Archive of Our Own ^beta

She's always been friendly, letting Wren know right away her name and that she lives with her five older brothers. They all live together in a house not too far from the library. It was within walking distance, so Wren never saw her brothers pick her up. She had seen them around town a few times though, but mostly at a distance. And never all at once. But when she saw Omega with one man or more, she realized who they must be. She couldn't tell many details about them, other than they were all adults, so quite a few years older than their little sister.

There was one who was quite a bit bigger than the rest...and kind of loud. The couple of times Wren had seen him with Omega, she could hear him, even though they were far enough away she couldn’t make out their features. But he seemed very happy and laughed a lot.

There were two who were a little shorter than the big guy, but still taller than the others. They were lanky and wiry. One wore glasses, and the other had gray, almost white, hair.

There was one who seemed to have prosthetic legs, and maybe even a prosthetic arm...she hadn't been close enough to really tell. He was a little shorter than the others.

And the last one was the shortest of the bunch, but not short by average standards. No matter which brothers were with Omega, he always seemed to be one of them. It made her wonder if he was the oldest, and the one most “in charge” of taking care of their little sister. What was most noticeable about him was his long dark curly hair, whereas the rest had either very short or no hair. And it was hard to tell from a distance, but she thought he might also have a tattoo on his face!

But that was as much as she had been able to tell from the few times she'd seen them out in public. She was never close enough to speak or even be able to tell their facial features for the most part.

Omega came rushing up to the front desk where Wren was checking in some returns, and greeted her with her usual big hello! Wren returned her happy smile, and asked how she was.

Omega started talking about something that had happened at school that day, and how she was there to get some books on the history of the town for a class project. Wren set about helping her find some possibilities in the online catalog and took her to the section where they could be found. She told her to also look around, because even if she didn't like the ones Wren had found, there would be others in the area on the same subject. Sometimes just looking around the shelves in the right section was the best way to find something.

After about fifteen minutes, Omega brought a small stack of books up to the desk to check out. As she was standing there watching Wren take care of the books, she asked her if she was going to the town festival the coming weekend. Wren said she wasn't sure yet, she might at least stop by for a little bit, to get some food. She said she wasn't much for socializing, so she couldn't decide.

Wren was shy, always had been, and the older she got the more her shyness developed into full-blown anxiety...social anxiety especially, but also generalized anxiety and OCD. She was on medication, and it had helped her quite a bit, but she was still very shy and hesitant about being in crowds or around a lot of people. Especially in places where she thought she might stand out or be conspicuous.

Omega, who obviously had never been shy one minute in her life, said, "I have a brother who is like that. My oldest brother, Hunter. He doesn't like to be around a lot of people, because he's highly sensitive, and too much noise or commotion bothers him. We have to drag him places with us sometimes. He can wear ear plugs to help, if it's somewhere too loud. But he's also just introverted and quiet, so staying home is his favorite past time. But we're going to make him go to the festival with us. You should really come!”

Omega stopped for a little bit, like she was thinking. Then she got a big smile on her face and said, “How about I come by your house, and walk with you. That way you won't be walking in alone, and you might not feel like you're standing out?"

Wren looked at this sweet girl who had a hopeful look on her face, and wasn't quite sure why it mattered to her so much. Sure, they'd become friendly in the past month, but nothing more than passing conversations, mostly about the books Omega was checking out. But the look on her face made it very difficult for Wren to say no, so she said she would go for a short time at least, to eat if nothing else. She did love fair food…corn dogs, lemonade shake-ups, and elephant ears!

Omega practically jumped up and down, she was so excited. Wren said she was working Friday afternoon, and they would be closing early because of the festival. So, if Omega wanted to meet her at the library at closing time, they could just walk from there. It would be a lot closer than her going back home. She'd just be sure to wear more casual clothes that day (as if she wasn't already the most casual dresser on staff.)

Omega excitedly said, “That sounds awesome! I can’t wait!!” She put her stack of books into her backpack, walked to the door, and said, "I'm so excited about Friday!" And she was gone. Wren saw her walking off in the opposite direction she came from. She wasn't sure why Omega was so excited, but who knows with kids. You can't figure ‘em sometimes.

Artwork by cat_does_the_arts

The next morning, Wren felt okay again and went into work. To her shock, not long after she unlocked the doors, in walked Hunter, Omega's brother. Wren took a sharp intake of breath, hoped he didn’t hear her, and then looked down at her desk quickly. He walked towards her, slowly, with his eyes studying the carpet more closely than would seem natural.

When he was within speaking distance, Wren looked up and said, "Good morning. Hunter, right?"

He looked up and smiled and said, "Yeah, that’s right!"

Wren noticed how lovely his smile was, but she couldn’t look at him for long, so looked down at her desk again, messing with some papers.

When she looked up again, she noticed he also seemed a little uncomfortable, looking just about anywhere but at Wren. He clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides, wiping them on his jeans.

Wren said, "Can I help you? Are you looking for something?"

He said, "Oh no! No...I just...well, I was on my way to work...I…uh…go right by here…umm… to get to our current job site...and I...”

The poor guy was stumbling around, but Wren couldn’t really focus on that, as she was too nervous herself.

It looked almost like Hunter stopped and took a breath, looking at the floor for a few seconds. When he looked back up, he seemed a little less nervous and said, "I was on my way to work, and since I thought you might be working, I thought I would come in and see how you're doing. Since you left last night not feeling well."

He seemed so proud of himself for finally getting through that.

But now it was Wren's turn to show her nervousness. She was shocked he remembered anything about her, like that she worked at the library. And then that he was concerned enough to stop on his way to work to see how she was. Once she got over the initial shock, she felt a warmth spreading through her. And then it betrayed her by moving up into her face, and she knew she was blushing. Again. She had never known anyone who blushed as much as her.

She kept messing with the papers on her desk, and looked down at the computer for a few seconds. When she looked back up, he was looking at her, almost expectantly. Was he holding his breath?

She said, "Oh, I'm fine! That's just something that happens now and then, it's...I don't even really know what happens. I just get nervous around people I don't know..."

Oh my goodness, that sounded ridiculously pathetic. You're a grown woman, she thought to herself! You shouldn't "get nervous around people!" He's probably thinking how silly that sounded.

But he wasn't.

There was a small pause as Wren let her sentence trail off. Then he took the opportunity to step closer, and seemed a little excited when he said, "I do the same thing. Or I guess I don't know if it's the same thing, but I also get nervous around groups of people. I get really sensitive to noises and a lot of people talking at one time, and it kind of makes me shut down a little."

He was fine when he was saying all of that, but as soon as he was done, and he realized what he'd revealed about himself, he looked away again. It looked like maybe there was the faintest pink tint to his cheeks, but it was hard to say for sure with as dark as he was. Wren thought she might have even heard a "Shit" under his breath. But it was whispered so quietly, she couldn't be sure.

That made Wren a tiny bit braver, so she said, "What's that t-shirt I've seen and wanted to get...something like, 'I Came, I Saw, I Left Early'...Introverts Unite!" She even made an embarrassing little hand motion, almost like pumping her fist in the air, when she said the 'Introverts Unite' part. She chuckled, and he did too, looking at her with a really big smile on his face.

"Yeah," he said. "That would be perfect."

They both smiled, looking down at the floor.

It was quiet for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity to Wren. Hunter cleared his throat, and said, "Well, I'd better get going...I don't want to be late for work."

"Well, thanks for checking on me. That was really very nice of you. But I'm fine, I just needed to lie down when I got home and let my head stop spinning."

"Ok, that's good. That you feel fine now, I mean." He almost grimaced at his lack of skills at this type of thing.

"Ok, well, have a good day!" Wren said.

"Yeah, you too!" and Hunter turned and left. After he walked outside, he turned a little to let the door close quietly and not bang, and Wren looked at him through the glass in the doors. He looked up and at her, but when he saw her looking, he quickly turned and walked to his truck. An old, slightly beaten-up pick-up truck.

Wren made a mental note of what his truck looked like. She also allowed herself to watch him walk away, and was impressed with the way he looked in his jeans and flannel shirt. She had always had a soft spot for men in flannel shirts, jeans and work boots. She could feel her face getting hot again, even though she knew he couldn't see her looking at him.

After his truck went on down the street, she went back to work. But she would replay that interaction with him at least twenty-five times before the end of the day. Partly because it made her happy, and partly because she was trying to remember if she sounded as dumb as she feared.

***

At noon the next day, Wren told her coworker she was going out for lunch, and she'd be back by 1:00. Her coworker seemed surprised, since Wren rarely went out for lunch, but she didn't make a big deal out of it.

Wren got in her car and took some deep breaths. Just drive, if you get to the job site, and you don't like the look of things, you can drive on by. Not a big deal. Yeah, not a big deal...telling that to someone with social anxiety was like telling someone it’s not a big river when discussing the Mississippi.

She saw a partially built house after driving a few blocks up the street, and she could see Hunter's truck mixed in with some other trucks and cars out front. She looked for a place to park, but there wasn't much room. Parking...one of the things she hated most about going places she wasn't familiar with. Yet another thing to make her hands sweaty and heart race.

So she parked along the street about a half block away, took more deep breaths, closed her eyes to try to calm her nerves, and then got out of the car. As she walked up to the site, she didn't hear any construction noises, so figured they were stopped for lunch.

As she got close enough, she could see Wrecker...his larger size hard to miss. There was a group of guys sitting in the shade under a tree. Wrecker had his back against the tree, and right next to him was Hunter, leaning against the tree also, but with his eyes closed and headphones on. There were a few other guys sitting nearby.

As soon as they saw Wren walking towards them, she heard, "Are you looking for me, baby?" "Hey, fellas, lookee here! It’s our lucky day!" She could feel her face starting to burn. She tried to ignore them and focused on the ground as she was walking.

Wrecker elbowed Hunter hard enough that he lost his balance and toppled over. Immediately he said, "What the fuck, Wrecker! Shit! What are you doing?!" (kind of loudly since he was listening to music.) Wrecker pointed to where Wren was standing, and Hunter turned around with a scowl on his face. But she knew it was meant for Wrecker and his hard shove, not Wren.

When he saw Wren, his mouth fell open a little, and he looked confused. He moved his headphones down to around his neck and started scrambling up off the ground, realizing what the other guys were saying to her. He gave them a sharp look and said with a growl, "Can it, guys." One of them said, "Hey, not fair, we saw her first." Hunter turned his head quickly and pointed at the guy, who just smiled and laughed a little.

Hunter started walking towards Wren, and when he got close enough that maybe the other guys couldn't hear everything, he began, "Wren, what are you doing here?" It sounded a little rougher than he meant for it to, but he was just a little embarrassed at how his crew was acting. He quickly adjusted and said, "I mean, can I help you with something? Is it Omega?"

Wren smiled, gave a nervous chuckle, and said, "No, nothing like that.” Then she got more nervous, of course, since now she was standing just a couple of feet in front of him. His hair was pulled back by the bandana, but some sweaty curls had escaped and fell across his forehead. His deep brown eyes were looking into hers. She felt her mouth go dry, and she had to clear her throat, which she hated having to do, but it always happened when she got nervous.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt your lunch, I just had a quick question." Then she needed to clear her throat again, felt like she was choking, so then had to cough loudly to try to clear whatever was going on in her throat. Good lord! I am such a disaster, she thought. Her face was hot (and probably red) again!

Hunter said, “Are you ok? Do you need some water?” and pointed back to where he came from.

“No, I’m fine. I just got a little tickle, I’m sorry. Anyway, again, I’m sorry to bother you-”

"It's fine. I'm done eating and was just sitting there doing nothing for a few minutes before we got back to work."

"Well, I won't keep you long. Omega came in to the library yesterday after school, and...well, she invited me to your house for a cookout on Sunday. I asked her if she'd OK'ed it with you and your brothers, and she said she had, but I wanted to make sure that was the case, and that I wouldn't be intruding on your family time."

"Oh, yeah...Omega asked us and we said, yeah, go ahead and invite her!"

"Ok, if you're sure?" She felt like his reaction was genuine, so she didn't think he was lying to spare her feelings.

"We're very sure. Omega thinks a lot of you, and it would be nice for her to have you there."

Nice for HER. Not nice for us. But for her. Well, what did Wren expect! Really!

"Well ok then, I'll plan on being there. What time?"

"Around 4:00 is fine. We'll probably eat around 4:30 or 5:00. So anywhere between 4:00 and 4:30."

"What would you like me to bring?"

"Oh, you don't have to bring anything. We'll have everything. Unless you want to, I don't want to make you feel like you can't."

"Well, is there something you'd like that you wouldn't normally make yourselves?"

Hunter thought and looked down...

Wren said, "Do you make deviled eggs? Do you guys like deviled eggs?"

Hunter's face brightened. "Hey, our dad used to make us deviled eggs when we were growing up, and none of us has ever thought to try making them ourselves. Would you mind to bring some?"

She said, "Sure, I'd be glad to!"

"Great, thanks!! Wrecker is gonna be so excited!" He kind of turned towards Wrecker, who was looking their way.

Wren looked over Hunter's shoulder, and saw Wrecker. He caught her eye and waved really big. She waved back with a big smile. Hunter looked down and smiled a little, “Wrecker is the friendliest one of us. He doesn't know a stranger.”

Wren said, "He's very sweet. His smile is contagious."

Hunter said, "Yeah, he's a good guy. A really good brother."

"Well, anyway, I should get back to the library. I just wanted to make sure it was ok that I come and if I should bring something. So I'll see you Sunday, between 4:00 and 4:30, with some deviled eggs."

"Great! Thanks so much!"

She turned and walked towards her car. She was trying to keep calm and not look back. She felt like her face was on fire, her pits were swampy, and the blood was rushing in her ears. She didn't see how Hunter's eyes followed her as she walked away.

Wrecker said, "Earth to Hunter! Come in, Hunter!" His face got hot, and he whipped around with a mean look for Wrecker, and loudly whispered, "Wrecker, be quiet!" He just hoped she hadn't heard. And she hadn't. She couldn't hear much other than that noise in her ears that she would get when really nervous or anxious.

Wrecker said as Hunter sat back down, "What was that about?"

"She was making sure it was ok if she came over for the cookout, since Omega was the one who asked her."

"What did you tell her?"

"Well I told her yes, of course. We've already talked about this."

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you didn't chicken out."

"Chicken out? There's nothing to chicken out about, Wreck. Remember, this is just her coming for Omega's sake. Everyone is going to behave and not embarrass anyone!"

Wrecker just smiled.

"Besides, if anything, I think she might have a thing for you."

Wrecker looked incredulous, "No, she doesn't, Hunter. That's obvious."

"I don't know. She said you're very sweet and your smile is contagious."

Wrecker just smiled and blushed a little. "Well, that doesn't mean anything, she's just nice. I'm not the one she looks at when she thinks no one is watching."

"What?! What are you talking about?"

"Oh, at the fair, I saw her trying to sneak looks at you when we were eating. And the way she was looking at you right there..."

"Knock it off, Wrecker. It's nothing."

"Ok, Sarge. If you say so..." Then he winked at the other guys, and they laughed.

Hunter stood up abruptly and said, "Hey, assholes, they aren't paying us to sit around. Finish up and move!" He walked off with purpose. The rest just laughed behind him as they gathered up their things.

Sunday came, and Wren couldn’t remember a time when she’d been more nervous. She was nervous about going to a new place and hanging out with people she didn't know very well. She was nervous they wouldn't like her deviled eggs, as silly and insignificant as that might sound to other people. And she was especially nervous, because she really thought a lot of Hunter, and she was afraid she'd make a fool out of herself, and he would find her annoying.

But she was going to make herself go anyway. She wasn't going to back out this time. She couldn’t keep hiding and expect to meet someone. She was 28 years old, and she’d never been on a “real” date. Her shyness and anxiety had held her back in so many ways, and she really wanted to try to change that. But it is so difficult. She had been on two dates with guys she met through an online dating site a couple of years ago. They were brutal, and that was the extent of her dating experience. Pathetic. She knew it was pathetic. And very embarrassing.

She really had no hope of being able to capture Hunter’s interest. He was so far out of her league, she was well aware of that. She had a nice enough figure, but her face and hair left a lot to be desired. She had never worn much makeup or done much with her hair. Her mom wasn’t into that sort of thing, and when she was growing up she lived a few miles out of town, so she didn’t get to hang out with her friends all the time like the town kids did. There was no one who would sit with her and help her with her hair and makeup. By the time she was a teenager, she felt like it would be too noticeable if she wore makeup or did something different with her hair, and she didn’t want to stand out. So she just let it go, because it was easier that way. She realizes, though, if you don’t stand out in some way, the chances of catching someone’s eye are pretty slim. And that’s how it had been for her all of her adult life.

Hunter was very handsome. His hair was gorgeous, he was well-built, and it was obvious he was still in “fighting shape” even if he wasn’t in the Army anymore. Really the only thing that might have turned some people off was the skull tattoo on half of his face. She could see that not being everyone’s taste. And to be honest, it did catch her off guard at first, but it didn’t take long to reach the point where it wasn’t even noticeable. It’s just part of his face. His very handsome face.

She really felt like Hunter was unattainable, even though it seemed Omega was trying to push the two of them together. Wren really hoped Omega wouldn’t do something to embarrass either of them at the cookout.

But there were four other brothers. She hadn’t really paid much attention to the others up to this point, but maybe tonight was the night to do that. She knew that Wrecker was very fun to be around, and seemed like a real sweetheart. Echo was so polite and had a great voice. She hadn’t had a chance to really observe much about Tech or Crosshair yet, but they were all handsome men. Good genes in that family. She tried to tell herself to keep her options open, maybe out of five guys one would be willing to try to get to know her. Once people got to know her, they realized she was funny, kind, and a really good person. It was just the getting to know her part that was difficult.

She found the Fett house without too much trouble, and parked along the street. She carried the deviled eggs up to the front door and rang the bell. She turned to look towards the street, and took a few deep breaths. She could hear someone running through the house, and the door was flung open. It was Omega, of course. She grabbed Wren's hand and pulled her inside with a big "Hi!"

"Hi, Omega!"

"What do you have there?"

"These are deviled eggs. They should be kept in the fridge until closer to time to eat. Is there room?"

"There should be, we'll go check."

She held onto Wren's hand until they got to the kitchen where Echo was working with corn on the cob. He turned to look at them and said, “Hi Wren. It’s good to see you again. Thanks for coming!”

“Thank you so much for having me.”

“We’ve been looking forward to those deviled eggs. Our dad used to make them for us, but we haven’t had them since we left home.”

“Well, I hope they are good and measure up to your dad’s.”

Echo said, “I’m sure they will be delicious.”

Omega went to the fridge and opened the door, showing Wren there was plenty of room for her eggs, so she put them inside.

Wren could hear Wrecker outside, in what she assumed was the back yard. He yelled, “Hey, ‘Mega! Come out here!”

Omega yelled, “I’m coming!”

Echo winced and said, “Inside voice, please, Omega.”

Omega looked apologetic and said, “Sorry, Echo!”

“It’s okay, but Crosshair is still sleeping. I’m going to let him sleep until it’s actually time to eat.”

Omega looked at Wren and said, “Crosshair works nights, so he’s often sleeping when we’re awake, so we try to be quiet when we’re home.”

“Understandable,” Wren nodded and held her finger up to her lips in a "shhh" motion.

Omega grabbed Wren’s hand again and pulled her out of the kitchen. She headed to the back of the house. They walked through a small room that held the washer and dryer. Through a side door she could see a bed. Obviously that tiny room was someone’s bedroom. Omega took her out another door that led into a screened-in porch.

As she looked through the screens into the back yard, she saw Hunter standing at the gas grill, and Wrecker was in the middle of the yard. Tech was sitting in a chair off to the side reading a book.

As Omega opened the screen door, all the guys looked their way, and Wrecker yelled, “’Mega!”

Omega ran towards him, and he picked her up easily, swinging her around.

Hunter said, “Wrecker…be careful.”

“Oh I’m not going to hurt her, Hunter!”

Omega spoke up, “Yeah, Hunter. He’s not going to hurt me.”

Hunter just smiled and said, “Just be careful, please. There are some low-hanging branches in that tree.”

Wren was left standing near the door. When Omega ran to Wrecker, Wren didn’t know what to do or where to go. She hadn’t even been at their house five minutes, and she already felt awkward and out-of-place.

Tech still hadn’t looked up from his book, but Hunter looked at her and said, “Good to see you, Wren. How are ya’? Have you had a good weekend?”

Wren answered without looking him in the eyes, instead staring at the grill he was working at, “Yeah, it’s been fine. Quiet. As usual.” She gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “I don’t do a whole lot.” After she got that out, she quickly glanced up at him.

Hunter gave a small smile and said, “I’m the same way. I like having some quiet time.”

Wren smiled and nodded. Sparkling conversationalist, Wren, she thought to herself. Say something more! But she didn’t know what to say, so she just looked at Wrecker and Omega playing further out in the yard. They were playing with a ball. It looked like the kind used in schools for kick ball…soft enough you didn’t need a glove to catch. They were throwing it, kicking it, and hitting it like it was a volleyball, laughing every time one of them had to run to retrieve it.

Wrecker spoke up while pointing to an empty chair near Tech, “Feel free to sit, unless you’d like to play with us?”

Wren said, “Thanks, I’ll just sit for now,” and moved to a chair. Tech finally looked up and said, “Oh, hi Wren. How long have you been here?”

Wren said, “Hi, Tech. I just got here.”

Hunter said, “When Tech is reading, anything could go on around him, and he wouldn’t realize it.”

Wren said, “Well as a librarian, I have to say I’m pleased to see you reading, even if you do get wrapped up in it. Have you ever used the library here in town?”

Tech said, “Yes, I have, now and then. It must have been times when you were not working, because I never saw you in there. How long have you been employed there?”

“I’ve been there about a year now. I am lucky that I only work weekdays, so if you’re also working during those times, then you wouldn’t see me.

Tech nodded and said, “That is probably it. It is usually Saturdays when I go in. I just got this book yesterday.”

Wren said, “Then you probably saw Marie…she was working yesterday.”

“You might be right, I did not notice her name. She was very helpful though.”

Wren said, “I’ll tell her you said so. That will make her feel good. She’s a sweet person.”

Then Tech went back to reading, and Wren sat and watched Wrecker and Omega some more. She tried to inconspicuously look Hunter’s way now and then. One time she thought she saw him looking towards her, but he quickly moved his eyes back down to the grill.

She had no idea what to do. She felt like it would be perfectly acceptable to try to have a conversation with Hunter, but she didn’t know how to begin, so she sat in silence for a couple of more minutes.

At that point, Omega came running over to the chair next to her and flopped down. Wrecker followed but went over to Hunter instead. Wren could hear them talking quietly, but she couldn’t tell what they were saying.

Omega started telling her a story about what they did the day before. They’d gone to do some shopping at the mall and went out to eat. Wren listened contentedly, glad Omega saved her from having to come up with conversation topics.

Hunter called over to them, “Did you guys want burgers or brats?”

Omega instantly said, “Brat!”

Hunter looked towards Wren, and she said, “Burger, please.”

He nodded and said, “How do you like your burger?”

“Medium well, usually. No pink.”

“A girl after my own heart,” he said as he smiled. Then he said, “Tech...Tech?”

Omega said, “Hey, Tech!”

Tech startled and looked up from his book, “Yes, what do you want?”

Omega said, “Hunter was asking burger or brat?”

Tech looked towards his brother and said, “Burger please, Hunter.” Hunter nodded. He must have already known how he liked his burgers cooked, because he didn’t ask.

At that point, Echo walked out with a plate of corn on the cob wrapped in aluminum foil.

“Hunt, do you have room for these on the grill?”

Hunter nodded, “Sure do. Bring ‘em over.” Echo walked the plate over and set it on the side of the grill. Hunter started placing the foil-covered corn onto the grill.

“Is Cross awake yet?” Hunter asked Echo.

“No, I thought I’d go start waking him up after I dropped off this corn.”

“Ok, it will probably be about 15 minutes and we’ll be ready.”

Wrecker walked over and flopped down in another chair. “So, how have you been, Wren?”

“Pretty good, pretty good.” Wow, Wren…you just get better and better at this. You’re not even smitten with Wrecker, and you can’t come up with anything better than that? Hopeless.

Then something popped into her head, “Do you guys have these cookouts often?”

Wrecker said, “We usually have them every Sunday evening, weather-permitting. You have a standing invitation now!”

She just realized it might seem like she was asking for an invitation, when that wasn’t it at all.

“Oh, I wasn’t wrangling for an invitation, I was just curious.”

Hunter spoke up, “He’s right though, you are welcome anytime you want. You might want to check to make sure we are still having one, but you don’t need to be invited.” He smiled at her after that. And she’s pretty sure her heart skipped a beat or two. She realized she’d been looking at him for more than five seconds, so she quickly looked down.

“Especially if we like your eggs!!” Echo added.

“Oh, that’s right!! You brought deviled eggs?” Wrecker practically yelled.

“Yeah, they’re in the fridge. Maybe you want to actually taste them before you extend a standing invitation.” They all laughed. Well everyone except Tech, who was still engrossed in his book.

“Omega, would you want to come in and help me get the rest of the food out here?” Echo asked as he opened the door.

“Sure!” she bounded up and over to the door. That girl didn’t do anything without enthusiasm. Wren smiled at her as she followed Echo in with Wrecker in tow.

After they’d disappeared inside the house, Wren caught Hunter’s eyes on her as she turned back around. He quickly looked down, and she felt her face flush. Again. She looked down at her hands in her lap.

They were quiet as they heard Omega’s cheerful voice inside talking to Echo. She could hear Echo through the open window say, “Omega, how about you go try to wake up Crosshair? He’s less grouchy when you do it.”

She laughed, and said, “Okay!” Wren could hear her running up the stairs. If that didn’t wake Crosshair up, she’s not sure what would. She heard Hunter chuckle, and she looked over at him.

When he saw her look his way, he said, “She has one speed.”

Wren laughed and said, “The energy of the young!”

Hunter quietly laughed and said, “If we could just bottle that and sell it!” They both laughed again.

Tech put his book down on the table. “Is it about ready?” he asked.

Hunter said, “Pretty close. Omega went up to wake Cross.”

She then heard Omega running back down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Then a minute later, Echo, Omega and Wrecker brought food out to the table in the screened-in porch. Hunter started gathering the meat off the grill and put it on a plate.

About that time, the door opened again and Crosshair walked out. He was holding a coffee mug. He looked around and his eyes landed on Wren. He nodded at her and made a very slight movement of his coffee mug towards her as an acknowledgement. She figured that was as much as she was going to get. She gave him a small smile and nod.

Omega said, “Wren, we’re going to eat in here, so the bugs can’t get us.

Wren stood up and walked towards the door. It just so happened that Hunter also started walking towards the door, so they both got there around the same time. Wren quickly crossed in front of him to open the door for him, since he was carrying food. As she opened the door, she made a hand gesture letting him know she would hold the door while he went through.

He gave her a small nod and said, “Thanks very much,” and walked inside, setting the meat on the table with the other food. He went back out to gather up the corn and brought it in as well.

Omega said, “Wren! Come sit by me!” So Wren made her way around the tables, chairs, and large men.

The others settled around the table. Hunter was the last one to sit, and he sat at the head of the table. Omega was on her left and Echo was on her right. Across the table was Crosshair, and she felt his eyes on her. Whenever she would look up, she could tell he had been looking. It was a little disconcerting.

Hunter picked up one of the burgers with a spatula and offered it to Wren. He said, “Wren, this one is yours.” She picked up her plate and held it out towards him, so he could place the burger on her plate. He offered Tech another of the burgers, then he took the third one. Everyone else wanted brats.

Wren got her burger fixed up with condiments and started eating. At least there was one type of anxiety she didn’t have: eating in front of people. She’d never had problems with that, so it didn’t bother her to eat in front of this group. Well, for the most part…eating corn on the cob is something that she does get embarrassed about sometimes, because she’s never found a polite way to eat that. But otherwise, she’s okay with eating around others.

For most of the meal, the guys and Omega talked to each other and Wren just listened. Now and then one of them would try to bring her into the conversation. And she would try to contribute. She could usually come up with a sentence or two to add, but that was it. A sparkling conversationalist and social butterfly she was not.

Even though Wren wasn’t up to participating much in the discussions swirling around her, she had to admit it felt really nice to be surrounded by this family. It was obvious they all cared for each other, in their own ways.

It was even more obvious that Omega thought the world of her brothers. All of them. They were all unique, but their bond was evident. And they all seemed to dote on their little sister. Even Crosshair, who seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face. The only time that scowl softened was when he was looking at or talking with Omega.

Hunter seemed to be the “head” of the family, as much as there would be one among six siblings. And Wren could tell he thought Omega hung the moon and stars. He had a small half smile on his face most of the time he was listening to her. Whether she was talking to him or someone else, he always had an ear turned towards her, observing with a very strong protective presence.

They tried to explain some of their background to Wren, and she tried to absorb as much as possible, but it was a lot.

Echo is a half-brother to the rest of them and he is actually the oldest at 29. He’d had a twin brother, Fives, who was killed while in the Army.

Hunter was the next oldest, and he is 28. Then came Wrecker at 26 and Crosshair and Tech were 25-year-old twins. Then Omega was only 12. Wren heard the guys mention their great-uncle, Ninety-nine. It sounded like Echo called him “Dad”, whereas the others called him by his name. But she thinks they all lived together, at least as teenagers. Their mother left something to be desired in the role of parent, so they were adopted and raised by the very kind older man. She didn’t hear them talk about their dad, so she wasn’t sure what that situation was.

They had all been in the military at one point. Wren wasn’t sure she kept track of everything correctly, but from what she could remember Echo, Hunter, and Crosshair had been in the Army. Fives and Wrecker had been in the Marines. And Tech had been in the Navy. There had been various lengths of service, and she didn’t remember most of it, but she did catch that Hunter was in the longest at eight years, and he’d been a Cav Scout. Echo and Wrecker had been injured, and Fives had been killed. Tech and Crosshair’s enlistments were up not long after Wrecker’s accident, and they decided not to reenlist, so they could come home to be with Echo and Wrecker. It was after Fives was killed that Hunter suffered a bit of a break down and was unable to continue. He was able to finish his enlistment and was discharged honorably, but he was devastated. It seemed he was still having trouble adjusting to that reality.

After all that discussion, the mood was a bit somber, but leave it to Omega to brighten things up. She started asking Wren questions about her childhood, and Wren did ok talking about that. She mostly looked down at her hands or the table as she talked, but she did look at Omega now and then. A couple of times she looked in Hunter’s direction, and she saw him watching her intently. When he would see her look at him, he’d drop his eyes quickly and mess with something on the table. She would feel herself get warm and just hoped her trademark blush wasn’t making an appearance.

She told them she’d grown up around 70 miles away, in a rural area. Her family raised sheep when she was a kid, and she loved those sheep so much.

At that bit of information, Omega practically squealed, “Sheep!! You raised sheep!!! I love sheep! That day at the library I was checking out a book on sheep!”

Wren said, “I remember. I was going to mention I used to raise sheep, but we were busy talking about something else…oh, you were inviting me here tonight, in fact.”

Omega said, “Oh, that’s right. That was a great book, by the way.” Wren smiled at her.

Tech spoke up and said, “Omega is an avid reader.”

Wren nodded and said, “I can tell that by how often she comes into the library and how many books she checks out. That’s awesome! We love repeat customers.”

Everyone laughed a little bit. Well, almost everyone. Crosshair was still looking at her with what she thought was a very suspicious look. She wasn’t sure what she had done to make him so suspicious, but it was making her uncomfortable.

After about an hour of eating and a lot of laughing, Echo stood to start clearing the table. They had used paper plates and plastic silverware, so there wouldn’t be a lot of dishes.

The deviled eggs Wren brought were gone. They seemed to be a big hit. She saw Omega had taken four, Wrecker had helped himself to at least six, and everyone else had at least two. Echo had told her they were delicious, just as good as their dad’s.

Wren said, “Well, that’s very nice of you to say, but I’d be surprised at that.”

Wrecker spoke up, “No, he’s telling the truth! Those were the best eggs I’ve ever had! You are our designated egg bringer, so you have to come to all our cookouts now!” He laughed that amazing laugh of his.

Omega said, “Yes!!! She has to!”

Hunter trying to be the voice of reason, knowing that Wren didn’t like to go out much and might be uncomfortable with the thought said, “If she wants to, she’s always welcome. But don’t feel any pressure, Wren. We know we are a lot to deal with.” He gave her a small smile.

She looked at him and said, “I really appreciate the offer. I’ll have to check my busy schedule.” She rolled her eyes as she emphasized “busy.” And everyone laughed. Even Hunter. It was so nice to see, she hadn’t seen him actually laugh like that before. They looked at each other for a few seconds longer, and then Wren looked at Echo and said, “Let me help you, Echo.”

Echo replied, “No, you’re our guest. Stay.”

She said, “No, at least let me help clean up as a thank you for all the delicious food.”

Omega stood up as well and started helping to clean up. The three of them went into the kitchen and threw away the trash and started wrapping up the leftovers.

Wren heard Wrecker “whisper”, “Hey Hunter, you should ask her out on a date!”

She could hear Hunter saying something, but it was too quiet for her to tell exactly what. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Omega had turned to look at her, and then at Echo, so she must have overheard Wrecker as well. Wren just kept working along, not showing that she’d heard anything. But she felt her stomach do a little flip at the thought. Unless of course Hunter had told him no. Then that would be embarrassing. She wasn’t going to ask Omega though. She just tried to nonchalantly take some deep breaths.

She heard someone get up from the table and start walking towards the kitchen, and she hoped it wasn’t Hunter. She didn’t think she could look at him right now without looking petrified. But from the corner of her eye, she could see it was Crosshair leaning against the doorframe.

Echo said, “What’s up, Crosshair?”

“Nothing.”

“Ok,” Echo replied. “Then why are you standing there?”

“I’m just watching.”

Echo gave him a look and said, “Well that’s not creepy.”

Omega laughed, and Wren smiled, even though she was more uneasy than amused. Crosshair looked directly at her while chewing on a toothpick.

He finally spoke, “So, Wren. Do you think you’ll be coming back?” But he said it with a sneer, and he didn’t really seem genuinely interested, it seemed more like he was testing her to see what she would say.

Echo and Omega both stopped what they were doing and looked at Crosshair and Wren. Omega said, “Crosshair, you shouldn’t put her on the spot.”

Echo agreed, “Yeah, Cross, what’s wrong with you?”

Crosshair replied, “Nothing’s wrong with me. I just wonder if I need to prepare myself for Hunter to act like a fool at future cookouts.”

Wren didn’t know how to react. Was Crosshair saying this for her benefit? How was she supposed to respond to that? What was he actually saying? Is he saying Hunter acted like a fool, because Wren was there tonight? She didn’t notice him acting foolishly.

Echo sounded a bit sterner, “Crosshair, what’s your problem? Hunter wasn’t acting like a fool. I think you need to get some more sleep.”

Crosshair just scoffed and tossed his toothpick in the nearby trash can.

“Yeah, maybe I do. Good night, everyone.” And with that he gave Wren a pointed look, turned around and walked up the stairs.

She heard a door close to what she assumed was his bedroom. She was so embarrassed, and she wasn’t even sure why. She really didn’t know what Crosshair was talking about. She looked at Omega and Echo with big eyes that looked like they were about to spill tears.

Omega rushed over and put her hand on Wren’s arm, “Don’t listen to him, Wren, he’s just grouchy.”

Echo agreed, “Yeah, he got up on the wrong side of the bed. That’s just Crosshair, he doesn’t mean anything by it.”

Wren swallowed hard and tried to speak. But the words were stuck. She was starting to spiral. She wasn’t sure what Crosshair was talking about. Had something gone on that she missed? She’s not the best at being observant, especially when she’s nervous. And she did stare down at her plate and the table a lot. Did Hunter do or say something that she missed that set Crosshair off? Did she do something to offend him that she didn’t realize? She could feel the room start to spin and her vision started to get blotchy.

She walked the short distance to the kitchen table and sat down with her head in her hands.

Omega stood next to her with her hand back on her arm. “Are you ok? Wren?”

Wren nodded her head but couldn’t really say much. She finally squeaked out, “Yeah, I’m fine. I just got a little light-headed.”

Right about that time Hunter walked into the kitchen. When he saw Omega standing next to Wren who had her head in her hands, he looked alarmed.

He quietly asked Echo, “What’s going on? Is she ok?”

Echo walked closer to him, took him by the arm and moved him back into the hallway a few steps. Wren wasn’t really paying attention, but Omega was watching. She saw Echo talking quietly to Hunter, but she couldn’t hear what he said. But she definitely heard Crosshair’s name. Then after a few more seconds, she saw Hunter’s face change into his angry face. The face she’d rather not see directed at her ever. Hunter didn’t get angry often, but when he did you knew it.

He looked quickly at Wren and Omega, and back to Echo. He started to head towards the stairs, but Echo grabbed his arm and said, “No, Hunter. Don’t.” Hunter didn’t jerk his arm away. He knew Echo was right, he shouldn’t say anything right now when he was angry. Echo said a few more things to him quietly, and they both looked at Omega and Wren. By this time, Wren had her head back up and was looking around. She saw the two men in the hallway and wondered what was going on. She hadn’t noticed or heard any of their previous interactions.

She just said, “Whew that came on all of a sudden. I’m sorry, Omega. I’m fine, really. You don’t need to worry.” And she patted Omega’s hand. “I think I might just sit her for a few more minutes though, if that’s ok.”

Omega nodded and said, “Of course. Did you want something to drink?”

Wren replied, “Maybe a bottle of water would be good.” At that, Omega went back out to the porch to get a bottle out of the cooler with the ice.

While she was gone, Hunter walked into the kitchen and sat down across from Wren. He looked at her, and she forced herself to look at him.

He said, “Are you ok, Wren?” His voice was very quiet and gentle.

She gave a self-deprecating laugh and said, “Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just my brain doing its dumb brain things. I just got a little light-headed, that’s all. It’s passing already.”

He said, “I’m sorry if Crosshair upset you. Did he say something to you?”

She replied, “Oh it wasn’t anything to do with him. What he said was no big deal. I think I was just a little worn out from some things I did today, I just hadn’t drunk enough water probably, so that will happen sometimes. It’s really fine.”

“Ok, if you’re sure. But I’m happy to talk to him if he said something that upset you.”

“No! No, please, it wasn’t him, honest. Please don’t say anything.”

Wren looked up at Echo which caused Hunter to look towards Echo. Echo just shrugged. He said, “Crosshair was being less than friendly. He was being himself, unfortunately. It was rude, but not so much so that it warrants any action, I don’t think.”

Wren was relieved when Echo agreed with her.

Hunter said, “Ok, if you both say so, I’ll let it go.”

She replied, “Thank you so much, Hunter.” And before she realized what she was doing, she reached her hand out and placed it on top of his on the table in front of him.

He looked down at it immediately with a look of surprise, and then back up at her. He caught a look of panic on her face as she snatched her hand quickly back.

“I’m so sorry. I should probably get on home. I need to be at work early in the morning.” And she hurriedly stood up.

Hunter also stood quickly and said, “It’s ok. It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize.”

She wasn’t sure if he meant she didn’t need to apologize for leaving so abruptly, or for the hand thing. But she wasn’t going to hang around to find out.

