The Merry Moose’s Mates (Male-Order Mates #16)

Chapter Six

Austin

Oh what a fool I was.

With everything I had kept piled in my car and not enough pay for my work in the gig economy to rent anything much, along with loneliness, I had allowed myself to make yet another mistake.

The guy had sounded so nice, and he indeed was, but somehow he’d ended up having us plus another guy all show up at the same time. It was all I could do not to turn and leave —but that wasn’t really an option, was it? Without Alice, I would have, even though I felt such a strong attraction to my match. It turned out that Briar never even signed up for the app. His brother did it for him, probably with the best of intentions, but that didn’t make it any easier for him or for us —and I included the third man, Shay, in that.

He was in almost the same position as me, sans an Alice of course. My Alice was currently curled up on the floor where she’d been playing, and I wasn’t sure what she understood about our situation. Hopefully not much until I had a chance to figure out how to explain it to her.

Explain that I had no idea where we would go, what we would do? No…no like that. I needed a new plan, but I was too tired tonight to think of one.

“If you’re ready, I’ll show you to your room.” I jumped, startled by Briar’s voice. “I am sure you’d have rather stayed at the motel, but it can’t be helped.”

“Only to avoid being under your feet when had no idea we were coming.” I bent and scooped Alice into my arms. She never stirred, poor little thing worn out from the long day.

“You’re not underfoot.” He led the way up the stairs and down a hallway. “It’s not really a bedroom, just my home office, but I have a single cot I can set up for Alice, and an air mattress and sleeping bag for you. If that’s okay?”

How could I say it wasn’t? Briar opened the door to the office and waved us in. “The bathroom is down the hall closer to the stairs, fresh towels in the cabinet in there. If you need anything at all, I’ll be in my room just across from you. After I finish a few things downstairs.”

I thanked him, and he smiled at Alice. “She’s exhausted, isn’t she.” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry that —”

I held up a hand. “Not your fault, and we appreciate your giving us a place to stay, especially with the weather. We’ll try not to be a bother.”

“I…” He nodded. “Make yourself at home. If your little girl gets hungry or thirsty, or if you do, help yourself to anything in the kitchen, okay?”

“Thank you again. We will be on our way”— somewhere— “as soon as humanly possible.”

He blinked at me, an expression I could not decipher flickering across his features before he smiled and left. Did he think we might not be willing to leave? That we might be planning to stay when we were not welcome? That didn’t seem likely, as nice as he’d been, but there was something…

Maybe he was reacting to my vehemence?

That was probably it. I was not only desperate for a home for my daughter but humiliated. No, it was not Briar’s fault, but imagine showing up at a complete stranger’s place and announcing you are there to be his mate. And it was hard enough when I believed I’d had conversations with him online.

If he didn’t want to give his brother a good dressing down, I’d have been glad to do it for him. The cot he’d set up was fitted with a plump pillow, sheets, and a fluffy comforter. Shifting Alice to one arm, I pulled back the covers before removing her shoes and tucking her into her makeshift bed. Even as deeply asleep as she was, changing her to pajamas would have woken her for sure, so I didn’t dare. She’d be fine in her clothes for one night.

She settled in with a sigh and rolled onto her side. I let out a breath I’d been holding. She was normally a very even-tempered child, but when she was this tired, if she was wakened before getting her rest, she’d be a grumpy girlie, or worse, sad. Alice still missed her other father who despite his bad behavior had always been loving toward her. She knew nothing about his other family or why we had to move and I wanted it to stay that way.

The air mattress on the floor was comfortable, but as exhausted as I was, I did not feel ready to sleep. Briar mentioned having some things to do before he could turn in, and the least I could do is offer to help. Also, I’d been too nervous to eat when I stopped to pick up something for Alice, something my growling stomach had a strong opinion on. So, after a little while, I got up and headed for the stairs.

Voices from down below filtered up. Shay must still be awake as well, perhaps making things less awkward. He’d been placed in the same situation. But when I reached the first floor, I didn’t see either of them. After looking around a bit, I realized the voices were coming from the porch. Why were they out there in the cold?