The Strength of the Pack (Suncoast Society #30)(55)

“It’s okay. Can I get you anything?”

“Yes, a couple of ibuprofen, some ice-cold coffee with sugar, and a cold wet washcloth for my forehead. And the bottle of peppermint oil from the bathroom.”

She jumped from bed to get them as he lay there. He even tried a pressure point on his hand, the webbing between the thumb and forefinger, but that did little more than take the edge off of it.

No, this was an all-day affair. He could tell. And the only way to get through it was to get through it.

She soon returned with everything and after swallowing the pills with the coffee, he laid back, the wet cloth on his forehead making the peppermint oil he’d spread there feel icy and soothing. “Let’s watch TV, baby,” he said. “Go make yourself something to eat and bring it back here and we’ll snuggle.”

“I’m sorry you don’t feel good.”

He sighed. “Me, too. I’d planned for more fun for us today.”

In fact, by later that afternoon, he still wasn’t feeling well. “Can you call Leo or Jesse and ask them to come pick you up when you’re ready to leave? I don’t think I can drive.”

“Sure.” She’d spent the morning in bed with him, holding his hand and just enjoying being there with him.

Even if they couldn’t play or have sex, her time with him over the next couple of weeks would be highly curtailed and she’d take every second she could get. She had taken his car and made a Mountain Dew run for him earlier in hopes that it would help the headache, but all it did was make him puke it back up less than an hour later.

When he was dozing, she went out to the living room and called Leo.

“Hey, you all right?” he asked.

She loved that he cut right to the chase. “Yeah, I’m fine, but Nate’s got a sick headache.”

“Oh, man. I’m sorry.”

“Can you come pick me up later?”

“Sure. When?”

It was already after four. “Anytime.”

“Okay. Give me about an hour. Jesse and Laurel are out grocery shopping. When they get back I’ll come get you.”

“Thanks.”

Nate was awake again when Leo arrived, and he walked back to see him.

“Hey, buddy. Sorry you’re feeling crappy.”

“I’ve gotten these all my life. I’m sad to say this isn’t an unusual experience.”

Leo turned to her. “Can I talk to him alone for a minute?”

She suspected about what. “Sure. I’ll wait out there.”

“Thanks.”





Nate wasn’t too out of it to know what Leo wanted to talk about. Once the door was closed, he didn’t hesitate.

“Sorry this isn’t the best time, but what happened yesterday?”

Nate gave him the quick version of the encounter with Eva’s father, including that she had finally confessed the full truth of what her father had done to her.

Leo looked like he wanted to drive to Tampa and punch the f*cker. “Goddammit,” he muttered. “Fucking bastard.” He shook his head. “I tried to get her to press charges when she told me. I looked into it. Some of what he did, they still could have prosecuted him for it at that point. She wouldn’t.”

“I know.”

Leo took his hand and squeezed. “Thank you. Thank you for loving her, and thank you for protecting her.”

“She told me about the baby.”

Leo froze. “Yeah?”

“It’s all right. I’m okay with it. As long as you and Jesse are all right with me marrying her and we’re all living together.”

Leo chuckled. “I guess we’re going to need a bigger house.”

“Well, and there’s more. I’ve collared her.” He told him.

Leo pressed his lips tightly together for a moment, his eyes looking too bright. “Wow,” he softly said. “Thank you. I…I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Well, it only makes sense. I know you two love her, and that’s no threat to me and what I have with her. It relieves me to know I have two people I can rely on to be there for her.”

Leo blinked back tears, finally wiping the back of his free hand across his eyes. “You are part of our pack,” he said. “You have been. Thank you for loving Laurel, too. That means a lot to me. And…honestly? I didn’t expect you to handle the baby news this well.”

“Leo, as I’ve already told her, I’ve raised a child.” He smiled. “I’m going to enjoy watching someone else having to go through the terrible teens with a daughter the way I did. I am a sadist, you know.”

Leo laughed. “Yeah.” He fell silent for a moment. “You think two Masters can get along in a house together?”

“We won’t know until we try, will we? As long as we’re patient with each other and work as quickly as we can toward moving someplace that has more than two bathrooms, yes, I think we’ll be fine. Think of it this way—we’ve just made date nights for each other a lot easier to manage.”

“True.” He stood. “Well, I guess I’ll take our girl home, then.”

“Drive safe.”

“You know I will. Precious cargo.”

He left the door open and Eva came back to say good-bye.