Omega said, “No, you can’t go yet! I thought maybe we could watch a movie!”

Unfortunately, by that point, Wren had allowed herself to become so anxious and worked up that she really didn’t think she was able to stay. Before the whole Crosshair situation, she might have actually said yes, but not now.

“I’m so sorry, Omega. I really am. I just don’t feel very well. Maybe next time, ok?”

Omega had a sad look on her face, but she said, “So there will be a next time?”

Wren looked around at Hunter, Echo and then back at Omega. “I think there probably will be, yeah. I can’t deprive you all of those eggs of mine.” She put her hand gently on Omega’s shoulder and squeezed.

Omega surprised her, and everyone else in the kitchen as well, by suddenly lunging forward to grab Wren around the waist for a hug. Wren was caught off guard and almost stumbled backwards with the force of Omega grabbing her, but then she broke out into a big smile and put her arms around Omega.

“Awww, thank you, Omega! That’s very sweet.” Wren leaned down and kissed Omega on the top of her head. She then looked up at Echo and Hunter, and the latter had an especially soft look on his face. He was looking at Omega with a small smile, but then he looked up at Wren and his smile got bigger. Wren smiled back at him and gave Omega one more big squeeze.

Echo spoke up and said, “Ok, Omega. We’d probably better let her go.”

Omega backed up and let go of Wren. She smiled at her and said, “Thanks so much for coming. You’re so cool, Wren!”

Wren laughed and said, “Well now that is the best compliment I’ve received in a long time. Thank you, dear.” She put her hand on Omega’s cheek and gave her another smile. “Will I see you in the library this week?”

Omega nodded and said, “Yeah, Hera and I are going to study with a couple of other kids on Tuesday after school. We have a big test on Wednesday.”

“Ok, well I will see you on Tuesday then. And I’ll see you guys later,” giving Hunter and Echo smiles.

Echo said, “We’re counting on it.”

Hunter said, “I’ll walk you out. Omega, would you get her container for her?”

Omega ran to the porch to grab it. Wren started walking towards the front door and Hunter followed. Omega ran back into the living room with the container and Echo poked his head through the kitchen doorway saying, “Omega! Less running in the house, please! Crosshair is trying to sleep, and we already know he’s grouchy.”

“Sorry, Echo. Here you go, Wren.” And she handed her the container.

“Thanks.” Wren turned towards the front door, and Hunter reached it first and opened it for her. He motioned her through.

“Thanks, Hunter.”

He nodded, and then he followed her out the door, shutting it behind him. She was a little surprised that he came out with her.

They both started walking down the front steps towards the street where she parked. Wren couldn’t think of anything to say, but Hunter wasn’t talking either. When they were almost to the street, Hunter stopped and touched her elbow. She stopped also and turned in his direction. He held her elbow as he spoke, “Again, I’m really sorry if Crosshair said something to upset you. He can be an asshole.”

“It’s really okay. I think maybe he just doesn’t like me.” And she laughed quietly after that, looking down.

“Well, I can’t imagine that’s the case, but even if it is, that’s his problem. He doesn’t like a lot of people. You’re a very sweet person, and I don’t see how anyone could not like you.”

Wren felt her face get flaming hot, and she nervously chuckled looking at the ground. “Well, I-I don’t know about that. I’m sure some of our library patrons might disagree. They can get really mad at me when I tell them that I’m pretty sure they didn’t return that book already.” Hunter laughed with her at that.

“Well, I think you’re really sweet.” Then it seemed to actually dawn on him what he said, so he removed his hand from her arm quickly. He cleared his throat and said, “I really do hope you’ll come back for another cookout. If not next week, at least sometime. We’d really love to have you.”

“I’m sure I will. Maybe not next week, but soon.”

Hunter walked around to the driver’s side of her car with her, and opened up her door so she could get in.

“Oh, thank you! I don’t think I’ve ever had someone open my door for me!”

“Well, that’s something our dad taught us. It’s stuck with me all these years.”

“Thank you, Hunter. Thanks for supper and everything.”

“Sure. Good night, Wren.”

“Good night.” She pulled her legs in, and he shut the door. She started her car, put it into drive, checked her mirror for cars, and pulled out into the street. Hunter was on the sidewalk by that point. She waved at him, and he waved back. At the stop sign at the end of the block, she looked in her mirror again, and she could see him still standing there, watching her drive away.

Hunter stood on the sidewalk as Wren drove away. She gave him a small wave, and he waved back. Then he watched the back of her car until she turned at the next block and was out of sight. He stood there for a few more moments.

He had a lot of things going through his mind. He was trying to keep his feelings from running away with him, because he didn’t even know what his feelings were. He’d honestly never felt this way about anyone. She’d been on his mind a lot since he first met her when Omega brought her to the festival, and that was a little over a week ago.

When Omega asked if she could invite Wren to their cookout, Hunter tried to keep his reaction neutral. But he was more excited at the thought that she might be there than he’d been about anything in a long time. So when Wren showed up at his job site a few days ago, and said she wanted to check to make sure it was ok that Omega had invited her, he felt like he had actual butterflies in his stomach. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt anything like that.

He didn’t want to let Omega or his brothers know what was going through his mind. He wasn’t ready for whatever their reactions would be. They would all mean well, but he needed to work some things out for himself first, before he tried to explain anything to other people.

***

Hunter didn’t have a lot of experience with women. He had been pretty consumed with his career as a soldier up until a couple of years ago when he had to separate from the Army. Even before he enlisted, in high school, he didn’t date. He was a bit awkward, especially around girls. 

The fact that he and his brothers had been home-schooled and kept away from other kids for much of the first thirteen years of his life certainly didn’t help matters. To say they were maladjusted after they were taken from their mother and began going to public school would be an understatement. Add that to the fact that Hunter was very focused on getting ready for the Army and had to work to help with family finances, and he didn’t have time for girls.

When he was in the Army, he didn’t want to have any sort of relationship, because he didn’t think it would be fair to a woman. He’d be gone so much, and he’d seen so many Army marriages end in divorce. He had planned on making the Army his career, so he resigned himself to never getting married, and not even being in a serious relationship. And that was fine. He was a good soldier, earned the rank of Sergeant, and enjoyed what he did as a Scout. He didn’t have to serve in combat, so things were relatively easy for him.

But as the years went by, little things started weighing him down emotionally. Then not-so-little things. Echo was injured first. Badly injured, losing most of both legs and part of an arm. That shook the whole family. Then less than a year later, Wrecker suffered his injury, losing the hearing and sight on his left side. It was after Wrecker’s injury that Crosshair and Tech decided they wouldn’t reenlist after their first enlistment was up. But Hunter had been in longer than them, so he was already into his second enlistment. He couldn’t just quit. 

Then the last straw was when Fives was killed. Of course all of the brothers were devastated by that. Their adopted father, Ninety-nine, was devastated. Hunter was home long enough for the funeral and a week’s leave to try to help his family as much as he could. But then he had to get back. All his brothers were free to stay home, but he couldn’t. That was very hard for him. For the first time since he joined the Army, he didn’t really want to be there.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Fives and how he’d never see him again. He thought about Echo and Wrecker whose lives had changed so drastically. And he thought about Crosshair and Tech there helping as much as they could, helping Ninety-nine through his grief. Yet he had to go back to his post in South Korea.

One day Hunter woke up and didn’t want to get out of bed. He did, but he didn’t want to. And that was a really crappy feeling for him. He’d never felt that before. He was always ready to go to work, to do his job. But now he didn’t want to. 

And then a few months later, it wasn’t just that he didn’t want to get out of bed, but he couldn’t get out of bed. He couldn’t do it. A fellow sergeant tried everything he could to get Hunter out of bed, but he couldn’t. Hunter was crying and not thinking straight. So they went to tell their Lieutenant. He went to talk to Hunter, but it didn’t help. So they called the doctor.

Hunter ended up in the psych ward of Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C. He spent two months there, recovering. He was put on anti-depressants, went to therapy, including group therapy, which he hated, and the whole while he thought he’d be going back to his unit. But the Army had already moved on from him. They wanted to medically discharge him. He fought them on that. He only had a few months left in his enlistment, so he was able to get them to agree to send him to a temporary post to finish out his time and then be honorably discharged. 

But his career choice, the only thing he’d ever planned on doing, was ripped away from him. He loved being a soldier, he loved feeling like he was repaying a debt to so many who had served before him. He felt that because he volunteered, people who didn’t want to join the military didn’t have to. And now that was gone. He was 26 years old, he’d been planning this life since he was 15, and now it was gone. He was lost.

So he went back home. He stayed with Ninety-nine for about a month while trying to adjust and until he was able to find work. He got a job working construction with Wrecker. He moved to the town where the rest of his brothers lived, moving in with Echo and Wrecker. Crosshair and Tech were living together at the time, Tech finishing up his college degree, and Crosshair staying on the floor of his campus housing unit. He started working as a night security guard and Echo volunteered at the VA clinic in town.

Echo, Wrecker and Hunter were all under the care of psychologists and psychiatrists at the VA clinic. Hunter saw the psychologist once a month, and the psychiatrist every three months. He was making it ok, but he wasn’t really living. He was just surviving. It took him a year or more to start feeling like his old self again. He would never be the same, but he could at least recognize himself when he looked in the mirror now.

When he came home and was in such a low point in his life, he wasn’t making the best choices. He’d never been a drinker but he started hanging out at the bar down the street from where they lived. Every night. And he started drinking. Wrecker was usually with him and he would keep an eye on him. But there was one night when it was just Crosshair and Hunter. They had been drinking, and getting a little stupid and they made a bet. A bet about who would have the nerve to get a tattoo on their face. So they found a tattoo artist with a reputation for not being picky about who he tattooed, and who looked the other way when they stumbled through the door a little.

The next day, Hunter woke up with a huge bandage on the left side of his face, and Crosshair had one around his right eye. They looked at each other and immediately remembered where they had been the night before. Hunter carefully removed the bandage and saw the left side of his face was covered in a skull tattoo. Crosshair had an actual crosshair around his right eye. They looked at each other and just shook their heads. Well, there was nothing they could do about it now.

Ever since then, Hunter has dealt with people looking at him funny, little kids staring, elderly women looking shocked. Luckily his employer didn’t really care. The only silver lining was that it made him never want to drink again.

***

As he walked back in the house, Omega and Wrecker were sitting in the living room watching TV, and Echo was in the kitchen. It sounded like Tech was taking a shower. There was no sign of Crosshair, so Hunter assumed he was still sleeping.

Hunter went to the living room and sat down. He said to Omega, “So what was the deal with Crosshair? Wren said he’s not the reason she got upset. Do you believe that?”

“Well…it happened right after he said what he said, but…”

“And what did he say?”

“He just asked Wren if she was going to come to the next cookout. But he didn’t say it in a very nice way. It was pretty snotty.”

Hunter started to frown more, his eyebrows drawing in.

Omega hurried on, “And Echo and I told him it wasn’t nice to put her on the spot, and he said that he just wondered if he should prepare for you to act like a fool at the next cookout also.”

Hunter's anger showed in his face, but he didn't blow up.

“I just don’t understand why Cross would have acted like that. There’s no reason to be nasty to Wren. What did she ever do to him?”

“Nothing that I know of. And I can’t imagine they’ve seen each other outside of the times when we were with them.”

Wrecker spoke up, “Maybe he’s just jealous.”

“Jealous of what?!” They didn’t realize Crosshair had come down the stairs and was standing in the doorway of the living room. “Are you talking about me, Wrecker?”

Everyone just looked at him, but then Hunter stood up.

He said, “Cross, what was your problem with Wren tonight?”

“Oh god, that’s what this is about?” He looked at Omega and said, “Did you tattle?”

Omega said, “I didn’t tattle! Hunter asked me what you said, so I told him.”

Hunter spoke up with a hard edge to his voice, “This isn’t about Omega. This is about you and why you felt the need to be nasty to Wren. What did she ever do to you?”

“It’s not what she did to ME, it’s what she has seemed to do to YOU, Hunter. You were acting like an idiot.”

“What are you talking about? She didn’t do anything to me! And how was I acting like an idiot?”

Crosshair sneered, “Oh, don’t feed me that bullshit. I can tell you have a thing for her.”

“Oh, so you were nasty to HER, because you think I have a THING for her?” Hunter continued.

“I wasn’t nasty! She is too sensitive!”

Omega jumped up then, “Hey, she is not TOO sensitive, Crosshair! She’s a very nice person. And I think she would be great for Hunter!” As soon as she said it, she regretted it.

She looked at Hunter, and he was looking at her with his mouth open a little. “Omega…”

“Hunter, I’m not pushing anything! I haven’t said anything to her, and I won’t. I’m not going to push anything, I swear. But…I think…if possible, it would be nice for her to hang around with us some more. For everyone’s sake.”

Crosshair scoffed and walked off towards the kitchen.

Hunter turned to Omega and said, “Why is this so important to you, Meg?”

Omega said, “Because I want you to be happy, Hunter. Because you take care of all of us. You do so much for us, and I think it would be nice if you found someone who could be there for you. Differently than the rest of us can be. Like a partner.”

Hunter sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Are you mad at me?”

“No, I’m not mad at you. You have a big heart, and it’s in the right place.” He held out his arms to her, and she walked the few steps to him and hugged him. “I know you mean well. But please don’t be pushy. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable.”

“She didn’t act uncomfortable tonight. She acted like she had a good time.”

“I think she did too, kiddo. But she might just be good at faking it. So, will you promise me that you won’t try to force anything between us? We’re adults. If something is going to happen, it will be because of something we do or don’t do.”

Omega nodded, “Ok, I won’t do anything. I didn’t plan on doing anything anyway. But I promise I won’t.”

Hunter hugged her tighter and kissed the top of her head. “Thanks, kid. I appreciate that.” And then he said quietly, so hopefully no one else could hear, “And it really is nice of you to want to help me out like this. And I do think Wren is a very nice person. I’m just not sure I’m at a place where I can think about another person like that. And I’m not sure she’s up for it either.”

Omega nodded, “Ok, Hunter. We can just see what happens.”

“Thanks, kid.”

She squeezed around his waist as hard as she could. He laughed and said, “Oh my gosh, you’re getting so strong!! I can already tell a difference from when you first came to live with us.”

“What are you going to do about Crosshair?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m probably going to drop it for now. Continuing the conversation won’t do any good right now.”

Omega nodded in understanding. They walked towards the kitchen, leaving Wrecker to watch TV, to make sure there was nothing Echo needed help with.

Once in the kitchen, they found Crosshair sitting at the table, sipping his coffee. Echo was finishing cleaning up. Omega went over to him to see if he needed any help. He told her if she’d like to go check on the porch to make sure there was nothing left that needed to be brought in, he’d appreciate it. She bounded off, then realized she was running again, so she slowed down without anyone having to tell her to.

Hunter sat at the table across from Crosshair.

“Crosshair, I don’t quite understand why Wren is a problem for you. But I’m not going to argue with you about it. There’s nothing going on. I doubt there ever will be, she’s pretty shy.”

“I saw the way she looked at you…when we were eating, and then outside when you walked her out…”

“You were watching us?!”

“I wasn’t doing it on purpose, or trying to be a creep. I just happened to be getting up and looked out the window at the same time you were out there. And I saw the way she looked at you, and it seems to me that she’s pretty smitten, for lack of a better word.”

Echo was trying to look discretely at Hunter when Crosshair said that, and he could have sworn he saw a pink tint rise in Hunter’s cheeks. It’s hard to tell with his dark complexion, but it really did look like he was blushing.

Hunter stood up abruptly and said, “I think we’ve rehashed this enough. I’m going to go in and watch TV with Wrecker and Omega, if either of you want to join us. I think Tech already went up to his room. And all I ask, Cross, is that if she does come back, that you keep your thoughts about her, or me and her, to yourself. At least while she’s here.”

“Fine. I’d hate to hurt the poor fragile woman’s feelings.”

Echo had a menacing tone to his voice, “Crosshair…”

Hunter shook his head and went to the living room, sitting on the couch with Wrecker. Omega hadn't found anything left on the porch, so she went and sat in between Wrecker and Hunter.

Once Echo was sure they were out of earshot, he looked at Crosshair and said, “Why does Wren bother you so much?”

“Because I don’t think Hunter is in the best place mentally right now, and I’m worried if he would start dating her, and things didn’t go well, that he’d be worse off than before.”

“So you’re concerned about him? Is that what this is all about?”

“So sue me, I don’t want my brother to be miserable.”

Echo continued, “I’m not going to sue you or tease you. I think it’s really nice of you to watch out for him. Just try to take it easy on her if she comes back. I happen to think she would be very good for Hunter.”

Crosshair rolled his eyes. “You and everyone else, it seems.”

“Well, I don’t think all of us could be wrong.”

“Oh really? I don’t think it would be the first time for that,” and he gave Echo a disdainful look.

Echo just smacked him with his dish towel, and hung it up to dry. He walked into the living room to watch TV also.

Crosshair stayed sitting at the table, sipping his coffee. He would be going to work in a couple of hours, and he really needed to wake up. He would try to back off and leave Hunter and Wren alone. He really would like for Hunter to find someone, he just wasn't sure if it was the right time and if Wren was the right person. But he knew he was outnumbered, so he'd let it go and just be there for Hunter if he needed him. Like Hunter had been there for him, for all of them, so many times in the past.

After Hunter went to bed, he had a hard time falling asleep. His mind wouldn’t shut off for the night. He kept thinking about Wren. And Crosshair. But mostly Wren and his feelings for her.

He really wanted to get to know her better. She’s not one to talk a lot at first, so she’d been relatively quiet the four times he’d been around her.

The first was at the fair when Omega brought her along. She barely talked to him that day, but of course he didn’t say much to her either.

Then the next morning he stopped by the library to check on her. He was nervous about doing that at the time. He’s not as shy as Wren, but he’s not one to really talk to strangers very much. But that morning he really wanted to see her, to make sure she was ok. And, if he would admit it to himself, he just wanted to see her. Period.

Then he had seen her a little later that week when she stopped by his job site to ask if it was okay that Omega had invited her to their weekly cookout. He couldn’t believe it when he saw her walking towards him. His brain couldn’t work fast enough to even come up with one reason why she might be there. And then for his crew to act like idiots towards her really bothered him. But once he got over the shock of her being there and the annoyance with the other guys, he really enjoyed the fact that she came by. Not just because it meant she would be coming to their house on Sunday, but also because she looked really cute that day.

He had to admit to himself that he thought she looked cute every time he saw her though. She’s not what a lot of people would think of when they think of beautiful or pretty. It looks like she probably doesn’t wear makeup, and her hair is interesting…it’s white and gray and silver. But she’s no older than him. But of course, Crosshair is younger than him, and he’s all gray at this point. Some people’s hair just does that. She doesn’t look like she really does a whole lot with her appearance, and to be honest, he kind of liked that. She just seems really simple, genuine, and uncomplicated. Shy and anxious for sure, but that’s not complicated. That just takes someone who is patient, and he’s always been a patient person.

Then of course the fourth time he saw her was tonight. She was pretty quiet, but she did talk more than she had previously. And he got to learn a little about her, especially things from when she grew up. She was very sweet, kind, and considerate, and what he knew about her he really liked. He just wasn’t sure if she was really interested in him or would be interested in getting to know him better. Maybe even go on a date at some point. He didn’t know if she did those sorts of things. She’s really shy, so maybe she didn’t.

And then there was how Crosshair acted towards her. She could say that’s not what upset her, but he was pretty sure it was. Especially from what Omega said. He didn’t understand why Crosshair was being that way, and he’d like to just ignore him. But he also didn’t want to put Wren through more of that stress. He’d love for her to come to another one of their Sunday cookouts but he didn’t want to stress her out. He’d have to think about it. He thinks he could get Crosshair to back off, if he could get Wren to be comfortable enough to come back. Maybe he would send Omega in to the library to feel the situation out. She was a lot better at talking to people than he was.

But then he also wondered if he was in a good enough place mentally to try to get to know her better. His depression was pretty well under control, for the most part. As long as he took his meds and saw his psychologist regularly. He would still have low points where he didn’t feel like getting out of bed for a day or so. He could usually make himself do it though. Not like in Korea when he just couldn’t do it anymore. That was definitely his lowest point, and he hoped he’d never reach that point again.

He just didn’t know if it would be fair to her to even try to get to know her better. Especially since she has her own mental health struggles. But then they might be more understanding of each other. Depression and anxiety aren’t the same thing, but there is a little overlap now and then. And even if they aren’t the same thing, just knowing the struggle of dealing with a mental illness can make a person more empathetic. Even if he doesn’t experience the same kind of anxiety that Wren does, he still understands how frustrating and limiting it can be, because his depression is also.

When it comes right down to it, Hunter likes her, and he’d really like to get to know her better. That’s the situation in a nutshell. Everything else is just stuff that could probably be worked through, if he knew she was interested enough in him to want to try. Crosshair seems to think she’s interested…smitten was the word he used. Wrecker had said he thought she seemed interested all the way back at the fair. He’d said she had sneaked looks at him when they were eating. He hadn’t noticed that, but it’s encouraging if it’s true. Surely Wrecker wouldn’t be mistaken about that. He also said he could see how Wren was looking at Hunter when she stopped by the job site, and there was something special there. But Hunter was looking at her up close, and he didn’t notice anything. Wrecker has always been more perceptive when it comes to people’s emotions and behaviors though. It’s like a sixth sense with him. Out of all his brothers, he would be the one Hunter would believe the most if he said he thought Wren was interested.

Well, he needed to get some sleep. It wasn’t going to do any good to lay and stew about this all night. Omega had said she would be in the library this week, maybe he’d just see what she said about Wren afterwards.

*****

On their way home after work, Hunter decided he’d go ahead and tell Wrecker about Wren coming to the cookout.

“Hey, Wreck. Guess who I saw today?”

“Wren!”

“Wha-…how did you know?”

“Well, I just assumed. You took longer at the lumber yard than usual, and you would have driven right by the library, so…”

“I didn’t take that long! But, yeah, it was Wren,” he conceded.

“Nice!! How did that go?”

“How did it go? What do you mean? It was fine…I-”

“Good!”

“Wreck, can I finish my story?”

“Oh yeah! Sorry, go ahead. I got excited,” and he laughed.

Hunter continued, “Well, I happened to see her sitting in the park when I was driving by, so I stopped…”

“Good job, Hunter!”

“Wrecker…”

“Oh dang, sorry!” Wrecker was just so excited he couldn’t help himself.

“I stopped and talked to her for just a few minutes, and this Sunday’s cookout came up. And I asked if she was going to be there, but she wasn’t sure. So we talked a bit more and by the time I left, she’d said she planned on being there.”

“Nice!! That’s awesome news!”

“I thought you’d like that.”

“Yeah, I like that…sure…just me…”

Hunter gave him an odd look and said, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well you act like I’m the only one who wanted her to come.”

“I know you aren’t the only one. Omega is going to be really excited.”

Wrecker pushed further, “Yeah, just me and Omega then? We’re the only two who will be pleased?”

“Wrecker, I get what you’re trying to say, you aren’t subtle. I’m also pleased she will be coming over again. Are you happy?”

“Yes! I am, thank you!” And he laughed again.

Hunter just rolled his eyes at him. He needed to steel himself for the reaction of the rest of the family, especially Omega and Crosshair, and he was already dreading it.

*****

Sunday arrived and Hunter wasn’t sure what to expect at his family’s cookout that evening. As far as he knew, Wren still planned on coming. He hadn’t talked to her since he saw her at the park on Monday. But Omega had talked to her at the library on Wednesday, and at that time she still planned on being there.

He was trying to decide if he should ask her out or not. According to most of his siblings, it was obvious she liked him, and she would definitely say yes to a date. It wasn’t obvious at all to him. And even if she did like-like him, and would maybe want to go out with him, would she say yes? He knows she’s really shy and maybe she wouldn’t be comfortable going out on an actual date with him. It’s different for just the two of them to go out together than it is being around his whole family at their house.

And he was really trying to make sure what he wanted. Did he want to go out with her, on an actual date, with all that might entail (especially if one date led to others?) He didn’t have a lot of dating experience. He didn’t date at all until he left the Army, so not until he was twenty-six years old. And then it was just a couple of women he met at the bar. They didn’t really “go out” as much as they either hung out at the bar or had sex. That’s not something he’s proud of, but he was in a pretty bad way mentally when he got back from the Army, and he was just trying to find anything to make him feel something. Anything. There was nothing wrong with the two women, they just weren’t anyone he wanted to spend any length of time with.

It had been about a year since he’d last seen either of them, and he hadn’t dated anyone in that year. But in that time he did get a better handle on his mental health and depression. He’d finally landed on a combination of medicines that had leveled out his mood, and he was seeing a psychologist he really liked.

And just having Omega around for the past six months helped his mental health immensely. She was such a sweet girl and loved unconditionally. She had taught all of her brothers a little bit about love and trying to be happy even when life got difficult.

The more he thought about it, the more he thought that, yes, he would like to go out with Wren. But he wanted to bounce the idea off of someone…one of his brothers…but which one. He knew what Wrecker would say, and even if Crosshair promised to behave, Hunter still didn’t think he would be the one to talk to about Wren.

That left Tech or Echo. Both would be relatively easy to talk to about this. Tech is very introverted himself, and Echo just seems wiser than all of them. He’s only one year older than Hunter, but it seems like much more with everything he’s been through.

Yeah, Echo. He would talk to Echo.

Hunter went to find Echo, and found him in the living room taking a nap. Hunter hated waking him up, but he didn’t want to wait too late to talk about this. Wren would be there in a couple of hours.

“Echo…” Hunter said his name quietly at first.

“Echo.” Just a little louder. There was no reaction from his brother though. He stepped a little closer and raised his voice just a little. “Echo!”

Echo startled awake and began to jump up. Hunter put his hand out and laid it on Echo’s shoulder, “It’s ok. It’s just me.”

Hunter knew it wasn’t the greatest idea to wake a former soldier up like that, and it’s why he definitely knew not to touch him before he was awake.

Echo settled back in the chair, rubbing his face. Hunter said, “I’m sorry, Echo. I hated to wake you up, but I was wondering if I could talk to you about something.”

Echo looked at his brother, who had an almost shy look on his face. What on Earth has Hunter acting like this? “What’s up, Hunter? What’s got you in a twist that couldn’t wait until I woke up?” His words might have seemed grumpy, but he had the trademark Echo smirk on his face. He was just giving Hunter a hard time.

Hunter sat down on the end of the couch closest to Echo. “I was wondering if I could talk to you about Wren a little bit.”

Echo said, “Wren? What do I know about Wren that could help you?”

“Well, you’re a bit of an introvert, so I was wanting to run something past you. I would like to get to know her better. And maybe in a situation outside of our cookouts. I’d like to ask her out on a date, but anytime I even think about it, I get nervous that I’ll scare her away. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Well…” Echo really wasn’t sure what to tell Hunter. He was very pleased that he wanted to ask Wren out. He thought they would make a nice couple and could complement each other well. But how could he help.

Then an idea flew into his head.

“Hunter, weren’t we planning on going to see a movie on Friday, as a group? I know at least you, me, Omega, and Wrecker said we wanted to go. What would you think about asking Wren to go with us? That way it’s still a group thing, which might help her nerves…and yours?”

Hunter’s face brightened at the thought. “Hey, yeah! I didn’t even think about that. I think that’s a good idea. Yeah…thanks, Echo! I’ll mention it to her tonight and see what she thinks.”

“No problem, Hunter. Anytime.”

“Now go back to sleep, it’s still a couple of hours before we need to start getting the food ready.”

“Mmm-mmmh” and Echo was already dozing off again.

Hunter sat there for a few minutes, absorbing what Echo had said. And the more he thought, the more he wanted this to happen. It’s the first time he’s been excited about spending time with a woman. Those other women were a distraction for him. A distraction from his depression. Wren was much more than that. He really wanted to get to know her better.

When Wren arrived, Hunter had already fired up the grill and got the meat ready. Omega and Echo were in the kitchen preparing the other food. Wrecker and Tech were sitting outside, Tech reading a book, and Wrecker relaxing enough that he would doze off now and then.

Hunter heard a car pull up out front, and he thought it sounded like Wren’s car. He felt his pulse quicken a little and a few butterflies in his stomach. He was still planning on mentioning the movie to her, he just wasn’t sure when yet.

He heard the doorbell ring, and then footsteps running through the house…Omega. After a few minutes, Omega and Wren walked out the back door.

Omega said, “Look who’s here, guys!”

Wren looked at all three of the brothers quickly, falling on Hunter last. He was looking at her, and she gave a small smile and said, “Hey, guys.”

Hunter said, “Hi, Wren. Good to see you again.”

She said, “Thanks for having me back again.”

“Of course!”

Tech looked up from his book and said, “Good afternoon, Wren. Would you like to come sit with us?” He motioned to the empty chairs near where he and Wrecker sat.

“Sure, thanks.” She moved to one of the chairs and sat down. She always felt more at ease when she could sit down. She didn’t feel like she was sticking out as much if she was sitting.

By that point, Wrecker had woken up and in his exuberant voice said, “Hi Wren! Did you bring some more eggs?”

Wren broke into a big smile and chuckled, “I sure did, Wrecker. They’re in the fridge if you’d like one now.”

“Oh, I reckon I can wait.”

“Ok, if you want. But I really won’t mind if you want to get one now.”

He got a shy smile on his face and said, “Well, maybe just one.”

“Go for it, big guy!”

As soon as that came out of her mouth, she wished she hadn’t said it. Was that too forward? Did that make it seem like she thought she was their friend, when really she was still more like an acquaintance? Plus she didn’t want to give Wrecker the wrong idea…did that sound flirty? She didn’t mean for it to!

But he didn’t seem to even notice, he just smiled and stood up. “Thanks, Wren! I’m so glad you came!”

“Well, thanks, Wrecker. I’m glad I came too.”

She smiled at him as Omega took another seat nearby.

Wren’s eyes happened to land on Hunter, and it really wasn’t on purpose, it just happened to be the direction she was facing. He had an interesting look on his face…there was a small smile there, but it looked like he was thinking really hard about something. She wondered if something she had said bothered him.

He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head and looked back down at the grill. He spoke up and said, “It will probably be about fifteen more minutes before the meat is ready.”

At that time, Echo started bringing out the side dishes, and Wren asked him if she could help. He declined her help, saying there wasn’t much left, and he’d be able to get it himself.

So she stayed sitting, not sure what to do or say. But she should have realized Omega wouldn’t let an awkward silence last very long. She started talking about something that had happened at school on Friday, and Wren listened to her intently.

Hunter was watching the chicken, burgers, and brats on the grill, but as discreetly as possible he was also watching Wren. She seemed like maybe she was a little more at ease than last week when she’d been there. But he also noticed how she was with Wrecker. She almost seemed more comfortable with Wrecker than with him.

The day at the job site, when Wrecker said he could tell Wren was interested in Hunter, and then Hunter told Wrecker that maybe she was interested in him instead…he was kind of joking at the time, but maybe it’s not a joke. Maybe she does like Wrecker more than him. He couldn’t blame her. Wrecker was always the most popular one of the boys, because of his sweet and outgoing personality. He was friendly to everyone, and everyone liked him. He only became a little more subdued after his injuries, mostly because he was uncomfortable with his scars. He’d been the only one of the boys (well, other than Fives) who actually had girlfriends in high school. Crosshair dated a little bit, but nothing ever came of it. Wrecker actually had a couple of steady girlfriends for a couple of years.

Since his injuries, he hadn’t really put himself out there very much. He would go to the bar now and then, but he didn’t really go out of his way to notice women or be noticed by them. Hunter figured he was afraid of what a woman might think of his scarring. But it’s obvious to Hunter that Wren isn’t the type to be concerned with looks or his scars, so there’s absolutely no reason to think she wouldn’t be interested in Wrecker. And even though he felt a little disappointment in the pit of his stomach at that thought, he couldn’t begrudge his brother some happiness, if something like that were to happen.

When she told Wrecker, “Go for it, big guy” Hunter couldn’t help but feel a pang of something…jealousy maybe? But he pushed it down and focused back on the grill. If Wren was interested in Wrecker, then he wouldn’t do anything to try to stand in their way. He decided he wouldn’t mention the movie to her. Or maybe he should, maybe he should try to help Wren and Wrecker see what could be between the two of them.

Wrecker came back outside still eating an egg, talking about how delicious they were. He thanked Wren again for bringing them, and she just beamed at him. Hunter thought he could even see a little pink tint to her cheeks, like she was blushing. He’d already noticed how cute she was when she blushed from times he’d talked to her… Hunter, stop! He tried to tell himself to stop thinking those things, because he was going to try to help Wrecker and Wren, and leave his own feelings out of it.

Or was he overreacting to a couple of comments between the two of them. Was he trying to push Wren towards Wrecker in his mind, because he was nervous about the possibility of asking her out?

He shook his head, as if he could clear out the thoughts he’d been thinking, and said, “The meat is practically ready, has anyone seen Crosshair?”

Omega jumped up and said, “I’ll go wake him up!” She ran into the house and up the stairs. Wren remembered the last time she was there, how Hunter and she had shared a look and joke about how Omega only had one speed. So she looked in Hunter’s direction to possibly say something again, but he was looking away from her. She held her gaze on him for a little bit longer, hoping he’d turn his attention her way. But when he did, he only slightly glanced at her and then looked away quickly.

That was different, she thought. He had always held her gaze longer than that before. Maybe he was just busy or concentrating on what he was doing, not really paying attention to her. Which, of course, is fine. But she couldn’t help the uneasy feeling that started working on her.

Omega came back outside and said, “Crosshair will be down in a few minutes.”

Hunter said, “Hey everybody, do you want to go ahead and start getting yourself situated at the table? It won’t be long now.”

Tech stood up, setting his book down on his chair. He joined the rest of them deciding where to sit.

Wren started to sit in the same spot she had the week before, next to Omega with Echo on her other side. But just as she was beginning to sit, Hunter stepped closer to her and said, “Hey, Wren, why don’t you go sit by Wrecker on the other side, that way you can sit across from Omega and it might be easier for you to talk.”

Wren was caught off guard, as was everyone else. Including Wrecker. She looked at Hunter and just said, “Oh…ok, wherever you think is best…” She then walked around to the other side of the table, taking the seat next to Wrecker. She looked across the table at Omega whose face showed just as much confusion as Wren felt. Omega looked at Echo, then at Wrecker, and everyone seemed to have a look of confusion.

Echo said, “Are you ok, Hunter?”

He said, “Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Just never saw you care about where anyone sat here before.”

“I just thought it might be nice to give Wren a different seat this time.”

Echo retorted, “Well, Omega, I don’t know if we should be offended or not!”

Everyone laughed, but there was just a strange feeling settling over the group. Right at that time, Crosshair came outside. He picked up on the weird vibe and said, “What did I miss? Did Wrecker say something inappropriate?”

“No!” Wrecker defended himself. Crosshair just chuckled at him. It was so easy to wind Wrecker up. He didn’t know why he enjoyed it, but he did. Probably because he knows he’s a bit of an asshole, and it’s just fun to play into that sometimes. And Wrecker is the most fun to tease, since he’s got the biggest heart. He could get the most reaction out of him.

“Calm down, Wrecker, I was just joking. But honestly, what’s going on here. You all seem strange. And why is Wren over here instead of where she sat last time.”

Hunter sighed loudly, “I just thought it might be nice for Wren to get a different vantage point this time and sit next to different people.”

“It’s because he thinks Omega and I smell!” Echo joked again.

Hunter just shook his head, “Honestly, you people…”

Wren didn’t know what was going on, but she just sat down quietly, looking at her plate. She didn’t know why Hunter was acting strangely, but she had a bad feeling it was something to do with her. But she couldn’t figure out what she’d done wrong.

The group began eating, and things went pretty well after that. Wren listened to everyone talking, sometimes multiple people at the same time, trying to give everyone her attention. Now and then she would glance Hunter’s direction, but she could never catch his eye. She would look at Omega and find Omega looking back at her with a concerned look on her face. Wren would give her a small smile and Omega would smile back, but something just seemed off.

Yet again, Wren started feeling lightheaded. She was starting to believe again that she’s not cut out for this type of thing…she should have just stayed home with her TV remote and laptop. She had thought maybe there was a chance Hunter might be a little interested in her…he’d been so nice and stopped to talk to her twice. He defended her to Crosshair. He called her sweet to her face. Omega swore that he liked her. But she didn’t see any of that tonight. Everything seemed different.

As they were all finishing their meal, Wren excused herself to go to the bathroom. She just needed to be by herself for a minute, where she knew no one was looking at her.

As soon as Omega heard the bathroom door shut, she whipped her head over to Hunter and said, “Hunter! What is wrong with you?!”

Hunter looked shocked, “What? Nothing! What do you mean?”

Wrecker spoke up, “Dude, you are acting weird. What was this whole mess with telling her to sit over here? What was wrong with where she was sitting? That made everyone so uncomfortable!”

“Well, I thought maybe she would want to sit next to you.”

“Why? Why on Earth would she want to sit next to me?”

Hunter didn’t really plan on addressing this now, but Wrecker asked.

“Well, I was watching the two of you earlier, and it seemed to me like she was acting like she was interested in you. And I thought that if that was the case, I’d try to help you two out.”

There was a moment of silence, and then everyone at the table erupted with an exclamation of some sort:

“Hunter!” from Omega.

“WHAT?!” from Wrecker.

“Why on Earth would you think that?” from Tech.

Echo said, “Hunter, you are terrible at social cues. I think you’re even worse than Tech sometimes.”

And Crosshair just laughed. “Oh my god, Hunter, you kill me.”

Hunter looked at everyone, his face getting darker. It’s hard to tell when he blushes, because of his dark complexion, but if you know him well you can see a slight change.

“Well, she called you ‘big guy’ and was smiling at you real big, and you were flirting with her about the eggs…”

“I was not flirting with her, Hunter!”

“Shhhh!” came from both Echo and Omega.

Echo continued, “She’s right in the bathroom, be quieter.”

Wrecker said in a loud whisper, “I’m sorry, but I can’t believe Hunter right now.”

Crosshair said, “Oh I can believe it. He self-sabotages. This is classic Hunter.”

Hunter sent him a dirty look, “Hey, pot calling kettle black, why don’t you watch yourself.” Crosshair just laughed more.

Omega said, “Well, Hunter, you are way wrong. Wren is not interested in Wrecker. I can’t believe you really thought that. Did you?”

“Well, I don’t know…she seemed so at ease with him.”

Tech spoke up, “Hunter, I believe what you were noticing is the fact that Wren seems to have an easier time talking to Wrecker than she does you. But that does not mean she is interested in him romantically. Quite the opposite, I’d theorize. I believe the reason she is able to talk so easily to him is because the stakes are low. She does not feel pressure to appear any certain way to him. I think we can all admit Wrecker is the friendliest one out of all of us, other than Omega now, of course. And he has always had a way of making people feel comfortable around him. And it is not that you are intimidating, but if she is at all interested in you romantically, as Omega and Wrecker seem to think she is, then she is probably putting more pressure on herself to appear a certain way to you. And that is probably manifesting itself in her being quieter and more reserved with you.”

Echo said, “I think Tech is probably right. And I also think she isn’t going to be in the bathroom much longer, so we need to stop talking about this.”

Omega nodded her head and said, “Yes! So Hunter…what are you going to do to make this right?”

