“Let’s get something straight,” Reno began, approaching him with a menacing stride. While Austin was the alpha of the pack, they all had their rank, and Reno was second-in-command. “I don’t ever want to see you putting your hands on April again. I don’t care if she’s naked and leaning over your truck with a wet sponge and a bucket of suds. You keep your distance and we’ll be cool.”
A smile softened Denver’s face. He tried to mash it into a frown, but it wasn’t working. “Well, thanks for implanting that erotic visual of April in my head for the rest of my life. I’ll never look at a car wash the same again. Calling dibs? Looks like someone has a pet,” he said in a smartass tone, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his forearm. “Didn’t know you went for humans. That’s cool. You got nothing to worry about with me; I was just trying to get some game last night and I didn’t see anyone else stepping up to stake his claim.” Then he pinched his chin and frowned. “Now, why do you think that is? Maybe you need to back off and stop getting territorial over something that isn’t yours.”
Reno’s irritation level spiked. Denver walked off and began opening the bedroom doors, peering in.
“Looks like the rooms we kept closed off were left alone,” he called out to Lexi, who had disappeared in the bathroom at the end of the hall. “Christ almighty! What the train wreck is going on in here?”
Lexi burst into the hall, clutching her chest. “What’s wrong?”
Denver stood before the open door that went into Lynn’s bedroom. “It looks like a Smurf exploded.”
Her shoulders sagged and she rolled her eyes, closing the door. “Jesus, you scared me. My mom likes the color blue. Don’t say anything to her or she’ll be furious you were in her bedroom. Good thing she didn’t do this to the rest of the house, so just let her have her space.”
He threw his hands up defensively. “I’m all for Lynn having her own space if that’s the end result. Has she seen a professional about that problem?”
Lexi smacked him on the arm and he let out a snort as he picked up the trash and jogged down the stairs.
“Do you want to help?” Lexi asked, looking weary. “We’ve cleaned the trash off the lawn, but I’m getting tired, and there’s still a lot to do inside.”
Reno felt a surge of protectiveness begin to surface. Packs looked after their women, even the mated ones. “Go lie down and take a nap for a few hours. Have you eaten today?”
“Yeah. Austin cooked breakfast burritos about an hour ago. Leftovers are on the stove if you want any. If Austin asks why I’m not cleaning, tell him I’m overheated and underappreciated.”
Reno waited until she went into the bedroom and closed the door. Then he jogged downstairs and ate three of the burritos on the stove. They were already cold, but the eggs and sausage hit the spot.
Austin came through the back door in the kitchen and kicked off his shoes at the entrance. He tossed his baseball hat on the table and despite the agreeable weather, he was beet red beneath his tan.
“Damn Jericho. One of these days he’s going to get us in serious hot water with the other local packs.”
Reno licked the grease off his thumb and leaned back. They had a spacious kitchen with tall windows along the back wall. The table from the old house had ended up on the curb and they’d bought a new one that could seat twenty. Ivy had found a child’s table at a rummage sale and placed it in the right corner of the room against the wall by the doorway. Lexi’s little sister enjoyed sharing a meal with a doll or her invisible friend. It was nice having a six-year-old in the house; it reminded Reno what packs were all about.
Family.
“Where’s Jerko?” Reno asked, finishing the rest of his juice. “Shouldn’t he be the one cleaning up this mess?”
Austin took a seat across the table and laced his fingers together. “Jericho’s staying with a friend for a couple of nights. I told him he needs to get his act together.”
“So you kicked him out?” Reno shifted in his seat. He’d have a real problem if that were true because you didn’t turn your back on family for something like this.
“No,” Austin grumbled, sliding his jaw to the right. “If you fuck up in my pack, fine. You’ll answer to me, and I won’t go easy. But you’d have to do something serious for me to give you the boot. Jericho needs to clear his head and I don’t want you boys messing with him while the dust is still settling. We need time to cool off and see what the situation is with the neighboring packs. I’ve spoken privately with three of the Packmasters, and we’re still in good standing with them. Plus, I think Lexi’s wolf is itching to take a bite out of Jericho for ruining the party,” he said with a private chuckle. “That woman is something else. Someday she’ll give me strong sons, of that I have no doubt.”
“Are you two starting up a family soon?”