Page 5

Beth

I really shouldn’t have taken the babysitting job the night before I had to travel back home, but I hadn’t wanted to leave Joey’s family in the lurch.

Also, the cake was hands down some of the creamiest, most decadent dessert I had ever tasted. I ate two slices before I went to bed.

The tummy ache was worth it.

Joey was a sweet kid, and I’d enjoyed my evening with her. If I didn’t have to be up at the ass crack of dawn to catch a flight to Nebraska, I probably wouldn’t have any regrets.

While I waited for my flight, I nursed my cup of iced coffee filled with so much syrup it was practically a milkshake.

I needed all the sugar and caffeine to get me through the day.

My mind kept drifting back to the intense look Cullen had given me when I tried to leave at the end of the night, and his rather complimentary anger.

He definitely had too much faith in his designation, though. I had come across plenty of alphas who were happy for me to walk home after a date. Part of me wondered what it would be like to date a man like him, one who cared and wanted to make sure I was safe.

It wasn’t a long flight, by any means—usually three to four hours—but between getting there early for security and the flight itself, going to see my family usually took the better part of a day.

My fathers had also insisted I get the earliest flight because they were desperate to see me. Apparently, living in California was like living a million miles away.

During the flight, I managed to read a few chapters of one of my textbooks I had downloaded to my e-reader so I wasn’t wasting any time in the air.

I had packed light, considering I was only staying with my family for a few days. I needed to be back Tuesday for work. I would have Saturday night until Monday evening to spend with them.

“Bethy!” My dad Richard greeted me excitedly, pulling me into a bear hug when he saw me at the arrivals gate.

“Hey, Dad.” I smiled, leaning into the embrace. His familiar spiced fruit scent was comforting and familiar.

“I’m so happy you’re home,” he said, pulling back and looking me over.

“It’s just for a few days,” I reminded him.

“I know.” He waved me off. “Your brothers have missed you!” he said as he took my bag and we started walking toward his truck.

“Are they all home?” I asked, my stomach twisting with unease at that prospect.

“Yeah, Jake and Danny are living with us again, and Hayden comes over every night.”

I loved my family; they were just…a lot.

“And Pa?” I asked.

“Will be home from work by the time we get back. It’s going to be a full house!” he declared excitedly.

Our family home had been in my mother’s family for decades before she passed. I had spent my entire childhood in the idyllic farmhouse with a wraparound porch and blue window trim.

“You know, your brothers are doing really well for themselves,” Dad said happily as we pulled into the long, long driveway.

“Really?” I asked, cocking a brow. “They still live at home.”

“Hayden doesn’t!” my dad said, shaking his head emphatically. “And there’s this omega he’s dating. Heather. Sweet girl. I really hope he can convince her to settle down with him. It would be nice to see him happy with a family.”

My brother couldn’t look after a Chia Pet, let alone himself. I was already feeling sorry for Heather, and I hadn’t even met her.

“Are they managing to hold down jobs?” I asked.

“Hayden has been at the car shop for almost six months now. Danny is between jobs right now, and Jake just started at the local butcher’s shop.”

I nodded. None of my brothers kept a job for very long; that was one of the reasons none of them had lived away from the house for longer than a few months.

“Now, don’t make that face, Beth. They’re good boys—you know how hard it is to find work nowadays. Not many people are hiring and all that.”

I bit my tongue.

People in town were hiring; they just weren’t hiring man children who were more interested in partying and smoking pot than working. They had all been fired multiple times for turning up late to jobs repeatedly.

“I’m not saying anything, but I am managing to hold down two jobs and take classes at the same time.”

My dad sighed, a long-suffering sound. This wasn’t a new disagreement. “If you were closer to home, you wouldn’t have to do that. You know we would pay for you to go to the local college.”

“Let’s not get into this again,” I said as we pulled up in front of the house. The last thing I needed before spending any extended time with my family was a reminder of their stark favoritism.

There was loud, boisterous shouting emanating from the living room. I turned to my dad, who was behind me, and he shrugged. “Some new video game,” he explained.

It was like my brothers were teenagers, not grown-ass alphas.

My dad Frank was standing in the kitchen, a bottle of beer in his hand as I walked in. “Beth!” he greeted me, pulling me in for a hug. “Oh, you’re a sight for sore eyes. How are you? You look skinny. You should move back home.”

“I’ll be back after I finish college,” I said, even though, deep down, I doubted that. “Hi, Pa.” Pulling away, I glanced around the kitchen.

“Boys! Say hello to your sister!” Pa shouted in the direction of the living room.

None of them extracted themselves from the video game they were playing, nor did I expect them to. They just shouted a few murmured greetings.

Exactly the warm welcome I was expecting.

Turning around, I took in the kitchen.

It was filthy.

The backsplash tiles were caked in dirt, and there was a slight smell to the place. I expected that, though. Ever since Mom died, I was the only person who deep-cleaned the house. My fathers thought cleaning consisted of clearing away a little clutter, and that was it.

“I got the ingredients to make your mom’s meat loaf, if you feel up to it?” Dad asked hopefully, rubbing my back lightly. “It’s been a while since we had a damn good home-cooked meal.”

My family didn’t cook or clean.

“Sure.” My voice was tight.

I could have said I was exhausted, that I wanted to rest after my flight, but I knew they would pretend to be okay with that, only to make subtle digs and comments when eating takeout later.

It wasn’t worth the energy.

So, before I could even sit down, I was rolling up my sleeves to cook. As I started forming the meat, I got to work scrubbing the countertops.

This was why I avoided coming home at all costs. My brothers and fathers had never adapted to the loss of my mother.

She was a warm, kind, house-proud omega. She showed her love by caring for everyone in the house, cleaning, cooking, and keeping everything in perfect order.