“Make it right? What am I supposed to do?”

“Well, I don’t know. For one, stop acting weird. Stop trying to push her towards Wrecker.”

Echo spoke up, “And ask her to go to the movie with us on Friday. You need to be the one to ask her that. You need to try to make this feel less strange. God, it’s like you’re an alien who’s been dropped on Earth and never had to deal with humans before. Honestly.”

Hunter sputtered, but before he could say anything in his defense, they heard the bathroom door open. They all looked at each other and no one said anymore.

Wren walked out onto the porch and gave a small smile to the group.

“Hi, Wren!”

Wren felt like they must have been talking about her, the way everyone was acting, but she just said, “Hi, Omega.” She took a drink of her water, and said, “Thanks for inviting me again, guys. You really put on a good cookout.”

Omega quickly said, “You aren’t leaving are you? We have a movie we can watch!”

Wren said, “I wish I could, Omega, but I actually have some work to do tonight. I should probably get that done before it gets too late, because I’m notorious for falling asleep when trying to do work at night.” She did have something she could work on, but it’s certainly not urgent. She’d had every intention of staying longer this time, but things just didn’t feel right.

“Are you sure you can’t stay, Wren?” It was the first thing Hunter had said to her in a while that sounded like the normal Hunter. She’s not sure what was going on tonight, but she was coming to the conclusion that maybe things just weren’t meant to be with the two of them, and it would be less stressful for both of them if she cut her losses and left now. And also if she made this her last Fett family cookout.

“I really do think I better leave.” She gave Hunter a small smile. He looked at her and she felt like there was something in his eyes he was wanting to get across to her, but she didn’t know what it was.

She looked back at Wrecker and said, “Wrecker, if you have a plastic container handy, I can just leave the leftover eggs with you.”

Wrecker stood up and said, “Sure, that would be great. I’ll go get one.” She thought she noticed him give a very pointed look at Hunter as he walked past, but maybe she was seeing things that weren’t there at this point.

Everyone else started standing up, including Hunter. She thought she saw a look between Omega and Hunter as well, and Hunter said, “Can I walk you out, Wren?” Omega gave a tiny nod of her head, probably assuming it wasn’t noticeable, but Wren notices everything and she saw it.

She said, “Oh, you don’t have to do that, Hunter-“

“Yes, he does!” That came from Echo. Crosshair laughed. Wren looked at Hunter, and he was staring daggers into the both of them.

“I’d like to,” he said to Wren.

“Ok.”

By this time, Wrecker was back with a plastic container and started transferring the leftover eggs into it. When he was done, he handed Wren’s container to her. “Thanks again for bringing those, Wren. They really are the best.”

Everyone else mumbled their agreement.

“Well, you’re all very welcome.” Then she said, “Ok, well, I’ll head out.”

Omega jogged around the table and gave her a hug. Wren hugged her back, smoothing her hair. “Will I see you this week at the library?”

“Oh, I’m sure you will at some point. We’ll probably be there Wednesday after school…we are getting our topics for our big papers that day.”

“Ok, well, I’ll look for you then. Bye, everyone!”

Wrecker, Tech, Echo, and even Crosshair told her good bye.  She turned around to walk inside the house. She couldn’t see the rest of them making motions at Hunter, as in “go with her, go!” And he gave them a look like, “I am!” and turned to walk behind her.

Hunter followed Wren through the house to the front door. He hurried as they neared the door so he could get there first and open it for her.

“Thank you,” she said with a small smile. He smiled back with a small nod.

She walked through and moved towards the front steps, as if she was going to head out to her car. But before she reached the steps, she heard Hunter say, “Wren, would you be able to stay for a few more minutes. So we could talk?”

She stopped walking as soon as she heard his voice, and when she heard what he wanted, she turned around and looked at him. He had a nervous look on his face…nervous and shy maybe? He motioned towards the chairs that were sitting on the porch. Wren walked and sat down in one and he sat in the other.

They sat in silence for a little bit. It was probably only thirty seconds, but it felt like minutes. Wren was looking anywhere but at Hunter, but when he started talking, she looked his way.

“Wren…I need to apologize for how I acted tonight.”

“Why? You didn’t do anything wrong!”

He gave her a look of disbelief. “Of course you would say that, because you’re so nice. I was a dick, plain and simple. Just ask any of my family in there.” He chuckled.

She smiled. “I don’t think you were a dick…but you did act differently. I was afraid I’d done something to upset you.”

He had a pained look on his face when he heard that. “Oh, I’m so sorry I made you feel like that.”

“It’s ok. Now that I know it’s not true.” She smiled at him again, but he was looking at his hands.

“Well, I got it in my head at the beginning of the evening that maybe you were interested in Wrecker…” He quickly looked up and saw a bit of shock on her face.

“Why? Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know…you just seem so at ease with Wrecker. And you called him ‘big guy’, and I thought maybe he was flirting with you…it was dumb.”

“I regretted calling him that as soon as it came out of my mouth. I didn’t mean anything by it though.”

“I know that now. The rest of them set me straight, believe me.” He softly chuckled and shook his head.

“So that’s why you wanted me to sit next to Wrecker?”

“Yeah, I thought if you were interested in each other, I would try to help you out a little.”

She tried to keep her face neutral, but she had to admit there was a little disappointment setting in. If he was interested in her, would he have tried to facilitate Wren and Wrecker sitting next to each other? Does that mean he’s not interested? Maybe Omega is wrong. Maybe the little cues Wren thought she might be picking up were in her imagination.

“Well, I guess that was nice of you?” She nervously laughed a little, not sure what else to say or do.

He said, “It was misguided, but I did have good intentions.”

“So now you know I’m not interested…in Wrecker.” She wanted to say more, but couldn’t get the words out. She wanted to add, “But I am interested in you”, but she just couldn’t.

“Yeah, sorry again.”

“It’ really ok, Hunter. Don’t worry about it.”

“But I drove you off. Omega was really hoping you would stay to watch a movie with us, and maybe you would have if I hadn’t acted like an ass.”

“Well…do you think her invitation still stands?”

Hunter’s head snapped up quickly. “What?”

“Do you think she still wants to watch a movie?”

Hunter said, “I thought you needed to get home to do some work.”

“I have some work I could do, but it’s not urgent. And I’d much rather stay here and watch a movie…with Omega,” she quickly added.

“She’ll be thrilled! Do you want to come back in, and we can tell her?” And just as he was standing up to go inside, he remembered he had an assignment.

“Oh! I also have something to ask you…we’re going to a movie on Friday, and we wondered if you would want to go with us.”

“Umm…sure, that sounds like fun. It’s been quite a while since I’ve gone to a movie.”

“Ok, great. We can talk closer to time about the details. This is just a save-the-date kind of thing.”

She smiled and said, “Ok, I will definitely save the date.”

He felt like his smile must have been the dopiest smile he’s ever had, but he couldn’t help it. She was going to watch a movie with them tonight, and then she was going out with them on Friday. He had to make an effort to not act like an excited kid.

 Hunter got the door for Wren, and she walked inside. She heard a lot of commotion coming from the living room, and as she looked around the door frame, she saw Omega, Wrecker, and Echo scrambling for seats on chairs and the couch. Were they…

Hunter saw them also, and he knew for sure what they had been doing. They had been spying on them on the porch. He just shook his head but didn’t say anything. He knew they meant well.

As they stood in the doorway to the living room, Hunter said, “Wren is going to stay and watch a movie with us after all.”

She heard a “yay”, “that’s great”, and “awesome!” all at the same time. She wasn’t sure who said what, but all three of them seemed pleased.

Wren walked on in and sat in an empty chair, “What are we going to watch?”

Omega spoke up, “We were going to watch The Princess Bride. They’ve all seen it, but I haven’t yet.

“Oh, that’s one of my all-time favorites!”

“Really?” Omega asked.

And Hunter also said, “Really? It’s one of my favorites too. Well, really, it’s a favorite of the whole family. That’s why we want to show it to Omega.”

Omega patted the spot next to her on the couch and said, “You can sit here, Wren!” Wren got up and moved to the couch. So, Omega was at one end with Wren in the middle. That still left one spot to Wren’s right. Wrecker and Echo were already in chairs. Hunter quickly looked around. There were a couple of more chairs further away from the couch, but he didn’t really want to sit all the way over there. But would it be too awkward to sit next to Wren after everything that happened that evening?

Omega said, “Hey, Hunter! You gonna sit here with us?” as she pointed to the empty spot on the couch.

He looked at Omega and Wren, then the empty spot. Then he looked around and saw Echo and Wrecker both looking at him with stupid grins on their faces. He internally sighed…it’s not that he didn’t want to sit next to Wren. He did. He was just afraid they were going to make a big deal out of it.

“Sure, I’ll sit here,” he said, as he sat down on the couch. He sat as close to the end of the couch as possible, so he was as far away from Wren as he could be without making it obvious.

She looked up at him and gave a small smile, and he smiled back.

“Ok, now, are we ready?” Wrecker asked.

“Well, what about Tech and Crosshair?” Echo asked.

Omega spoke up, “Crosshair already said he wasn’t going to watch, he wanted to get more sleep. And I don’t know about Tech.”

Hunter looked at Omega and said, “Hey, Meg, do you wanna go ask Tech if he’s gonna watch?”

Omega jumped up and ran to the stairs, then bounded up the stairs two at a time.

Hunter and Wren both watched her go, then Hunter turned and looked at Wren, “One speed.” She laughed a nice, hearty laugh. She doesn’t know why it struck her as so funny, maybe it was more nerves than anything, but she kept laughing. It wasn’t even that funny, but once she starts laughing like that, it’s hard for her to stop.

Wrecker and Echo looked in their direction with confused looks on their faces. Hunter looked at them and just shrugged, as if to say, “I don’t know what happened.”

Wren was laughing so hard at this point her stomach was hurting. She was bent over at the waist with her folded arms on her knees, and her face on her arms.

Omega came running back down the stairs and saw Wren laughing and the guys looking at her in confusion.

“What did I miss?”

All three guys shrugged, and Hunter said, “I’m not really sure.”

Wren finally lifted her head up. Her face was red and there were tears running down her cheeks. She was holding her belly as if it hurt.

“I’m sorry, you guys. I don’t know why I found that so funny. Sometimes I will laugh at something that’s not even funny but not be able to stop laughing. I’m so sorry.”

Hunter said, “You don’t have to apologize. We’re glad you’re enjoying yourself.” He smiled at her with a smile that lit up his whole face.

He was thinking to himself he’d never seen her look cuter. He had never seen her with such a big smile. She has very nice teeth, and her smile is a little lopsided. Her eyes were shining with tears, and he hadn’t looked closely enough before, but with the way the light was shining he could see how green they were. She was wiping the tears from her cheeks and eyes and was quieting down.

Just as she thought she was done, she started chuckling again. She really didn’t know what got into her. Sometimes when she was nervous, she would laugh during inappropriate times. This wasn’t an inappropriate time, but there just wasn’t anything that was funny enough to warrant this reaction. So, then she started getting embarrassed, because they were all looking at her. She started feeling her face burn, and if it wasn’t red from laughing so hard, it would definitely be red from blushing at this point.

“Ok, ok…ok. I’m done, I’m so sorry. Sometimes I just get the giggles, and it’s hard for me to stop. Especially if I’m trying to stop. I’ve done it at some pretty inappropriate times…like at my cousin’s wedding when the person singing during the ceremony was so bad, my brother and I couldn’t help but laugh. But of course, we weren’t supposed to, and I still remember how hard it was to keep quiet.”

Everyone smiled at her…none of them had seen her acting this free and…joyful. It was nice to see.

“Ok, I swear I’m done. We can watch.”

Without even thinking about it, Hunter reached over and patted her leg, right above the knee, and said, “It’s good to see you laugh.”

She looked at him, still smiling, but now with eyes wide. She glanced down at his hand on her leg, and it was at that point he seemed to realize what he’d done. He snatched his hand back quickly and said quietly, “I’m sorry.”

She said, “It’s ok,” as she looked down at her hands.

Hunter looked at his brothers, and their eyes were as big as hers and their smiles were bordering on obnoxious. Hunter could tell what they were thinking, and he knew he was in for some shit after Wren was gone. Oh well, he’s not sorry he did it. Just sorry everyone else saw it.

He said, “Omega, did you put the DVD in?”

She jumped up, “Oh, no, I hadn’t gotten to it. Tech said he might come down later, but to start without him. He’s in the middle of something.”

She then went to their shelves where they kept the DVDs, picked out one, and got it set up to go. She grabbed the remote from Wrecker and sat back on the couch. She said, “We have popcorn and sodas for later, if you want, Wren. I know we ate not too long ago, but maybe in a little bit.”

Wren smiled and said, “Yeah, that sounds good.”

She looked forward at the TV where Omega was scrolling through the DVD menu, but she thought she could feel Hunter looking at her. She didn’t want to turn and see for sure, because she didn’t want him to know she could see him. Instead, she looked back at her hands again, and shifted her eyes just a little towards him. She’s not that great at being coy though, so she ended up looking at him as he was looking at her. He quickly looked towards the TV though, knowing full well he’d been caught. She thought she could see his face get a little darker, but she quickly looked towards the TV herself. She felt her face getting hot, and if he was looking at her, he could have seen hers darken as well.

She told herself she couldn’t look at him anymore during the movie, she just needed to focus forward no matter what. And once the movie started, it wasn’t as difficult, because she really did love this movie. It’s one of her very favorites. She found herself saying some of the lines quietly to herself, which is a bad habit of hers when she watches the movie. It’s not so bad when she’s watching by herself, but she doubted the others wanted to hear her reciting lines. But then she could tell that Hunter was doing the same thing now and then, so she didn’t feel so bad.

Halfway through the movie, Hunter said, “Omega, do you want to pause the movie, so we can pop some popcorn?”

“Oh yeah!” She did pause and hopped up to go to the kitchen. “Wren, do you want to come with me?”

Wren smiled and said, “Sure.” She stood up and walked past Hunter and followed Omega to the kitchen.

Before they got to the kitchen, she thought she heard Wrecker say to Hunter, “So, how are things going back there, Hunter?” Then he laughed his big laugh.

Hunter said, “Just fine, Wreck.”

“Good, that’s good.” Wrecker laughed some more, and then Wren couldn’t hear anymore.

Omega pulled out some bags of microwave popcorn and started the first one popping. Then she went to the fridge and pulled out some cans of soda.

“Do you want to pick a soda, Wren?” She had taken four cans out and set them on the counter. Then she got cups out of the cupboard.

Wren got a can out of the fridge also, and took one of the cups. They poured their sodas in the cups with some ice. After the first bag of popcorn had popped, Omega popped another. She got out two bowls to put the popcorn in. She handed Wren three cups and said, “Those are for the guys.”

Wren took the sodas to the living room and offered the first one to Hunter. He took the cup from her, thanking her. She tried to ignore the tingling in her fingers when their hands touched briefly and moved on to hand Wrecker and Echo their drinks. She went back to the kitchen to grab her drink and one of the bowls of popcorn. She told Omega, “I’ll take this bowl in. Will you need any more help?”

“No, as soon as this other bag pops, I’ll be in there.”

Just as Wren was walking back into the living room, she heard the door to Tech’s room open, and he started down the stairs.

“Oh, do you want a soda, Tech?”

“No, Wren, thank you. I will get myself some water.”

She smiled at him and moved on. He went into the kitchen, and she could hear Tech and Omega talking. She made her way back to the couch and sat in her spot again. The guys were talking amongst themselves, but it just sounded like work stuff.

When Omega and Tech made it back, they started the movie back up. Wren was holding the bowl of popcorn, since she was in between Hunter and Omega, and they all three would eat from that bowl. There were a couple of times when Hunter and Wren’s hands touched in the bowl, but neither of them looked at the other when it happened. They just moved their hands away quickly.

By the end of the movie, everyone but Omega was quoting so much of it she probably couldn’t hear the movie itself much of the time. Tech made sure he was downstairs by the time his favorite part came on. It’s when Westley calls Prince Humperdinck names: “I’ll explain and I’ll use small words so that you’ll be sure to understand, you warthog-faced buffoon.” To hear Tech say the line had Wren laughing again. She was having such a good time, and she’s so glad she stayed.

After the movie ended, she took the empty bowl and her cup into the kitchen. The others started getting up and taking their cups to the kitchen as well. She said to no one in particular, “Well, I’d better get on home.”

Omega said, “Thanks so much for staying. I’m glad I got to watch the movie with you.”

“I’m glad too, Omega.” She gave Wren a hug, and Wren rubbed her back and kissed her on the head. She then said to all the guys in general, “Thanks for having me, guys. It was a lot of fun getting to see that movie with so many people who enjoy it.”

There was a chorus of, “I’m glad you could stay and watch” and “It was great having you.”

Wren found her plastic container and started walking towards the door. Before she got there, Hunter scooted in front of her and opened the door. She thanked him, and he smiled at her. Then he followed her outside, shutting the door behind him.

“You didn’t have to walk me out, Hunter.”

“I know, but I wanted to.”

Wren just smiled. They didn’t talk as they walked. Wren wasn’t sure what to say. Hunter wasn’t sure what to say. They both felt like there were things they wanted to say, but they just couldn’t decide what.

When they got to her car, Hunter opened her door for her, shutting it once she was fully inside. She rolled her window down.

“Thanks again for having me over. I had a really good time.”

“After I got my head out of my ass?”

She laughed, and Hunter smiled at the sound. She has a great laugh. It’s a full laugh from her gut, and she even does a little snort now and then.

“You didn’t have your head up your ass, Hunter. It was just a little misunderstanding. It’s all good now. Really, don’t feel bad.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that. So, do you still want to go to the movie with us on Friday, or do you think you’ve had enough of us for a while?”

“I definitely want to go! I look forward to it!”

“Good. Oh, hey, should we exchange numbers, in case something happens that you can’t come or we need to talk about details?”

“Oh, yeah, good idea! Do you have your phone with you?”

Hunter pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He started typing in a new contact, and said, “Ok, what’s your number?” Wren gave him the number, and he typed it in. Then she could tell he was typing more, and she heard her phone vibrate. She got it out of her purse and looked. She had a text from him. It said, “This is Hunter. 😊” She smiled, and texted back, “Nice to meet you, Hunter. I’m Wren. 😊” When he saw the text he looked at her and gave her such a big smile she was sure her heart skipped a beat.

“Ok, well I’ll be in touch with the details about time and stuff closer to Friday.”

“Sounds good. See ya later, Hunter.”

“See ya, Wren.”

Then they both gave little waves, and she began pulling away. Just as she did last time, she looked back in her mirror at one point, and he was standing there, watching her drive away.

Hunter watched as she drove away, until she turned the corner. Then he turned towards the house. When he got to the door and started to open it, he braced himself for what he knew was coming.

As soon as Wrecker saw him, he said, “Way to go, Hunter! I saw your hand on her knee!”

There it is. He knew it. He just looked at Wrecker and rolled his eyes, but as he turned to go to his room, he had a small smile on his face that no one saw.

The next day at work, Wren was at her desk and her coworker, Marie, stopped by.

“So…what’s new with you, Wren?”

“Not much.”

“Oh, really? Nothing new with that guy with the face tattoo?”

“Hunter?!” Wren asked.

“Do you know two guys with face tattoos? Yes, Hunter. I see his sister come in here and talk to you. And did I hear that you went to their house?”

Wren liked Marie well enough. She’s a really nice woman and a good coworker. But she wasn’t comfortable talking to her about personal stuff.

“Where did you hear that?”

“Amanda told me. So how was it? Are you guys gonna go out, like on an actual date?”

“No. It’s not like that. I’m just friends with the family. Omega is the one who has been inviting me to places with them. Not Hunter.”

“But he did come in here one day, didn’t he? And then he stopped and talked to you at the park?”

“Yeah, but he was just talking details about me going to their house. Since Omega invited me.”

Wren really wasn’t sure what Hunter was thinking or what his feelings might be. Sometimes she thought there might be a little interest there, and other times it just seemed like he was being friendly for Omega’s sake. She still couldn’t imagine someone like him being interested in someone like her.

Marie continued, “When are you going to see him…I mean Omega...next?”

“Well, she might be coming in this week to study after school.” Wren didn’t want to tell Marie about going to a movie with the family on Friday. She wasn’t ready to share that much yet.

Their boss called Marie over to her office at that point, so Wren was off the hook. She hoped that Marie got the hint that she didn’t really want to talk about this with her. It made her wonder how much her coworkers had been talking about her. She’s too uncertain about what is actually going on to want to talk about it with coworkers.

~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday came, and Wren wondered if Omega was going to stop by the library. She hoped she would. She was wondering if she’d mention anything about Hunter or Friday.

At around her normal time, Omega and her friend, Hera, walked into the library, big smiles on their faces, laughing at something. They saw Wren behind the desk and waved at her, and she waved back. They went to their usual table and set their backpacks down. Hera started unpacking her books while Omega went to the desk to talk to Wren.

“Hi, Wren!”

“Hey, Omega. How are you?”

“I’m great! We’re just going to do a little studying. But I wanted to ask if you were still planning on going to a movie with us on Friday?”

“I plan on it, unless something comes up. But I can’t imagine anything will.”

“Good! We’re looking forward to having you with us.”

Wren just smiled at her.

“Hunter has been talking about it quite a bit.”

Wren gave Omega an incredulous look. “I have a feeling you’re exaggerating…”

“No, I’m not! I swear.”

Wren’s smile got even bigger. “Ok, if you say so.”

“Wren, why don’t you think Hunter likes you?”

“It’s not that I don’t think he likes me. I just have my doubts that it’s in the way you mean. I know he’s your brother, and you know him much better than me. But I know me. I’m used to me and how guys react to me. I’m pretty sure he just wants to be friends. Which is fine, really it is. He’s a really nice guy, and it’s always good to have a nice guy as a friend.”

Omega pouted a little bit in a good-natured way.

She said, “You’ll see I’m right. You just wait and see.”

Wren gave her a small smile. “Well, no matter what, I’m looking forward to going with you and your brothers to the movie.”

Omega went back to the table to start studying. They didn’t talk anymore while she was there, except when she was leaving, she waved at Wren and said, “See you on Friday!”

Wren waved, and said, “Ok, see ya!” She hoped Marie hadn’t overheard them, but luckily she was in the back of the library and wasn’t paying attention.

Whenever she would talk to Omega, Wren became hopeful about Hunter. But then by the time she would get home, she was doubting again. This was really starting to stress her out, and she was falling back into her old mindset of “is it really worth the trouble.” If she was this stressed out at the prospect of a possible something with him, not even a for-sure thing yet, how would she be able to handle it if he really did want to go out, just the two of them. She didn’t think she would probably survive.

Then her mind and her anxiety would start spiraling and she would wonder if she should cancel going to the movie. Why even bother, why even make them have to deal with her. They’d have a better time without her, she was sure. She wasn’t fun, she wasn’t cool, she’s just Wren. And Wren isn’t someone people want to hang out with. Especially not guys.

Over the years, this is how she’d learned to protect herself against disappointment. Just avoid any situation that might lead to disappointment. Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Sure, she would be miserable thinking about the “what ifs” for a little while, but that would pass. It always did.

She wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She still had a day to think about it. And worry about it.

~~~~~

Hunter knew that Omega was going to the library after school today. He assumed that’s why she wasn’t home yet. He also assumed Wren would be there at the same time. She usually worked weekdays. Or from what he knew anyway. Which really wasn’t a whole lot. But he still hoped to learn more. A lot more. He just needed to be patient.

He was sitting at the small desk in the corner of the living room, going over some paperwork and bills.

He heard footsteps running up the sidewalk, pounding up the front steps, and then the door was flung open. Omega was home!

“Hey, Omega! You seem excited.”

She had a big smile on her face. “Guess who I saw?”

“Who?” He knew who she was probably going to say, but he was going to act like he hadn’t been thinking about it…her.

“Wren! I was at the library.”

“Oh, that’s right, it was study at the library day. Well, that’s nice.”

“Do you want to know how she was?”

Hunter gave Omega a look and sighed, “I know you’re dying to tell me, so go ahead.”

“Well, she seemed really good. And she looked really cute.” Hunter chuckled and rolled his eyes. “And she said she still plans on going with us on Friday.”

At that, Hunter’s head popped up. “Really?” He realized he sounded a little too eager, so he cleared his throat and said, calmly, “Well, that’s good. I know you’ll enjoy having her along.”

Omega just stood in front of him, with her hands on her hips, and looked at him. “Hunter, do you like Wren?”

He gave her a slightly exasperated look, “Omega, I don’t want to keep having this conversation with you.”

“Well, it’s just that she really doesn’t think you do. I told her you do-“

“You what?! You told her what?”

“Well, I told her you like her-“

“Omega!”

“What?! You do, don’t you!”

“Even if I do, I don’t want you talking to her about it! It’s embarrassing! Having my little sister talk to a girl for me? Come on!”

“Oh, Hunter! Don’t be silly. It’s not like that. I just asked her if she was coming, and she said she was still planning on it. And I told her WE are looking forward to it. And then I added that you’d talked about it...”

“Omega…” He put his head in his hands as his elbows leaned on the desk.

“…more than once.”

He looked up again. “Really? Really. You had to add that?”

Omega was ignoring his tone and just kept talking. “All I’m going to say is, if you do like her, and are interested in her, it’s going to take some convincing. She doesn’t think someone like you would be interested in someone like her.”

“She said that?”

“Yeah. I asked her why she doesn’t think you like her, and she said she just thinks you like her as a friend, because guys like you don’t like girls like her in any other way.”

Hunter looked down at the desk and was quiet.

“So, I’m just saying, if you just want to be her friend, then you’re good to go. But if you are thinking of anything more than that, it will take a little convincing.” He had his back to her, but she went over to him and put her arms around his shoulders and gave him a quick hug, resting her head against his. He reached up and patted her hand. She walked into the kitchen to get a snack.

Hunter sighed. And he wasn’t even sure what he was sighing about. He didn’t know if he was sighing because of Omega’s meddling, even after he asked her more than once not to. Or if he was sighing because obviously any sort of hints he’d tried to send Wren’s way were totally missed. Not that he’d done much, but he thought walking her out to her car twice and telling her he thought she was sweet might have been enough of a hint to make her consider he might be interested. Or when he stopped to talk to her at the park. Or at the library. He realized they might have been subtle. Or now that he thought about it, he realized they could have been interpreted as just being friendly. Well, shit. He’s not good at this. Not good at all.

He hated to admit it, but maybe he did need Omega’s help. But there’s no way he was going to tell her that! He had a little over a day to try to think of something he could do or say when they went to the movie to make her realize he was interested in getting to know her better, one-on-one, without being too forward and scaring her away.

~~~~~

At work on Friday, Wren realized she didn’t know what time they were going to the movie that night. That’s one of the reasons Hunter wanted to exchange phone numbers, was to communicate about the movie night. Of course, he hadn’t reached out to her…but maybe he thought Omega would have talked to her about details.

She decided to bite the bullet and text Hunter.

W: Hunter? This is Wren. I was wondering if you all were still going to the movie, and if so, what time? Should I meet you at the theater?

And then she waited. And she waited. And she was getting more nervous with every minute that passed. She logically knew he was probably working, and he might not even be able to have his phone with him when working. It might be too easy for it to get damaged. She decided to go to the stacks to do some shelving and leave her phone at her desk. That way she wouldn’t keep looking at it every minute.

She was gone for about thirty minutes, and when she got back to her desk there was a flashing light on her phone indicating she had some sort of notification. Then when she picked it up, she felt a slight vibration. A text!

She looked at the phone and saw an unread text. She opened it up, and it was from Hunter.

H: Hey, Wren! Thanks for checking in! We thought we’d go to the 6:00 showing, if that’s ok with you? You’re welcome to come to our house and we can take a couple of cars together. Or if the theater is closer to where you live, and you’d rather just meet us there, that’s fine too.

Ugh, decisions. She hated having to make decisions.

With her anxiety, she’d really rather go to their house first and ride with them. Otherwise, she’d have to meet them at the theater, and standing around in a theater lobby waiting for people is one of the things she feels really awkward about. Well, standing around waiting for people anywhere. She feels like she sticks out. Plus, she thinks their house is very nearly on her way to the theater anyway. It would just make sense to go with them.

W: If it’s ok, I’ll come to your house and go with you all. What time will you be leaving?

H: We usually leave around 5:30.

W: Ok, I’ll be there no later than 5:30. Thanks!

H: Ok, sounds good. Bye!

Ok, she got that sorted out. She wanted to pat herself on the back for that one, because that wasn’t easy to do. Much easier than calling though! Thank goodness for texting!

Wren would have just enough time to change clothes when she got home from work, and then get over to the Fett house. It’s probably best she wouldn’t have extra time…she would just sit around fretting.

Wren walked in next to Omega, who was still holding her hand. As they got in the house and turned the lights on, she said, “Wren, do you want to play a board game? Or a card game?”

“Whatever you’d like to do, I’m fine with either.”

“How about Uno? Do you know how to play Uno?”

“I do know how to play Uno, and I’d love to do that.”

Omega looked at the guys and said, “Who all wants to play?”

“I will,” Hunter said. Wrecker and Echo also said they would play. They all went out to the kitchen table, Omega grabbing the cards off the shelves on her way.

“Hey, Omega, would you want to go see if Tech would like to play also?”

“Sure!” And she went running up the stairs. They heard a knock and then Tech’s voice saying, “Come in.”

Hunter was shuffling the deck while they waited. He asked Wren if she’d like anything to drink, and she said no, she was fine.

After a minute, they heard Omega running down the stairs and hurrying into the kitchen. “He’s coming!”

A short time later more footsteps on the stairs and then Tech was standing in the kitchen doorway. “Hello, everyone. How was the movie?”

“It was really good!” and “It was so funny!” came from the group.

“Excellent,” he said as he took the empty chair at the table.

Hunter went ahead and dealt the cards, and they began their first game.

They ended up playing a few hands. There was so much laughing and good-natured teasing when someone would have to draw a bunch of cards. The guys were a little ruthless with each other. Wren never cared much about winning, and she never wanted anyone to feel bad about losing. So she wasn’t cutthroat when it came to games. But these brothers were with each other. They took it easy on Omega and Wren, but if they could really stick it to one of their brothers, they would.

At about 10:00 Tech said he was going to bed. Echo said he probably should as well. He needed to be up early in the morning.

Wren started feeling like she’d been there too long, so she said, “Well I’d probably better go.”

Omega quickly said, “Can’t you stay a little longer? I have a movie I’d like you to see.”

Wren looked at Hunter as if asking if that was okay. “Since it’s a Friday and not a school night, you can stay up later and watch a movie.”

“Yay!! Come on, Wren! You’re going to love this one!” Wren got up and followed Omega into the living room.

As she passed by Hunter, he reached out his hand and lightly touched her arm. She stopped and looked at him, and he said, “Please don’t feel like you have to stay if you’d rather leave.”

“Oh, I’m fine. Unless you’d rather I leave so Omega might go to bed?”

“No, no! That’s not what I meant. She’s fine. I have a feeling she won’t last long once the movie starts, so she won’t be up that late anyway. I just mean I didn’t want you to feel like you had to stay if you’d rather not. That’s all.”

“Okay, thanks, but I’d like to stay. At least until Omega falls asleep.”

At that point, Hunter realized he was still touching her arm, so he dropped his hand quickly. Wren gave him a smile and then went on to where Omega had gone. She was at the bookshelves again pulling out another DVD when Wren found her.

“So what are we watching?”

“I was thinking we could watch Willow. Do you know it?”

“I do know it! It’s one of my favorites also. Your family has good taste in movies!”

Echo and Tech made their way to the stairs and both called, “Good night, Wren!”

“Good night, you two.” she replied. Then she realized she should choose where she wanted to sit before the others began sitting down. She decided she would sit in the spot on the couch where Omega was sitting the other night. That way if Hunter sat in the same spot he did, they wouldn’t be right next to each other. She didn’t think she could handle doing that again so soon, especially after sitting next to him at the movie earlier that night. She needed to be able to relax a little bit more and give her nerves a rest. She moved to the couch and sat down.

Wrecker came in from the kitchen and sat in the chair he sat in the last time Wren was there.

After Omega put the DVD in, she went to the couch and sat right next to Wren. She said, “Is this okay?”

“Sure, it’s okay.” Wren moved her arm so it was around Omega’s shoulders, and the girl leaned into Wren’s side.

Hunter came in and saw the two of them on the couch. He got a small smile on his face and looked at Wren. She smiled back at him.

Omega looked up at him and patted the couch beside her. “Do you want to sit here, Hunter?”

“Sure, Meg.”

At that point Omega got the movie queued up and said, “Are we ready?”

Everyone said yes, they were ready, so she hit play. Wren really did love the movie, so she was quickly engrossed in it, even though she’s seen it so many times before. But after about a half an hour, she felt Omega go a little limp next to her. She looked, and she could see her eyes were closed, and it seemed she was asleep.

Wren whispered, “Hunter.”

Hunter turned to look at her, and she motioned towards Omega with her head. “It looks like she didn’t make it very long.”

He laughed quietly and said, “I’m not surprised. She can rarely make it past 10:30.”

“Should I wake her up?”

“No, I think it’s best to let her sleep. But if it’s uncomfortable having her on you like that, I can bring her over here.”

“No, it’s not uncomfortable at all.”

Hunter’s face softened, and he smiled. “Okay, thanks.” Then he reached over and gently took the remote control out of Omega’s hand before it fell on the floor.

Wrecker, Hunter, and Wren watched the rest of the movie, and Omega didn’t wake up once.

After the movie ended, Hunter turned the DVD player off. Then he said quietly, “Hey, Wrecker. Would you mind to take Omega up to bed?”

Wrecker stood up and whispered, “Sure.” He walked back to the couch and bent down to pick Omega up. She mumbled a little but still didn’t wake up.

As Wrecker carried her towards the stairs, he said, “I’m going to bed also, guys, so g’night.”

“G’night, Wreck,” Hunter replied.

“Bye, Wrecker,” Wren said.

“Bye, Wren, thanks for going to the movies with us.”

“Well, thank you for having me.”

Wrecker gave her a big smile, nodded, and went up the stairs.

Wren wasn’t sure what to do, but she felt like she should leave. It was a little after midnight. So she started to shift to get up. She said, “I should probably go so you can get to bed too.”

Hunter looked at her and said, “I really don’t feel very sleepy yet, so you don’t have to go…unless you want to. I don’t want to keep you.”

“Oh, well, I don’t need to go yet.” She sat back against the couch cushions again.

Hunter said, “Did you want something to drink or eat? We have water and soda and some salty snacks.”

“No, I’m fine. I filled up on all that popcorn. It was so good. But if you want something, don’t let me stop you.”

“No, I’m fine too.” Hunter was tapping his fingers on the couch cushion, looking around the room a little bit. Wren was looking anywhere but at him as well.

“So-“

“Did-“

They both started talking at the same time, then stopped and both laughed quietly. Then they both said, “You go” at the same time.

They laughed a little more.

Hunter said, “You go ahead.”

“I actually don’t remember what I was going to say. It wasn’t very important, I’m sure of that.”

“I think everything you say is important.” It was out of Hunter’s mouth before he could stop himself. He couldn’t believe he said it.

Wren’s head came up quickly, from where she’d been looking at the floor. Their eyes met for a few seconds, and then Hunter looked down again. He still had the remote control in his hand, so he switched the TV from the DVD input to a channel that was playing The Great British Bake Off.

“Do you like this show?” he asked her, trying to ignore what he’d said.

She forced herself to look at the TV and said, “Oh, yeah! I actually really like this show!”

“Really? It’s Wrecker and Echo’s favorite, so they have it on a lot. Did you want to watch a little bit?”

“Sure, that would be great.”

They sat there, on the couch, watching GBBO for a little while. They didn’t say much, but now and then would make a comment about something that happened on the show. Wren could feel herself getting sleepier, and she knew she should leave. She didn’t want to be too tired when she was driving home. But she didn’t want to leave. Even if she wasn’t talking to him, just existing in the same space as him, just the two of them, was so nice. So she kept watching.

Hunter didn’t want Wren to leave, but he knew it was getting late, and he was a little concerned about her driving home at this hour. The next time he looked her direction, trying not to be obvious, he was surprised to see she’d fallen asleep. He watched her for a minute, she looked so peaceful. No sign of the anxiety she often showed. He hadn’t noticed that she had scooted down enough that her head was resting on a throw pillow against the arm of the couch, so she actually looked comfortable. If she hadn’t, he probably would have woken her up. Instead he stood up, took the throw blanket off the back of the couch, and laid it over her, being careful not to wake her.

He wasn’t sure if he should go to bed or stay in the living room with her. He was a little concerned if she woke up in the night and was confused about where she was. But he also didn’t want to seem like a creep and stay there watching her. He said her name quietly, to see if she’d wake up, but she didn’t. So he decided to leave her. He stood up, and without thinking reached over and smoothed some of her hair out of her face. He very lightly touched her cheek with the back of his fingers before pulling back. He went over and turned off the light in the living room leaving the hall light on, so it wouldn’t be totally dark if she woke up. He hoped even if she woke up that she would stay the rest of the night rather than leave when it was so late.

He checked the front door to make sure it was locked, looked at her one more time, whispered, “Good night, Wren” and walked to his tiny room off the laundry room. He changed into the sweat pants he wore to bed, took off his shirt and climbed into bed. He listened to see if he heard any sound from the living room, but he didn’t. He was tired enough that it wasn’t long before he fell asleep.

***

Wren woke to the sound of pots and pans quietly clanking together. She looked at her phone, and saw it was 7:30 am. Then she looked at the recliner that was to her left, and she saw Hunter still sleeping. He looked so peaceful. And handsome. This guy is really handsome. Plain and simple. And she still couldn’t grasp that he might be interested in her. Those things just didn’t happen in her world. But she remembered the way he touched her cheek earlier, when he thought she was asleep. There was no denying that. Unless she was asleep and dreaming? No. No, she knows that really happened. She reached up with her hand and felt where his hand had been.

She’d been trying to play it cool, since she didn’t really think Hunter could like her in the way Omega was trying to convince her he did. She tried not to think about how much she liked him, and how kind he was, because she just knew she would never have a chance with him, so why set herself up for more disappointment. This always happened. She always had a crush on a guy, and he never felt the same way, and she would just pine away until another guy came along to focus on instead.

She just laid there staring at him for a few minutes. She didn’t want to move and possibly wake him up. She wanted to stay like this for as long as possible. She assumed it was Echo in the kitchen, since he’d said he needed to get up early.

Finally after close to five minutes of Wren just lying there staring at Hunter, she heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. She turned her head to look towards the doorway, and Echo’s face popped around the edge. When he saw she was awake, he smiled and quietly said, “Good morning!”

Wren replied softly, “Hi, Echo.”

“Did you guys sleep out here all last night?”

“I did. Hunter went to bed for a while. But he got up around 6:30, not long after Crosshair had gotten home and was eating some breakfast out here. Then I fell asleep again, and when I woke up, Hunter was there in the chair.”

“Usually this much talking would have woken him up. He must be tired.”

“Or maybe I’m just ignoring you, trying to fall back to sleep,” Hunter said with a sleepy smile. He opened his eyes and looked at Wren, who smiled back. Then he looked at Echo, “Hey, Echo.”

