1. Henry

Henry

" Y ou're a good girl, Sophie, and we're almost done," Henry Powell said softly. "Almost. Done." He put the last flourish of bright purple nail polish on the sweet brahma chicken's tiny nails. She only had one leg, but she was thriving and liked to look her best. "Remember when you first got here and didn't like to be held? Those daily bandage changes were no fun, huh?"

His friend, Sam, eyed them from outside the pen. "I remember those bandage changes. I still have the scars to prove it."

Henry snorted. "Scars? She barely pecked you."

"They're inner scars from the trauma."

"You're ridiculous." Henry blew on Sophie's nails. "She's an angel."

The one-legged chicken really was very sweet. To Henry. He did worry that she was lonely, though. She had her own small pen away from the other chickens on the animal sanctuary because they tended to pick on her. While he visited her every day, she spent most of her time alone.

"Journey and I love you, Sophie." Henry stroked gently down her back. His dog, Journey, watched them from the safety of his pooch pouch. The Pomeranian mix smiled happily, tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"We still have goats to feed," Sam reminded him softly.

Henry flushed and set Sophie down on the shavings lining the floor. "Sorry. I didn't mean to take so long."

"It's no problem." Sam held the gate open for him. "You're good for her. I wish the other chickens weren't so mean to her."

"Teague said it was their nature to pick on the weakest, especially if it's an unfamiliar hen." Henry hated the truth in his stepbrother's words. There was nothing wrong with Sophie. She was beautiful and deserved to be accepted and loved. Everyone does , he reminded himself, taking a few deep breaths to ease the tightness gathering in his chest. There was a distinct possibility that Henry was getting too worked up about chicken bullies, but he couldn't help himself. He empathized with Sophie a bit too much.

The rest of the morning passed quickly. Henry and Sam fed the goats and donkeys, then let them out into the pasture behind the barn while Teague, Henry's stepbrother, took care of the chickens, pigs, and various other farm animals. Henry appreciated it because the llama they had taken in months ago was still grumpy and mean. Then there were the emus. The evil, evil emus.

Teague's animal sanctuary had been open for over a year now, and they were absolutely filled to the brim with unwanted farm animals and pets. They even had a few injured wild animals that Teague was licensed to care for.

"Ready for lunch?" Teague asked, jogging toward them from the smaller barn. The alpha pulled Sam into his arms and nuzzled his husband's neck. "I missed you."

Henry spun on his heel and walked quickly toward the house. He hated the niggling bit of envy that wormed its way into his heart. Teague and Sam had something special. Something that, in Henry's experience, wasn't common. Thinking about what he couldn't have was never pleasant. He'd much rather think about his nephew, Casey.

There, that made me smile .

Inside, Aunt Mia sat next to the kitchen window in her padded rocking chair, Casey snuggled in her arms and her blind Maltese, Merle, curled at her feet. Her two black cats, Luna and Dove, sat on the windowsill, enjoying the sunshine.

A herd of dogs and two pigs peeked over and through the gate blocking the kitchen from the living room. They'd only recently been banned from the kitchen during meals. It was mostly Orville and Wilbur's fault. The two pigs were experts at begging but needed to stay on their individual diets to remain healthy.

Some might complain at the overabundance of animals in their home, but Henry loved Teague and Sam's pets. He had never been allowed any when he was a child, so he enjoyed the chance to get to know all the unique personalities his stepbrother took in.

"I made you boys lunch." Aunt Mia's smile was warm, eyes kind. "Vegetable soup for you, Henry."

"My favorite." He leaned down to hug the older woman. "Thank you."

"I figured you would need a treat to deal with whoever keeps calling you."

He glared at his phone perched on the counter. Leaving it inside while he worked was the best self-care he'd ever experienced. Alas, it couldn't last.

Several missed calls and texts flashed across the screen. "Audrey has plans for the interior of my house."

"She has good taste." Mia waved a hand toward the kitchen cabinets. "I love the kitchen we did together."

He wrinkled his nose, thinking of how the kitchen looked before the renovation. "You would have loved anything without shag carpet."

Mia chuckled. "True."

It wasn't that Audrey wasn't good at design, but rather that she was one of the pushiest people Henry knew. The house he had bought was the first thing that was really Henry's. It wasn't his childhood home in Connecticut or his loft apartment in Soho, both designed to impress the wealthy elite that circled the Powell family. It was an old Victorian style farmhouse in Hobson Hills, Maine, a few miles down the road from Teague and Sam.

