Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

CONNOR

I ’m not much of a cook. Kimberly does most of the cooking around here, but I’m definitely better than Grant or Charlie. Reece has been through a lot, and there’s no telling how long she’ll sleep. Trying to talk to her on an empty stomach isn’t going to help anyone, so I take Grant’s advice and only sneak a small glance at her before heading into the kitchen.

Grant follows me, probably to make sure I don’t overthink things as I usually do. I look in the fridge and find a casserole with a sticky note on top of the aluminum foil it’s covered in.

While I’m thankful Kimberly thought ahead and had dinner planned out like she usually does, I’m a bit disappointed I don’t have anything to distract myself with.

I take it out and preheat the oven as it’s instructed on the note.

I rest my elbows on the counter and sigh. What now?

I glance over at Grant. He’s sitting at the kitchen table, staring off into the distance. Probably trying to come up with another way to get me out of my own head. He always does this. If something bothers me, Grant has to fix it. Simply because he’s a few minutes older, he feels like it’s his job to help me. Charlie does the same thing. It drives me crazy.

I know they care, but sometimes there’s no fixing things. Just being with me is enough. Kimberly is the most helpful. She’ll just sit with me instead of trying to fix the problem or find a way to distract me. Sometimes she’ll talk about random things, and it takes my mind off whatever is bothering me. I could really use that right now, but talking isn’t my brother’s strong suit.

Grant’s head suddenly shoots up and his back straightens. I inwardly cringe at the movement. He’s got an idea.

“ Why don’t you go cut more firewood?” he asks.

I raise an eyebrow. “You want me to cut wood in a blizzard?”

“Yes. We need more than we have. We can withstand the cold, but Reece will freeze if we run out, and we will.”

He’s right. The amount we have now won’t last us all night; I just don’t like it. I don’t want to be away from my mate, even if it’s only a few feet.

But on the other hand, letting my frustrations out by slamming an axe into something will help distract me and my bison.

Sitting around here worrying isn’t beneficial to anyone, especially Reece. We can’t let our feelings get in the way of hers. She needs space and time to understand. It’s our job as her mates to give her that.

“I’ll mind-link you the minute she wakes up,” Grant assures me.

With a sigh, I relent. “Fine, but don’t let her out of your sight. It’s not easy to track people with snow clogging your senses.”

He rolls his eyes. “I know that, dumbass.”

I smirk and remove the foil off the casserole dish. After putting it in the oven, I set the timer.

“Cut this off when it rings,” I instruct Grant.

“I will,” he says. “Would you leave now? You’re starting to bother me. I can do basic shit. I am an adult.”

“Could have fooled me,” I tease.

I laugh as he tries to hit me on my way out of the kitchen. In the living room, we both stop to peer over at Reece. She’s sleeping peacefully. Even has a smile on her face. I can only hope that’s a good sign.

Reluctantly, I walk to the back door and head outside.

My bison is like me, emotionally expressive, but with our mate nearby and un-bonded to us, it’s even worse. He’s moody, pacing back and forth in my mind. It makes him impulsive and harder to control than normal.

I don’t want to risk scaring Reece with his wayward actions. I need to get him calmed down before something bad happens.