“Hunter. Did you want some breakfast? I need to leave in a half an hour, but I am making myself some bacon and eggs, if you’d like some too?”

“Nah. Thanks, but I’m not quite ready to eat yet. Did you want something, Wren?”

“No, that bagel you gave me earlier is plenty.”

Echo said, “Okay, I’ll try to be quiet if you two want to go back to sleep.”

“Don’t worry about it, Echo. I should probably get going.” How many times had Wren said that since last night, but she really did feel like she was probably wearing out her welcome.

Hunter looked at her and said, “Do you have to hurry off? Maybe you could at least wait until the others are up.”

“Well, I’ll see how long that will be. Does everyone usually sleep in pretty late on Saturdays?”

Hunter shook his head and said, “It just depends. It’s not unusual for Echo to have somewhere to be. He does a lot of volunteering with the VA Clinic, and they have activities on many Saturdays. Wrecker and Omega are neither one very ambitious on Saturday mornings. And Tech is often up in his room tinkering with things. Crosshair will usually sleep until the afternoon if he worked the night before, which he usually does.”

Wren stretched and yawned. “Well, maybe I’ll stay here for just a little longer. This is a really comfy couch, and the blankie is very warm.” She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

“You can stay as long as you’d like.”

Wren wasn’t sure, but she thought she’d probably fallen asleep again, briefly, because the next thing she knew she heard Omega coming down the stairs, and when she checked it was 8:30.

Hunter was up and in the kitchen doing some dishes, and Echo was gone.

Omega looked around the doorway, seeing Wren on the couch, and went over to sit at her feet. She was still wearing her PJs and still looked pretty sleepy.

"Good morning, Omega. Again.”

Omega smiled a sleepy smile and said, “Hi. Did you get more sleep? I don’t remember going up to my room, but I must have.”

“Hunter carried you up.”

“Oh, yeah, I was still pretty tired.”

At that point, they heard footsteps coming from the kitchen, and Hunter walked into the living room.

“Hey, Meg. Did you want some breakfast? I can fix you some bacon and eggs?”

“Uh…I think I’ll just have some cereal.”

“Okay, I’ll let you get it yourself then.” At that he looked at Wren and said, “I think you got a little more sleep. How do you feel?”

Wren said, “I feel lazy and like I’ve inconvenienced you all too much already.” She started to get up.

Omega said, “Wait! You can’t leave yet!”

Wren looked at her and said, “Why?”

Omega was trying to come up with a reason, “Well…I don’t know. I just don’t want you to.” She had a sheepish look on her face.

Wren scooted over so she was sitting next to her and put her arm around her shoulders. “Omega, I’d love to hang out with you more, but I have some things I need to get done today. And I really do think I need to leave you all alone now. I’ve been hanging around long enough.”

“No she hasn’t, has she, Hunter?” Omega looked at her oldest brother.

“Meg, I’ve told Wren she can stay as long as she wants. But if she has things she needs to do, we shouldn’t make her feel guilty for leaving.”

“Oh, alright.” Omega sounded disappointed.

“Hey, I’ll see you again. We’ll get together and do more stuff. You can’t get rid of me that easy.”

Omega’s face brightened, and she looked at Hunter. He had a soft smile on his face while looking at Wren. Omega looked back at Wren and then suddenly hugged her.

Wren was caught off guard a little, but she hugged her back, resting her head on top of Omega’s. She looked over Omega’s head towards Hunter, and he was still watching her. She felt her face start to get warm, and figured she was blushing, so she gave Omega one last squeeze and stood up. She looked around for her purse, found it on the end table, and said, “Okay, that’s all, folks. Tell Wrecker and Tech I said good-bye. And Crosshair too."

Omega said, “Okay! Have a good day!” She started walking towards the kitchen.

Wren smiled at Hunter and said, “Okay, then. Thanks again for inviting me to family movie night, and for letting me crash on your couch when I fell asleep. I hope I didn’t cause too much upheaval around here.”

“No, you’re fine. We enjoyed having you around.”

As Wren walked towards the front door, Hunter moved ahead of her and opened it. But as he’d done before, he didn’t say goodbye and shut the door behind her. Instead, he followed her out. She glanced back at him. He said, “I’ll walk you out.”

“Okay, thanks.”

They walked down the front steps in silence and began walking down the sidewalk. Wren thought she heard Hunter sigh or take a breath, and then he spoke.

“Hey, Wren. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

Wren looked at him as she walked and said, “Okay. Shoot.”

He continued, “Well, most of us go out to watch football on Monday nights at a place not far from here. Do you like football? Or even if you don’t like football, would you want to go with us. They serve really good food there.”

She felt her face growing warm again, and she felt almost giddy. She tried to calm her voice and said, “I do like football. My brother got me hooked on it as a kid, and I always watch the Monday night game. I just usually watch it at home, because…well, because I’m me.” And she laughed quietly.

Hunter chuckled too and said, “So you’d want to go with us?”

“Sure. Yeah. If you don’t think the others will mind?”

“No, I don’t think they will mind. We like you, Wren. We ALL like you. We like hanging out with you. You don’t have to worry about whether we want you around or not. We do. We all do.”

Wren’s breath caught in her throat and she almost stumbled as she was walking. She stopped and looked at him. He was looking at her with what she thought had to be admiration? Or maybe even affection? That couldn’t be, but it sure felt like it.

She realized they were both standing there looking at each other. In the middle of the sidewalk. She shook her head a little bit, and said, “Okay. Okay, then. I’d be happy to go with you guys. Where is the place? I can meet you there?”

Hunter gave her the details, and then he said, “Oh, let me just text you, so you have it written down.” He pulled out his phone and typed a little bit. She heard her phone vibrate in her purse, so she pulled it out and looked.

Monday night, 6:00, The Ground Round, Wabash Ave. 😊

She typed back: I’ll be there. 😊

They smiled at each other and started walking towards her car again. When they reached the driver’s door, Hunter reached down and opened it for her, as he did the last time. She said thanks and got in. She started the car and rolled down her window.

“I hope you guys have a good weekend. And I guess I’ll see you on Monday. Unless you change your mind…you can change your mind, it’s okay, you can just let me know. After you talk to the other guys, if they don’t seem to want…” She was rambling at that point.

He cut her off politely and said, “Wren. We want you there. We all want you there.”

She laughed quietly and shook her head and said, “Sorry. Yeah, it’s not that I don’t believe you, I’m just…I don’t know. Me.”

“I know. But that’s why we like you. That’s why I like you.”

She didn’t know what to say. She probably looked like a deer caught in the headlights. So, she just said, “Okay…thanks.”

He lightly tapped his hand on the door frame and stood up straight. He stepped back a little and said, “Bye.”

She waved and pulled away from the curb.

Thanks? Thanks! She shook her head at her social ineptness. He said, “That’s why I like you”, and you said thanks. She was going to be reliving that one in a state of mortification for the next two days…probably longer.

***

Wren had never been to this restaurant before, but she had driven by it, so she knew the general area. As she pulled into the parking lot, she noticed Hunter’s truck a few spots away. She also saw Tech’s car, the one they went to the movie in the other night.

Her hands were shaking, and she was already getting swampy pits from sweating. If she was going to be hanging out with them very much, she would need to invest in some stronger deodorant. She sweats too much around Hunter! She put in a new piece of gum so her breath would be okay, reminding herself to not “chew like a cow” as her friend used to remind her.

She made a quick look in the rearview mirror, checking her hair one last time. She thought, well it’s as good as it’s going to get. There’s only so much she can do with what she has.

She walked in the door, and it was a little dark after coming in from outside, and she looked around. The hostess asked her if she’d like a table, and she said, “I’m actually meeting some people…”

“Wren!” She heard Omega’s voice plainly across the restaurant. She looked at the hostess and said, “Found ‘em,” with a smile. The hostess handed her a menu and said, “You’re welcome to go on over.”

Wren thanked her and started walking towards the direction of Omega’s voice. They were on the bar side of the restaurant, with the TVs. It was still a little hard to see as her eyes adjusted. Then she saw Omega coming towards her holding out her hand. Wren took her hand, and she pulled her along towards the table. As she got closer, Wren saw Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Echo, and Crosshair, all sitting at a long table. Omega said, “I saved you the seat next to me,” and Wren’s eyes followed to where she pointed. It was the seat next to hers alright, but of course it was also the seat next to Hunter who was sitting at the head of the table. She saw him look at her and gesture towards the empty chair to his right, and she said, “Thanks.” Then Omega sat to her right. Wren said, “Hi, guys. How’s it going?”

They all said some form of “Okay” or “It’s fine.”

She continued, “I hope you didn’t wait for me to order.”

“We haven’t been here very long, so we’re still deciding,” Hunter replied.

“Oh, okay. Well that worked out.” And then she stared at the menu.

Crosshair spoke up and mentioned the jersey Wren was wearing. It just so happened Wren’s favorite team was playing in the Monday night game this week, so she went ahead and pulled out the jersey of her favorite player. He made a remark that let her know he was a fan of the other team. She wasn’t surprised and just chuckled. Under her breath she said, “Another thing for him to not like about me.”

Hunter must have overheard her, because he quietly said, “He doesn’t dislike you.”

Wren was caught off guard, because she didn’t realize she’d spoken loud enough for anyone to hear, and she felt bad about saying it. What if someone else heard.

She said, “Sorry, I didn’t realize I said that out loud.” He chuckled. Then from the other end of the table, Crosshair said, “Hey, no whispering down there! What are you saying about me!”

She laughed quietly and said, “Nothing, Crosshair, I was just saying it doesn’t surprise me we like different teams.”

“Yeah, me either,” he retorted. But he did so with a very slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, so she was pretty sure he was teasing her. So she smiled at him, and he quickly looked back at his menu.

The waitress came up about that time and stood on the other side of Hunter. She laid her hand on his shoulder and said, “Does everybody know what they want?”

Wren’s eyes went to her hand on his shoulder, and then she looked at Hunter. He didn’t seem to really pay any attention to it, he just said, “I think we probably do.” But then he looked at Wren and said, “Well, Wren, did you need more time? We got here before you.”

She said, “Oh, I’m ready if everyone else is. I’ll just go last.” And then her eyes moved to the hand on his shoulder again. She saw the waitress give a little squeeze before she took her hand away to start writing. Wren looked down quickly and felt her heart drop a little. She realized she’d never been out somewhere with Hunter where there were other women who might give him attention. She knew she had absolutely no reason to feel any sort of way about it, but that didn’t stop her stomach from feeling a little queasy and her eyes from burning a little bit.

Was she actually tearing up? What is wrong with you, she demanded of herself. You are nothing to him, there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t like attention from women when he’s out.

Deep down she knew she wasn’t “nothing” to him, but she wasn’t anything that would prevent him from being receptive to attention from female admirers. And she knew he didn’t react to the girl’s hand on his shoulder, didn’t look at her or move towards or away from her. He just sat there as if nothing was happening. But none of that made Wren feel any better. She took a drink of the water the waitress had brought her and willed herself to stop!

The waitress moved down the table, taking the orders of everyone as she came to them. After taking Wren’s order, she turned to Hunter. “What’ll it be, handsome?” That actually did get a little reaction from him…Wren could see his cheeks darken just a little, and he looked down awkwardly at his menu.

He stumbled over his first few words, and then was able to give her his order. She patted him one more time on the shoulder as she told them she’d put in their orders and to let her know if they needed anything. She let her finger trail over his shoulder as she moved away.

“Whoa, Hunter. She’s getting a little bolder with you,” Wrecker, who was sitting across from Wren and on Hunter’s left, said as quietly as he could.

Hunter immediately shook his head and said, “It’s nothing. She’s just a little flirty. Tips and all that, you know.”

Echo said, “Well, she’s not flirting with any of the rest of us.” Hunter shot him a warning look. He just shrugged back at Hunter and turned to watch the pregame on the TV.

Wren was looking down at the table, picking at the paper that held her napkin and silverware together. She could still feel a little burning in her eyes, but she just chastised herself again, because there was absolutely no reason to be upset. Other than the fact that the waitress was ten times prettier than her, and obviously much more at ease with people, especially men. She was used to that, there was no reason to overreact. She didn’t have any sort of claim on Hunter, they were just friends.

She took a breath, hoping it wasn’t noticeable, and looked up at one of the TVs. She thought she could see Hunter looking at her in her peripheral vision, and she couldn’t stop herself from turning to him. He was looking at her, and when he saw her turn, he smiled a small smile. She gave him a smile in return, but then quickly turned back to the TV before something in her face betrayed her and let him know all the thoughts that were running through her mind.

He said, “Have you eaten here before, Wren?”

She looked at him again and said, “No, this is my first time. I’ve been past here a lot, but never came inside. It’s nice. I can tell it’s a nice place to watch a game.”

“Yeah, we started coming here a couple of seasons ago. And now we bring Omega with us. But she doesn’t get to stay until the end, right, Omega?”

“Right. I have to go home early with Tech.” She didn’t seem thrilled conveying that information.

Hunter said, “Well, kiddo, it would be kind of late for you if you stayed for the whole game with us. And since Tech wants to leave early anyway, I thought it was a good compromise. Otherwise, we’d have to leave you home.”

“I know,” Omega said with only a small pout. Hunter gave her a sympathetic smile.

Omega started talking to Wren about something that happened at school that day. There were conversations between the guys while they also watched the pregame show. Wren was starting to feel more at ease the more time that passed.

Before long the waitress came back with their drinks. She again gave Hunter extra attention, but this time it seemed to make Hunter uncomfortable. He was polite to her, but didn’t really respond to her flirting. And she acted like Wren wasn’t even there.

At one point, Wren was out of water. She tried to get the attention of the waitress, but she didn’t want to do anything too noticeable. So the waitress just kept passing by. At one point Wren just decided she would wait until their food was brought, she’d tell her then. But Hunter could see what she was trying to do, and he decided to help.

When he saw the waitress and she looked at him, he held up a hand as if to ask her to come over. She barely hesitated at that point and was at their table within thirty seconds. “What can I do for you, handsome?”

“I’m fine, but she would like some more water, if you could.” He gestured towards Wren. The waitress looked disappointed.

“Coming right up.” She gave Wren a very pointed look as she took her glass.

Wren looked at Hunter and said, “Thanks, you’re a little more noticeable than me, I think.” He just laughed quietly but almost looked a little sheepish. Within a minute the waitress had brought back a full glass of water for Wren and set it in front of her.

“Thank you,” she said, but the waitress just looked at Hunter and said, “Did you need anything else yet?” He said, “No, I’m fine.”

She said, “Okay, sweetie, let me know if you do need something.” Again, she touched his shoulder as she walked past him. He looked down at his hands and looked a bit embarrassed.

Wrecker was talking to Tech and Echo about something pre-game related, so he didn’t see that exchange, and Hunter was relieved. But Wren saw it.

She quietly said, “I think she really likes you.” She gave him a small smile.

He shook his head and said, “She’s always a little flirty, but it’s nothing. Just the way she does her job, I think.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I haven’t seen her touch anyone else at this table.”

He got an earnest look on his face and said even quieter, “I’m sorry if it bothers you. I can ask her to stop.”

Wren’s head popped up quickly and she looked at him with confusion. “It’s none of my business, you don’t have to worry about me.”

She thought she saw a quick look of hurt or disappointment in his eyes, and she realized she sounded a little too aggressive with that.

“I mean…” and she got flustered and didn’t know what to say. “I just meant that I’m sure you get a lot of attention from women when you’re out. I know you aren’t doing anything to encourage it, it’s just…you.” She waved her hand in his general direction when she said that, as if saying…I mean, look at you.

“Well, I don’t know about that. But for all she knows, you could be here with me. This is the first time you’re with us, and we’ve been coming every week of the season. And you’re sitting next to me. She really should think maybe we’re here together, so she should back off a little.”

Wren laughed a little when he said that. “Oh, I don’t think she would ever think we were here together,” looking down at the table again.

“Why? You’re sitting here next to me.”

“Hunter…” She looked into his eyes, and she realized he honestly didn’t understand why she was saying that. “Hunter, look at you, and look at me. I don’t think there’s anyone who is going to think I’m here with you.” She looked down at her hands as she messed with her napkin.

“I wish you wouldn’t put yourself down like that.”

Her head snapped up again, and she looked into his eyes for a few seconds. Was he serious?

At just that time the waitress came back with the first of their orders, putting Hunter’s in front of him first. “There you go, handsome.” She delivered meals to Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair. She said, “I’ll bring the rest in just a minute. Do you guys need anything else right now? Ketchup, mustard, steak sauce is all on the table.”

She walked away, and Hunter was still looking at Wren. She didn’t know what to say. Omega said, “Hunter, what did you get? That looks so good!” Wren wasn’t sure if Omega had overheard any of the conversation between her and Hunter or not, but she thought maybe she had, and this was her way of helping in an awkward moment.

“I just got the bacon cheeseburger tonight.” Omega’s arm shot out and she grabbed one of Hunter’s tater tots. “Hey! Watch it if you want to keep that arm, young lady!” Omega laughed and Hunter couldn’t keep a straight face, laughing with her. Wren breathed a sigh of relief that the moment between them was over. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say back to him in that situation. She realized that being critical of herself sometimes made other people uncomfortable, and she tried not to do it, but it was hard. She dealt with a lot of negative self-talk, and sometimes it just came out.

Then the waitress came out with the remaining meals, and put them in front of Echo, Omega, and Wren. She checked again to make sure no one needed anything, then said she’d be back around for drink refills in a bit. She again touched Hunter’s shoulder as she walked by, but this time he actually reacted. He looked at Wren, and at the same time moved his shoulder away from the waitress. He didn’t make it obvious, and the others probably didn’t notice, but the waitress did, and Wren did. The waitress made a little indignant noise and walked off. Wren and Hunter looked at each other for a few moments, then he smiled at her and started eating. She forced herself to look away and start eating as well.

What was that? Did he do that for her benefit? Or did he really not realize what the waitress was doing until Wren pointed it out, so he thought he should discourage it from happening more? Wren never had to worry about attention from the opposite sex, so she didn’t know how she would handle it. Maybe if someone was really attractive, like Hunter, and they got a lot of attention, it just became the norm, and it wasn’t noticeable to them anymore. Huh…she couldn’t imagine that. Pretty people were a mystery to her. But she also felt like Hunter wasn’t your typical pretty person. She was still trying to figure him out.

The rest of the evening went very well. The food was good, everyone seemed to enjoy it. The game was good, and even though Wren’s team was winning, she wasn’t one to gloat, so she didn’t give Crosshair a hard time.

At halftime, Tech said to Omega, “We should be going, Omega.”

“Oh, darn! Do we have to?”

“Yes, we have to. I need to get home and do some work, and you need to make sure your homework is finished before bed.”

Hunter spoke up, “Sorry, Omega, but Tech is right. Time to go.”

Omega growled a little, but it was good-natured. “Thanks so much for coming, Wren. It’s so much more fun with you here!”

Wren laughed, “Oh, I have a hard time believing that, but thank you, Omega.” Then Omega stood and hugged Wren who was still sitting down. Then she went over to Hunter and hugged him as well.

“You should be in bed by the time I’m home, so sleep tight.” She kissed him on the cheek.

“Goodnight, everybody!” Everyone told Omega good night. Then Tech said, “See everyone later,” as he followed Omega out. Wren waved to Tech as he passed by.

Crosshair and Echo both moved up into the seats vacated by Tech and Omega.

Crosshair said, “So what have we been missing with the waitress? We can’t hear everything from all the way down there.”

Hunter immediately said, “Nothing.”

Wrecker laughed quietly and said, “Well, she was still flirting with Hunter, calling him handsome, and touching him on the shoulder, until…he shrugged his shoulder out of her way the last time. She wasn’t very happy about that.”

Wren had her answer about whether anyone else saw that interaction…at least Wrecker had noticed it. Crosshair and Echo both said, “Ooooooh.”

Hunter said, “It’s no big deal, guys. I just didn’t realize what she was doing, and when I did, I thought I should let her know I wasn’t interested.”

“Oh, so you’re not interested?” Crosshair asked. “Why aren’t you interested, Hunter…she’s hot.” Echo and Wrecker both nodded in agreement, and Wrecker lightly punched Hunter on the shoulder.

“I don’t know, I’m just not.”

“Well, I think I know why…”

“Crosshair…” Hunter shot him a wicked look, and Crosshair just chuckled with a smirk on his face.

Wren was watching all of this take place but wasn’t saying anything. At that point, she looked down at her hands on the table and could feel her face getting hot. She really didn’t know if Crosshair was referring to her, but she was getting uncomfortable.

Wrecker knocked his elbow into Crosshair hard enough that he almost toppled off his chair. “Hey, watch it, Wrecker!”

Wrecker said quietly, “You watch it, Crosshair.” And he gave him a stern look.

Echo could tell Wren was uncomfortable, so he started talking to her about the game, and she was very relieved to have something else to think about.

After that Crosshair seemed to let it go, and they all settled into watching the beginning of the 2nd half of the game. At one point the waitress came over to see if they needed anything, but she was definitely not as friendly as she had been before. But none of the guys mentioned it to Hunter. There wasn’t anything else personal said between Hunter and Wren. They both seemed to think they’d talked about uncomfortable topics enough already.

After the game, they all got up to leave. Wren said, “Thanks so much for inviting me, guys. That was a lot of fun.”

“You’re welcome to come every week, if you’d like,” Hunter spoke up. She looked at him, and then around at the other guys. Wrecker said, “Yeah, we’d love to have ya!”

“Well, okay, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

Hunter said, “We’ve reached the time of the year where going out for Monday Night Football replaces our Sunday night family cookouts.”

“Okay, thanks. I do appreciate the standing invitation. As long as I’m not busy with something else, I’ll probably take you up on it.” She had to laugh internally…what possible other thing could she be busy with, she never does anything or goes anywhere!

They all walked out together. Hunter had the keys to Tech’s car. He’s the only one of the guys who didn’t drink any alcohol, so he was driving home. Wren didn’t drink either, so it wasn’t a problem for her to drive home. She waved to the group as she walked off towards her car. They all waved back.

When she got in her car, she just sat there, breathing, for a few seconds. She survived!! She did it! She went out with them and she had a nice time, and there were only a few awkward moments. She was so pleased with herself.

Then she thought about the conversation she had with Hunter about women being attracted to him, about how the waitress would most certainly not think they were there together, and about him telling her he wished she didn’t talk badly about herself.

What is she supposed to do with all that? What is even happening with them? Sometimes she feels like Hunter is interested in something more…actually she feels like that most of the time, she just still has such a hard time believing it. That just doesn’t happen to her. She’s not one of those women who has guys interested in her. Especially not a Hunter type. Well, she would try not to overthink it and just see what happens. She would probably go out with them again next Monday night, and she’d think about it some more then. She just needed to keep her expectations reasonable to avoid the disappointment that always seemed to come when it came to her and guys.

Hunter was really looking forward to Wren joining them for the football game tonight. He thought this would be another time he could be around her and hopefully get to know her a little better, but without scaring her too much, since everyone would be there, and it would be a casual setting. There would be a lot of things to help with conversation, like the game, or Omega, or the rest of the guys. It would be good; he was sure of it.

He could tell Omega was excited too. His brothers knew Wren was coming, and he’d made them promise to behave, especially Crosshair. He’d acted offended that Hunter would even question him, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

They’d been there about ten minutes, and the waitress had brought them their water and menus. The other guys had already put in an order for a pitcher of beer.

He heard Omega say, “There she is!” He looked up and saw Omega standing up looking towards the door. She waved and loudly said, “Wren!” then started walking in that direction. At that point he could see Wren waving back at Omega with a big smile on her face.

She really is cute, he thought to himself. She seems to have very little self-confidence, but he wishes he could make her see how adorable she is. To him there are different types of attractiveness. There are women who he thinks are referred to as classically beautiful, models and the like. They’re fine, but often seem to look quite a bit alike. And that’s not the type he’s personally attracted to. Then he thinks of some women as cute, and he’s not sure if they would appreciate being called that, but he really means it as a compliment. Cute is more unique to him. Wren doesn’t look like anyone else he’s ever seen, that’s for sure. But he likes that. You’re going to remember her face.

But he also believes, even if he didn’t think she was cute, it wouldn’t matter. He would still like her. Her looks aren’t what first drew his attention. Well, it wasn’t her specific features anyway. It was how she looked at them when Omega first introduced her. She had a slightly lopsided grin. She didn’t give them a full smile when they first met, and he assumed it was because she was nervous. Well, it was obvious she was nervous. She kept moving her hands and fingers, rubbing them on her jeans. And she looked down at the ground a lot. When she did look up at them, it was for brief moments, then she would look down or off to the side again.

Her face seemed to get red easily, he assumed she was blushing, which was also adorable. He remembered wanting to get up and hug her and tell her it was okay, they were nice guys and there was nothing to be nervous about. But he was a little nervous himself, so he really didn’t have a lot of room to talk. He remembered taking quick peeks at her while they were eating, trying not to be obvious.

And he remembered how disappointed he was when she wanted to leave so quickly. He could have listened to her talk all night. She didn’t say much, and only talked when answering questions, but Wrecker, Echo, and Tech had been good about asking her about herself. Her voice is what stuck with him the rest of that night. It was relatively deep, for a woman, and had an almost husky tone to it. It was a little surprising, because it’s not what he expected when he first saw her. But he really enjoyed listening to her.

So as he saw Wren walking towards them, Omega holding her hand, he couldn’t stop the smile from crossing his face. Seeing her makes him happy, he realized.

Omega told Wren she saved her a seat, and it was the one between Omega and Hunter, so he motioned to the empty chair as she got close to the table. She gave a small smile as she took her seat.

She said, “I hope you didn’t wait for me.” Hunter responded that they hadn’t been there very long so were still deciding.

Crosshair made a comment about the jersey she was wearing, since he’s a fan of the other team. It seemed to be good-natured though, so Hunter wasn’t concerned. He did hear Wren quietly say, “Another thing for him to not like about me.”

He replied, “He doesn’t dislike you.” He could tell she was surprised he’d heard her. She said, “Sorry, I didn’t realize I said that out loud.” He laughed quietly, and Crosshair asked what they were whispering about. She just told him she wasn’t surprised they liked different teams, and he agreed.

Hunter did see the faintest smirk at the corner of Crosshair’s mouth though, and Wren smiled back at him. He quickly looked down at his menu, but not before Hunter saw the smile reach his eyes as well. It made Hunter feel like maybe things would be ok between them. He hoped so, because he really wanted them to get along. It was important to him, because he didn’t want things to be awkward if Wren kept coming around. And he certainly wanted her to keep coming around.

It wasn’t long until the waitress was back to take their orders. She asked, “Does everybody know what they want?”

Hunter said they did, but then he remembered Wren had just arrived. He looked at her and said, “Well, Wren, did you need more time? We got here before you.”

She looked up and said, “Oh, I’m ready if everyone else is. I’ll just go last.” The waitress began with Wrecker and moved around the table.

When she got back around to Hunter she said, “What’ll it be, handsome?” Handsome? She called him handsome? She hadn’t done that before, had she? Or had she, and he just hadn’t noticed? Did he only notice now, because Wren was there? It bothered him for Wren to hear that. He looked down at his menu and felt his face get hot.

After giving his order, she took his menu, put her hand on his shoulder again, letting her finger trail across his shoulder as she walked away. He quickly looked at Wren, but she was staring at her silverware, playing with the paper wrapped around it. He was sure she’d seen, and that bothered him. He didn’t want Wren to get the idea that he was encouraging the waitress…or any other woman for that matter. That’s not the way to let her know he was interested in her.

Wrecker quietly said, “Whoa, Hunter. She’s getting a little bolder with you!”

Hunter replied, “It’s nothing. She’s just a little flirty. Tips and all that, you know.”

Echo pointed out that she didn’t flirt like that with the rest of them, and Hunter shot him a warning look. Echo just shrugged.

Hunter looked at Wren. She was looking at the table and then up to the TV. But as if she felt him watching her, she turned her eyes to him. He smiled at her and was pleased when she smiled in return. At least she wasn’t upset, it seemed. He would hate to think it upset her. She turned back to the TV.

The waitress came back at one point, and Hunter realized she was flirting with him again. She asked Hunter if he needed anything, calling him “sweetie.” This time he made a concerted effort to not encourage her flirting. He didn’t think he had in the past either, but he might not have been as forthright as he should have been. He was polite, but nothing more.

After she was gone, Wren quietly said, with a smile, “I think she really likes you.”

He shook his head and said, “She’s always a little flirty, but it’s nothing. Just the way she does her job, I think.” Wren pointed out she hadn’t touched anyone else that she noticed. He got a serious look on his face and said, “I’m sorry about that. I can ask her to stop.”

She looked surprised and said, “Oh, don’t worry about me, it’s none of my business. I was just teasing.”

For some reason hearing that caused a twinge in Hunter’s chest. But before he could give it much thought, she continued.

“I mean…” she seemed flustered. “I just meant that I’m sure you get a lot of attention from women when you’re out. I know you aren’t doing anything to encourage it, it’s just…you.” She waved her hand at him.

“Well, I don’t know about that. But for all she knows, you could be here with me. This is the first time you’re with us, and we’ve been coming every week of the season. And you’re sitting next to me. She really should think maybe we’re here together and should back off a little.”

Wren laughed quietly. “Oh, I don’t think she would ever think we’re here together.”

He said, “Why? You’re sitting here next to me.” He really didn’t understand why she couldn’t see that.

“Hunter…” She looked at him and then continued, “Hunter, look at you, and look at me. I don’t think there’s anyone who is going to think I’m here with you.” She looked down at the table.

Before he could second-guess himself he said, “I wish you wouldn’t put yourself down like that.” She raised her head quickly to look at him, but just at that time the waitress returned with some of their meals. She put Hunter’s in front of him first.

Omega asked what he got, and then her arm shot out and she swiped one of his tater tots before he knew what was happening. They began teasing each other and laughing. He wondered if she had purposely done that to alleviate a bit of the awkwardness that had settled over Wren and him. And he thought he should thank her later if so.

After the waitress brought the remaining meals, and she asked if anyone needed anything, she again put her hand on his shoulder. He definitely noticed it that time, and when he looked at Wren, he could tell she also noticed. Then without thinking he moved his shoulder slightly away from her hand. It was such a small movement, he didn’t think any of his brothers or Omega saw, but he knew Wren did.

And he definitely knew the waitress did as she let out a little huff in response. She walked away with purpose, and Hunter held Wren’s eyes for a few seconds. He smiled, and then began eating. He saw her look down and begin eating as well.

For the rest of the night, the waitress didn’t treat him any differently than anyone else at the table, so he was glad he finally did something. He really didn’t realize what was going on before, but when he saw it through Wren’s eyes, he knew it was something he wanted to discourage.

At halftime, Tech told Omega they needed to be going. She still wasn’t happy about it, but her growling was mostly good-natured. She knew why Hunter wanted her to go home at a decent hour.

She turned to Wren and said, “Thanks so much for coming, Wren. It’s so much more fun with you here!”

Wren laughed, “Oh, I have a hard time believing that, but thank you, Omega.” Again, Hunter was struck by how negatively Wren talked about herself. She often put herself down or acted like she didn’t understand why people liked her. He wished there was something he could do to help her with her self-confidence. Before he could think much more about that, Omega stood and hugged Wren who was still sitting down. Then she went over to Hunter and hugged him as well.

He said, “You should be in bed by the time I’m home, so sleep tight.”

She said okay and kissed him on the cheek.

He got a very warm and comforting feeling when she did that. Even after a few months, he still wasn’t used to it. She’s so loving, and after the way she grew up, it’s surprising. It was a testament to her good nature, the fact that their mother didn’t take all her joy and love away from her.

After Tech and Omega left, Echo and Crosshair moved into their empty seats to be closer to the rest of them. Crosshair asked what they’d been missing with the waitress.

Wrecker told him, “Well, she was still flirting with Hunter, calling him handsome, and touching him on the shoulder, until…he shrugged his shoulder out of her way the last time! She wasn’t very happy about that!”

Hunter really didn’t want this to become a topic of conversation again, especially not with Wren still there. He said, “It’s no big deal, guys. I just didn’t realize what she was doing, and when I did, I thought I should let her know I wasn’t interested.”

“Oh, so you’re not interested?” Crosshair asked. “Why aren’t you interested, Hunter…she’s hot.” Echo and Wrecker both nodded in agreement, and Wrecker lightly punched Hunter on the shoulder.

“I don’t know, I’m just not.”

“Well, I think I know why…”

Hunter quietly said, “Crosshair…” and shot him a warning look. At the same time Wrecker knocked Crosshair’s arm with his own. Hunter looked quickly at Wren, and she was again looking down at the table, but he was afraid he saw the telltale signs of a blush rising on her cheeks. She was uncomfortable. Crosshair! He loved trying to aggravate Hunter. Most of the time he could just shrug it off, but not where Wren is concerned. Things were too delicate with her. He was relieved when Echo started talking to her about the game, so she was distracted from the rest of them at the table. Hunter would be sure to thank him later.

For the rest of the game everyone was more relaxed and seemed to have a good time. It was nice to see Wren laughing with everyone. It was obvious that once she was familiar with people and her surroundings, she loosened up and wasn’t so anxious and shy. Now and then he would catch himself staring at her when she was looking elsewhere, and he would quickly look away, so she didn’t catch him. But at least one of his brothers caught him more than once. Luckily, they didn’t tease him about it. Not even Crosshair.

Wren’s team won, but she didn’t tease Crosshair about it at all. Echo said, “Well, Wren, you have bragging rights. Let him have it!” But she just smiled and shook her head.

“I don’t like it when other people give me a hard time about my team losing, so I don’t do it to other people. Not even Crosshair.” She gave him a sly smile, almost a smirk, and the rest of them laughed.

He just rolled his eyes and said, “Well, don’t think I’ll take it easy on you the next time we beat you guys!”

She laughed, a big laugh all the way from her belly and said, “I wouldn’t dream of it!” Everyone laughed with her, even Crosshair.

As they were leaving, Wren thanked them for inviting her. She said she had fun.

Hunter was quick to say, “You’re welcome to come every week, if you’d like.” She looked at him, and then around at the other guys.

Wrecker said, “Yeah, we’d love to have ya!”

She thanked them and said she would keep that in mind. They parted ways when they reached their cars which were parked very near each other. Tech had driven Hunter’s truck home, since it was just him and Omega. That way Hunter could drive Tech’s car and all four of them would fit.

Once they were in the car with the doors closed, Wrecker and Crosshair both started in on Hunter. “Ooooh, Hunter! You like her!” That from Wrecker. Crosshair added his two cents, “You two are so gross!” But Hunter knew they were just teasing him, so he just smiled to himself and kept quiet.

Echo was sitting behind him, and quietly reached his left arm up and discreetly patted Hunter on his left shoulder where the others couldn’t see. Hunter looked at him in the rearview mirror and nodded his head in acknowledgement.

***

At the library the next day, Wren was extra quiet. She didn’t mean to be, but she was thinking a lot. Her coworker, Melissa, must have noticed. She walked up to Wren and sat down in the chair beside her desk.

“So…how’s things?”

Wren looked up at her and said, “Okay…it’s pretty quiet in here so far.”

“Yeah, I noticed. You’re pretty quiet.”

“I don’t think I’m any quieter than usual.”

“Hmmm…” Melissa tried to think of the best way to say this, but she wasn’t coming up with anything, so she just said, “How are things with that kid’s brother. The one with the long hair and face tattoo.”

Wren looked at her with a wary look. “Why?”

“I’m just interested in how things are going with you. I know you were nervous about hanging out with the family.” Wren figured her coworkers had been talking, and she wasn’t thrilled, but she also realized she had no one else to talk to. She didn’t have any friends, so maybe it couldn’t hurt to talk about it a little. She used to have a friend, but she parted ways with her not long before she moved to town for the new job. It was a very emotionally abusive friendship, and she felt stuck in it for years, so she was wary of trying to start another.

“Well…I’m enjoying the time I spend with them. I went to two cookouts at their house, then I went to a movie with them and when we got back from that we played cards and watched a DVD. I actually fell asleep on the couch and so stayed the night there, but just on the couch. By myself! Then I went out to eat and watch football with them last night. And they’re a lot of fun. It’s a lot of different personalities, even though they are all siblings, there are some pretty big differences.”

“And what kind of personality does the cute one with the…” then she motioned to her face…” have.” She was obviously referring to Hunter.

Wren could feel her face getting warm, and she looked down at papers on her desk and said, “Hunter? He’s really nice.”

“Nice? Is that all?”

“Well, nice would be plenty, since it’s the most important to me. But no, that’s not all. He’s kind, funny, sweet, considerate…kind…did I say kind? He’s very kind. He’s just a really nice guy, and I feel happy when I’m around him.”

“That’s so sweet!” Wren definitely knew she was blushing now. “And do you think you two will ever go on a date, just the two of you?”

“I don’t know. His little sister, Omega, seems to think he likes me enough that he might be interested in going out. And sometimes when I’m around him, and he says some of the really nice things he’s so good at, I feel like yeah, maybe there is a chance. But then when I go home and I’m alone and start thinking about it, it just doesn’t seem possible. And all the stress it would bring me, I’m not sure it’s what I want, even if he would be interested.”

“Not what you want? Really?”

“Well, I’m really not good at this stuff, I’m not sure how I would be able to handle dating and…stuff.”

“Stuff?”

“Yeah, all the stuff that would need to go along with it. Being alone with each other, talking to each other—”

“Touching each other?” Melissa broke in.

“Uuugh!” Wren put her elbows on her desk and then put her face in her hands. “Yes, that too.”

“Have you never?”

Wren knew she probably had a look of mortification on her face. “I’m not going to have this conversation at my desk at work,” she said quietly.

“Okay, where do you want to go to talk about it?” Melissa had a big smile on her face.

Wren looked at her shocked.

“Oh, I’m just kidding, I’m not going to pressure you to talk about it…if you don’t want.”

“Thank you.”

“But if you ever do want to talk about it, I’m all ears. You can trust me; I won’t tell anyone what we talk about.”

“Okay, thanks for the offer. I might need to take you up on that at some point.”

“Well, I’ll get back to work…good luck with everything.”

“Thanks, Melissa, I do appreciate it.”

Wren had a lot to think about.

***

“So how did you come to be Omega’s guardian, if that’s not being too nosey?”

“No, that’s not too nosey. It’s kind of a long story though.”

“I don’t have anywhere else I need to be,” she said with a small smile.

He smiled back, and said, “Okay. My brothers and I were taken in by our great-uncle when I was twelve. Our mother…well she wasn’t a very good mother. She kept us isolated from everyone. We never saw other kids, because we didn't go to school. And we never saw anyone else from our family…we didn’t know we had extended family. But, Tech was looking through some of her papers one day when she wasn’t home, and we found we had a great-uncle named Ninety-nine, and he didn’t live too far away. We saw that he’d actually tried to get custody of us a few years before, but he didn’t have enough proof of abuse or neglect. We didn’t even know he was around or trying to do that. At that point, we decided we were going to find him. We waited until our mother was gone one day, and we packed up our few things and left. We walked into town and found a pay phone. We’d gotten Ninety-nine’s phone number from the paperwork, so we called him. He came to pick us up within half an hour. And the rest is history.”

Wren had put her elbow up on the table with her chin resting in her hand, paying very close attention to what he was saying. He’d never told anyone outside the family this stuff, but he felt so comfortable with her, it felt right sharing it.