His sister had been pushing him to begin renovations for weeks now, and he was running out of excuses to avoid it. He couldn't live with Teague and Sam forever.

Henry reluctantly grabbed his phone and went back outside. It was cold, the ground covered in wet snow and mud. Aunt Mia had told him that Maine had more than four seasons. In addition to summer, fall, winter, and spring, they also had mud season. The mess of the yard and pastures of the sanctuary certainly proved her point.

He fiddled with his hair for a moment, making sure he was presentable. He was rocking the wind-blown look, hair tousled and cheeks pink. Audrey wouldn't mind, but his papa would be appalled if he could see him.

"It's alright to not be perfect," he reminded himself.

Journey woofed softly, climbing up to lick his chin. That was another thing his papa would be appalled to see. Henry petted the little dog for a while. Coming to Teague's sanctuary and meeting all the animals was the best thing to ever happen to him. Journey, Sophie, and the others didn't critique or analysis him. They just loved him.

Audrey answered his FaceTime call almost immediately. "Little brother, guess where Rosalie and I are? Here's a hint. Brunch on Madison Avenue."

Rosalie Riverty's voice carried over the general cacophony of voices in the background. "It's your fav, Henny."

"Sant Ambroeus," he answered promptly, nibbling at his lip. He hadn't seen Rosalie or any of his friends from New York in over a year. Ros was one of the few he actually missed.

"Correct," Audrey cheered. "I'm having caprese invernale. What about you?"

"Vegetable soup," Henry answered. "Aunt Mia made it."

"I'm not going to lie. I'm a bit jealous."

"I know, right?" Henry sat on an old bench next to the door, shivering in the cold wind. "Don't get me wrong. Sant Ambroeus's risotto di mare is phenomenal, and I love it, but Aunt Mia's food is just better."

"True." Audrey smiled sweetly. "I emailed your contractor some plans, but what did you think of the links I sent? I want to go with an Art Deco style, maybe black and white marble in a diamond pattern. Of course, you'll need to add on to that house, since it's tiny. Are you sure you don't want to just tear it down and start over?"

Henry made a face. "Absolutely not. Also, I'm not sure Art Deco is me."

"Art Deco is everyone," Audrey said, rolling her eyes. "Trust me. I'm an expert on this."

"When will the party be?" Rosalie asked from the background.

"What party?" Audrey frowned toward their friend.

"To show off Henry's house." Rosalie laughed. "New place, new party. Right?"

Henry shuddered, bile rising in his throat.

Audrey gave him a sharp look. "Henry? What's wrong?"

He pasted a smile to his face. "Nothing at all. I should really go now. I'm meeting the contractor after lunch."

"Alright." She frowned. "Let me know how it goes, baby bumblebee."

It was Henry's turn to roll his eyes. "I'm twenty-six now, Audrey. You can't call me that anymore."

She shook her head. "You'll always be my baby bumblebee. Talk to you tonight." She blew him a kiss, then ended the call.

Journey whined from his warm, comfy spot in the pooch pouch.

Henry stroked the dog's small ears. "Don't worry. Those people will never come to Hobson Hills. They have no reason to."

"Henry?" Aunt Mia stood in the doorway. "Your soup is getting cold, dear."

He forced another smile. "Okay. I'm coming in now."

Lunch with Teague, Sam, and Aunt Mia was as warm and fun as usual. He sat at the table in front of the kitchen window and breathed in the savory scent of vegetable soup and fresh bread.

"What are our plans today?" Sam asked, looking around the table. "I'm cleaning house, hanging with the goats, then covering the evening shift at the pub."

"Napping for the both of us," Aunt Mia answered, patting Casey's back. "As long as we want. Then, we'll watch our soaps."

"I was going to take Casey with me to visit the goats," Sam said, a slight whine in his voice.

Aunt Mia shook her head. "Nope. He wants to stay warm and dry and watch The Bold and the Beautiful with me and the pets."

"Alright," Sam sighed pitifully. "I'll play with the goats all by myself."

