Brothersong (Green Creek #4) - T.J. Klune Page 0,194
a look of relief on his face. “Really?”
“Yes. You silly man. You silly, wonderful man. How I cherish you.” She laughed again. It sounded like bells.
I watched as the guys from the shop approached her, all turning away from her so she could see our name on the backs of their work shirts. She exclaimed over all of them, Gavin most of all. He grinned at her in that squinty way he had.
Gordo grumbled when I handed him the scissors. “This is dumb.”
“Probably. But give them what they want anyway.”
He did. The crowd cheered when he cut the ribbon.
Bennetts’ was open for business.
AT THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER, I walked with my brothers through the forest. It was just the three of us. Gavin had left with Mom earlier that morning, refusing to tell me where they were going. No matter what I did, he kept his mouth shut, glaring at me each time I asked. Mom was the same way, telling me I’d know when it was time. “You worry too much,” she told me. “Trust me. Trust him.”
I did.
So I let them go.
Kelly and Joe found me. Kelly said I was moping. I told him to shut up. Joe laughed at me, and I tackled him. He managed to get away, and I chased after him through the trees. I caught up with him eventually, Kelly close behind us. He yelped when I put him in a headlock, demanding he respect me because I was the oldest.
“That’s not how it works!” he growled at me.
Fucking liar. Of course it was.
But I let him go.
He scowled at me.
I ignored him.
Kelly said, “It’s different.”
We looked over at him.
He was pressing his hand against the trunk of an old elm.
“What is?” Joe asked.
“The territory. Can you feel it?”
We went to him. We both put our hands on the tree. It felt… lighter, somehow. Bigger. More. I pulled my hand back, and my brothers turned to me.
“It knows,” I said finally. “What we’ve done. All that we’ve given.”
“Is it enough?” Kelly asked.
“I hope so.” Then, “Do you think he’s still here?”
They knew who I meant. “I don’t think they’re ever truly gone,” Joe said quietly. “Not completely.”
We went deeper into the forest.
Joe told us about an Alpha, a woman who was kind and just. Her name was Sophie, which Ox said meant wisdom. We’d met her and her pack years before in Glacier National Park when we’d been chasing after a monster who’d taken from us. Joe and Ox had gone to her, told her all that had happened. She’d already known bits and pieces, and she listened to Joe and his proposal.
When he’d finished, Sophie said, “Are you sure?”
Joe nodded. “It’s not easy. I won’t lie to you about that. But it’s worth it. You don’t have to say yes. You don’t have to do this. Think about it. Talk it over with your pack. We have time.”
She looked out to Ox, who was talking with her wolves. “You’re not as you once were. You came to me as a child. You were so angry.”
“I was,” Joe agreed. “I didn’t know what I was doing, and I had just lost much of what I’d loved.”
“What changed?”
“I found my way home.”
She nodded. “Don’t you miss it? Being the Alpha of all? Or even just being an Alpha.”
Joe took his time with his answer. “No. I don’t.”
She blinked. “You’re telling the truth.”
“I know where I come from,” he told her. “I know what my name means. I’ve carried the weight of it all my life. But I’ve made my choice. And I would do it again if I had to.”
“He’s very lucky,” Sophie said quietly. “Oxnard. To have someone such as you.”
“I’m the lucky one,” Joe said.
She was quiet for a long time before saying, “I’m not like you. I don’t believe in kings and queens. Just because someone has a name that carries weight doesn’t give them the automatic right to lead. If I were to do this, if I were to agree, things would be different. Everyone would have a voice.”
“I know,” Joe said. “Which is why I’m asking you and not someone else. It’s time for a change.”
She told him she’d think about it. Joe believed her.
“Will she do it?” Kelly asked him as we walked through the trees.
“I think so,” Joe said. “It helps that she wouldn’t have to give up the Glacier territory. And that Aileen and Patrice have already pledged to help whoever took my place. Aileen knew