes.

I chuckle, doing the same. Glancing out over the yard, I see Owen staring at us. He mouths the word “okay?” with a slight tilt of his head.

I shrug my shoulders and nod. I’m as good as I can be right now.

He nods. His eyes stay trained on me for a few more second before he turns back toward his dad.

Shana is looking at me with those knowing eyes so many moms have. To distract her, I ask, “Have you lived in Aspen Springs your whole life?”

She smirks, like she knows exactly what I’m doing. Luckily, she plays along.

“No, Greg and I moved here shortly after we got married. We fell in love with it and knew this was where we wanted to start a family. We used money he got from his family inheritance to start the store. Then Will came along, and we’ve been here ever since.”

I take a sip of my forgotten drink. “I can see why you chose to stay. I love this town.”

“Would you ever want to stay?” she asks, a glimmer of something almost hopeful in her words.

“I’m taking an internship in California in the fall.”

She nods a few times. “I hope it’s everything you want it to be.”

I could tell her it isn’t really what I want to be doing, but I just give her a small smile. The vision of my future seems foggier than ever lately.

She hums quietly. “This town gave Greg and me a fresh start when we needed it at that point in our lives.”

I can’t ignore the part of me that yearns for this town to be my fresh start, too.A new home.

“Is that why you guys do so much for the community?” I ask to distract myself from my thoughts. I don’t know all the details, but I know they use a lot of their money to support the kids in town.

When Miles told me how wealthy their family was, I was shocked. None of the brothers act like they grew up with silver spoons in their mouths.

Then, when he explained what his parents chose to do with said wealth, I wasn’t surprised at all. I hadn’t met their parents at that point, but I knew the three men they’d raised.

She nods. “The inheritance and some good investments have provided us with more money than we could ever want.” She laughs to herself. “Greg and I aren’t flashy people. We never wanted a rich life full of things. We just wanted a business we could run together, a home filled with love, and our kids happy. We got that in spades.”

Her palm slides over her pant leg, smoothing out the wrinkles. “We just wanted to give back some of that love to others. My family life growing up wasn’t great, so I’ve always wanted to do what I could to bring joy to kids’ lives.”

“I think it’s amazing what you’re doing,” I say.