"You'll live, honey," Teague added, leaning over to kiss Sam's cheek. "I'm scheduled at Doc Grover's for a couple of hours and have to do a minor surgery on a schnauzer. I'll come play with you as soon as I get finish."

"Promise?"

Teague chuckled and whispered something in Sam's ear, making him flush.

Henry mock gagged. "Remember the rules. No PDA at the table."

Sam laughed. "Casey doesn't complain."

"Give him time." Aunt Mia rocked the baby. "He's too young to know any better right now."

They all looked at Henry and it took him a moment to realize they were waiting for his answer to Sam's previous question. It still shook him that he was part of this family now.

"Oh, yeah. I'm going to my house for a couple of hours to do some planning."

Sam frowned. "All by yourself?"

Henry's gaze dropped to his soup, his chest tightening with familiar anxiety. One would think he could handle a little doubt or mockery since he'd dealt with it his whole life. He'd lost count of the dismissive comments and jokes sent his way through the years – You messed up again? Do I need to use smaller words, Henny? Can't you do anything right? Just let me do it. They all started to blend after a while.

Coming from Sam, though, it hurt far more than it should have. His friend was one of the few that really listened to Henry and tried to help instead of criticize when there was a problem.

I can decide on a floorplan without help, he told himself, taking a deep breath. I'm not stupid.

"I don't like it," Sam continued, stabbing a roll with his fork. "None of us should go anywhere alone until we know it's safe."

It took a few moments for Henry to process Sam's meaning. "Oh, you mean because of the dead guy in the woods."

"What else would I mean?" Sam shuddered.

In the fall, a body had been discovered in the woods behind Farm Fresh, a quaint store owned by the Wilson family. The man, Eugene Scott, had been murdered by someone after murdering his own wife. The whole thing had shaken the small town. The malicious violence wasn't usual in Hobson Hills.

"That was months ago," Henry said with a shrug, suddenly feeling light. Of course, Sam wouldn't mock him like that. "It was just one murder. It's not like there's a serial killer running around Hobson Hills."

"Murder isn't common here," Sam reminded him, looking worried. "Not like New York. Please don't go off by yourself, Henry. Not until the sheriff finds out who killed that guy."

"Well, I won't be alone for long. I'm meeting someone named Tomás at the house to talk through some last minute things, and then, I'm coming right back. I plan to clean out the chicken coops and put some herbs in their nesting boxes. I read online that certain herbs help with egg production and help prevent parasites." He also planned on painting Sophie's name on her coop, but he didn't think they really needed to know that.

Sam looked relieved. "Tomás is a nice guy. Definitely not a murderer."

"Are you sure about starting the renovation now?" Teague gave Henry a soft look. "Everyone keeps saying there'll probably be a few more storms to make mud season even worse."

"Carter, the guy in charge, says his crew can start on the inside." Henry smiled as he thought about his new home. "It'll take a few months to get everything done inside. Then, they can start on the outside."

"That house is older than me," Aunt Mia said with a snort. "You'd do better to tear it all down and start fresh."

"It has it charms." Henry licked his lips and grabbed another piece of bread. "The plumbing may be shit, but it has beautiful crown molding, a gorgeous fireplace, and a sweet little hand-carved reading nook in the master bedroom."

Aunt Mia sighed and patted Casey's back. "I must admit, it was beautiful back when I was a little girl. Of course, that's when people still lived there and maintained it."

"It'll be beautiful again." Henry said, excited. "This week, Carter and his team are tearing out walls and working on the plumbing and electrical issues. After that, once they install central heat and air, I can move in."

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you like," Sam took a bite of his soup.

"Seriously," Teague agreed. "Living in a work zone can be a pain. Here, you have a room of your own. Well, you and a few dogs and a cat have a room together."

Henry smiled shyly, warmth filling him. When his alpha dad had married Teague's dad, Timothy, Henry had been furious, certain that Timothy was only in it for the Powell wealth. Soon after the wedding, when his dad had changed his will to include Teague, Henry had shown up on Teague's doorstep, angry and upset, certain Teague and Timothy were both gold diggers.

He knew better now, and while he wished he had come to Hobson Hills for a better reason to begin with, he was glad he was there now.

"In any case," Teague added, "I'll be home in time to do the evening feeding, so take all the time you need."

"Good, because I'm not going near the emu." Henry snuck Journey a small bite of bread. "I only admire those assholes from a distance."