“There was a bit of a struggle getting our mother to allow him to adopt us, but he didn’t give up, since he knew how much we wanted it. We’d told him enough things about how she treated us to make his case easier to win. We knew our father was, for all intents and purposes, just a sperm donor, but that’s all we knew about him. Ninety-nine showed us pictures, because he was our father’s uncle.”

“He even contacted him to see if he wanted to see us, but he didn’t. Echo and Fives were already living with Ninety-nine, they’d been there since they were a year old when their mom died, so they didn’t know anything different. They had the same father as us, but he’d actually been married to their mom, so they had at least met him. He wasn’t a good father to them either though.”

Wren was dumbfounded. These were the kinds of things you see on the news or read about; she’d never met anyone who had been in a situation like that. After hearing about their childhood, she had even more respect for Hunter, and all the guys really. That was a rough beginning, and they all turned out relatively well. She still wasn’t sure how Omega got into the picture, but he kept talking.

“So less than a year ago, we were at an event in town…well it was the same festival where we met you this year. And a small blonde girl came up to me and asked if my name was Hunter. I was very caught off guard, but it’s like I was looking into my eyes, into my brothers’ eyes. And then I saw her…our mother. She hadn’t seen me yet. But this girl looked over her shoulder, and when she saw her, she grabbed my hand to pull me into an alley. She said her name was Omega, and she was our sister. She said she’d found information about us in her mother’s things and had asked her about us. She just told her we’d gone to live with a relative, because she thought it was best for us, so we could go to a different school. Which was a lie, obviously. But since that time Omega had been trying to find a way to meet us. Then she said she should go before our mother started really looking for her. She said it was nice to meet me, gave me a quick hug, and was gone.”

“Oh wow, this is like a movie! Oh, I’m sorry…that’s insensitive.”

“No, you’re right. This is movie-level shit. Well, to try to make a long story a little shorter, we went to a lawyer and fought for custody of her, citing the neglect and abuse we’d experienced and knew Omega was also experiencing. It wasn’t easy, but after a few months, we won. It was unpleasant, having to see our mother so much again, but it was worth it to get Omega out of there and with us. We didn’t even know she existed until that day. Our mother obviously used our father’s ‘donation’ one more time to get pregnant with Omega, after we’d gone to live with Ninety-nine. I’m listed as her primary caregiver, since I’m the oldest and they needed one name for the petition. But the other guys are on file as people who can talk to her doctors and teachers as well. It’s a joint effort.”

Wren had been enthralled by the story he was telling. She saw the many different facial expressions he cycled through during the story. The anger when talking about their mother, the softness when talking about Omega, the joy when talking about how they won custody. It showed a real depth of character in him. Not a lot of single guys in their twenties would take on the responsibility of adopting and raising their little sister. Especially when they didn’t even know she existed before that.

She didn’t realize how much she was staring until he was done talking. She was deep in thought, and it was only after about fifteen seconds of him looking at her as well that she snapped out of it.

She moved her chin off her hand and looked down at her plate. “Wow, that’s really something. So, you’re pretty close to perfect, huh?”

He looked shocked and said, “Hardly!”

“Well, I don’t know. You do everything you possibly can for your family, including adopting your twelve-year-old sister. And you look like that?” She motioned to him. “Seems pretty perfect to me.”

She really couldn’t believe she was saying what she was saying. There was something about him telling her his story that really affected her, and she felt more comfortable with him than she had all along.

He quietly laughed, and said, “Well…thanks? But I’m far from it. I question my choices every day when it comes to her. Am I doing the right things, are we giving her everything she needs, is this the best place for her?”

“Do you really question that? You’re her brothers, and it’s obvious every one of you loves her more than anything else.”  Before she realized what she was doing, she reached over and placed her hand on top of his where it was lying on the table. “I can tell you all would do anything for her, anything she needed, anything at all. That’s a wonderful way to raise a child.” And at that she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

He had been looking at her face, but at that moment he glanced down at their hands. He brought his other hand up and put it on top of hers, and they sat like that for a few more seconds.

“Thank you so much. That means a lot to me.”

Then it dawned on her what was happening, where her hand was and where his hands were. She started to slowly bring her hand back, and he released his hold.

“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to overstep.”

“You didn’t.”

She could feel her face getting so hot, she thought she was going to combust. She reached over and got her water glass, taking multiple big gulps to finish off what was left in the glass.

Just at that time the waitress came up with a water pitcher and poured her glass full again. She asked, “Can I get you two anything else? Some dessert?”

Hunter looked at Wren. “Did you want something? One of those skillet brownies?”

“Oh, that is really tempting.”

“Come on, my treat. We can share one.”

She looked at him, then at the waitress, “Okay, sure. That sounds good.”

The waitress smiled and, “One skillet brownie with ice cream coming up. With two spoons.” At that she gave a small wink in Wren’s direction, and Wren looked at Hunter quickly. He didn’t seem to have noticed the wink.

He said, “I’ve actually been wanting to try one of those for a while, so thank you for indulging me. I wouldn’t have done it if I needed to eat the whole thing myself.”

“Oh, well I totally did it for you then, not because I’ve been wanting to taste one also.” They both laughed. She actually thought to herself…is this happening, are they having a nice comfortable time together. Is she actually enjoying herself and not worrying every second? She couldn’t believe it.

Then they watched the game in silence for a couple of minutes, after which Hunter stood up.

“I need to run to the restroom.”

“Okay,” Wren replied.

A minute or so after he left, the waitress brought their dessert. She set it down and looked around. “Where’s your fella?”

“Hunter? He’s in the restroom.”

“You two make a really cute couple.”

“Oh! We’re not a couple!”

“Oh really?” she asked. “You could have fooled me.” She winked as Hunter came back to the table.

As he sat down, he watched her walk away. “What was that about?”

“Oh, nothing. She was just telling me how good these brownies are.”

“It looks delicious.” He picked up one of the spoons, but then before he took a bite, he said, “Would you mind if I moved my chair over there?” He pointed to the empty space next to Wren.

“No, feel free.”

“Thanks, I think it will be easier to share.” At that he scooted around the end of the table and settled next to her. He was close enough their thighs were touching. But since he’s left-handed and she’s right-handed, they didn’t have the trouble of bumping each other with their arms. She thought to herself how nicely that worked out.

Then they took their first bites, and both said, “That’s so good!” They laughed and she said, “Jinx!” A feeling of joy came over her. She couldn’t believe how good she felt right at that moment. She was laughing with Hunter, who really did seem to enjoy being with her. He’d told her really personal things without hesitation. He was looking at her with what seemed to be affection, if she had to give it a name. And the waitress thought they were a couple. All these things were running through her mind, and she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She knew it was a big, probably goofy-looking, smile but she didn’t care.

As they kept eating, he looked at her and said, “It’s really great to see you smile so big.”

She felt herself blush a little bit at that and just kept focus on the brownie.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It’s just nice to think maybe you aren’t quite as nervous around me as you were earlier?”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize for that. And I’m not nervous right now. You’ve definitely helped put me at ease. Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure.” When he said that, he bumped his shoulder into hers. It caught her off guard, and she almost toppled over as they were sitting on tall chairs at a high table.

He grabbed at her arm to keep her upright and said, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize I hit you so hard!”

“You don’t know your own strength,” she said with a laugh. “That’s okay, I just happened to be a little off balance right when you did that. I’m not quite that clumsy normally.”

He removed his hand from her arm. He looked down at the little bit of remaining brownie. “See, I’m not all that smooth either. It’s not the best way to impress a girl…knocking them off their chair.”

She laughed, but then realized what he said. “Are you trying to impress me?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve been trying to impress you for a while. I guess I’m not doing a very good job if you didn’t realize it.”

She was looking at him, even though their faces were less than a foot apart, which would normally make her very uncomfortable. But she was so caught off guard it didn’t dawn on her how close they were. He turned to look at her, and she could feel his breath on her face.

She looked down at the table. “I’m not used to that sort of thing, so I wouldn’t just assume that’s what you were doing.”

“Well, I was. I am. Is it working?”

She couldn’t look at him, but she did quietly say, “It is. But it doesn’t take much effort on your part. You’re…you, remember? Pretty close to perfect?”

“Please don’t think that. I don’t want you to think I’m perfect. I just want you to like me enough to want to hang out.”

“I really enjoy hanging out with you,” she said as she continued staring at the table and picking at her napkin.

“Would you want to hang out with me again? Just the two of us?”

She could feel the heat rising in her face, the blood was whooshing through her ears, and she was starting to feel a little lightheaded.

She took a quick look in his direction, and he was looking at her expectantly. She looked down quickly again and shifted in her chair.

“Do you mean, like, watch the game just the two of us again? Will your family mind?”

“No, I meant hang out somewhere else. Like…a date.”

The quietest “Oooh” slipped out of her mouth.

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I don’t want to make you nervous.”

She looked up at him and could see an almost embarrassed look on his face and he was finishing up the last bite of the dessert.

“I’d like that.” It was so quiet she wasn’t even sure she’d said it.

His head jerked up, and he looked into her eyes, really studying her. She looked down.

“You would?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“Well, okay! Maybe a movie? Or something else…going out to eat, somewhere other than here?”

“Whatever you want to do, I’ll be fine with.”

“Okay…how about a movie?”

“Yeah, that’s good. I’d like that.”

“Okay…when?”

She looked up at him with wide eyes. Well, she didn’t think about having to make all these decisions right now when she said yes. She still wasn’t used to the idea that she would be going on a date with Hunter. Now he’s asking her specifics.

She sputtered and stumbled over her words, but after a few seconds he took pity on her.

“How about Saturday night?”

“This Saturday? Like five days from now?”

“Yes, this Saturday.” He had the faintest smile when he said that.

“Okay. Yeah, sure. This Saturday. A movie. Just us. This Saturday. Yup, that sounds good.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to freak you out. And I’m not saying that to be condescending or make light of your anxiety. I’m being serious, I don’t want to stress you out.”

“No, I’ll…I’m…I’ll be fine. Yup, Saturday.”

“Okay,” he said with a bigger smile. “Good. And now with that taken care of, are you about ready to go? The game’s over and it’s after 10:00.”

“Oh shoot, yeah. Sorry.”

“No, nothing for you to be sorry about. I was having a nice time. I didn’t want to leave, but I have to be up for work at 6:30 so I’d better get home.”

She grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair and started to put it on. He helped her when it got a little twisted, and she thanked him. He smiled that beautiful smile.

This is really happening, she thought to herself. It’s really happening.

They walked out to their vehicles, and he said, “How about I text you on Friday and we can talk specifics about Saturday.”

“Okay, that sounds good. Thanks so much, for dessert, and for…you know…everything.”

“You’re welcome. For dessert. And for everything.”

They waved and both got into their vehicles. He waited for her to back out and pull away before he started up his truck. She looked in her rearview mirror and watched him turn the opposite way. This is really happening. It’s really happening. She felt like she was going to faint, but she could also tell she had the biggest smile on her face.

On the drive home, Hunter felt lighter and happier than he had in a long time. That was a great night, a really great night. He’s not sure if all his siblings planned to bail and leave him alone with Wren, but however it happened, he was grateful (not that he was going to tell the schemers that though.)

When he unlocked the front door and walked into the entryway, he could see a light on in the living room and hear the TV. He quietly walked the few steps to the living room doorway and looked in. He saw Wrecker in his usual chair with a sleeping Omega on his lap with her head laying on his chest.

Echo was lying on the couch under a blanket, and they were watching TV. When Echo saw Hunter in the doorway, he said, “Hey, Hunt. How did things go?”

Wrecker turned his head around with a big smile on his face, making sure he didn’t move too quickly and wake up Omega.

Hunter said, “Wreck, why is Omega still up? She should have been in bed an hour ago.”

“Well, she’s been asleep on my lap for an hour, so I thought that counted. Plus she really wanted to see you when you got home. She wanted to see how things went tonight, like we all do.”

Hunter shook his head slightly and made a quiet snorting sound. “All of you are something else.” But he had a small smile while he said it. He walked over to an empty chair, and said, “It went fine.”

Echo said, “Just fine?”

“Yes, fine. What I’d like to know is if you two were really sick? And did Omega really have a test to study for? I know Crosshair really did have to work, but what about Tech? Was he really that tired and needed to go to bed so early? Or did all of you plot to make this happen?”

Echo and Wrecker looked at each other with the beginnings of smiles on their faces, but before they could say anything, Omega started to wake up. She looked up and saw Hunter and said, “Hunter! You’re home!”

“Yeah, kid, but you should be in bed.”

“Well, I’ve been asleep, that’s the same thing.”

He laughed quietly and said, “Well, it’s not the same thing, but I’m not going to argue about that tonight.”

“So did you two have a good time?”

“Yeah, we had a nice time. And we can talk more about it. Tomorrow. Right now you need to get to bed.”

“Awwwww…” She was tired and it came out pretty whiny.

“No, now, come on, Omega. You’re practically falling asleep right now. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Wrecker stood up, holding onto her. “Come on, Meg, I’ll take you upstairs. Hang on.” At that he started walking towards the stairs.

Echo and Hunter told her good night and she waved a hand tiredly at them, but she was already asleep by the time Wrecker got to her bed. He laid her down gently, and pulled her covers up to her chin. With a soft kiss placed on her forehead, he turned around, shut the door, and went back down to the living room.

When Wrecker made it back downstairs, Hunter was in the kitchen getting a drink, and Echo was still on the couch. Wrecker went to sit back down and said, “Has he said much yet?”

“No, nothing. He went to the kitchen right after you went upstairs.”

Wrecker rolled his eyes, and Echo chuckled and shook his head.

Hunter came back into the living room with his glass of iced water and sat down again. “Okay, so, guys. You didn’t answer my question, because Omega woke up right at that time. But were you two really sick earlier?”

Wrecker rubbed the back of his neck, a tell-tale sign for all the guys when they were nervous or trying to figure out what to do or say. “Well, I was a little tired, and my stomach was feeling a little queasy…”

“And I was just feeling kind of uncomfortable all over, this weather affects me.”

Hunter said, “So, in short, no, neither of you were really sick. And you lied so that Wren and I would be alone all night?”

They both chuckled, “Well, yeah, I guess that’s the long and short of it,” Echo replied. “And you’re welcome!”

“Hey, don’t push it. I’m not going to thank you for doing something underhanded like that.”

“What, you didn’t enjoy having some time just the two of you?”

“We had a nice time. But we would have had a nice time with the rest of you there too. I don’t want you guys trying to push something that might not happen. I especially don’t want Omega to get her hopes up about something happening with me and Wren, and then nothing happening.”

Echo asked, “Is that a possibility? What actually happened tonight? Did you two talk about anything in particular? Anything personal?”

“We talked about our pasts some, got a little background information on each other. We did have a nice time. I’m not saying we didn’t. I just hope it wasn’t too obvious to her that you all bailed at the same time for a reason.”

Wrecker spoke up, “Oh I bet she enjoyed it so much, she didn’t think anything about the rest of us and why we weren’t there.”

Hunter shook his head. “Well, I might as well tell you this now, because you’ll find out later this week anyway…”

Echo and Wrecker exchanged looks, and Wrecker sat forward in his chair a little.

“Wren and I are going out on Saturday.”

“WHAT!? Just the two of you?!” That came from Wrecker.

“Shhhh….Wrecker, you just put Omega to bed!”

“Oh sorry,” the big guy whispered in his quietest tone. “I was just so excited!”

Echo said, “So, you asked her out?”

“Yeah, I asked her out, and we’re going to a movie.”

Echo stood up and walked over to Hunter and patted him on the shoulder. “Good for you, brother. Good for you. I was afraid you’d never get off your ass and do it.”

“Hey! I was just being patient! I didn’t want to spook her and make her run.”

“Okay, sure, it was all her. She’s the only reason it took so long.”

“Took so long? It’s been less than two months since we first met her. That’s not ‘so long’!”

“Well, whatever, I’m glad you did it. Now, I’m headed to bed. I’ve already stayed up too late. But hey, it was worth it. I’m serious, Hunter. I’m happy you asked her out. She’s special.”

“Thanks, Echo. I’m a little nervous about it. She is special, and I hope I don’t scare her away.

Wrecker stood up also and said, “You’re not gonna’ scare her away. She likes you a lot. I don’t know if anything could scare her away.”

“Well, we’ll see. G’night, guys.”

“G’night, Hunter.”

“Sleep tight, bro.” Wrecker patted his shoulder as he walked past.

Hunter sat in the chair staring at the opposite wall but not focusing on anything. Just thinking. He didn’t know what he was getting himself into, but he would have kicked himself if he didn’t at least try. The worst thing that could happen is the date doesn’t go well, and she doesn’t even want to hang out with the family anymore. And that would be disappointing for all of them, especially Omega. But she would still be able to see Wren in the library, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world. That’s what he told himself anyway.

He headed to bed after a few more minutes of thinking, hoping he would be able to fall asleep quickly and his mind could rest for a few hours.

***

It was almost 6:30 and Wren was sitting nervously on her couch, waiting for Hunter. She wasn’t standing at the window, looking for him, but she was listening carefully to see if she could hear his truck when he pulled into the parking lot. It’s a pretty quiet neighborhood, so that might be possible.

For the past hour she’d had a dull ache at the base of her skull that reached up and around behind her ears. It’s her anxiety headache, as she always called it. It often happened when she was really anxious about something and couldn’t stop the racing thoughts. She could try all the calm down techniques she could think of, but it wouldn’t be too long until the anxiety was coming back. It was a losing battle at this point, so she just gave up and went with it. She was so used to it at this point, it wasn’t really a big deal.

She took another drink of water and cleared her throat. Oh great, now I’m going to get that choking feeling too. Just stop it. Stop, stop, stop, stop!

Then she heard it, a truck pulling into the parking lot. His truck wasn’t loud, but it had a distinct sound compared to the people who usually parked there. It was 6:30 on the nose. Impressive.

She stood up and walked over to the window and stood off to the side so no one would be able to see her. She peeked around the side of the window, and saw his truck sitting in a parking spot. He was facing the other way, so he wouldn’t be able to see her yet, so she let herself watch as he got out.

Oh my goodness, he looked good. He had on a beautiful blue flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She was thrilled that he seemed to be partial to those. It was unbuttoned and she could see a T-shirt underneath. She started feeling a little lightheaded. How is she going to do this? This is not her. She doesn’t go out on dates. And she doesn’t hang out with men who look like that.

She quickly sat down on the chair closest to the window and tried to breathe deeply while waiting for him to ring the bell. “Maker, help me,” she whispered.

She heard the bell ring and jumped a little, even though she knew it was coming. One more deep breath, and she stood up and walked to the door. She wiped her hands on her jeans before taking hold of the knob and opening the door. He had been looking off to the side and when he heard the door open he turned his head back quickly.

He had the biggest smile on his face, and she swore her heart actually fluttered. It fluttered. She didn’t realize that was a real thing. She thought that was just something written in romance novels, she didn’t know a person could really have that effect on someone else. But she knew now, because she was feeling it.

“Hi,” she said, much more cheerfully than she felt. And he said hi back. “Just let me get my purse, and I’ll be ready. Did you need anything before we leave? Bathroom? Water?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Okay, great.” She grabbed her zip-up hoodie and put it on over her band t-shirt.

“That’s a great shirt,” he said. “I love them.”

“Oh, really? Cool. Yeah, they’re one of my favorites.” She stepped outside and turned around to lock her dead bolt. Then she looked at him, and he started walking toward the parking lot.

“How are you today?” he asked her.

“Oh, I’m fine.” She didn’t feel fine. And she probably didn’t sound fine.

“Yeah? Good.” They continued walking to his truck without saying any more. They both went to the passenger side, and he opened the door for her. She thanked him as she climbed in. He shut the door behind her and walked around to the driver’s side. He started the truck, put his right arm up on the back of the seat, and started backing out of the spot with just his left hand on the wheel. I’m sure he didn’t realize how attractive she found that. When guys could drive well, back well, and park well, it was very attractive to her. As if she needed one more thing to find attractive about him. Good lord.

He didn’t keep his arm on the back of the seat, because his truck was a manual transmission, so he needed his right hand to shift. And boy, don’t even get her started on how attractive she found it when men drove manual transmission vehicles. She thought it would probably be better if she just opened up the door and jumped out now, because there was no way she was going to survive this night.

“Hey,” he said quietly.

She turned quickly from where she’d been looking out the window. ‘Yeah?”

“Are you sure you’re okay? Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yeah! I’m sure. Why, does it seem like I don’t?”

“You just seem nervous, that’s all. And I know that’s kind of your thing…” he paused and she laughed. He laughed too, once he realized she was taking it good-naturedly.

“It is kind of my thing. You’re right.” She laughed again.

“Well, I just don’t want you to be nervous. I wish I could help you not be.”

She looked down at the floorboard, then out the window again.

“Hunter. I really really appreciate you trying so hard to make me feel at ease. It’s so sweet and considerate. And I’m trying really hard. I really am.”

“I know you are. I’m not criticizing-“

“I know. Umm, this is a big step for me.” She hesitated and he waited.

She continued, “I try to be as honest as possible about my struggles with anxiety, and how it affects my life. I do that with anyone who I’ll be spending any amount of time with, because I want them to be fully aware that if I do something odd, that it’s not their fault. It’s all me.”

She took a deep breath and picked at a spot on her jeans. She couldn’t look at him right at that moment. “I don’t have much experience with this…” and she motioned between the two of them. “I have only been on two dates. In my whole life. And I’m 28 years old.” She could feel her face burning with embarrassment. “And they were blind dates that went horribly. So, I’m very nervous, because it’s something so new. And I’m not sure how to act or what to say. I’m afraid the more time you spend with me, the weirder you’re going to think I am.”

She took a quick peek at him, and she could tell he was going to say something right then, so she hurried on. She wanted to get all this out before she lost her nerve. “I don’t want to let my fears rule me anymore. Not in this part of my life anyway. So, I am going way outside my comfort zone. Just being here tonight took every ounce of courage I could muster. So, I know you’re going to be able to tell I’m nervous. And I wish I wasn’t, but I am. And I will be for a while, I’m sure. And I hope that doesn’t bother you. It’s not because of you. You’re such a nice guy, and you aren’t scary at all. I’m just scared, because it’s what I do and who I am.”

She looked up at him again, and he was watching the road, but looking over at her whenever he could. He had a serious look on his face, but serious like he was concerned, not like he was mad or upset.

“So, I hope that when I do act nervous or odd, that you won’t take it personally. Because it’s not you. It’s one hundred percent me. And I do hope I’ll be able to overcome it and actually be able to enjoy tonight. I am really glad to be here, even if it doesn’t look like it.”

At that he smiled as he was looking at the road. As he looked over to her again, he had a soft look on his face, and he said, “Thank you, Wren. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me that. I will not take anything personally, and please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you feel more at ease. And, FYI, I don’t think you’re weird. I think you’re sweet and kind. But not weird.”

“Okay.”

“Okay then. Now that we have all that settled, we’re here.”

She looked through the windshield, and sure enough the theater was right there. Time flies when you’re fretting and worrying.

They got out of the truck, and he came around to her side where she was waiting. “Shall we?” he asked.

“We shall.” Then they started walking towards the building. Not touching, but next to each other. There were quite a few other people in the parking lot, and she could tell they were going to have to stand in line for a little bit to get tickets. When they got to the building, he held the door open for her. “Thanks.”

He walked in behind her and said, “Oh, I forgot to mention, but I’d like to pay, if that’s okay?”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t have to, but I’d like to. If it’s okay?”

“Sure, that’s fine. Thank you.”

He smiled at her and nodded his head as if to say you’re welcome, then said, “My pleasure.”

They didn’t talk as they waited in line, and Wren looked around at the people in line with them. She could see some of them looking towards her and Hunter, and it dawned on her…I’m here with a really attractive guy. That’s never happened before. She looked closer at the people who were looking their way, and most of them were young women, and most of them were looking at Hunter way more than they were looking at Wren. So that’s what it’s like to be good-looking. People actually stare at you.

Hunter said, “Is something wrong?” as he followed her eyes.

“No, nothing’s wrong. I’m just not used to people looking at me, but it’s not really me they’re looking at.” She turned to look at him. “It’s you.”

She could see his cheeks get a faint pink tint that extended to the tops of his ears, and he said, “Oh, I don’t know about that.” They were both talking quietly enough that the other people couldn’t hear them.

“Oh, it’s you. I’ve been watching them. They’re all looking at you. I’m not used to being with someone who looks like you.”

She thought, if possible, his cheeks got even redder. Is he not used to this by now? This can’t be new to him.

He cleared his throat and when she looked at him, he nodded towards the kid selling the tickets. It was their turn. He told him what movie they were seeing and handed over the money. As they walked on through, he said, “Did you want something to eat or drink?”

“Umm…if I do, I can get it myself. It’s really expensive.”

“Wren, this is a date. That I asked you on. I will pay.”

She quietly sighed, “I’m sorry, you know I’m not used to this.”

“I know but get used to it.”

When he said that, her head snapped up and she looked at him with wide eyes. He was looking down at her with a grin on his face. “I’m just saying, unless you have a terrible time tonight and never want to see me again, I really hope we can go out again.”

Now it was her turn to have red cheeks. She started to say something and stopped, then started again and stopped. She didn’t know what to say. But at that time the kid at the concession stand said, “Can I help you?”

“So, did you want something?”

“Okay, if you insist…” and she smiled at him. “I’d like some of those pretzel bites. Do you like those? Would you want to share, because an order is more than I need by myself.”

“Sure, I like those too, we can share.” Then he got closer to the counter and said, “One order of the pretzel bites and two medium sodas.” The young man told him the total, and he paid.

Wren said, “That’s a lot of money for pretzel bites and soda.”

“Yeah, well, you’re worth it.”

She laughed and then snorted. Her hand flew up to her mouth, because she was startled at the sound she made. He looked at her with wide eyes and said, “Did you just snort?” And then she did it again. Oh no, she thought…here I go.

Sometimes she would get fits of giggles and snort along with it, and it always embarrassed her if she was around anyone other than her family who were used to it.

“Don’t tease me about my snort, I can’t help it.” Then she laughed more with a couple of more snorts.

Hunter was laughing at this point. He was trying to laugh quietly, but it was difficult. He had never seen her look so happy or free. Yes, she was embarrassed and trying to hide her mouth, but he could see the big smile. He thought he could see her like this every day and never tire of it.

She turned her back to him so she could try to stop laughing, and snorting. She was starting to quiet down by the time the kid came back with their food and drink cups. Hunter picked up the box of pretzels and handed Wren one of the cups. They walked over to the drink machine. She got her drink, then offered to hold the box while he got his. Once they had their drinks, they started walking to the theaters, looking at the numbers. When they found theirs, they went inside. There weren’t a lot of people there yet, so they had a lot of seats to choose from.

She remembered where his family wanted to sit when she went with them to the movie. She pointed towards that row and asked, “Did you want to sit in that row again? I know Omega said it was mainly so Wrecker had more leg room than in the other rows, but I’m fine with it, if you want to sit there tonight also.”

“Sure, that sounds good.”

So she began walking up the steps. Once they reached the row, she began walking towards the middle. No one was there yet, so when she got to the middle of the row, she asked if that was ok. He said it was great, so they sat down.

She put her drink in her drink holder and started opening up the box. The pretzels looked so good and she was excited that they include a little cup of melted cheese. “Oh, these look and smell good! Want?” She offered the box to him.

He reached in and took one of the bites. She opened up the cheese sauce and he dipped it in. She did the same with another bite and they tasted. “Oh, those are good!” Wren said. Hunter agreed, “They really are. Those are worth the money!”

They continued eating the pretzel bites, not talking. They were both looking around at the people as they were coming into the theater.

She was watching his hand out of the corner of her eye. She was trying to think of a way she could touch him without being super obvious, but she was too chicken.

“How’s it going over there?” he asked.

She was startled. She must have been concentrating on his hand too hard. She looked up quickly. “What’s that?”

“I just asked how it was going.”

“Oh, fine! It’s fine. These are really good. Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome. It really wasn’t a big deal.” He seemed a little embarrassed.

“Well, I appreciate it.” When she said that she actually leaned over a little bit and bumped her shoulder against his.

It was his eyes that went wide this time, and he got a big smile on his face. Then he took his elbow and bumped it against her arm.

“Oh ho ho,” she said. “You want to tread lightly, I grew up with an older brother, and I’m scrappy.”

He genuinely laughed at that, and she laughed with him. He took his hand and, without thinking, patted her thigh right above the knee. She felt herself flush but tried very hard to not react or pull away. He left his hand there, not squeezing or rubbing. It was just resting there. Then, as if he just realized what he’d done, he looked down at his hand on her leg and looked at her. “I’m sorry, I should have asked before I did that.” He started to move his hand away, but she quickly, and without thinking, moved her hand on top of his to stop him. His eyebrows went up.

She said, “It’s okay. If you want to keep it there, I don’t mind.”

The lights started to dim more and the trailers started playing. He kept his hand on her leg, and she kept her hand on top of his, but she also curled her fingers around his just a bit.

She could tell out of the corner of her eye that he was looking at where their hands met. She turned her head to look at him and said, “I hope that’s okay.”

He nodded and said, “It’s very okay.

Then they both looked back at the screen and left their hands where they were. But after about ten more minutes, she realized her hand was starting to get sweaty, so she slowly pulled it back.

He looked at her with a questioning look in his eyes, and she said, “Sorry, my hand’s getting sweaty. I don’t think you want to feel that.”

He chuckled again. And then he actually squeezed her thigh the tiniest bit. She really didn’t know how to react to that, so she just let it go.

The movie was funny, and they laughed a lot. Hunter’s laugh was so calming and made her feel at peace. It wasn’t loud, it was a deep quiet chuckle more than anything else. And she couldn’t get enough of it.

There was one point where she thought something was so funny she started doing her out of control laugh with the snorting again, and she was holding her hands over her face trying to be quiet. It was bad enough to do it around Hunter, she didn’t want everyone in the theater hearing her. At that point he took his hand off her leg, turned towards her slightly and put his hand on her shoulder. He asked, “Are you okay?” but he was laughing too. She could barely get it out, but she said yes, she was fine.

But she was starting to feel bad because everyone else had stopped laughing and was trying to watch the movie, so she excused herself and said she wanted to go out and get a soda refill. “Did you want a refill?” she whispered to him. He shook his head and said he was fine. She nodded and walked out, still trying to stop herself from laughing anymore. She went out in the concession area and took some deep breaths. She sat down on a bench for a minute to calm herself down. This was one of those times when something was funny, but it was also nerves that kept her giggling. After she finally stopped laughing she stood up and got a little bit of soda in her empty cup. She didn’t really need anymore, but that was the excuse she used, so she didn’t want it to be obvious she made it up.

She walked back in and took her seat again. Hunter looked over at her and said, “Everything okay?”

She nodded and said, “Yup” and held up her cup. He smiled and nodded and then looked back at the movie. She wondered if she should do something with her hand and his hand. But she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to be able to initiate anything herself, so she quit thinking about it and watched the movie. She had her arm on the armrest in between them. He shifted a little bit without taking his eyes off the screen and brought his arm up. It bumped into hers, and he looked down quickly while saying, “Oh, I’m sorry.” And at the same time she said, “I’m sorry” and took her arm down. He said, “No, it’s your armrest, I wasn’t paying attention. Go ahead.”

She said, “It’s okay, I have one on the other side I can use.” He didn’t, because he had someone sitting on his other side. So she put her right arm up on the other arm rest and leaned away from him just a bit so he knew she was serious about him using that one.

He nodded and put his right arm back up. But he also looked at how she was leaning away, and then looked at her face. She had looked back at the movie, and he whispered, “Hey.”

She turned and looked at him, and he said quietly, “You don’t have to lean all the way over there. I’ll keep my hand right here.”

She grinned at him and shifted in his direction. Then she leaned into him a little bit with their shoulders and upper arms touching. “I really didn’t mind when your hand was over here, so please don’t think I did.”

“Really?”

She quietly laughed and said, “Yeah, really.” Then she lifted her hand and took hold of his, gently pulling it down to rest on her thigh.

He smiled, nodded and gave her hand a very subtle squeeze. And that’s how they stayed the rest of the movie. As the credits rolled she let go of his hand and he pulled his away. They gathered up their trash and began walking out, dropping their trash in the can outside the door.

He put his hand lightly on her lower back to direct her to the side exit, but then he dropped it once they were outside.

He said, “I expected that movie to be good, but it was even funnier than I thought it might be.”

“Yeah, I obviously found it funny, since I kind of lost my shit.”

He laughed that Hunter laugh, and she could have sworn she felt a shiver at the sound. She still didn’t feel like this was real, this couldn’t be real. These things didn’t happen to her.

He opened the truck door for her again, and when he got in behind the wheel, he asked if she wanted to go anywhere else. “Like ice cream or something like that?” As much as she didn’t want the date to end, she kind of needed it to end. She was going to be crashing hard, she could tell.

“I’d probably better go on home at this point. I’m pretty tired, to be honest. It’s nothing personal-“

“No, no need to apologize. I totally understand. There will be other times we can get ice cream.”

“Sounds good.”

He pulled out of the parking lot and they rode in silence for a couple of minutes.

“Are you doing okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m good. Why, do I look some kind of way?”

He said, “No, other than tired. You just seem tired.”

“Yeah, stress and anxiety can be exhausting for me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be. It was worth it.” Then she turned her face to the side window and whispered, “I can’t believe I said that.”

He chuckled and said, “Aww, that’s so sweet. I was worth the stress, anxiety, and resulting exhaustion!” He laughed again and she laughed with him.

They were quiet the rest of the drive back to Wren’s apartment. He pulled into a parking spot facing her building, and she started to open her door. She said, “Thanks so much for tonight, I really enjoyed it.”

“Me too, thanks for going with me. Since it’s after dark, I’d like to watch and make sure you make it in the door, if that’s okay?”

“Sure, that’s fine. Thanks again.”

“Oh, hey, did you want to watch football with us again on Monday? I think some of the others will be there this week.”

“Sure, I’ll be there.”

“Good, see you then.”

“Bye, Hunter.” She gave him a little wave as she opened the door.

“G’night.”

He watched her walk to her door and put the key in the lock. As she opened the door, she waved and then went inside. After seeing a light turn on in the window, he started his truck again and backed out of the spot. As he left the parking lot and turned towards home, he thought how well things had gone. Then he realized he’d begun allowing himself to think this thing might actually work out. And that brought a huge smile to his face.

“Hunter!” Omega practically yelled when she heard the front door open. She jumped up off the couch and hurried over to the doorway in time to see him shutting the door.

He turned and smiled at her and said, “Omega, inside voice.”

“Oh, sorry! I was just excited!”

“I know you are.” He began taking his shoes off, putting his keys on the hook right around the corner in the living room. He saw Wrecker, Tech, Echo, and even Crosshair sitting, looking at him. “Well, I get the whole welcoming committee tonight.”

He began walking towards the kitchen.

Omega followed him saying, “So?”

Hunter looked down at her and said, “So? So what?”

“Come on, Hunter! You know what!”

He quietly laughed and lightly bumped his hip into her. “Yes, I know what.” But he kept walking. He got in the fridge and got out the milk, pouring himself a glass. All the while, Omega stood watching, bouncing from one foot to the other.

“Hunteeerrrr!”

He turned to look at her with a shit-eating grin on his face. Then he laughed, a nice hearty laugh from his gut.

“How did it go?!”

“Oh, that’s what you want to talk about?”

“Yes! Come on, Hunter, don’t be a jerk!” But she had a smile on her face.

He put his arm around her shoulders, “Okay, well let’s go in with everyone else, because I don’t want to have to tell this more than once.”

They walked back into the living room. Hunter sat on the end of the couch where Omega had been sitting before he got home. He held his arms out towards her and she sat on his lap. She’s grown some since she first came to live with them, but she’s still rather small for her age, so there’s plenty of room for her to be able to snuggle up to Hunter. She laid her head on his chest and waited for him to tell them what happened on his date.

“Okay, there really isn’t a lot to report, guys. We had a nice time. And she’s going to meet us on Monday night again. And we plan on going out on another date at some point.”

Omega let out a small squeal and clapped her hands quietly.

Wrecker said, “Good job, Hunter!”

Omega said, “Any details you’d like to give us?” with a sweet smile.

He looked down at her, booped her nose, and said, “Nope, that’s all.”

“Aww, come on, Hunter! Did you guys kiss?!”

Tech spoke up and said, “Omega, I do not think we should put him on the spot about any displays of affection there might have been. Hunter deserves some privacy.”

“Thank you, Tech.”

Omega pouted a little, but she understood what Tech was saying.

He continued, “Of course if he would want to share…”

Hunter cut him off and said, “No, he would not want to. Guys, remember, this was our first actual date, and you know how anxious and scared Wren is about so many things. I think you can deduce how much displaying of affection there was.”

Crosshair stood up and as he walked past Hunter he said, “Well there’s always next time, Hunter,” as he patted him on the shoulder.

“I’m fine, Crosshair. I don’t want to rush her in any way.”

“Okay, we’ll see how long that lasts.” With that he went upstairs to his room. Hunter shook his head.

Echo finally spoke up and said, “Ignore him. He’s just being his grumpy self. I’m really happy for you, Hunter. It sounds like things are moving in the right direction.”

“Thanks.”

Wrecker said, “Yeah, we’re all happy for you, Hunter. Even Crosshair. You should have heard what he was saying about Wren and you earlier tonight. He just doesn’t want you to know he’s happy for you.”

Omega said, “Yeah, he was sure to warn me not to interfere and mess something up for you. But you know I won’t do that.”

“I know you just want us to be happy, Meg. We just can’t rush things.”

Tech stood and said, “I am heading up. Good night, everyone.”

There was a chorus of “Good night, Tech.”

As he walked past Hunter, he patted him on the shoulder. Hunter looked up and smiled at him.

Those remaining watched TV for a few more minutes in silence. Then Wrecker stood up and asked, “Do you want me to carry Omega upstairs?” Hunter looked down to see she had fallen asleep.

“No, I’ll take her, thanks Wrecker.”

“Okay, g’night, guys!”

Hunter started to stand while holding Omega. She stirred and said something, but it was hard to understand what it was.

“What was that?”

She said in a sleepy and quiet voice, “I don’t want to go to bed yet. We’re not done talking.”

“Well, we’re done talking for tonight. We can talk more tomorrow.”

Omega whined a little bit, then said, “Good night, Echo.”

“Good night, kid. Sleep tight.”

“Mmmm-hmmm…”

The guys exchanged amused looks, then Hunter headed for the stairs, while Echo walked towards the kitchen.

Hunter took Omega up to her room and laid her on her already turned-down bed. After she was situated on her pillow, he pulled her covers up, and ran his hand over her hair. “Good night.”

She mumbled, “G’nigh…” and was out like a light. He bent over, kissed her on the forehead, turned and left.

He went back downstairs expecting for Echo to have gone on to bed, so he was surprised when he saw him sitting at the kitchen table. He had a glass of milk and a package of cookies. When Hunter stepped into the room, he offered him a cookie.

“No, thanks.” Hunter waved him off, sitting down across from him. “I thought you might be in bed.”

“I needed a little snack before I went.”

It was quiet for a few moments, and then Hunter reached across and took a cookie. “I changed my mind,” he said with a smile. Echo chuckled and pushed the package of cookies closer to the middle of the table in case he wanted more.

