Chapter Three

Henri enjoyed being in his own space, amongst his own things. He’d always been more of a homebody. Working for monetary reasons wasn’t necessary for him. He was a trust fund baby. Becoming a professor was his attempt at getting out of the house. He had worried about being a shut-in, but Henri had put in his notice over the summer. He’d felt too exposed on campus, as if he were running from a madman. The theft had made him aware of people in a way he hadn’t been before. Over time, it had turned into fear until he’d been right back where he’d started, worrying about becoming a shut-in. But that had been before Rocky had come into his life. Since Rocky, his worries had changed.

The knock on the door startled him. It sounded foreign. It took Henri a second to register what it was because he didn’t get many visitors. When he answered the door, the last person he expected to see was Vaughan Somerset.

Henri’s gaze went right past Vaughan to Rocky’s cabin across the lake. It was automatic. Everything he did regarding Rocky was instinct, except for keeping his distance. His body rejected the very idea and even his mind was getting on board with giving in.

Trust didn’t come easy for him. The reason was partially because of Perkins stealing his notebook. Some of it was because of the time he’d spent alone throughout his life. Even as a child. Rocky was the only person who had ever really seen him.

So yeah, he stood there with the door open enough for Vaughan to see part of his face. And maybe he’d rather get a glimpse of Rocky instead.

“Is Rocky okay?” It was his primary concern.

Vaughan grinned as if he were a cat who had eaten the pet goldfish. He already knew his worries were unfounded. But Vaughan had a unique personality, so there was still a chance.

“He’s fine. Him, Bandos, and Echo went for a ride. Which means I’m bored.” Vaughan’s grin widened. “Are you going to let me in?”

Henri didn’t want to because of all the books. If anyone would make fun of him, it would be Vaughan. But the confusing part was Vaughan being there at all. As many years as they’d known each other and had been in the same clan, Vaughan had never come to Henri’s house. “Why would you want to?”

Vaughan sighed. “So we can spend time together, silly.”

“You want to spend time with me?” It was a little weird.

“We’re family now.”

Henri opened the door wider and stepped outside, shutting it behind him. “How so?”

“Or we can talk out here. It’s a nice day.” Vaughan shrugged and sat at the small cast iron bistro type table Henri had found in a thrift store for twenty dollars. He’d had to buy the chairs online, but they matched.

“Would you like something to drink? I have hot tea or bottled water.”

“You won’t let me inside the house, will you?”

Henri shook his head. “No offense. It’s…messy.”

Vaughan raised his eyebrows much the same way Bandos often did. Henri wondered if the facial expression came about out of physical closeness or if the moment warranted it rather than a response. “Tea sounds great. Thank you.”

Henri got a mug of tea for Vaughan and his own cup, carrying everything outside. It wasn’t until he set each drink on the table that he thought to ask if Vaughan wanted cream or sugar in his tea.

Vaughan shook his head. “This is fine. Thanks.”

Henri sat opposite him. When the silence stretched, he grew uncomfortable. There had to be another reason Vaughan had come over besides him categorizing Henri as family and wanting to visit. They saw each other three times a week on average during the evening meal.

“Thank you for not insisting on entering my house.”

“It’s your sacred space. I get it.”

Henri chuckled. “Not at all. My books are everywhere. It embarrasses me.”

His little secret wasn’t as hard to tell as he thought it would be. Maybe he could tell his other secret, too. But it wasn’t Vaughan he wanted to spill his soul to.

Vaughan sipped his tea. “This is good.”

“It’s some sort of berry blend. It’s supposed to be good for the immune system.” Henri waved off the idea. “I doubt they had shifters in mind when they made the claim.”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed about your books. Echo has plants all over our house. And my underwear and the towel I used to shower this morning are on the bathroom floor. Bandos will have a few things to say about it. How the hamper is three feet away. Blah, blah. But he overlooks how his computers are everywhere. On the kitchen table. The coffee table. And even a pad on the nightstand next to our bed.”

Henri smiled. “Sounds like domestic bliss to me.”

“My point is, we all have our quirks. I bet Rocky thinks your love for books is cute. I think Echo’s plants and Bandos’s computers are cute. It makes them who they are and I love them.”

Henri hadn’t ever thought about it in those terms before. “You don’t think he’ll think I’m weird.”

“Oh, I’m sure he already thinks you’re weird. But he also likes your weird.” Vaughan held his cup. “The whole family likes who you are, Henri.”

“‘Family’?” Henri swallowed the lump in his throat. He hadn’t ever belonged to a family before. Not even his parents.

“Well, my family, for one. You and Jules are pretty tight. It makes you a Somerset now. You know how we are. We’re always adopting someone.” Vaughan smiled, as if he liked the way his family was.

“The Somersets have grown in numbers over the years.”

“One of which is you.” Vaughan met his gaze. “My mom would like nothing more than to smother you with her love. You know, if you ever feel you need it.”

Henri’s chest ached. “My mom is…not like yours.”

“I guess it’ll be an adjustment, then.” Of all the people in the world, the last one he expected to make Henri feel as if he had people to rely on was Vaughan Somerset. But maybe it was fitting. He was a Somerset, and that was what Somersets did.

Henri wiped the tears from his lashes. He tried to be discreet, but Vaughan was more observant than Henri had given him credit for. “Thank you for including me in your family.”

“The investigators are also your family.”

The descriptor was a good one for Rocky, Bandos, and Sully. It described their role in the clan well. “You all include me quite a bit.”

“Yep. Resistance is futile. So stop it.”

Henri smiled. “Is this your way of telling me to stop trying to escape Rocky?”

“Not at all. We want you to keep doing it. It’s fucking funny, man.” Vaughan chuckled. “You should have seen it earlier. When he woke up, his first response was to search for you. When you weren’t sitting in your spot anymore, he got all growly. Wesley just sat there petting Lucy and said, ‘bedroom window’. And Sully finished his sentence, but he had to yell because he was in the kitchen. All Sully said was ‘again’ and then he told Rocky he’d called my mom’s house and said, ‘he’s fine’.”

Henri tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat again, but it was harder this time. “What did Rocky do?”

Vaughan shrugged. “Don’t know. Wesley told me all about it. I wasn’t there, remember?”

“Right.” Henri had scared Rocky. He needed to stop doing it. It wasn’t fair to Rocky. Maybe a lot of things weren’t fair to either of them. Keeping secrets and putting emotional distance between them wasn’t working anymore.