When she died, I took over, partially because I felt like my family was falling apart, and despite being a child, I thought if I could do what Mom did, it would make things better.

News flash—it didn’t.

I just became the go-to for all domestic labor in my family.

The food was ready after three hours. Not once did any of my brothers offer to help. In fact, Jake and Danny both popped into the kitchen at various points to complain that they were hungry and waiting on food.

They didn’t even bother to say hello to me properly.

“I just got here. It’ll be ready when it’s ready,” I snapped at them.

Disgruntled, they returned to the living room and proceeded to ignore me. They didn’t return until I shouted that the food was on the table.

Both my dads and three brothers gathered around the table.

“Hey, Beth, can you grab me a beer?” Jake asked as soon as my butt hit the chair. He was leaning back, a shit-eating grin on his face. So relaxed and at ease.

“You can grab it yourself,” I said, frowning at him.

Jake’s face dropped. “I was just asking a favor. What’s wrong with you? You don’t need to be so bitchy.”

“Don’t call your sister bitchy,” Pa admonished.

“I’m tired, I’ve been traveling all day, and I’ve been cooking while you’ve been sitting on your ass, playing games,” I pointed out.

“Jake, you can grab yourself a beer,” Dad chided quietly.

My brother glowered at me before pushing back, his chair scraping against the floor as he left the dining room, storming toward the kitchen.

“You know,” Dad said, turning to me with a frown as he ate the mashed potatoes I’d spent the last hour making for him, “you need to be nicer to your brothers. You are traveling a lot, but that is your choice. You were the one who wanted to go to school so far away, when you could have stayed near home.”

I bit my tongue. What did my choice to move away have to do with my brothers expecting me to wait on them hand and foot?

“Why did you even choose to go so far away? It’s ridiculous. Everything you need is right here,” Hayden said.

“She’s just putting off settling down because she’s a bitch,” Danny said.

I shouldn’t have taken the bait, but I was tired, and I couldn’t handle their needling so soon after arriving home. “So what if I’m not ready to settle down yet?” I said. “I’m working a good job, I’m getting a degree, and I’m self-sufficient.” I shrugged.

“Are you dating?” Dad asked from the head of the table, a mildly perturbed look on his face.

“Some, the random date here and there.”

He paled a little at that. “Why are you dating all the way out in California when you’re going to be coming home once you finish college?”

“Because that’s what young people do?” I knew what my father was really getting at, but I didn’t want to get into it.

“But you’re coming home and settling down here, right? We are your family.”

“Mom left her home state to live with you guys,” I pointed out. I knew it was a mistake the moment I said it. Both my fathers’ faces turned red as I called them out.

“That was completely different.”

Danny frowned. “You’d really just abandon us, wouldn’t you?”

Fucking hell.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed. “I haven’t even been here a full day. Can you knock it off for a bit?” I growled, getting up.

“You just got home. Why are you fighting with us?” my pa asked with a frown.

Like I was the one causing the fighting, not them?

“I’m not hungry. I’m going to get some sleep. Good night,” I said, leaving the room, only pausing to put my plate in the dishwasher. I knew full well that my family wouldn’t do the same, and I would have to take all the dishes off the kitchen counter and put them in the dishwasher the next morning.

Ignoring my dad calling my name, I made a beeline upstairs for my old room. The space was exactly the same as the day I’d left it. It looked like the room of a little girl, all pink frills and bows.

I didn’t particularly like either, but my fathers seemed to think that was what girls wanted, so they’d decked out my room in all the frilly, girly things they could find. I liked pink…but that room looked like a doily had thrown up on it.

Collapsing onto the bed, I grumbled to myself as I reached for my phone.

Visiting my family was exhausting, and I hated it. I loved them, deep down, but they were all so lost in their own worlds that they didn’t seem to care about me anymore, only what I could do for them.

There was a message from Jensen. Sitting up straighter, I opened it and broke into a smile. It was a photo of Joey and Jensen, cutting up a bell pepper. Along with the photo was a text.

Jensen:

She decided she wanted to try peppers. I think you are officially a sorceress!

Beth:

Pizza is the way to all girls’ hearts!

Jensen:

Including yours?

Beth:

I would do some downright despicable things for a good margherita pizza after a long day at the rink.

Jensen:

I’ll have to remember to feed you the next time you babysit Joey after the rink.

Jensen:

Shit, sorry. That was presumptuous. You helped us out once, and we are so, so grateful that I let my wishful thinking get away from me.

Beth:

Don’t apologize. I’ll happily look after Joey again. She’s amazing, but you will have to restrain Cullen. He grossly overpaid me and refused to take no for an answer.

Jensen:

Joey was safe, was well fed, AND tried peppers. No monetary compensation is enough.

I frowned at that. Cullen had shoved a wad of cash at me as he dropped me off. I had taken it, thinking it was just a small amount for the easiest babysitting job ever, but when I returned to my place and counted out the five hundred dollars he had given me, I almost had a heart attack.

Could I really accept so much money from them for a second time? I felt guilty doing it the first time. Part of me had wanted to march outside and shove the money back at Cullen and tell him off…but I had bills, and a lot of them.

Jensen:

Look, the ball’s in your court. You can look after Joey as much as you want. I know you’re busy.

Beth:

*sigh* I’ll probably take you up on that. Joey is such a sweet kid.

Jensen:

She’s amazing, isn’t she? I don’t know how three idiots like us managed to make such a sweet child.

Beth:

She is so sweet, but just wait until she’s a teenager!

Jensen:

Cullen can take care of her then. He’s a brat and can handle a teenager.

I fell asleep texting Jensen, lulled to sleep with a smile on my face.