“Well, I know you don’t want to talk about specifics, but you feel good about how things went tonight, right? How things are going with Wren?”

“Yeah, I do. It was really nice. She was still very nervous, but she talked to me about it, and shared some things that helped me understand where she’s coming from. I just know I need to take things very slowly.”

Echo nodded along, allowing him to continue if he wanted.

“We held hands.”

“Really?! That’s great! And more than I thought would happen.”

“Yeah, it might have been a little accidental, but she didn’t pull away, not for a while anyway. And then later on, she held my hand again. It was…nice.”

“That really is great, Hunt. I mean that. I like Wren a lot, and I think she seems like a really good person.”

“Yeah, she does.”

Echo watched him for a few seconds while he sat there with a small grin on his face. He wasn’t sure when he’d last seen this little brother look happier or more relaxed. It had certainly been a while. With everything that happened after they found out about Omega, he’d been under a lot of pressure and stress. He loved her, of course, and he was so happy to have her with them, but it was still a lot of pressure for a 28-year-old guy who had spent most of his adult life up to that point in the Army. Especially with his struggles with depression. He’d done so well, for Omega and for all of them, he deserved to be able to just enjoy his life. And it seemed like Wren might be the person to help him do that. Yeah, Echo was very pleased with how things were going.

Then Hunter looked at Echo and said, “I’m a little nervous that I won’t be what Wren needs.” Then he looked down at this hands on the table.

That caught Echo off guard. “Why would you think that?”

“Well…I’m not the most emotionally available person. I know I can be a little closed off. And I like to think I can be there for her when she needs someone to help her deal with her fears, but what if I can’t be. What if it’s one of the times when I’m feeling down myself? I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Hunter, I really don’t think you will hurt her. I know there are times when you retreat back into yourself, more like how you were before you started your meds, and more like you were as a kid. But as long as you explain that to her, I’m sure she would understand. Just like you are sympathetic to her issues, I’m sure she would be sympathetic to yours. Have you told her about why you left the Army, and all that followed that?”

“She knows a little bit of it, but not the full extent.”

“Well, since she was so honest with you about her issues, it’s only fair that you tell her about yours. And if you do, I’m sure she would be understanding. It’s obvious she’s very kind-hearted.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right. I’ll try to think of the best time to bring it up and the best way to go about it.”

“You’ll do fine with it, I’m sure. You’ve done an amazing job being there for Omega, there’s no reason to think you wouldn’t be able to do that for Wren as well.”

“Thanks, Echo.”

“Sure.” He stood up. “Well, snack time is over for me, I’m headed up.”

 “G’night. Thanks again.”

“You bet.” He put his hand on Hunter’s shoulder and squeezed before he turned and left.

Hunter sat for a few more minutes, then put the cookies away and went on into his room to try to sleep. He wasn’t sure how well that would go, because all sorts of things were running through his mind. But he would need to try. Most of the things on his mind were pretty pleasant, so that would certainly help. He just needed to try to not get ahead of himself where Wren was concerned. He’s pretty sure moving too fast would backfire on him.

*****

After Hunter left, Wren changed into her comfy home clothes and sat down to try to relax a little bit before heading to bed. She turned on the TV and flipped through the channels for a while, but nothing was catching her attention. She just stopped on something to have background noise and opened up her laptop. She decided to email her parents. She didn’t think she would tell them she’d gone on a date with Hunter. Not yet. They knew she hung out with his family sometimes, but she didn’t tell them when he asked her out, just the two of them. She wasn’t ready to talk about that yet.

After a short email, and after checking in on her social media sites, she decided she’d try to go to bed. It was a little earlier than normal, but if she could actually fall asleep, it would be better. She wouldn’t worry and stew in her sleep. And getting an extra hour of sleep here and there was never a bad thing. The date had exhausted her. She didn’t exaggerate when she told Hunter that. It was a lot for her to deal with.

As she lay in bed, she began to think about how tired she was, how nervous she’d been, how Hunter asked her if she wanted to go out with him again. And then her thoughts started spiraling, as they tended to do. The thought of doing this again had her anxiety spiking. She certainly enjoyed some parts of the night. She thought about him touching her leg, about how she put her hand over his. How she took his hand later on and moved it back to her leg. All of those things made her face, well her whole body really, heat up. She was embarrassed now that it was all said and done. Should she have done those things? He seemed to react positively. He seemed to be happy with how things went. But could she keep this up?

She told herself that she would never feel more comfortable with things like this if she didn’t stick with it. If she gave up now, she’d never know what might have been. Was she actually considering this? Was she considering trying to date Hunter, like on a regular basis? Like, as a couple?

But was she also considering telling him she didn’t want to go out with him again? Deep down, she knew that she was considering it. Because that’s what she always did. She would get scared about things and convince herself that it wasn’t worth the stress. That things wouldn’t work out anyway. In this instance, she would tell herself that Hunter would eventually realize he didn’t like her as much as he thought he did. The more time he spent with her, the more her anxiety and fears would grate on his nerves. He would start to get tired of her and would decide he didn’t want to see her anymore. And it would feel so much worse than if she’d never tried.

And that’s how her thoughts went for a long time that night. Back and forth. Feeling positive about things, but then feeling awful and scared and sure she was making a mistake by even trying. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been lying there before her eyes finally started to close and she dozed off.

She didn’t have to get up early the next morning, so she slept really late. Once she finally fell asleep she was dead to the world. It was 11:30 am before she finally woke up. She didn’t really have anything planned for Sunday, but she should do some laundry and cleaning at least. She tried not to think about Hunter after she got up. She just needed to let her brain rest.

But then around 1:00, she heard a text come in on her phone. She looked and was shocked to see it was from Hunter.

H: Hey, Wren. I hope you slept well. I’m sorry to bother you, but Crosshair wanted me to ask you if you wanted to bet on the Sunday night game, since your teams are playing each other again.

They were? That’s how distracted she’d been. She didn’t even realize who was playing tonight. But since they were in the same division, they did play each other twice a season, so that would make sense. Did Crosshair actually tell him to ask her that, or did he do that on his own? She started feeling nervous again. It really does seem like Hunter liked her, and that really started scaring her. Don’t do this, Wren. Don’t do this! Don’t sabotage this! This…whatever this is, don’t destroy it before it even really gets started!

She took some deep breaths and set the phone down. She wanted to give herself a minute before responding. A minute to calm down and quiet her mind.

W: Hey, Hunter. You can tell Crosshair that he’s on. As long as the bet isn’t for more than $10. Or better yet, loser buys the winner one of those skillet brownies at the restaurant tomorrow night.

She sent that and waited. That sounded pretty cool. It wasn’t obvious that she was losing her mind a little bit, spiraling out of control. He had no idea what turmoil she was currently in.

After a few minutes, he was back.

H: He says you’re on! 😊

W: Okay, good! We’ll see who has to pay up tomorrow! 😂

H: Okay, see you tomorrow then. Hope you have a good day.

W: You too, Hunter. Thanks!

So after being up half the night worrying about Hunter not liking her or getting tired of her, she just had a lovely interaction with him. Her head was going to be spinning for a long time. She just couldn’t decide what would be best for her to do. So for now, she would just try to focus on the present. She was so good at that. (She laughed at herself for that one.)

Later that night, during the 3rd quarter of the Sunday night game, when Wren’s team was winning by 24 points, she got another text.

H: Crosshair had to work tonight, but he texted me and wanted me to tell you to leave room for a skillet brownie tomorrow night, because it looks like he will be the one paying up.

W: I don’t really expect him to pay up. It was all in good fun.

H: Oh, he’ll pay. We’re nothing if not men of our word. 😊

W: Okay, well then you tell him I will always have room for a skillet brownie.

H: 😊 Have a good night, Wren.

W: You too!

That night when she went to bed, she tried to focus on the positive things from the situation. Tried being the operative word. She only lay awake and thought for an hour that night, nothing compared to how long she’d been awake the night before. That was a positive!

*****

When Amanda got to the library Monday morning, she noticed Wren sitting at her desk, just staring off into the distance. She looked tired.

“Good morning, Wren!”

Nothing.

“Wren? Hey, Wren?” She was standing near her desk at that point, and Wren saw her out of the corner of her eye. She startled a little bit, her eyes wide as she realized it was just Amanda.

“Hey, Amanda. Good morning.”

“Are you ok?” she asked as she put her stuff down at her own desk.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all.”

“So, how was the date on Saturday? Don’t tell me it continued on into Sunday and that’s why you’re so tired.” She had a smile on her face as she teased, and because her smile was so warm, Wren didn’t get annoyed with her.

“No! It didn’t last into Sunday. But it was…nice.”

“Nice?! Well that’s great!”

“Yeah…”

“Uh-oh, I feel like there’s a but coming…”

“No. No but. Well, maybe there is a small but…I’m beginning to wonder if it’s a good idea for me to keep seeing him.”

“What?! Why? You just said the date was nice! Did he do something? Was he handsy? Was he pushy?”

“No! No, he was a perfect gentleman. I mean, he did put his hand on my knee once. Very casually. Because we were laughing about something. And when he realized he’d done it, he felt bad and went to move it, but I put my hand on his to keep it there.” She was looking down at her desk when she was saying all that, because she was a little embarrassed.

“Ooooh! That’s fun!”

Wren rolled her eyes. “Ugh, it’s embarrassing to even say out loud.”

“What? Why? That’s really sweet.”

“Because this isn’t me. I don’t do these things. I don’t know how to do these things! I’m not…I don’t know how…I don’t know if I can do this…” She trailed off at the end.

“Do what? Go out with him again?”

“Yeah, any of it. I’m just so embarrassed at how I acted.”

“What was embarrassing about how you acted? So, you put your hand on his. Is that all?”

“Well, no, later on we were talking, and I guess I was kind of leaning away from him, and he told me I didn’t have to do that, he would keep his hand on the arm rest. And I told him I didn’t mind when his hand was on my leg earlier, and then I took his hand and put it back on my leg, and I held his hand. For the rest of the movie.” At that she put her face in her hands and made a pathetic strangled noise.

“Oh my god, that’s amazing!! Look at you go!”

“Noooo. When I say it now, I’m just mortified. I don’t do things like that, and I’m sure I looked like an idiot. I don’t know if I can face him again.”

“Wren! What is going on? Why are you being like this? It doesn’t sound like he minded at all. He didn’t pull his hand away, right? He didn’t give you a weird look or make a disgusted noise or anything, right?”

“Right. He just smiled at me and held my hand.”

“So, stop! You’re getting upset about something you don’t need to be upset about! This is good stuff!” Amanda was sounding a little exasperated, which Wren was used to when she told people how her mind worked.

“Deep down, I know you’re right. But my anxiety is through the roof right now.”

“Wren…you need to try to stop thinking so much. You’re only freaking yourself out. You said the date was nice. Hunter was a perfect gentleman. You held hands and it sounds like you both liked that. Just leave it at that for now. Don’t overthink it.”

“Easier said than done,” she muttered.

“Look, I know you have some issues with anxiety, and you get scared pretty easily, but I’m begging you, please stop for now. I’ll stop talking to you about it. We’ll start working on shifting those books in the Ps, that’s so much fun you’ll totally forget about Hunter for a while. Come on, please. Please, stop.”

She was so genuinely concerned, Wren could tell that, so she said, “Okay, I’ll stop for now. You know…I know you’re right. But getting my brain to cooperate is very difficult.”

“I know. I know. Come on.” She patted Wren on the shoulder as she walked past her. She grabbed a book truck, and said, “You get that truck, and let’s go shift some books.”

“Okay.” Wren grabbed the other truck, and they set off for the Ps. She knew she was being irrational. She knew it. That didn’t make it any easier to stop it though. But she would try. She would really try. Hunter was worth the effort, she knew that. She would try.

The rest of the day at work was slow and torturous, yet also somehow it went too fast. Wren wasn’t sure how both of those things could be possible at the same time, but that’s what she was feeling. She knew she was going to see Hunter tonight, so she was anxious of course. She wanted 6:00 to get here so she could stop worrying, but then it would be here, and she’d have to deal with that. It was a lose-lose situation for her, in her mind anyway.

She didn’t have an appetite at lunch, because she felt nauseous. She had an anxiety headache, as she called it. She would get a dull pain at the base of her skull if she was anxious or worried about something for too long. When she stood up, she’d feel lightheaded and dizzy, and sometimes her vision would get blotchy. All the usual suspects.

At one point during the afternoon, she began doubting that she could even go. She thought she’d bail. She wanted to bail. She could tell them she got sick, because technically, she was feeling sick. Anxiety sick. But they didn’t need to know that part. Although, she figured Hunter would be suspicious if she did say she was sick. And she didn’t want to do that. But she kind of did want to do that.

Now the get-togethers with the family seemed like more, after Hunter and Wren had been on a date. It felt like something more than what she could handle right now.

A few minutes before it was time for Wren to leave work, Amanda stopped by her desk. “You’ve been extra quiet today. It’s Monday…does it have anything to do with plans you might have tonight?”

Wren gave her a defeated look. “Yes. I don’t know if I can go.”

“Why?”

“I’m just so nervous now. More nervous than I even was the first time I went.”

“Why? Why is it worse now?”

“Because now…now it really seems like Hunter likes me, and that scares the shit out of me. I don’t think I can handle that.”

“You can’t handle what? The fact that he likes you? The thought of going out on more dates with just him and you? The thought of a relationship?”

“Yes. Yes. And yes. All the above.” She put her head in her hands. “I don’t do those things, and I don’t even know if I am able to do those things.”

Amanda sat down in the chair beside her desk. She lightly rubbed Wren’s arm and talked quietly to her. “Do you like Hunter?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Do you want to date him?”

There was hesitation. “In a perfect world where I wasn’t scared of everything, I would want to date him. But in this world, I really don’t know.”

Amanda sighed. “Well, I can’t answer that for you. No one can. Only you. I would just ask that you think it through before you make any rash decisions. I’m not saying Hunter is perfect. I don’t know the guy. But I do know that a lot of women would jump at the chance to date him. That’s obvious. And if you were to see him with another woman, on a date, how would you feel?”

“Sad.”

“Because?”

“Because I would know it could’ve been me, but I was too scared.”

“Okay. At some point, you are going to need to decide if you want to try something like this, even though it’s scary, or if you’re happy being by yourself. Hunter seems like the perfect person to try dating with. It’s not just his looks, but from what I’ve seen, he’s also a very nice guy. And I bet he would be very understanding of your limitations.

“He is a very nice guy. And he already has been so understanding.”

“Okay, well, I’m not telling you what you should do. You’re an adult. But I just don’t want you to have regrets.”

“I know. I really do know.”

Amanda stood up and patted her on the shoulder. “Good luck. I really hope you can at least enjoy being with the family tonight. Omega’s always fun, right?”

“Yeah, she is. Thanks.”

“I’m going to go check the stacks. You’ll probably be gone when I get back, so I hope it goes well.”

Wren nodded at her as she began to walk away. She finished up the things she needed to before she could leave, then shut her computer off, waved to her other coworker at the desk, and walked out the back door.

*****

Omega was extra excited about going out to watch football tonight with her brothers and Wren, because things would be different now that Wren and Hunter had actually been on a real-life date with each other! Hunter didn’t say any more about their date after telling them how things went. And she didn’t ask. She took Crosshair’s warning to heart, and she didn’t want to push anything. She didn’t want to be the reason something didn’t work out. But that didn’t stop her from being excited.

She was in the living room watching TV until the guys were ready. When Hunter came out of his room, she noticed he was wearing what looked like a relatively new flannel shirt. It’s one she’d never seen before anyway. It was a very nice rich brown plaid, and she noticed how it matched his eyes. Did he do that on purpose?

“That’s a nice shirt, Hunter. Is it new?”

“No, not really. Ninety-nine gave it to me for Christmas last year, I just haven’t worn it much.”

“Well, it really brings out your eyes…nice choice.”

Hunter laughed. “Well, you can tell Ninety-nine that next time you talk to him. He’ll be pleased.”

She smiled at the thought of talking to her brothers’ adopted father. He had quickly become like a grandpa to her, something she’d never had before, and she always enjoyed any time she could spend talking to him or visiting him, if she was lucky.

The rest of the guys started coming out of their various bedrooms and bathrooms, with quiet conversations between them.

Hunter said, “Okay, who’s riding with me, and who’s riding with Tech?”

Omega jumped up and said, “I wanna’ ride with you, Hunter. No offense, Tech.”

“None taken, Omega,” Tech said with a small smile. He knew she preferred riding with Hunter to Monday Night football, since she had to leave with Tech to get home earlier.

“I’ll ride with Hunter too, more leg room,” Wrecker said.

“Okay, Crosshair and Echo, that leaves you with me. Is everyone ready?”

There were mumbles of agreement, and they all filed out the door.

After they were on the road, Omega turned to Hunter and said, “So, do you think anything will be different tonight? With Wren?”

“Why?”

“Because you two have gone out on a date now. That changes things, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure it does. We’ll see, I guess.”

Wrecker gave Omega a tiny little jab with his elbow, and she quickly looked up at him with a small pout. “I’m not saying anything bad,” she whispered. He just gave her a look like “be careful.”

Hunter looked over at them and said, “What are you two whispering about? You’re not scheming something, are you?”

“No!” they both said in unison.

Hunter looked both of them in the eyes and nodded, “Okay.”

The rest of the ride to the restaurant, Omega talked about school. It was just a little more than a week before Christmas, so there were all sorts of different things going on. She would be in a program at school on Friday and there were also other special things going on in her classrooms.

“Do you think Wren would come to my program on Friday?”

“I don’t know, do you want her to?” Hunter asked.

“I’d like to ask her, if that’s okay with you. If she doesn’t want to go, that’s fine, but I thought I’d ask.”

“That’s fine with me, Meg. You can ask her tonight.”

Omega got a mischievous look on her face and said, “That way you don’t have to miss out on a date night with her because of my program.”

Hunter shot her with a quick, disapproving look. “Nothing has been said about Friday being a date night, so don’t worry about that. And don’t pose it to her like that either. You might embarrass her.”

“I won’t,” Omega giggled quietly while looking up at Wrecker who was trying to hide a smile.

Hunter just sighed loudly and kept his eyes on the road.

*****

When they got to the restaurant, they went to their normal table, taking their usual seats. That left the empty chair at the corner, between Omega on one side and Hunter at the end of the table. Wren’s usual spot.

The waitress had already come around and gotten drink orders and asked if they were ready to order their meals, and Wren still hadn’t shown up. Omega looked at Hunter now and then, and she could see him look at the door, look at his phone, then back to whatever conversation he was listening to. But he did that multiple times. Finally, she happened to glance at him and saw his face lit up with a small smile. She turned around towards the door and saw Wren walking towards them. She turned back to Hunter, and he was watching her walk across the restaurant.

“Wren!” Wrecker was the first to greet her.

She waved at Wrecker and then looked around at the others and said, “Hi, everyone.” But she didn’t really focus on anyone, just a general sweep of the table until she sat down. Then she turned to Omega and said, “Hi, Omega. How are you?”

“Fine! I was afraid you might not be coming, but I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m sorry, I guess I should have texted you and let you know I was running a little behind. My brother called me, and we were talking about some family holiday plans, and I lost track of time.”

“That’s okay! We haven’t ordered yet.”

Just at that time the waitress walked up and said, “Okay, everyone’s here now. Are you ready to order?”

They all gave their orders. Omega noticed that Wren hadn’t really looked at Hunter yet. He would look at her now and then, as if he was trying to catch her eye, but she was looking down or at the TV. Omega started getting an uncomfortable feeling. Was something wrong with her?

Finally, Wren looked up at him and said, “How are you?”

He smiled and said, “I’m good. You?”

“Pretty good.” She smiled, but then went back to the TV. Omega noticed a confused look in his eyes. He caught Omega looking at him and gave her a small smile and then looked down at his phone.

Things went about as they normally do at these dinners, lots of conversations floating every which way, Wren trying to keep up with them. But there was nothing between Hunter and her for most of the night. Not unless he was joining in on a table conversation and she would look at him now and then if he was talking to the others.

Omega knew she was going to have to leave at halftime to go home and study for an exam the next day, so she wanted to ask Wren about Friday.

“Hey, Wren, I have a holiday program on Friday at school. Are you busy? Would you want to go?”

Wren smiled and said, “Is that okay? For non-family members to go?” Then she looked at Hunter questioningly.

He shrugged and said, “I don’t know, I haven’t heard. But I can’t imagine they would mind. The more the merrier and all that.”

Wren nodded and said to Omega, “Yeah, I should be able to be there.”

“Great!” Omega exchanged a quick glance with Hunter, and he smiled at her.

Tech spoke up at that point, “Are you ready to leave, Omega?”

“Yes, I suppose,” Omega said with a pathetic tone. She looked at Wren again and said, “The program is at 7:00. Do you know where to go?”

Wren asked where specifically in the school she would be and how she should get there.

Omega said, “Hunter can wait outside for you that night, if you want.”

Hunter looked up surprised, and Wren had a look of almost panic on her face. “No, no…that’s okay. Just tell me what doors to go in, and I’ll be okay. I don’t want Hunter to miss out on a seat.”

“It’s not a problem— “

Wren interrupted him and said, “No, really, I’ll be fine. I’ll just look for you guys once I’m inside.”

Hunter looked at her intently and said, “Okay, if that’s what you’d prefer.”

She nodded as she turned back to Omega. “I’ll see you then.”

“Okay, bye everyone. Bye, Wren.” She reached down and hugged her as best as she could while Wren was still at the table. Then she walked over to Hunter and hugged him. “G’night, Hunter.”

“G’night, kid. I’ll come tuck you in when I get home, but I expect you to already be asleep.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He reached up and ruffled her hair, and she smacked his hand. He chuckled.

Wren had been watching their interaction, and she felt an ache in her chest. He really was such a good guy. Why is she acting like this? Why is she trying to push him away? She wished she could answer those questions so she could maybe stop herself. But she couldn’t. She just knew this was her defense mechanism. Push someone away before they can find out the real her, or get tired of her, and want to push her away. It’s the preemptive pushing that is one of her Greatest Hits. The fear of the unknown and the new was overpowering her at that moment.

After Omega and Tech left, the rest of the group mostly talked about the game. Hunter did try to start a conversation with Wren once by asking how work had gone that day. She just said fine and then went back to the game, so he decided to give her a little space. He was surprised at how she was acting at first, but then he really thought about it and could tell that her fears were taking over. And he didn’t want to push her, because he was afraid that would backfire. He could wait. He was a patient person. He was trying to not take it personally, but there was a bit of a sting.

The game ended, and they all started putting their coats on and getting ready to leave.

Hunter said to her, “Will you be around next Monday? It will be a couple of days before Christmas, I wasn’t sure if you’d be in town or not.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. My brother and I were talking about when we’d be at our parents’ house and all that. I think we’ll be doing our family get-together on Christmas Eve, so I probably will leave after work on Monday so I can have more time there. So yeah, I guess I won’t be here on Monday.”

“Okay, that’s understandable. It’s getting to be that time of the year when everyone’s schedules get a little squirrely.”

She began to walk, and he very lightly put his hand on her lower back, as if he was helping guide her through the people who were all leaving at the same time now that the game had ended.

Even though it was a very light touch, she felt it like it was a small jolt of electricity. She quickly looked up and gave him a small smile. Why was this so hard? The thought of this being a regular occurrence was both comforting and terrifying at the same time.

They walked out of the building and headed towards their vehicles. Tech had taken Hunter’s truck home so the rest of the guys could have the car when it was time to leave. There’s no way they all would have fit in the truck.

Hunter said, “So, I guess we’ll see you on Friday at the school?”

“Will you all be there?”

Wrecker said, “Oh yeah! This is the first program Omega has had, and we all want to be there!”

“That’s very sweet. I’m honored she asked me to go.”

“You’re pretty special to her,” Hunter quietly said as the other guys were walking further away and couldn’t hear.

“She’s a very good kid. You’re doing a great job.”

“Oh, I don’t think we can take credit for that. She was already a great kid when we met her.”

“Well, I know you’re modest, and I won’t push it, but you’re doing really well with her.”

His cheeks seemed to get a little red under the tan, and he said, “Well thanks,” so quietly she almost didn’t hear him.

“Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you Friday then.” She was already at her car door getting it unlocked.

He said, “Okay, be safe.”

She smiled at him and got in her car. As she pulled away, the tears burned her eyes. How could she want something so badly but be so scared of it she knew she would run away the first chance she got? She needed to stop leading Hunter on, it wasn’t nice at all. The tears were running down her cheeks at that point, and she wiped them on her sleeve.

The guys all went their separate ways when they got home, and Hunter went straight up the stairs to Omega’s room. He quietly opened the door, hoping she was already asleep.

“Hunter?”

Okay, so she wasn’t asleep.

“Yes, Omega? You should be asleep.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Why not? Is something wrong?” he asked as he walked toward her bed. He sat down on the edge and smoothed her messy hair off her forehead.

“Hunter, I know you don’t want me to interfere…”

He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

“…but did Wren seem different to you tonight?” Hunter tried to keep his face neutral as he looked at his little sister.

“Different? I don’t know. What do you mean?”

“Well…I don’t know, she didn’t seem as friendly maybe? Or maybe she was quieter?”

“I did notice she was a little quieter, but maybe she was just having a bad night, or maybe she was really tired. It could be all sorts of things. And it could be that we’re imagining it too.”

“I don’t know, I don’t think we’re imagining it. I hope she was just tired and it’s nothing more.”

“Nothing more, like what nothing more?”

“I don’t know…like maybe she’s acting different towards you for some reason. And I don’t understand that, because I thought she would be even friendlier than normal, because you went on a date. But it seems like it had the opposite effect. Did something happen on the date you didn’t tell us about?”

“No, Meg. I don’t think it’s anything like that. I can’t say for sure, and I don’t want you telling anyone else this, especially not her, but I wonder if she’s getting a little more scared. She almost seemed to be trying to pull inside herself, and away from me.”

“Did it get worse after I left?”

“No, not worse. I asked her how her day had gone, and she just said fine and that was all. But she’s never been a big talker, so that’s not totally out of character.”

“But it was enough that you noticed it?”

“I did, yes. But hey, this isn’t anything you need to be concerned about. Whatever is going to happen will happen, and we’ll deal with it.”

“But I don’t want her to pull away, Hunter.”

He continued to stroke her hair, “I know, kid. And maybe it was just a one time thing, let’s not jump to any conclusions. Okay? She said she’d be at your program on Friday, so let’s just look forward to that. Sound good?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Okay, good.” He bent down and kissed her forehead before standing. “Now you need to get to sleep, young lady. You’re going to be tired in the morning.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. G’night, Hunter.”

“Sweet dreams.” And with that he left her room, quietly closing the door behind him. He let out a big sigh as he started walking down the stairs. So, he wasn’t the only one who noticed a change with Wren. Shit.

Everyone else had already gone to their bedrooms, so he checked to make sure the doors were locked, shut out the lights, and went to bed himself. All he could do was wait until Friday and see how things went.

*****

Wren had a hard time falling asleep that night. She didn’t like how she’d acted. She especially felt bad if Omega noticed anything different. She never should have agreed to go on a date with Hunter. That got Omega’s hopes up. She didn’t think it probably got Hunter’s hopes up, because she still couldn’t believe he was as interested in her as it seemed. But either way, she didn’t want to be rude to him.

There had been a couple of times in college where guys started showing her interest, and she freaked out. She just shut down and started avoiding them. One was in her class, so he was hard to avoid, but she did it. She just sat in a different area of the room and left quickly so he couldn’t catch up. Just remembering that made her face burn. It was so mean and rude. She didn’t want to be mean and rude. She’s not a mean person. But she is a scared person. So scared.

She finally fell asleep after a couple of hours of tossing and turning, and she was exhausted the next morning. Amanda noticed as soon as she walked in. She’d called to say she would be a few minutes late.

“Good morning!” Amanda said with a big smile. “So, you were out late last night? Is that why you’re dragging ass this morning?”

Wren could just imagine the sour look on her face, because Amanda’s smile disappeared. “Uh-oh. What happened?”

“Nothing big.”

“Then why are you looking like that?”

“I don’t know, Amanda! Because this is my tired face, I guess!” She tried to laugh when she said it. But Amanda wasn’t buying it.

“Hey, come on, sit down.” She led Wren over to her desk and pulled her chair out for her. That’s all it took for the tears to start forming and burning Wren’s eyes. “Wren…” She put her hand on Wren’s arm. “Wren? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she sniffed and grabbed a Kleenex to dab at her eyes and then blew her nose a little. She looked up at Amanda and said, “I didn’t handle things well last night.”

“Oh no, what do you mean? How?”

“I started pulling back. It’s Classic Wren. I start feeling like someone is getting too close, or is starting to like me, so I need to retreat and run. I just can’t handle it.”

“Oh, hon. You can. I know you can! You’re strong. I’ve seen the way you handle those asshole patrons at the desk.”

“Yeah, and then you see me go to the break room and cry like a baby, because they yelled at me. I’m not strong. I have too many…fears…for this.”

Amanda kept rubbing her arm lightly. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, I’m okay. I am going to the school on Friday for Omega’s holiday program.”

“Oh, well that’s good! So, you haven’t totally given up.”

“No, not totally.”

“Good. Then there’s still hope. I can still try to help.”

Wren gave her a weak smile. “I don’t think there’s anything you can do to help. Not unless you can give me a new brain.”

“Well, I can’t quite do that but let me see what I can come up with.”

“You really don’t have to worry about it. This is probably for the best. I’m not cut out for a relationship. Maybe someday, but not now.”

“Nope, I’m not gonna hear that. You will go to the program on Friday, and you will sit next to Hunter…” Wren groaned quietly. “And you will enjoy yourself, and everyone will be glad to see you, especially him.”

“You sure are optimistic. It’s obvious you haven’t been around me when I start getting scared about a guy. I bolt like I’m running the 100-meter-dash in the Olympics.”

“Hey, there’s a first time for everything. Just don’t make any rash decisions. Give it a little time.”

“Yeah, okay, a little time.”

A patron came in and went to the desk to ask for help, so Amanda told Wren, “I’ll take this. We’ll talk more later.”

Wren took some deep breaths and got on with her day.

*****

Hunter and Wren both went about their weeks as usual. He thought the time dragged by and spent a lot of it wishing Friday would hurry up so he could see if Wren behaved more like the Wren they knew before. Whereas she felt like the week went faster than usual and was shocked when it was Friday morning. By the time afternoon rolled around, she had butterflies and was feeling dizzy and nauseous. “Well, this is going great,” she thought to herself.

Amanda had tried to calm Wren down as the week went on. Any chance she got she checked in with her but without being obvious and tried to distract her. She really liked Wren and wanted things to work out for her and Hunter. She could tell he really liked her too, and he seemed like a genuinely decent guy. She hated seeing her possibly throw away a chance at happiness with him due to her fears. But there was only so much she could do to help. On Friday as they were getting ready to close, she asked her how she was doing.

“I’m nervous, of course. Other than that, I’m not sure.”

“Okay, well just try to keep in mind that Hunter does like you. He wouldn’t have hung around this long if he didn’t. So, you don’t have to worry about whether he does or doesn’t…because he DOES. And I know I’m not the only person who thinks that. His little sister believes it too, right? And she would sure know him better than me.”

Wren gave her a small smile. “Yeah, I know.”

“Well, don’t just know, believe.”

They walked out to their cars together and out of the blue, Amanda hugged Wren. It caught her off guard, but she didn’t mind. She knew Amanda was concerned for her, and this was her way of wishing her good luck.

Wren drove home and ate a quick supper. She changed clothes. She didn’t dress up, but she at least wore some black jeans and boots and a nice sweater. It was nothing special, but she thought she’d at least blend in better than if she wore her blue jeans, goofy T-shirts, and flannel shirts.

She brushed her teeth so her breath would be as fresh as possible, looked closely at her face to make sure there was nothing that shouldn’t be there, and gave herself one final look in the full-length mirror.

She drove to the school. She had done a dry run earlier in the week to make sure she knew how to get there, where to park, and which doors to go in.

There were quite a few people walking in at the same time, so she just joined in with them. As they walked into the gym, she began looking around for the guys. Then she heard it…”Wren! Hey, WREN!” She looked over and up, and there was Wrecker standing up waving at her. She waved back, put her head down, and walked around the edge of the gym floor. She felt like people were staring, even though they probably weren’t. Well, except for Hunter.

When she got close, she looked up at the brothers, and he was looking right at her. He gave her a small smile, and she returned it. Wrecker had been sitting on the bleachers next to Hunter, and as he sat back down, he scooted further away, leaving the empty spot.

“Thanks, Wrecker.” She took a seat between the two of them. There wasn’t a lot of extra room, so her arms and legs were touching Hunter’s on her right and Wrecker’s on her left. She glanced beyond Wrecker and saw Crosshair sitting facing the rest of them with his back against the wall, one leg on each side of the bleacher they were sitting on. He caught her eye, took his toothpick out of his mouth and motioned to her with it, almost as a salute. She nodded to him and smiled.

Next to him was Echo and then Tech was between Echo and Wrecker. She smiled at both, and Echo said, “Hi, Wren. It’s good to see you.”

“Hi, Echo. Hi, Tech.”

Tech nodded and said, “Hello, Wren.”

Then she turned back to look down at the gym floor where kids and adults were scrambling to get all the seats and their band instruments set up. Wren realized she didn’t know what part of the program Omega would be in, the chorus or the band, or both. So, she turned to Hunter and said, “Is Omega in the band?”

He looked down at her and said, “Yeah, she plays clarinet. I haven’t seen her out here yet. We dropped her off about ten minutes ago.”

For a minute, Wren forgot how nervous she was around him and said excitedly, “The clarinet?! I played the clarinet!”

“Really?! That’s so cool! Yeah, this is her first year, of course. She didn’t play before coming to this school.” He left it unsaid that their mother wouldn’t have allowed anything like that.

“Does she enjoy it?”

“She seems to. She’s improved so fast.”

“She seems really smart and like she’d be good at a lot of things.”

“She is really smart. She’s pretty special all around.” He said that with such warmth it caused Wren to look at him. He was looking down at the row of bleachers in front of them with the softest look on his face and a small smile. Her chest ached at how much he loved that girl.

After a few moments, he looked at Wren. She realized she’d been caught staring at him, so she quickly looked at all the activity on the floor again.

She finally responded quietly, “She’s a very sweet girl. And it’s obvious how much she means to all of you guys.” He quietly grunted in response.

Then he said, “So, you participated in programs like this then, when you were in school.”

“Oh yeah, lots of ‘em. From junior high through high school. I was only in the chorus through my freshman year, but I was in the band until I graduated. And I got to play the snare drum in the marching band for the last two years of high school. That was way more fun than the clarinet. More work, but also more fun.”

Hunter was watching her closely and noticed how big her smile got when talking about happy memories. If only she could feel that carefree about her life now.

She said, “You know, it’s strange. I was just as shy and anxious and…nervous…growing up as I am now, but for some reason I was able to participate in things. I played three sports, along with the music stuff. I remember being nervous a lot, having to go out on the basketball or volleyball court in front of fans. Sometimes, if it was an away game, there would be a section of high schoolers, often boys, and I remember being so scared to even look their way. And there was teasing sometimes, but I was still able to do it. I don’t know how. I don’t know if I could do that now. How did I get worse?” She chuckled quietly while looking down at her hands.

He continued to look at her, and it was as if she was lost in thought.

He gently bumped her arm with his and said quietly enough that not even Wrecker could hear, “I think you do alright.”

She looked up at him, at his little smile, those brown eyes…

“I don’t know. I might be able to do it, but in here…” she tapped her temple. “In here, it’s not pleasant.” And at that she could feel tears stinging her eyes. What was she doing? Why was she crying? Here?

She turned her head further, so she was looking down and behind him. As if she was trying to hide her face from him, but also from the rest of the guys. And then she felt it, a tear running down her cheek. She quickly swiped it away with her hand.

“Wren? Hey, are you okay?” His voice was so gentle and quiet.

She nodded without looking at him. She took a couple of deep but shaky breaths and turned back to face forward.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

She was quiet then, watching the activity. It had started to quiet down, and she could tell they were getting ready to start. She took another deep breath and let it out, trying to calm herself. She was holding her hands together tightly, because she could feel them shaking.

I can’t do this, she thought. I can’t do this.

Luckily, the kids started walking into the gym, some of them carrying their instruments. Some took their instruments and sat in the seats in the band area. Others left their instruments on their chairs and then went to the risers where the chorus would be performing. It was a flurry of activity for a minute, and Wren welcomed the distraction. She was hoping Hunter was watching the activity and had stopped looking at her, but she couldn’t look at him to be sure.

As Omega set her clarinet down on her chair, she looked into the stands. When she saw them, she waved and all of them, even Crosshair, waved back. She probably wasn’t supposed to wave or acknowledge her family, that’s usually what Wren was told when she participated in similar things, but Omega couldn’t help it. This was her first program, and everyone had come. She was too excited to not let them know she saw them. Wren discreetly looked down the line at the brothers to her left, and every one of them had a smile and a proud look on their face. She was sure Hunter did too, but she didn’t turn his way.

The chorus director welcomed everyone, and then they started singing. After that, Wren was focused on the kids, specifically Omega, and what they were doing. She’d always enjoyed these school programs after she didn’t have to participate anymore. Getting to see the kids perform after all their hard work. She was an enthusiastic supporter, because she knew what it was like to be on the other side. She must admit, she enjoyed the band portion more than the singing, so she was excited when the singers filed out, the ones who were also in band veering off to their seats and instruments.

Most of the time, with bands made up of kids this young, there were some obvious clunkers and squawks, but they were part of the fun. After each song, Omega would look up at them in the bleachers with a big smile, and of course they all smiled back. At one point Wrecker said, “She’s so good. I can hear her!” Whether he could actually pick out her clarinet is hard to say, but he was so proud, so no one questioned it.

Then they were done, and Wren was a little disappointed. She would have liked to hear more, but it had been going on for an hour, so she knew it was time. They can’t be expected to learn too many songs.

The band director made an announcement where “parents” could collect their kids, and Echo spoke up and said, “I’ll go get her.”

Hunter replied, “Thanks, Echo.”

They all started climbing down the bleachers and as they got to the bottom, Hunter, already on the floor, held out his hand to Wren. She took it and let him help her over the last row. As she began to pull her hand back, she could have sworn she felt him rub his thumb over the side of her hand. She looked at him as she withdrew her hand, and he gave a slight nod.

I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can’t do this.

“You’ll wait around to say hi to Omega, right, Wren?” Wrecker asked.

“Oh sure, I don’t have anywhere to be.”

They all walked out of the gym into the hallway. Crosshair made a beeline for an empty space along a wall and immediately leaned on it, trying to get away from the crush of the people.

“Crosshair has the right idea,” Wren said to no one in particular, and then walked towards the same wall. As she got there, she said, “I think you have the best spot here, out of the way of all that,” as she motioned to the mass of people. He just made a quiet scoffing noise. The rest of the guys joined them, and they quietly waited for Echo and Omega.

Before long, they heard, “Wren!” and Omega was jogging towards them. She threw her arms around Wren as soon as she was close enough.

“Hey, Omega! I had no idea you played the clarinet. I played the clarinet!”

