Page 55 of My Three Hometown Alphas

“Yes,” Lyla shouts, running into the house. The door thuds shut behind her.

“Hey,” I say, pressing my lips against Avery’s temple.

“Hey,” she says, grinning at me.

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean for us all to crash like that.” My eyes roam over her, searching for any signs of injury.

“I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

She presses her lips against mine in a tender kiss, then snuggles a little further against me. Her head rests against my chest.

I should probably care that I’m lying in the wet grass with dripping socks, jeans, and a T-shirt that is clinging to my skin. There isn’t a fraction of my brain that’s worried about that right now, though.

The woman in my arms is the only thing that matters.

My brain was in charge when we started hooking up. Now, I’m pretty sure my heart is starting to take control.

I’ve never felt this way before, but I don’t need other points of reference to know that I’m falling for her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Avery

My fingers flyacross the keyboard with my eagerness to finish the assignment.

I honestly have loved the work that has gone into getting my master’s degree. In many ways, it was my refuge these last two years, while I was putting so much into being there for Dad.

It’s the one thing I kept doing for me, per his insistence.

It’s wild that in a few weeks it will all be done. I will walk across that stage and receive my degree—a degree I wish more than anything my dad could see me hold in my hands.

If I’m really wishing for things, I would want both of my parents to be there.

Missing my mom and my dad are two very different things. I have spent years grieving the memories Icouldhave had with my mom. I was so young when she passed. My own memories of her are few.

With my dad, it’s a completely different ball game. I have twenty-four years of a life spent with him at my side. Few thoughts of my childhood don’t involve him.

I misshim. I miss the way he would always buy white bread, even though he preferred wheat, because he knew it was my favorite.

I miss the way his fingers would idly tap against the arms of his old gray recliner while we watched a movie. I miss the way he’d hug me so close I’d never doubt for a second how loved I was.

Just when I think I’ve started to get a handle on the grief, it smacks me upside the head. I guess that’s how it works, though. It isn’t linear.

There aren’t even good days and bad days. There are good moments and tough moments. The love you feel for those you’ve lost is always present, though, through it all.

Easing my laptop closed, I stand up from the dining room table where I’ve been working for the last few hours. I take a deep breath, trying to pull myself together.

Glancing in the living room where Lyla has been watching a movie, I see the credits rolling across the screen. I guess I have good timing.

Her head pops up over the couch.

“Good movie?” I ask.

“Frozenis always good,” she says, carrying her snack wrappers to the trash can.

After depositing everything into the can, she walks directly toward me. Her small arms wrap around my waist and I lean down, hugging her back.

“What’s this for?” I ask.