“Look, Dad, Mr. Reaper brought us another dead rabbit,” Raider said, squatting near the poor thing.
“Yeah, that’ll be a fun one to explain to your mom,” Kamp muttered.
When Waffles with Peanut Butter peed on Rhett, Kamp snorted. Okay, maybe he liked her. The little hellion certainly fit in with the Crew.
Grim walked back with a sack lunch in one hand and a chainsaw in the other, his yellow hard hat already on his head. He slid them all an angry look and said, “Get to work. I have the Red Dragon up my ass about our numbers.”
“Huh,” he muttered to himself as the Alpha strode off toward the area where they were clearing timber. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen him care about numbers.”
Rhett set the mole rat into the box again and handed it to Raider. “Guard her with your life.”
As Rhett made his way off the porch and followed Grim to the job site, Remi meandered out with her mug of coffee, kissed his shoulder, and sat in the porch chair right next to where Kamp was standing. She leaned her head against his hip, and he massaged the back of her neck just for the excuse to touch her and settle his animal. The neck of her shirt was all stretched out and exposed the claiming mark he’d given her a few weeks ago. He was so damn proud every time he saw it.
Out of everyone, she’d chosen him. As long as he lived, he would never get over how damn lucky he was.
He brushed his finger across the bite mark, and Remi’s response was immediate. Chills rippled up her forearms, and she smiled so sweetly at him. These were his favorite mornings, her dark hair all wild from sleep, her freckles stark against her fair skin, her smile easy. She wielded a powerful animal and was a complete badass, but he and Raider got to see her soft side. The caring, protective, loving side that kept this home a happy one.
She was the glue around here and didn’t even realize how necessary she was to his life or this Crew. She was just…herself. Steady, happy, grateful, easy-going, completely loveable, utterly un-leave-able mate.
Kamp pulled the hard hat from his cub’s head. “I better get to work.”
“I want to go!”
“Ask Remi to bring you up at lunch time, and I’ll let you pull the levers on the processor for a while.”
The boy hugged his leg, picked up his box of furious animal, and then went to sit in Remi’s lap. He was a cuddler and tended to drift to her when he was feeling uncertain about anything. Kamp loved it. Watching Remi with his boy put all his broken pieces back together.
He leaned down and kissed her lips, his grip tight on the back of her neck, kissed the top of Raider’s head, and made his way down the stairs.
He looked back when he got to the tree line. Raider and Remi were looking in the box with matching smiles as they chattered on. His world was in that chair, on that porch, in these mountains, in this home.
She caught his eye and kissed her fingertips then waved. God, she was beautiful. And his life was beautiful because of her. All the hardships he’d faced up until now were worth it for moments like these.
Life would never be perfect in the Rogue Pride Crew.
Not by other people’s standards.
Money would always be tight, work would always be hard, the Crew would always fight. They would never be “fixed” completely.
But Remi was teaching Kamp to accept that and appreciate the life he did have for what it was.
He’d come into this last chance Crew hoping to survive it.
But now Kamp wasn’t just surviving.
He was really living.