“What?! You did?!” Omega looked at Hunter with wide eyes and a wider smile. He nodded at her. “That’s so cool! I really like it.”

“I enjoyed it, for the most part, too.”

Hunter said, “Omega, do you need to do anything else before we leave?”

“No, I’m free.”

“Okay, well, let’s go and get out of this crowd.” Wren could tell none of the brothers were enjoying the number of people crowding around them, and she wasn’t either. They headed for the door.

When they got outside, Omega asked, “Where’s your car, Wren?”

Wren pointed towards the section of the parking lot she was in. Hunter said, “We’re that way too.” So, they all started walking. The guys were having quiet conversations amongst themselves, and Omega was talking a mile a minute to Wren about playing the clarinet.

They reached Wren’s car first, so she said, “Well, this is me. Thanks for inviting me, Omega. I really enjoyed that. I especially loved listening to your band.”

Omega hugged her again and said, “Thanks for coming!”

Wren rubbed her back, kissed her on the head, and said, “You’re very welcome.”

She let her go and started to open the door, but then remembered she probably wouldn’t see them before Christmas.

“Oh, hey, Merry Christmas to all of you! I probably won’t see you before.”

Wrecker said, “What? You aren’t going to be there on Monday?”

“No, I will already be out of town at my parents’ house for the holiday.”

There was a chorus of “Merry Christmas” and “Have a nice time!”

Hunter hung back as the others began to walk away. He quietly said, “I hope you have a nice time with your family.”

“Thanks, Hunter. You too.” He nodded, smiled, and turned around, walking toward his truck. She tried not to watch him walk away and got in her car. But as she started it up, she glanced over to where they’d all gone, and she saw him looking over his shoulder. He waved and she waved back.

I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I really can’t do this.

That night in bed, when Hunter couldn’t fall asleep, he was thinking…mostly about Wren and him. He was beginning to think he was crazy and had imagined that they had gone on a date. That was real, right? He didn’t make that up in his head, did he? She’s just seemed so different since then; he’d begun to think it was a bad idea. They had held hands. He remembered that correctly, he knows he did. They sat next to each other in a movie theater and ended up holding hands. But ever since then, it seemed she was farther away from him than she’d ever been.

He did believe what he told Omega, that Wren was probably getting more scared about things. He wished there was a way to help her with that. He’s wracked his brain trying to come up with something. He didn’t think he was a scary guy. He didn’t think he ever pressured her to do anything she didn’t want to do. Even when they held hands, he thought she was willing, and he’d given her plenty of opportunity to take her hand away. She told him she was okay with continuing that. He didn’t think he pushed that too hard.

Then the thought crossed his mind, should he just give up? Would it be better for everyone? He didn’t want to keep getting Omega’s hopes up. He didn’t want to put Wren through unnecessary pain. He didn’t want to put himself through unnecessary pain. He was trying to keep himself from really falling for her, because he knew from the start it was a long shot that they could make something work. Maybe he should just cut his losses now and save everyone the inevitable heartache.

That thought made him much sadder than he would have expected just three months ago. He never thought he’d feel that way about anyone. It just hadn’t happened up to that point, and he was 28 years old. He’d hung out with a couple of women previously but there had been absolutely nothing there. It was just him trying to make himself feel something, trying to find something to help him through his pain at the time. But there was no emotional connection with them. Yet he felt a connection with Wren very early on. It was so different. He had allowed himself to hope. Now he had begun to regret that.

He finally fell asleep, but it was fitful at best.

He tried not to think about Wren for a few days. He needed to finish up some things before they left for Ninety-nine’s for Christmas. He needed to do some last-minute shopping. He was going to ask Wrecker to go with him to get some things for Omega. They already had her main gift, a laptop computer that would be all her own. All the guys had contributed money for that, and Tech was in charge of getting what would be best for her. But Hunter wanted to get her some smaller things too. This was their first Christmas together, he wanted it to be really special. He remembered what Christmases had been like with their mother, and at least he had his brothers to make it a little better. Omega hadn’t had anyone. Every time he thought about that his chest ached. He knew it wasn’t their fault, there was no way they could have known she even existed. But that didn’t help the guilt sometimes.

They got their shopping done on Saturday afternoon. When they were looking for a plushie for Omega, Hunter saw a cute little lamb, and he remembered Wren’s story about growing up with sheep. He remembered the joy on her face when talking about them. It was small and didn’t cost much. He went ahead and got it…just in case.

Wrecker saw him pick it up, and he wondered if he was thinking about getting it for Omega. But then he also remembered Wren’s story, and he knew what Hunter was doing. He wanted to ask about it, but he didn’t want to upset him. Things had been different the past couple of times they’d all been together. And Hunter had been quieter and seemed a little more distant the past few days. At some point, Wrecker wanted to ask him about it, but now wasn’t the time. They just wanted to get out of this madhouse store.

Omega was practically bouncing off the walls over the weekend, getting so excited about visiting Ninety-nine. The old man had captured her heart immediately, and the feeling was mutual. They were inseparable during their visits. She would follow him around like a puppy dog, wanting to help him in the kitchen. She wanted to sit right next to him when watching TV. She wanted to follow him when he went outside to get some fresh air. And he loved every minute of it. She reminded him of her brothers so much when they were younger. Especially Wrecker. She had the bubbly and joyful personality of the largest of his sons. She was smart as a whip, like Tech. She was so kind and caring, like Echo. She had a sharp wit, like Crosshair. She had a wonderful sense of humor and was always laughing, like Fives. And she wanted to take care of all of them, like Hunter. She was the best traits of all his sons rolled together. He wished he could spend more time with her, but he made the most of the time he did have.

*****

Wren’s weekend was quiet. She’d already finished her shopping for her family, so thankfully she didn’t need to venture out to the stores. When she was shopping a couple of weeks before, she saw something that she wanted to give Omega. Or maybe just the whole family. It was a special collector’s edition of The Princess Bride that included the movie with a lot of extras, the original book, and a “behind the scenes” book about the making of the movie. She thought since it seemed to be a family favorite, it would be a nice thing to give, but it wouldn’t seem like she was giving it to any one person. And the main person she had in mind was Omega, not Hunter.

Now she wasn’t sure when she would give it to them, or her. She felt like she didn’t know anything at this point. What she did know is half the time she was kicking herself for acting this way, and the other half she was telling herself it was for the best.

She had gone ahead and wrapped the gift when she was wrapping all the others, and she would decide what to do with it after Christmas. Surely, she would still see Omega in the library, even if she didn’t hang out with the family anymore.

At the thought of that, she got a lump in her throat and tears stung her eyes. She would miss all of them, even Crosshair. She would miss Wrecker’s smile and laugh. She’d never even gotten a hug from him yet, and she bet they were the best hugs. She would miss Echo’s quiet and calm demeanor; he always made her feel more at peace when she was around him. She would miss Tech’s info-dumping about things he found interesting. It’s so nice to see someone want to share things that bring them joy. She really would miss Crosshair’s smirk and sarcastic comments, even though she never thought she’d say that. And she would miss Hunter. She would miss everything about Hunter. His kindness, warmth, and caring nature. How his love for his siblings showed in everything he did. The way he looked at Omega when he thought no one was watching him. The little smile that would appear without him even realizing it.

Well, this was not helping. She needed to stop thinking about them for now. She set the gift aside and went and started some laundry. The rest of the weekend was quiet, and she tried to distract herself with movies, TV, and mindlessly scrolling the internet.

Monday came and she went to work. It felt like the longest day. Every time the door opened, she startled, afraid it was Omega…or someone else. She wasn’t ready to talk to her or any of her brothers yet.

As soon as she was done for the day, she drove home, packed up her car with what she would need for a couple of days and the gifts, and headed out to her parents’ house. She would be there in about an hour. Too much time in the car, too much time for thinking, but she turned her music up as loud as she could stand and sang. It helped a little. Music always helped her a little.

Then once she arrived, her family was able to distract her for a while. Any time Hunter snuck into her mind, she pushed him out again. Any time she looked at her phone and saw the last message from him, she turned it over and looked somewhere else. She could do this. This she could do. That other thing…that’s what she couldn’t do.

*****

On Christmas Eve night, Wren and her mom were watching TV. Her dad was already asleep in his chair. Her brother and his wife had already left. Her family had done their gift-giving and Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve as long as she could remember.

Her mom said, “Jenny Wren.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I don’t know, you’ve just seemed like maybe something is wrong,” her mom said.

“Oh, I’m tired, maybe that’s it.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

They watched TV in silence again for a couple of minutes.

But then her mom said, “You know you can talk to me about anything.”

Wren looked at her mom and she felt tears starting to form.

“Jenny…”

Wren took a deep breath and said, “I’ve just been thinking about some stuff.”

“Work stuff? Friend stuff? Guy stuff?”

At that, Wren’s head popped up.

“A guy?” Her mom asked.

“No, not really.”

“What do you mean, not really? That’s not a yes or no.” Her mom was trying not to pry, but she was concerned.

“Umm…well, there’s a guy, but it’s nothing.”

“Nothing? That’s why it has you so worried?”

“Well, you know I’ve mentioned that girl that comes into the library, Omega?”

Her mom nodded.

“Well, she has a brother. Actually, she has five brothers. But her oldest brother…Hunter…well, I’ve hung out with the family some. They’re the ones I’ve gone out to Monday Night Football with. And the ones I went to the movie with. And I actually went to a movie with Hunter also.”

“And that’s a good thing?” she asked.

“He’s a really nice guy. The whole family is really nice. Omega is so sweet.”

“And?”

Wren sighed. “I think Hunter would like to go out again, but I’m not sure if I do.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s way out of my league. And I’m just really nervous about everything. I don’t think I can do something like this yet. I don’t think I’m ready.”

“Why not? When do you think you will be ready if you’re not ready now? You’re twenty-eight, Jenny Wren. I’m not saying that’s old, but it’s a good age to be dating and meeting people. And you said this guy, Hunter…he’s nice?”

“Very nice.”

Her mom nodded. “I know you have a lot of fears and anxiety. I know things like this are very hard for you. And I wish I could make it easier. If I could, I would. I want you to be happy. And I’m not saying you have to have a man to be happy. But it seems that you like this guy. And at some point, new things are worth the extra anxiety they cause. And once they aren’t new anymore, they won’t be as anxiety-inducing. I know you already know all this. You’re old enough and aware enough to know all that. And me telling you this isn’t going to help. I just want you to be happy, Jenny.”

“I know, Mom. And I appreciate it. I really do. And I’m trying, I really am. I’ve done more than I thought possible at this point. I actually went on a date with him. Just the two of us.”

“That is a big deal.”

“Yeah, a really big deal.”

“Well, I’m not going to make you talk about it more than you want to. Just know I’m always here to listen and try to help. I don’t know what I could do, but all you have to do is ask.”

Wren stood up at that point, went over to her mom, leaned down and hugged her. “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you too, Jenny.”

“I’m going on to bed. I’m really tired. I’ll be leaving tomorrow after lunch.”

“Okay. It’s been so nice having you here with us.”

“It has. Thanks, Mom. G’night.”

“Good night, Jenny.”

Wren went into the guest room. She wasn’t actually tired, but she just needed to be quiet and not talk about Hunter anymore.

After getting into bed, she pulled out her phone and looked at his old messages again. She focused on the last one from a couple of weeks ago.

H: 😊 Have a good night, Wren.

The next thing she knew she was waking up and her phone had dropped onto her chest. She looked at the time, and it was 3:30 am. She set her phone on the bed stand, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

*****

Hunter woke up on Christmas morning to Omega leaning over him, two inches from his face. He startled and gasped and tried to scoot further away from her.

“Omega!”

“Sorry, Hunter. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He chuckled and said, “It’s okay. I know you’re excited.”

She bounced on the edge of his bed and said, “Can we open the presents now?!”

“Well, let’s see who else is up. Anyone?”

“Ninety-nine and Echo are up!”

“Okay, well I know for sure Wrecker wants to be there when you open your gifts, so we need to get him first. And see if Tech and Crosshair want to come down or just sleep.”

“I’ll go find out!” And she was off.

That gave Hunter time to put on some different clothes and pour himself a cup of coffee. That’s when he noticed Ninety-nine in the living room, near the tree.

Hunter walked into the living room and said, “Merry Christmas, Dad.”

Ninety-nine looked up and a warm smile changed his whole face. “Merry Christmas, Hunter.” He slowly stood up, and Hunter moved to help him. Once he was fully up, he put his arms around Hunter and hugged him, a full head shorter than the younger man now that age had caused him to be even more stooped. Hunter was always a hard nut to crack when it came to affection, but that didn’t stop Ninety-nine from hugging him now and then. And over the years, he had become more receptive.

He was already thirteen years old when they came to live with the older man, and he’d not been given affection up to that point, other than the times he would hug his brothers when they needed comfort the most. It was a foreign concept to him, and he struggled with it. He appreciated what Ninety-nine did for them, and he loved the old man, he knew he did, but showing him affection was difficult. Really all his brothers, except for Wrecker, dealt with that difficulty to various degrees. Echo had been with Ninety-nine since he was a baby, so he grew up with affection, and therefore he was fine with it, even if he might not initiate it. But Wrecker was the only one of them who would go out of his way to hug his dad and siblings.

Hunter had tried to be better at it since Omega had come to live with them. He knew how important it was to her, and he’d done pretty well with it. Better than Crosshair who still tensed up when the girl went in for a hug. She knew not to push anything with Tech and would be satisfied with a pat on the arm or shoulder, or even a gentle tousling of her hair. But that was reserved for Tech only. When any of the other guys tried to mess with her hair, she’d rush in for a hug instead. Once Echo realized she wasn’t bothered by his prosthetics, he was receptive to her affection as well.

But if she really needed to be comforted, she knew Wrecker was the one to go to. His big arms would envelope her and make her feel safer than she ever had. They would lie together on the couch watching TV if she was extra sad about something. The warmth from his body behind her and his arms around her chased away whatever awful memories were plaguing her at the time.

As Hunter stood there holding the old man who had been the only father he’d ever known, he felt tears burning his eyes. He could tell Ninety-nine was slowing down more and having a harder time with certain tasks. He was concerned about him living out here by himself. He’d been trying to think of the best way to handle his advancing age. He’d like to ask Ninety-nine to come live with them, but there was no room. And he was not sure his dad was ready to give up his independence anyway. It's a thought that he’d push to the back of his mind for now. He wanted to enjoy this time with his family, the first Christmas with Omega.

Speaking of Omega, she came bounding down the stairs with Wrecker not far behind, looking just as excited as she did. Ninety-nine stepped back from Hunter and held out his arms to Omega. She slowed down enough that she wouldn’t knock him over with the force of her momentum, and put her arms around his waist. “Merry Christmas, Ninety-nine!” She practically yelled it, she was so excited.

“Merry Christmas, Omega. I’m so glad you’re here with us this year.” He laid his cheek on her head. He’d never had the privilege of raising a girl, just the boys, so it was a special treat for him to have Omega in his life.

She stepped back so Wrecker could give the old man a hug as well. “Merry Christmas, Dad.” He was gentler with him than most people would think him capable of. But he’d always known he needed to be more careful with the fragile man than he was with his siblings.

“Merry Christmas, Wreck.” He looked like a child in the big guy’s arms, but the contentment was clear on his face.

Echo came in from the bathroom where he’d finished his shower and said, “Merry Christmas, everyone.” A chorus of Merry Christmases rang out.

Hunter said, “Omega, did you check with Tech and Crosshair to see if they wanted to come down?”

“They said they’d be down shortly.”

“Okay, so we’ll wait for them. Who wants hot chocolate?”

Omega and Wrecker practically yelled, “Me!” And Omega added, “With marshmallows?”

Hunter smiled and said, “Of course. Let’s go.” They both went towards the kitchen with Wrecker not far behind.

Echo silently walked to his dad and took him in his arms. “Merry Christmas, Dad.” The holidays had been harder since Fives had been gone, and even though they didn’t speak it out loud, both of them felt the other's grief.

“Merry Christmas, Echo. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me too.” Echo stepped back and said, “Here, let me get you back to your chair.”

“Okay, I’ll let you coddle me as a Christmas gift to you,” he said with a chuckle.

“Thank you. It’s going to be a long day; you should rest while you can.”

“Okay, son.” He dropped into his chair. Echo pulled the foot rest up for him so he could recline a bit. He reached down and they touched their foreheads for a few seconds, not needing words to know what the other was thinking.

Then out loud, “Do you want marshmallows in your hot chocolate?”

“Of course!” He had the biggest smile on his face, so happy to be surrounded by his large brood again.

“Okay, I’m going to get the cinnamon rolls in the oven too.”

Tech and Crosshair both started slowly down the stairs, neither looking too alert. As they got to the bottom of the stairs, Omega was coming out of the kitchen with a mug for Ninety-nine and said, “Hey, guys, do you want hot chocolate?”

Tech said, “Yes, that would be wonderful, Omega.” He began walking towards the kitchen.

Crosshair just grunted and said, “Coffee.”

Hunter was already walking towards him with a mug of coffee, knowing full well what he’d want. Crosshair took the mug and grunted a thank-you and walked towards the living room. He plopped into a chair across from Ninety-nine.

“Merry Christmas, Cross,” Ninety-nine said quietly.

Crosshair mumbled something that could be translated as Merry Christmas and looked at their father over his mug. When he brought it down to rest on his leg, he gave the old man a bit of a smile. He received a beaming smile in return.

Omega came in and handed Ninety-nine his drink, and he said, “Thank you, Omega! Did you give me extra marshmallows?” He gave her a mischievous look.

“Maybe a few,” she whispered and put her arm around his shoulders, laying her cheek on top of his head, being careful not to jostle his hand holding the cup.

He chuckled and brought his other hand around to pat her on the leg. “Thank you,” he whispered back. Crosshair couldn’t help but smile at the exchange, but when Omega looked at him, he quickly put the mug back up to his mouth so she couldn’t see.

Before long everyone was seated around the room with either their coffee or hot chocolate. Omega was practically vibrating with excitement.

Hunter said, “Do you think we should let Omega open her gifts before she bursts?”

Everyone laughed, and she said, “Can I?”

Hunter said, “Yes, go ahead.”

She jumped off the arm of Ninety-nine’s recliner and practically dove under the tree. She found the gifts with her name on them quickly. She looked around at all the guys who were watching her with varying levels of joy indicated on their faces.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Open ‘em up!” Wrecker said loudly and gleefully.

“Okay!” At that she started opening the first gift, very carefully, trying not to rip any of the paper, taking the pieces of tape off slowly.

“Omega, you don’t have to save the paper,” Crosshair smirked at her.

“I know! But it’s so pretty.” She set the wrapping aside looking at what she was left with. It was a planner with a colorful cover. Her face lit up as she flipped through the calendar. “Look at all the room I have to write in my assignments!” She held the planner up for everyone to see, and they all mumbled how nice it was. Hunter had been with her when she’d admired the planners on one of their shopping trips. She didn’t ask for it, but he could see how excited she was just looking at it and touching it.

“Thanks, guys!” The tag had said it was from all of them, even if Hunter had been the one to pick it out.

She set it aside and picked up the next gift. She went through the same careful process of unwrapping it.

“We’re going to be here all day at this rate.” Crosshair jabbed at her, but he had a small smile at the corners of his mouth.

Ninety-nine looked at him with a smile and said, “You leave her be, Crosshair. She can do this however she wants.”

She looked at her brother and stuck her tongue out at him. He did the same right back to her, and they all laughed. The next few gifts were also small things, a necklace with the Omega symbol she immediately put on, some socks with little animals on them, a set of colored pencils, and a soft cat plushie. She kept her smile the whole time, honestly seeming like she loved every gift equally. She already knew she was getting a laptop, as they’d discussed it, but she still opened it carefully.

Ninety-nine said, “Oh my, is that a computer?”

“Yeah, my own laptop, so I don’t have to use the family computer for my homework.”

Tech had his own gaming computer, but the rest of the guys just shared a computer in the corner of the living room, since none of them spent a lot of time online.

“Oh, that’s nice.” He looked around at his sons, so proud of how they had stepped up to raise their little sister. He caught Hunter’s eyes, and they nodded at each other.

Omega set her pile of gifts back under the tree and went around to the back where she pulled out a large gift bag. Ninety-nine had a knowing smile on his face, but the others looked confused.

“What’s that, Meg? Is that from Ninety-nine?” Hunter asked with genuine curiosity.

“It’s from Ninety-nine AND me. We have one for each of you.” She began passing out identical packages to each of her brothers. They all stared at the wrapped gifts as if they were hand grenades that might go off any second.

“What’s this?” Wrecker asked.

“Well, open ‘em and find out!” Omega could barely contain herself.

Wrecker practically tore into his, the rest of the guys going a little slower. They hadn’t exchanged gifts since they became adults. They had specifically asked Ninety-nine to not to spend money on them at that point, although some years he did give them socks or work gloves or some other small useful gift, depending on if he’d seen something in the store that caught his eye. But something from Omega and Ninety-nine together, that was a surprise.

“Whoa!” Wrecker was the first to see what was in their packages. It was a double picture frame, obviously decorated by Omega with stickers and sparkly craft items. One side held a picture of Omega and Ninety-nine together. She had her arm around his waist, and his arm was resting on her shoulders and they both had huge smiles on their faces.

Hunter felt tears forming as he looked at the faces of the two people who meant the most to him in the world.

Then he looked at the other picture, and his breath caught. It was a picture of all the boys, including Fives, with Ninety-nine from when they were kids. He remembered the picture, because it hung on his dad’s bedroom wall. It had been taken their second Christmas after being adopted.

Everyone was quiet, even Wrecker, and it was obvious they were all affected by the gift. But Omega was beginning to be concerned since no one had said anything. Did they not like it? But then she heard Wrecker sniff and looked at him. He was wiping tears off his cheeks where they’d fallen.

She quietly asked, “Do you guys like ‘em?” It was obvious she wasn’t sure if the pictures had been a good idea.

Hunter stood up, wiping his eyes quickly, and held out his arms to the girl. “We love them, kid. It’s a wonderful gift. Thank you.”

She went to him and gave him a hug. He kissed the top of her head. Wrecker stood up and walked towards her. She turned to him, and he scooped her up so quickly she let out a small squeak. “Thank you, ‘Mega. This is beautiful.” She went around the room and gave Echo a hug, and then patted Tech on the shoulder while he gave her the special smile he reserved just for her.

In the meantime, Hunter had moved to the side of his dad’s chair and put his hand on Ninety-nine’s shoulder. He squatted down to be on his level and said, “Thanks, Dad.” He rested his forehead against the old man’s shoulder, and Ninety-nine took his gnarled hand and patted his son’s head. “You’re welcome, son. It was all her idea. I was just along for the ride.”

Hunter looked up at him with a smile and tears still in his eyes. “She’s pretty special.”

“That she is.” They both turned to look at her as she was moving towards Crosshair. He had just been staring at the pictures, not paying attention to what the others were doing. Once he realized Omega was coming his way, he quickly brought his arm up wiping his eyes, trying to make it seem like he was just moving to stand up. She reached him and he held out his arms. She moved in and hugged him. No words were spoken, but she knew what he was thinking. He looked over at his brother and dad and gave them both a slight nod.

Echo got up and said, “I smell the cinnamon rolls, I think they’re about ready!”

They all ended up around the table, eating warm rolls with gooey icing. Hunter looked around at all his family, feeling a sense of pride for all they’d survived, as kids and as adults, and how they were still able to be there for each other and give support when it was needed.

Ninety-nine happened to look up and saw Hunter looking at the rest of them warmly. When he caught his eye, Hunter gave him a small smile, and his father smiled back.

*****

Hunter considered texting Wren later in the day. Just a quick, “Merry Christmas!” But he really didn’t want to push her.

Also that day, Wren considered texting Hunter. Maybe just “Merry Christmas, hope you’re all having a good time.” But she couldn’t make herself do it. She wanted to be his friend. But she was pretty sure he wanted more than that. Omega, and Hunter himself, had finally convinced her of that. And she was afraid if she tried to hang out with him and his family as friends, it would be awkward and difficult for both of them. Plus, did she really want to see him and hang out with him as friends only, knowing full well she could be dating him if it wasn’t for her fears? That might be too difficult for her.

So, she didn’t text either.

Tech and Crosshair headed back in the afternoon on Christmas, as they both needed to be back at work the next day. The rest of them had the rest of the week off, so they were staying until Friday.

Omega and Hunter were watching TV by themselves on Thursday night after everyone else was in bed. He’d told her she could have a couple of later nights since she was on vacation. They were snuggled up on the couch together under a nice warm blanket.

“I wonder what Wren is doing right now,” Omega quietly said, half asleep already.

Hunter was a little caught off guard, and said, “I don’t know.”

“You could text her and ask.”

“Omega, it’s after 10:30 pm, it’s not polite to text or call someone that late. They might think it’s an emergency.”

She gave a small grunt. “Okay, well you could text her tomorrow…”

“You’re right, I could.”

“But you won’t?”

“Probably not,” he replied.

“Hunter…” she was getting whinier the more tired she got.

“Omeeeeegaaaa,” he teased her.

She sighed and said, “Well, I just thought that way she would know you are thinking about her. Have you been thinking about her?”

It was his turn to sigh. “I think it’s too late for us to have this conversation. Why don’t we go to bed.”

Luckily for him, she was already asleep. He picked her up and took her to her bed. As he laid her down and pulled the covers over her, he kissed her on the forehead.

She mumbled something, but he had to listen hard to hear and understand her, “Text Wren tomorrow, okay?”

She was asleep enough he didn’t feel like he needed to respond to her. He turned around, shut off the light and shut the door. As he was laying in bed that night, her voice kept running through his mind, “Text Wren tomorrow, okay?” He whispered to the room in general, “Okay, Omega, I will text her tomorrow.” Then he allowed his mind to shut down and was able to fall asleep.

The next morning, they were getting ready to leave. They wanted to be back home by mid-afternoon. He had some time to sit while waiting for the rest of them. He pulled out his phone and pulled up his message conversation with Wren. He started to type,

H: Hey Wren. I hope you had a good Christmas. What are you up to?

Then he waited. It was about five minutes later he heard his phone vibrate and checked his messages.

W: Hi Hunter. I had a nice Christmas. You? I’m at work today. I had to be back yesterday.

H: Yes, we had a good time with our dad. We’re getting ready to head back home in a few minutes.

W: That’s good.

He wasn’t sure if he should just leave it at that or go further. After about five more minutes he decided to send one more.

H: Do you think you will come back to watch football with us Monday night?

And he waited a few more minutes.

W: I don’t think I’ll be able to be there, but thanks for checking with me. Things are a little messed up with the holidays.

He felt his heart drop. What he didn’t know was that on the other end of the conversation, Wren was sitting at her desk at work with tears running down her face. His hands were shaking as he texted her back.

H: Oh, okay, I understand. I’ll let Omega know you can’t make it, she was wondering.

That wasn’t a total lie.

W: Okay, thanks. Tell her I’m sorry. Hopefully I’ll see her soon.

H: I will. Have a good day, Wren.

W: Thanks, you too.

He just sat staring at his phone until Omega came into the room.

“Are you ready, Hunter?”

He looked up at her, trying to keep his face neutral. He must not have done a very good job at that.

“Hunter? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing. Just tired.”

“Are you sure? Why are you staring at your phone.”

“It’s no big deal. I just texted Wren to see how her Christmas was and asked if she’d be watching football with us on Monday, but she said she didn’t think she could make it.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” She sounded so sad.

“Nothing to be sorry for me about. She did want me to apologize to you though, and let you know she hoped she would see you soon.”

“Okay, but I’m still sorry, Hunter. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

He stood up and walked the short distance to her. He put his hands on her shoulders and said, “I think maybe we need to accept the fact that Wren is not ready for anything beyond being friends. And I’d say right now, she’s so nervous about it, that she just doesn’t want to be around me at all. I’m sure it’s nothing to do with you. Maybe you could stop by the library to see her next week.”

She moved forward to give Hunter a hug. “Okay, I will.”

“Thanks, kid. I don’t want her to feel bad about this. And maybe at some point, we’ll have a conversation about it, but I’m not going to push right now.”

Omega nodded her head as she let go of him and stepped back. He took his hand and rubbed her head, messing up her hair a little, trying to lighten the mood.

“Hunter, stop! You know I don’t like that!” But they both laughed a little.

“Okay, I’m sorry. Let’s go see if Echo and Wrecker are ready to go. And Ninety-nine is in the kitchen, let’s go say our good-byes.” They both moved towards the kitchen to give the older man one last hug before they left for home.

Saturday was Wrecker’s birthday, and he wanted to go to the local bar to do a little dancing. Omega made him a cake, so they had that with some ice cream after supper. Then Hunter took her over to Hera’s on his way to the bar so she could spend the night. It wasn’t Hunter’s kind of fun, but it’s what Wrecker wanted to do, so they would do it.

He had never been into that sort of thing, and after Omega came into their lives, he disliked it even more. He was usually the one who went out with his buddies in the Army but didn’t drink, so there was at least one sober person to make sure everyone stayed out of trouble and made it back to the barracks in one piece. He was hoping he could leave earlier than some of his brothers tonight and someone else would stick around to drive Wrecker home.

When he got to the bar, he saw them at a table in the back corner. As he walked towards them, he could feel some eyes on him, but he didn’t look around. It was definitely crowded and loud, the main reasons he didn't like it.

As he sat down in the empty chair, Wrecker pushed the pitcher of beer at him. “Nah, I’m not drinking tonight, Wreck. Just here to hang out for a while.”

“Party pooper!” Crosshair threw at him from across the table. Hunter just gave him a look.

Wrecker leaned towards Hunter and said, “We’ve already seen quite a few hot girls in here tonight. And it looks like you caught the attention of a couple when you walked in.” He nodded towards the bar.

Hunter didn’t really care and only looked as a reflex. There were a couple of young women sitting at the bar looking their way. One of them smiled and lifted her drink at him. He just turned back to the table.

“I think she likes you,” Echo said quietly. He was sitting right next to Hunter.

“I don’t care,” he replied.

Echo looked at him quietly for a few moments, and Hunter looked up at him, feeling his eyes on him. “What?”

“Nothing.” He paused and Hunter looked back down at the glass of soda the waitress had brought him. “So, what’s going on with you and Wren?”

Hunter’s head popped up. “Nothing.”

“Nothing? So if there’s nothing going on, then why aren’t you interested in a cute girl giving you the eye in a bar?”

“Echo, we’ve been through this before. I’m not going to pick up women at bars anymore. It hasn’t worked out in the past.”

“Well, this one might be different. I’ve never seen her here before. Maybe she’s not the usual customer. You’ll never know if you don’t talk to her.”

Hunter shot him a dirty look.

“Okay, okay, I was just saying. If things aren't going to work out with Wren, then maybe you should try something else. Or someone else.”

“I’m not having this conversation.”

Echo looked around the table at his brothers, as they had heard the conversation. Wrecker shrugged.

The rest of them started talking about other things, other people in the bar. After a few minutes, Wrecker said, “Who’s dancing? I wanna dance!” He was already feeling a little happy.

There were some grumbles around the table. “Hey, it’s my birthday! Someone has to dance with me! Come on, Cross!” And with that, he shoved Crosshair’s shoulder.

“Watch it, Wrecker. I’m not going to dance. Why don’t you ask one of the many women around here. I’m sure you’d get plenty of takers.”

Wrecker hesitated. He didn’t usually go up to women at the bar, because he was still uncomfortable with how his scars and blind eye looked. But he’d already had enough to drink, he was feeling a little looser, so he said, “Okay, fine. I will.”

He got up and went over to a table where there were a few girls sitting and said something to them. Two of the girls got big smiles on their faces and stood up and followed him to the dance floor where all three of them started dancing together. Wrecker was a surprisingly good dancer for his size. Hunter had always marveled at that ever since they were teenagers.

The rest of the guys watched for a minute, and then Crosshair said, “Oh screw it, might as well…” And he got up to join Wrecker and the two girls on the dance floor. Hunter, Echo, and Tech looked at each other, but all shook their heads.

Tech said, “Hunter, I heard that you saw Wren out last night? Shooting pool?”

“I guess news travels fast in this family,” Hunter scoffed. “Yeah, she was with a friend at Scooby’s last night.”

“And there was another man there?”

“What? Yeah, there were lots of other men there.”

“I believe you know what I am referring to. A man who talked to Wren.”

Hunter sighed, “Yes, Tech, I know what you’re referring to. And yes, there was a man who went up to her while she was at the juke box and talked to her.”

“And that made you feel…?”

“What? Are you my psychologist now?”

Tech shook his head, “No, I am not trying to be your psychologist. I am trying to be your brother. Your brother who is concerned about what you are going through.”

“I’m not going through anything,” Hunter retorted. He wasn’t mad, just a little annoyed. He didn’t really know what was going on with Wren and having someone else ask just made him more confused and stressed about it.

Echo spoke up, “What happened when the guy talked to her? Did she talk back?”

“I don’t really know. She looked at him and said something. I don’t know how much they talked…because I left.”

“You left? Before you saw what else happened?” Echo asked.

“Yes, Echo! I left.” Hunter was trying to keep his voice calm, but he really didn’t want to talk about this. “I didn’t really want to wait around and watch.”

“But then maybe nothing actually happened. You didn’t see anything happen other than a guy talking to her and her saying something back. Maybe she told him to buzz off and it only lasted fifteen seconds, you don’t know.”

“Well, it lasted more than fifteen seconds, because he was still there when I left. But yeah, I don’t know how long they talked.”

“We are just saying, since you do not know the extent of the conversation or what was said, there is no reason to jump to any conclusions,” Tech joined back in the conversation.

“I’m not jumping to any conclusions! Why do you think I am? I haven’t said anything about this? Did Crosshair and Wrecker say I was?”

“No, that is not what they said. I just came to that conclusion by paying attention to your behavior and how you reacted when we started talking about this.”

Hunter abruptly stood up and said, “I need to go to the restroom. And when I get back, I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” He walked away quickly.

Echo and Tech looked at each other and shook their heads.

“This is going to be a problem,” Echo said.

“It does not look good, that is for sure,” Tech replied.

Hunter didn’t pay attention to anyone as he walked to the restroom, so he didn’t notice the woman at the bar who turned her head as subtly as possible to watch him walk by. But his brothers noticed and gave each other a look.

Then a few minutes later when they saw him emerge from the restroom, they saw the same woman following him with her head again. Then they saw him stop suddenly and look towards her. She must have said something. They could see Hunter responding. Then he nodded and began walking towards their table again.

When he arrived and sat down, Echo said, “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That!” and Echo motioned towards the woman with his head. He could see her looking over her shoulder towards their table now and then.

“Oh, I don’t know. She asked me if she could buy me a drink, and I said no thanks.”

Echo and Tech looked at each other. Then at Hunter.

“What?! I said no.”

“Well, I do not think she is ready to take no for an answer,” Tech said as he made a very small motion towards the woman with his head.

The woman stood up and started walking towards their table. When she reached them, she said, “Is this seat taken?” She motioned to the empty seat next to Tech.

Echo said, “Well, not at the moment. Our brother is out dancing right now.” She looked towards the dance floor and said, “I’ll get up if he comes back. I’m Megan.” At that she held out her hand to Echo, and he shook it. Then she held her hand to Tech, and he took just the tips of her fingers in his, not wanting to fully shake her hand.

Then she looked at Hunter, holding out her hand. He took it briefly and started to pull his back. But she held on for a little longer, and he didn’t want to seem rude, so he kept his hand in hers. She looked into his eyes and gave him a dazzling smile. “It’s nice to meet all of you.” But she didn’t take her eyes off Hunter.

He finally pulled his hand back as she released her grip.

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

All three guys muttered their greetings. She was very pretty. But there was something different than with most pretty girls they met in the bar. She was confident without being obnoxious. She acted like this was a normal thing for her to do…to just go up to a table of men, sit down, and start talking to them. They weren’t used to that.

“So, what brings you all out here tonight? Anything special?”

Echo responded, “It’s our brother’s birthday.” He pointed at Wrecker.

“Oh, which one?” She looked at Wrecker and Crosshair dancing.

“The big one. Wrecker.”

“Nice. So why aren’t all of you out there dancing?”

All three of them looked at her like she’d grown an extra head.

Tech spoke up, “We do not dance.”

“None of you?” She looked right at Hunter when she said that, although he didn’t see it, because he was looking at his glass.

None of them said anything in response, so she continued, “So, you’re a quiet one, aren’t you?” while looking at Hunter.

He lifted his eyes to see who she was talking to, and saw it was him. He shrugged and said, “It’s so loud in here, it’s not really a great place to talk.”

“Oh, did you want to go somewhere quieter?” She had a smile on her face.

Tech and Echo jerked their heads towards Hunter, waiting to see what he’d say.

“No, I’m here for Wrecker, and I won’t be staying much longer.”

“Well, that’s a shame.” He had to hand it to her, she was not easily discouraged. He wasn’t used to women being so forward with him. It was certainly a change from Wren.

And as soon as he thought of Wren, he got an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. Megan couldn’t be any more different from Wren. He certainly didn’t have to wonder where he stood with her. She was being very obvious that she wanted to get to know him better, and who knows what else. And she certainly wasn’t shy or anxious about talking to him. But he didn’t feel good about thinking those things.

Wrecker and Crosshair came back towards them, and when Megan saw them approaching, she started to stand up. “Well, I should leave you boys to your birthday celebration.”

“Well, hello there!” Wrecker said as he got closer. “Who are you?”

She smiled and said, “I’m Megan.” His big hand engulfed hers as she extended it.

“I’m Wrecker.”

“I know, and it’s your birthday. Happy birthday!”

“Thanks! You can stay sitting there if you want, I can get another chair.”

Crosshair was standing off to the side observing everyone at the table.

“No, that’s okay. I have a couple of friends over there; I should get back to them. I just wanted to come over and say hi.” And again, she looked right at Hunter. He had been watching her, but quickly looked down at his glass again when she looked his way. That didn’t escape Crosshair’s attention.

“Okay, well see you around!” Wrecker replied.

She waved and said, “Bye, guys!” There were a few mumbled goodbyes as she walked away. But not from Hunter. Although he did briefly watch her as she walked back to her friends.

“Well, she definitely liked you, Hunter.” Crosshair said quietly.

“Uh, yeah, that was pretty obvious,” Echo agreed.

“Whatever. I think she would have been happy with any of you, so feel free to go talk to her,” Hunter replied.

Tech spoke up, “I do not think so, Hunter. I believe that was all so she could talk to you and gauge your response to her.”

“And your response was lukewarm at best. What’s wrong with you?” Crosshair said.

“What do you mean what’s wrong with me? I’m not interested, that’s all.”

“You’re not interested. In her?” Crosshair discretely pointed her direction as he spoke.

“No, I’m not interested in her.”

“Quick, Tech, feel his forehead. I think he’s sick.”

“Crosshair, how long have you known me? How receptive am I to women talking to me in bars? This is not something new.” Hunter was getting aggravated.

“Okay, so that’s all this is. You’re just not interested, because she approached you in a bar. So, if you’d seen her at the grocery store, or let’s say…the library…” Hunter’s head popped up. “...you would have been interested then?”

“Why are you making this a big deal?” Hunter asked. “This is not a big deal. It’s over.”

Crosshair continued, “I’m just trying to figure you out. Is this because of Wren?”

Hunter’s eyes narrowed as he looked at his brother.

“Oh, that is it, isn’t it? You’re still hung up on Wren? Even after last night?”

“Hey, nothing happened last night with Wren. It doesn’t change anything,” Wrecker spoke up before Hunter could.

“Nothing happened last night. And nothing will ever happen with Wren. She’s not capable of dating someone. Hunter needs to just move on. And who better to move on with than Megan over there.”

Echo said quietly, “Not helpful, Cross.”

“Well, he needs to decide what he wants.”

Hunter looked at Crosshair with no expression on his face. He drank the last of the soda in his glass and said, “I’m heading home. No offense, Wrecker, I’m just so tired, I need out of this noise.”

“That’s okay.” Wrecker offered. “Thanks for coming out with us.”

“Anyone else want to come home with me?” Hunter asked.

“I’ll come,” Echo said.

“I will stay here so I can drive Wrecker and Crosshair home. I do not have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Okay, thanks, Tech.” With that Hunter left with Echo not far behind.

As they neared the door, he heard a voice say, “Hey! Hey, guys!”

They both stopped and turned around. Megan was hurrying towards them. “You’re leaving already?”

Hunter responded, “Yeah, we’re tired, and I'm getting a headache. The rest of our brothers are staying a little longer though.” He motioned to where the three still sat. And they were all watching what was going on with Megan.

“Well, hey, I wanted to give you this.” With that she handed Hunter a small piece of paper. He looked at it…a phone number.

He opened his mouth to say he wasn’t interested, but she beat him to the punch, “I'd love to talk somewhere quieter. I know you’ll say you’re not interested, but maybe just hang onto it for a little bit. You never know!”

He just nodded and put the paper in his pocket. “Well, g’night.”

She responded, “Good night, guys!” She gave Hunter one last look, then turned to go back to her friends.

“Well, well, well…” Echo started.

“Don’t.” Hunter wasn’t in the mood. Echo wanted to tease him, but he could tell now wasn’t the time. They walked out to Hunter’s truck in silence. Then they drove home in silence. Hunter was deep in thought.

When they got home, he told Echo he was going to bed.

“Okay, Hunter. Hey…it’s going to work out, you know. Wren just needs a little more time.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“I am. You two are good together. It will work itself out.”

“I guess we’ll see. G’night.”

“G’night, brother. Sleep well.”

Hunter turned around and went towards his room. Echo watched him go and shook his head a little bit. He whispered to himself, “I sure hope I’m right.” Then he went in the living room to watch a little TV before bed.

Hunter went into his room and took off his shirt and jeans. He crawled into bed in his just underwear. His head hurt. That music had been too loud. That probably wasn’t the only reason he had a headache though. He really didn’t want to have another thing to think about. Another person. It had been difficult enough with just Wren, but now this Megan person had inserted herself into the situation, and it was too much.

She was what most people would consider conventionally pretty. A lot of people would be happy to have her in their situation. She also seemed nice enough. He was still surprised how confident and assured she was. She just walked right up to their table and asked to sit down. He couldn’t imagine Wren ever doing that. Megan made a lot of eye contact. She ran after him to give him her phone number. She was actually interested in him, that much was obvious.

But he thinks Wren is interested too. He thought back to when they were at the movie, and when he put his hand on her knee without thinking, she put her hand over his so he wouldn’t remove it. She did that on her own. They had really good talks, and she’s so sweet and kind. What little Hunter saw of Megan, she seemed like she’s nice, but the two women were very different people. He wasn't attracted to Megan. Just because he knew she was considered pretty didn't mean he found her attractive. He really preferred Wren's looks, she's just so...cute.

He really didn’t want to give up on Wren. Sure, it had been a few months, but that’s not a really long time. If he knew she was going to hang in there with him, he wouldn’t even think about Megan. If Wren would just give him something. If she would say something that would let him know she really wanted to be with him. He's not great at this dating and relationship stuff, and he wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing by waiting around.

Please Wren, say something. I'm about to give up.

On Monday morning, Wren was at the front desk when she heard the door open. She looked up with her “work smile” plastered on her face. But that smile faltered when she saw who it was. Crosshair.

“Crosshair. I’m surprised to see you here. Did you need help finding something?”

“No. I just wanted to stop by and show you something.” And with that he pulled a small piece of paper out of his pocket and laid it on the desk in front of her.

She looked at it and saw “Megan” and then a phone number.

“Megan? Who’s Megan? Why do I want this?”

“You don’t. That is the phone number of a woman we met at the bar on Saturday night, when we went out for Wrecker’s birthday. Hunter didn’t ask for it, and he didn’t show her any interest, but she was very interested in him and gave that to him as he left.”

She just stared at him. She hoped her face didn’t show how sick she felt inside.

“Why are you telling me this, Crosshair? I’m…pleased for him. He deserves to be happy. I hope Megan is nice and deserving of him.”

Crosshair snorted and rolled his eyes. He just stared at her.

“What? What do you want me to say? I don’t understand why you’re here. I have no hold on Hunter. He’s free to do what he wants, to date who he wants. I want him to find someone who is good for him.”

“And you don’t think that’s you?”

It was her turn to snort. “No. I think that’s obvious. To both of us.”

He rolled his eyes even harder at her that time. “Don’t be stupid. You surely know he wants to be with you. Not Megan. Not anyone else. You.” He pointed at her to emphasize his point.

“It wouldn’t take him long to know he made a bad choice. I think it’s best for both of us to avoid that all together.”

“Boy, you are stubborn, aren’t you?”

She lifted her chin in defiance and got a hard set to her jaw. He could tell he was starting to get to her.

“Hunter likes you. A lot. Hunter wants to be with you. Not any other woman. He is willing to wait as long as you need for him to. You just need to let him know you want that also.”

“Are you saying Hunter doesn’t know if I like him or not?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. He is so confused right now. He doesn’t know which way is up. He thought you liked him. You went to the movie with him. But then after that you stopped going out with us to watch football. You avoided him. You acted like you didn’t even want to be around him. The guy is hurting. I know you’re shy. And I know you have anxiety. But I also know you’re a good and kind person. And I know you don’t want to hurt him. So, I would just ask, if you really don’t want to be with him, or don’t think you’re able to be with him, would you please tell him that. In person. So he knows one way or the other. It’s not fair to have him waiting for you if you have no intention of ever being with him.”

“I didn’t tell him to wait. I never wanted that.” She spoke quietly, staring at her hands on the desk.

“Well, too bad, because that’s what he’s doing. So again, if you don’t want him to do that, then you need to tell him that.” He paused and looked at her face. She was still staring down at her hands and messing with her pen. “Okay? Wren?”

And then he saw it, the beginnings of tears in her eyes, and her face starting to twist with the effort of trying not to cry. But she couldn’t stop it. A tear dropped onto her hand.

“Wren?” She didn’t look up. “Wren? Hey.” He took his hand and gently lifted her chin so she was looking at him. “Hey…I don’t want to make you cry. I don’t want to upset you. But I don’t like seeing Hunter upset either. He only took this number because she was pushy, and he just wanted to leave. It doesn’t mean anything to him. I’m only showing you this to show that there are other women who are interested in him, and if you aren’t, then it would be best if you could tell him so he can be free to pursue someone else.”

She still had such a sad look on her face.

“Unless you don’t want him to be with someone else, because you want to be the one? Do you?”

“Yes,” it was whispered so quietly Crosshair thought maybe he was imagining it.

“What?”

“Yes,” it was a little louder that time. “I want to be the one. But I don’t know how.” She wiped tears off her cheeks.

“Okay, well Hunter doesn’t have a lot of experience with this stuff. So he doesn’t really know what he’s doing either. You two are quite the pair.” He laughed quietly at that. “Maybe you could call…or text him…and see if he wants to get together. Not an actual date, not that much pressure. But maybe something very casual, like meeting in a park or just having him stop by here at lunch or something like that.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, I can do that.”

“Are you sure?”

“No, not really, but I know I want to try.”

“Okay, then my work here is done. I’ll take that back,” and he took the piece of paper and stuck it back in his pocket. “Maybe Megan would settle for the second best-looking brother.”

Wren gave a quiet chuckle. "I'm sure Wrecker would appreciate you looking out for him." She gave him a smile.

His eyes got big and he said, "Whoa, listen to that sass! I like it!" And they both laughed.

But then Wren stopped and said, “Hey, Crosshair. I’m not sure why you did this, but thanks. I appreciate it.”

“I did it for Hunter. He deserves to be happy. And for some reason, you seem to be the key to that.”

“Oh, for some reason? You’re so sweet!” She had to laugh at the way he said that.

He laughed too, a hearty laugh. A fuller laugh than she’d ever heard from him.

“Okay, I’ll see you around, I guess.”

“Bye, Crosshair.”

“And you’ll get in touch with Hunter?”

“Yes.”

“Today?”

“Uh…”

“Wren?”

“Yes! Yes, today. Or tonight. Yes.”

“Good. Have a nice day.”

Wren sighed and said, “I’ll try.”

He walked out the door, and she walked over to sit at her desk. She put her head in her hands and tried to breathe deeply and slowly. She was very light-headed and her vision was going spotty.

“Are you okay?” It was Amanda. She put her hand on Wren’s shoulder.

Wren nodded, but she still had her head in her hands. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Did you want to talk about it? I made sure not to eavesdrop. And if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.”

“He showed me a slip of paper with a girl’s name and number on it, and said she had given it to Hunter at the bar on Saturday, when they went out for Wrecker’s birthday.”

“But Crosshair has it now?”

“He brought it to show me, to let me know it would be best if I told Hunter one way or the other if I wanted to see him. If I don’t, then he would be free to pursue Megan…or whoever else he wanted.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She gently rubbed circles on Wren’s back.

“It’s okay. Maybe it’s the push I needed. He’s right…I need to let Hunter know how I feel. Soon.”

“How are you going to do that?”

Wren thought for a minute, “I think I’m just going to text him and ask if he wants to meet me at that little park at lunchtime.”

“Hey, that sounds like a great idea! I’ll leave you to it. You’re going to be fine.”

Wren sat for a few more moments, staring at the phone she’d brought out of her pocket. Well, here goes nothing.

W: Hi, Hunter. It’s Wren. I was wondering if you’d be interested in meeting at lunch today. At that little park just down from the library? Where we talked that one day?”

…

She waited.

…

Why did she do this!

And just when she thought she was going to be sick to her stomach, she heard her phone vibrate.

H: Hey, Wren. Good to hear from you. Yes, I’ can meet you today. See you at noon-ish?

W: Sounds good. Thanks.

H: Thank you!

And with that, the conversation ended. It was 9:15…she had almost three hours to worry about this.

*****

Hunter couldn’t believe it when he got the text from Wren. He wondered what had given her the push to do that all of a sudden. It never dawned on him that it was his own brother.

He couldn’t wait to see her. This was a good sign, right? She wouldn’t ask to see him if she wasn’t wanting to see more of him, right? He wasn’t sure though. It was going to be a long morning.

When the time came, he told Wrecker he’d be back after lunch and hurried to his truck. Wrecker didn’t know for sure, but he figured Hunter was going to see Wren. Crosshair had texted him that morning saying he’d talked to Wren, and she said she would text Hunter. Wrecker was so glad. He’d gotten concerned on Saturday when he saw Megan with Hunter. He’s sure she’s probably a nice person, but she’s not Wren. And everyone in Hunter’s family knew Wren was the right one for Hunter. Even Crosshair at this point.

Wrecker had also filled Ninety-nine in on the situation, and the old man was really hoping things would work out. From what Wrecker and Echo had said, Wren sounded like someone who would be really good for Hunter, his most serious and somewhat stoic son who always tried to take care of everyone else.

Wrecker whispered to himself, “Good luck, Hunter,” before starting to eat his lunch.

Hunter made it to the park in less than five minutes and saw Wren already sitting on a bench. He parked, got out, and walked toward her. He knew she had to know he’d arrived, but she didn’t look up.

As he reached the bench, he said, “Hey, Wren.”

She finally looked up, and he could see apprehension in her eyes. “Hi.”

He sat down, leaving enough space so they weren’t touching.

“Thanks for coming,” she continued.

“Sure, I was really happy to get your text,” he replied.

And then silence. She was playing with the hem of her shirt. He was looking ahead, taking in the scene at the park and the cars driving by, giving her the time she needed.

“Hunter- “she started but stopped herself. She didn’t know how to say what she wanted to say. She’d tried to rehearse it in her head all morning, but now she was drawing a blank.

When he heard his name, he turned his head to look at her, and he could see her biting her bottom lip and really working her shirt with her fingers. He could tell this was difficult for her.

“Yeah?” he said quietly.

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “I’m sorry, I thought I could do this.”

He could tell her tears were beginning to form. He wanted to help her so badly, but he also didn’t want to overstep.

He reached over with his hand and put it on top of hers in her lap, as she was messing with her shirt. He gave a gentle squeeze. She looked up at him and a tear slipped from her eye. He reached up with his other hand and very lightly wiped it away with his knuckles.

“You can do this. What did you want to say?” He said it so gently she wanted to reach up and hug him. It hit her…would anyone else be this kind and patient with her? Would any other guy wait like this, watching her lose it over something that’s so simple for other people?

She looked back down at his hand on hers and said, “I just wanted to say that I like you. And I want to try to maybe go out with you again. If you would still want that.”

He squeezed her hand again and said, “Yeah, I do want that.”

Her head popped up, and she looked at him. “You do? Because I know that you have other offers…” she trailed off, not sure if she should have mentioned that. But it was too late now.

“Other offers? What do you mean?” He seemed confused.

“Crosshair came by this morning and showed me a piece of paper with Megan’s phone number.”

“He did what?!” Hunter raised his voice a little, but he didn’t want to make it seem like he was upset with her, so he kept it in check.

“Well, now, don’t be mad. I’m glad he did it. At first, I wasn’t, and I was a little disappointed. But I do want you to be happy, so if calling her would make you happy then I wanted that for you.”

“It wouldn’t. It wouldn’t make me happy at all,” he replied.

“I know that now. And he even told me that. He said you weren’t interested, but she gave it to you as you were leaving.”

“Well, he didn’t leave out any details, did he?” He still seemed a little annoyed.

“Please don’t be upset with him. It’s the push that I needed. I thought I wanted you to be happy in whatever way possible. And I really did think your best chance at that was with someone other than me. But when he showed that to me, and I started thinking about it, I got a little upset. And I thought, well if you’re going to be upset about him calling another person, then do something about it.”

“I had already decided not to call her. I just hadn’t thrown the paper away. Crosshair must have gotten it out of my pocket, because I’m pretty sure that’s where I left it. I had actually considered calling her at first, but the idea of it just left me feeling uncomfortable. I didn’t want to go out with her. I only wanted to go out with you. So, I decided I would just wait longer. For you.”

Wren could feel her face getting hot, and she felt like she was getting lightheaded. It’s a good thing she was already sitting. She could feel another tear run down her cheek. He again reached out and wiped it away.

“I decided that I’d rather be alone right now than to be with someone other than you. It was as simple as that.”

He looked at her, trying to catch her eyes. She finally looked over at him.

“So, what do you say we go get some lunch? You ever eaten at the sandwich shop right up there?” And he pointed to a small place a block away.

“I have, and it’s really good. That would be nice.”

“Okay, great. Let’s go.” With that he let go of her hand and lightly patted her leg, right above her knee. Just like he’d done on their date. It was one of the most comforting gestures she’d ever received from anyone. Then they stood up and began walking to his truck. He looked at her with a smile and then good-naturedly bumped into her shoulder with his. It knocked her off balance a little bit, and she caught herself on his arm.

“Oh shoot, I did it again! I’m sorry! I need to watch it, don’t I?!”

She laughed, a genuine laugh, and he felt butterflies in his stomach when he heard it. “I really don’t think you know how strong you are.”

He goofed around and brought his arm up in a strong man pose as if he was showing off his bicep. And even though he had a flannel shirt on, she could see it tightening around his arm. She had to look away quickly and hope her face didn’t look as hot as it felt. They both laughed.

As they got closer to the truck, he said, “Did you want to drive or walk?”

She looked up the street towards the restaurant, and it was so close she said, “How about we walk? It’s not really cold today.”

“Sounds good.” So, they kept walking past his truck, and up the street.

They didn’t talk as they walked, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. It was pleasant. Very pleasant. Wren felt at peace with her decision to contact him, to meet and talk.

When they reached the restaurant, he opened the door for her, and she walked inside. They walked up to the counter to place their orders. He said, “It’s my treat.”

“No, I’ll get mine. This isn’t a date; this is just eating lunch together. I’ll let you pay on our next date.” He smiled as she said that, and she noticed how his eyes crinkled at the corners when he really smiled.

“Okay, that sounds good.”

They gave their sandwich orders to the person behind the counter, paid, and stood to the side to wait for their orders. There weren’t a lot of people, but he said, “Did you want to get us a table?”

This was another one of those times when she didn’t like to make decisions when other people were involved.

She looked around and said, “Where would you like to sit? Anywhere in particular?”

He could see the uneasiness in her eyes and hear it in her voice, and he remembered her anxiety about these sorts of things. He looked around and pointed to a table near the window. “Do you want to sit there?”

She followed his finger, and said, “Yeah, that looks good. I’ll go.” She took her empty cup past the drink station and filled it on her way to the table. Then she sat down and waited for him. She noticed a couple of women looking at Hunter and thought to herself, “Well, I guess I should start getting used to that. I don’t think it’s going to change just because I’m with him.” She wondered what the women, who were both much prettier than her, thought of him being there with her. They probably assumed they were coworkers or friends or maybe even siblings. She was sure they didn’t think they were a couple. A couple…a couple. That’s going to take some getting used to, she thought to herself. She’s never been part of a couple.

She was lost in thought, so didn’t realize he was walking towards her with their orders until she saw the women shift where they were looking. They followed him with their eyes until he came to their table and set the food down. Wren saw them look at her with a look of almost disbelief. She could see them whispering to each other.

“Is something wrong?” he asked when he saw her face.

She startled and said, “No, nothing’s wrong. Why?”

“Just the look on your face, you looked like you were thinking really hard about something.”

“Ah, that. Well, my brother calls that my ‘deer in the headlights’ look. If I’m thinking about something, especially if it’s something I’m worried about, or if someone tells me something that will require action on my part, especially something new, I look like I’m zoning out. I’m not, I’m just processing. It takes me a minute sometimes to gather my thoughts and be present again. Sorry.”

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize.” He sat down and handed her the sandwich she’d ordered, and he took the other. “But what is it here that had you processing? Are you especially worried about something right now? Or if you don’t want to talk about it…”

“No, I don’t mind talking about my stuff. Although this one is more embarrassing than some others…”

He paused and looked at her, “You don’t have to tell me, really.”

“No, I think it’s good for you to know what goes on up here,” and she tapped her temple. “Don’t look when I say this, but I was looking at the two women at the corner table. They were staring at you while you were waiting for our orders. And then when you walked over here to me, the looks on their faces were a bit comical.”

“Why, what do you mean?”

“Well…it was obvious they were surprised you were here with me.”

He had started eating while she was talking, but at that he paused again. He turned slightly to see who she was talking about. They had stopped looking by that time. “Huh, those two?” and he motioned with his head.

“Yup, those two.” She continued eating.

“Well, they have no reason to be surprised that I’m here with you. You’re just as cute as they are.” Then he lowered his voice even more and leaned towards her slightly, as if he was telling her a secret, “Cuter even.” He winked after he said that and went back to eating.

She felt her face flush, and she was sure she was beet red. What do you say to that? What can she say to that? So, she just made a very quiet scoffing sound, almost like a laugh, and went back to eating. He looked up at her with a twinkle in his eyes. “I’m really glad you texted this morning.”

“Me too, Hunter.”

Wren set some of the bags down on the porch, so she could ring the doorbell. She had texted Hunter mid-week to ask what she could bring to watch the games. She said she would be over on Saturday. Of course, he told her she didn’t have to bring anything, but she insisted. She asked if they had already gotten all the drinks they would need. He said that they hadn’t been to the store for that yet, so she said she would bring drinks. Then she asked him what everyone’s favorite drink for watching football was. She now had all those drinks in her bags. Luckily, a couple of the guys liked the same thing, so it wasn’t as many different drinks as it might seem.

She also had the gift she had gotten for Omega/the family before Christmas. She decided she would give it to her now. And tucked away in her purse was a small gift she’d picked up the day after her lunch with Hunter. It wasn’t a really personal gift, she didn’t want to overdo it, but she wanted to get a little something for just him. She wasn’t sure if she’d actually be able to give it to him though. She would play it by ear.

She rang the bell, and it was quiet for all of five seconds, but then she heard feet running through the house. She could even hear Omega’s voice say, “It’s Wren! I’ll get it!”

She hadn’t seen Omega after her talk with Hunter earlier in the week, so she wasn’t sure what to expect in the way of a reaction.

The door swung open quickly, and Omega’s bright smile was welcoming her. “Hi, Wren! Come in!”

“Hi, Omega. Thank you.” She picked the other bags up again and walked through the door.

Omega reached for a couple of the bags to help her. They walked the few steps into the hallway and when they reached the door to the living room, Wren looked in. She saw Hunter sitting on the end of the couch, and it was obvious Omega had just been there also. There was a messed-up blanket lying next to him.

“Hey, guys.” Wren quietly said, not wanting to interrupt if they were engrossed in the game that had already started.

“Hi, Wren,” Hunter said as he stood up. He reached out his hands towards the bags she was carrying when he got close enough. “Let me help.”

“Okay, thanks,” she replied, as she let him take most of the bags from her. He began walking towards the kitchen, so she followed along with Omega.

Wrecker said, “Hey, Wren! Good to see you!”

“Good to see you too, Wrecker,” she replied. She looked towards Echo, Crosshair, and Tech and nodded at them.

Echo said, quietly, in that deep and soothing voices of his, “Hi Wren. Glad you could make it.” Wren could listen to him talk all day. Hunter had the sexy smoky voice, but Echo’s was just deep and always so calming.

Crosshair just gave her a small salute with his fingers, and Tech, barely looking up from his phone, gave a small wave.

In the kitchen, Hunter opened the refrigerator, and started placing cans and bottles inside. “You didn’t have to get all of this, Wren. This is a lot of drinks.”

“I know, but I wanted to make sure everyone had some of their favorites. I’m sure there will be leftovers, but you guys will drink them at some point.”

When he reached into the bag and pulled out a small bottle of chocolate milk, he hesitated, showing it to her. “Who did you get this for?”

She said, “You.” But then hurriedly added, “If you want it! You don’t have to drink it though.” Her voice trailed off as she looked at the floor, her fingers playing with the zipper on her hoodie.

“But how did you know I like chocolate milk? I don’t think I’ve mentioned that to you.”

She looked up at him and said, “No, you didn’t. And you didn’t give me your favorite when I asked you for everyone else’s. So I took it upon myself to ask Omega what your favorite was.”

He smiled at Wren, then turned to Omega and smiled at her. “I don’t know how I feel about you two teaming up behind my back.”

They both laughed. Wren said, “We will only use our combined powers for good.”

He laughed with them. Wren felt her face flush and get hot. Hearing him laugh like that was such a pleasant experience, and it sent a jolt of electricity through her body. She thought to herself how she’s going to have to get more used to being around him, and all the ways she found him attractive. She couldn’t be getting hot and flustered at every little thing.

After all the other drinks had been put in the fridge, he kept the milk with him and said, “There are snacks here whenever you wanna munch. Help yourself. We’ll probably order the pizza around 6:00.”

“Okay, thanks.” She smiled at him.

He started to walk past her, but he paused and gently placed his hand on her arm. He said so quietly that she wasn’t sure if anyone else would have heard him, “I’m really glad you’re here.” When he said it he leaned his head down just a little so he was sure he could look into her eyes.

She felt her heartbeat quicken and her breath catch. “Me too. Thanks.” She replied so quietly that she wasn’t sure if he heard her. But when he gave her a small nod and a smile, she assumed he had. Then he walked on past and back into the living room.

Omega had been getting some chips and veggies on a plate. She was trying not to react to what she’d seen. She couldn’t hear what Hunter and Wren had said to each other, but she did see the touch, the looks, and the smiles. She had to stop herself from squealing and hugging them both.

“Hey, Wren. Did you want something to eat?” Omega asked.

“Uuuh…” she was trying to clear her head after the interaction with Hunter. “Yeah, I’ll get a little something. Thanks.” She grabbed a paper plate and started gathering up chips, veggies, some little appetizers that someone had made. There was something wrapped in bacon, some little barbeque smokies, loaded potato skins, and a cheese ball with crackers. This family didn’t mess around!

Omega finished filling her plate with snacks and said, “I’ll go on in to the living room, so just come in when you’re ready.”

“Okay, I will be in shortly.”

Omega walked out and Wren took the opportunity to sit down at the table and relax for a minute. She knew once she went into the living room, she’d be on edge and more nervous. She put her elbows on the table and then her head in her hands. She tried to do a breathing exercise she’d read about, trying to calm her heart and her nerves. She was so engrossed in the exercise that she didn’t hear someone approaching.

“What are you doing?” It was Crosshair.

Wren’s head popped up quickly, as she startled. “Oh! Uh, nothing. Just sitting for a minute.”

He got a plate and started loading it up with snacks. “Just sitting here, huh? Why?”

“I don’t know. Just catching my breath.” She didn’t know what else to tell him. Surely he would move on quickly. “Oh, I brought some drinks, they’re in the fridge. Hunter said your favorite is Dr. Pepper, so I got some for you, if you’d like. You don’t have to drink it, but…I just wanted you to know it’s there.”

“Well, thanks. That’s nice of you.” He walked to the refrigerator, and took out a can. “Can I get you something? Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m ready.” She went ahead and stood up, since he didn’t seem like he was going to leave her alone about it.

He motioned for her to walk out first, so she did. When she got to doorway leading into the living room, she paused, looking around to see where she should sit.

All of the chairs were taken by Echo, Wrecker, and Tech. The one Crosshair had been sitting in was empty, but she knew that’s where he would want to sit again. So she looked towards the couch. Hunter was on the far end, and Omega was sitting in the middle, with a blanket on her legs. She patted the empty spot beside her and said, “Here, Wren. Come sit by me!”

Wren smiled at the girl, and said, “Okay.” She took a quick look at Hunter, and he was looking at her with a small smile on his face. She sat next to Omega and set her drink on the end table next to her. She kept her plate on her lap.

After sitting, she looked Hunter’s way again. She said, “Is the chocolate milk good? I didn’t know what brand to get.”

“It’s great. Thanks again. It’s been a while since I’ve had some.”

“You’re very welcome.” She returned his smile again. She felt her face get hot again.

“Do you like the cheese ball? I made that!” Omega said to her.

“You did? Yes, it’s delicious! I’m a big fan of cheese balls, and this one is especially good.”

Omega beamed proudly. She looked at Hunter, he smiled at her and patted her on her leg.

Then Wren asked to no one specifically how the game was going, and Tech started giving her a run-down of the highlights of the first quarter. She thanked him, and then they all settled to watch. Omega wasn’t all that interested in the game though, so she started talking to Wren just a few minutes later. That was fine with Wren, she liked talking to the girl, and the game that was on wasn’t that important to her. But she made sure to talk quietly enough that they wouldn’t bother the ones who were wanting to watch more closely.

At halftime, Wrecker called to place a pizza order. That arrived about a half an hour later, and they ate that in the living room. There was a lot of laughing and talking throughout the evening. Wren was loosening up as time went on. She was a little surprised to realize she was even able to joke around with Hunter a little bit.

When she was finished with her pizza, she stood up to take her plate to the trash in the kitchen. She held out her hand to Omega for her plate, but Omega said, “I can help you.”

“No, you don’t have to. I was just going to take some with me as I went.”

“I want to help. It’s fine.”

Wren smiled at her and put her hand on Omega’s head, rubbing her hair a little bit. “Thanks, Omega. You’re very sweet.” Then she looked over Omega’s head to where Hunter was sitting. He was watching both of them with a smile on his face. When he realized Wren had caught him, he sat up straight and cleared his throat. She held out her hand for his plate, and he handed it to her.

“Thanks.”

“You’re very welcome.” The smile she gave him might have been the most relaxed one yet.

Omega got plates from Wrecker and Crosshair. Wren went to get Echo’s, but he said he needed to get up and stretch, so he would just take his own. Omega and Wren walked to the kitchen to throw away all the trash.

“I’m so glad you came over, Wren. It’s always so nice to have you here. And I was afraid you might not come over anymore…”

“Omega…” Echo had a warning in his voice.

“I was just going to say that I was afraid she might not come over anymore if she didn’t want to be around Hunter. That’s not bad.”

“No, that’s fine for you to say, Omega,” Wren jumped in. “I was beginning to wonder myself. But Crosshair stopped by the library and told me some stuff. And then I contacted Hunter to see if we could get together and talk, and so that’s what we did. He knows how I feel, and about my anxiety and fears. And he said he’s willing to be patient, so he asked for it!” She laughed after saying that.

Echo and Omega laughed with her.

“What’s so funny in here?” Hunter said from the doorway.

Wren whipped her head around quickly, startled that he was there. ”Oh, nothing,” she said. “Just laughing about how silly I can be sometimes.”

“Oh, okay. Well, you’re the good kind of silly. The kind we enjoy around here.” Hunter brushed his hand along her lower back as he walked past her. Her face flushed, and she looked down at the table.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

He walked to the fridge and pulled out a soda. “Anyone else want another drink?”

Omega told him what she wanted, but Wren and Echo said they were fine.

When they wandered back into the living room, the first game of the day was wrapping up. Wren thought this might be a good time to bring out the gift she got for Omega.

She reached down for the bag she’d left on the floor next to where she was sitting and brought it up on her lap. She said, “Omega, I got you a little something. I’m sorry it’s late.” And with that she handed her a gift wrapped in Christmas paper.

“Oh! You didn’t have to do that! I didn’t get anything for you!” Omega actually seemed distraught.

“Hey, now, that’s perfectly fine. I didn’t want you to get me anything. It’s just something I saw in the store, and it made me think of you. Well, actually, it made me think of your whole family. So let’s just call it a family gift, then you don’t need to feel bad. It’s a thank-you for all the times you had me over and fed me and all the other things you’ve done for me.”

Hunter spoke up, “Thanks, Wren, that’s really nice of you.” As he said that he looked at her, and found her looking at him. Their eyes held for a few seconds, before she got uncomfortable and looked back at Omega opening the gift. She finally made it through and found the Princess Bride gift set.

“Oh, wow! The Princess Bride! The movie, and the book!! And a behind-the-scenes book too! Thank you!” At that she threw her arms around Wren and practically toppled her off the couch, since she was just perched on the edge.

“Careful, Omega!” Hunter warned. But they all laughed.

“I’m fine! I’m glad she likes it so much,” Wren responded.

“I love it! Look, Hunter!” At that Omega turned to her brother to show him in more detail what she’d gotten. He took one of the books and turned it over to look at the back.

“This is really neat, thanks, Wren.” He handed the book back to Omega. Then he said, “And actually, Omega, we do have a gift for Wren.”

“We do?” the girl asked.

“Yeah, remember? It’s just that it’s in my room. I had forgotten. I’ll go get it.”

Wren watched him walk by with a small smile on her face. They got her something? She’s really glad she brought something now. Or maybe they wouldn’t have given it to her if she hadn’t given them something. Maybe that’s why he was holding it back, so he didn’t make her uncomfortable.

After a minute or so, he came back out of his room with a small gift bag. He held it out to Wren, and said, “Merry belated Christmas. From all of us.”

She took the bag gently, as if it had something precious inside, and put it on her lap. She looked at Omega, and then around at the other guys. They were all watching her with varying levels of interest. Some were still watching the TV, but looking her way now and then, and others, like Wrecker and Hunter, were watching closely.

She reached inside the bag, moving the tissue paper aside and saw a fluffy white something. As she grabbed it, she could tell it was a lamb. A stuffed lamb! It had a sweet smile on its face, and looked almost like a cloud with such soft “wool.” The smile she wore as she looked up at Hunter made his heart feel too big for his chest.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“I LOVE it!” she exclaimed. “It’s perfect!” She held it out for Omega to look at, who then reached out a hand and petted it to feel how soft it was.

Omega turned to Hunter with a questioning look on her face. She was confused. She hadn’t been with him when he bought that. He must have done that on his own

Wren didn’t notice the looks that passed between Hunter and Omega. Him trying to tell her, I got it for her, but let’s not make a big deal out of it. And her getting a small knowing smile on her face. And him rolling his eyes a little at her.

“That’s so adorable. Thanks, everyone!” She looked around at all the siblings with a smile stretching from ear-to-ear.

“Oh, I think you know who you should be thanking for that,” Crosshair smirked. “And it’s not all of us.”

Wren saw Hunter give Crosshair a warning look as she turned his direction.

“Well…thanks…I really appreciate it.”

He nodded at her and quietly said, “You’re welcome. I saw it and it made me think of you, so I just grabbed it.”

“Yeah, I saw him get it!” Wrecker spoke up. “It was when we were shopping for Omega, and when he picked it up I thought, is he getting that for Omega? But then I remembered Wren had told us about how her family had raised sheep when she was a kid, so I figured it was for her. But I didn’t say anything.”

“Until now,” Hunter said with a slight frown.

“Yeah, until now,” Wrecker laughed.

Wren thought she might have seen Hunter’s cheeks darken a little, but he turned back towards her with a smile and said, “I’m glad you like it.”

She hugged it to her chest and said, “I really do. Thank you.” She sat back on the couch and Omega sat back as well. She held the lamb out for Omega to hold, and they both talked quietly about it.

Hunter watched them for a few seconds, and then looked up towards the TV. But what he saw first was all of his brothers turned looking at him with smirks and smiles on their faces. He gave them all a stern look as if saying, “Turn around and watch the game.” They all turned, but there was more than one giggle and snicker heard from the group of them.

The fact that this lamb was from Hunter and no one else caused not only Wren's face to warm, but also for that warmth to spread through her whole body. He got her a gift. Back when things were still very much up in the air with them. Back when she’d practically run away from him. He still got her such a thoughtful gift.

She would definitely give him the small gift she’d picked up for him. It wasn’t quite as personal as what he got her, but she hoped he would like it anyway. She wasn’t sure when she would give it to him, but she’d figure it out as the night went on.

Omega said, "Here you go, I want to look at this book," as she handed the lamb back to Wren. She then picked up the behind-the-scenes book and started flipping through, looking at the photos.

Wren turned Hunter's direction, looking over Omega’s head. He was already looking her way. She saw his eyes soften as a small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. She very subtly nodded at him, and he returned the gesture. After a few more moments, she looked back down at Omega with her book, then at the TV where the next game was getting ready to start. She was actually excited to think she would still be hanging out with them for a few more hours. This is exactly where she wanted to be.

Hunter had been looking forward to the weekend ever since he’d had lunch with Wren. She had texted him a couple of days later saying she would come to watch the games with them on Saturday afternoon. She’d also asked him what drinks she could bring for everyone. He told her to just get a variety and they would drink whatever it was, but she insisted he tell her everyone’s favorites. She really was such a kind person.

An indescribable warmth swelled in his chest. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling, but it was a little overwhelming. He knew he’d never been in love, so he wasn’t sure if it was that or not. But he figured he was on his way if not already there. But he also wanted to reign that in, because things were still so fragile with Wren, he didn’t want to do or say anything to scare her again and make her bolt.

But he knew that he was looking forward to her coming over more than he’d looked forward to anything in a long time. So, when he heard the doorbell ring and Omega jump up and run to get the door, his heart jumped into his throat. He took a couple of deep breaths as he heard Omega throw the door open and say, “Hi, Wren! Come in!” And then he heard Wren’s voice, “Hi, Omega. Thank you.” It struck him again what a nice voice she had. It was deeper than a lot of other women’s. He might even describe it as husky. It definitely caught his attention when he heard her talk for the first time.

Omega and Wren appeared in the doorway to the living room. Wren looked in and said, “Hey, guys.” Hunter stood up and said, “Hi, Wren.” He walked towards her, reaching for the bags in her hands when he got close enough. “Let me help.” She thanked him as he took most of the bags she was holding. He walked to the kitchen to put the drinks in the fridge. He heard Wrecker and Echo saying something to her, but he already had his head in the fridge, so he didn’t hear exactly what.

When she came into the kitchen, he commented on how many drinks she’d brought. She didn’t need to do all that. But she said she wanted to get everyone’s favorite, and they could keep what was left over and drink it as they wanted. After he got out some of the sodas, he noticed an individual plastic bottle in the bottom of one of the bags.

He grabbed it and brought it up. Looking at it, he realized it was chocolate milk. He loved chocolate milk. But he was so confused. How did she know that? Maybe it was for someone else. Maybe for her.

He showed it to her and said, “Who did you get this for?” sounding very confused.

She looked a little alarmed and said, “You.” But then quickly added, “If you want it. You don’t have to drink it though!” She looked nervous and embarrassed as she looked away, messing with her hoodie.

He was so surprised, but he could feel a smile starting. “But how did you know I like chocolate milk? I don’t think I’ve mentioned that to you.”

She looked up at him again and said that since he didn’t tell her what his favorite was, she asked Omega. That’s how she found out. He was still surprised, but so happy that she’d gone to that trouble for him. He looked at Omega and said, “I don’t know how I feel about you two teaming up behind my back.” But he said it with a lighthearted tone. He was actually thrilled that they got along well enough to do something like that.

Wren laughed with Omega and said, “Well, we will only use our combined powers for good.”

Hunter loved hearing her laugh, and he really loved when she was comfortable enough with them to joke around. It made him laugh along with them. He thought he noticed her blushing, but didn’t let on like he saw. His hand itched at his side to reach out and touch her cheek, he was sure he could have felt the warmth of that blush. But instead he busied himself with putting the rest of the drinks in the fridge to distract himself. All of the drinks except the milk, and he took that with him.

He told Wren to help herself to the snacks and they’d order pizza around 6:00. She gave him an incredibly sweet smile as she thanked him. He was going to walk on past her to go back to the living room, but that smile stopped him in his tracks. He reached his hand out slowly and touched her arm. He leaned down enough that he was looking directly into her green eyes, the light shining in the gold flecks he’d never noticed. He’d also never seen the much darker green rings around her irises. She didn’t often make eye contact, so it was difficult to see her eyes well. But in the few seconds there in the kitchen, he noticed everything. Including the depth behind them. The apprehension she showed on the surface, but something else much deeper. It seemed like admiration. Admiration for him. And it was enough to render him speechless for a few more seconds. He finally realized he might be making her uncomfortable, so he said quietly, “I’m really glad you’re here.”

She took a quick breath and said, “Me too. Thanks.” It was so quiet he almost didn’t catch it, but he gave her a nod and a smile before letting go of her arm and walking on.

His heart was beating quicker and he quietly took a deep breath before reaching the living room. He didn’t want his brothers to notice anything and make comments. He really needed to stay calm and not drop too far over the edge yet. He needed to keep his head about him, because there were still so many things that could go wrong. He was trying not to get his hopes up too much about the path they might be starting down.

As he walked into the room, he said, “Wren brought drinks for everyone, guys. They’re in the fridge. She has everyone’s favorites.”

Echo said, “Oh that’s so nice of her!”

Wrecker chimed in, “I love her!” and laughed. “But don’t worry, Hunter, I’m not trying to step on your toes. It’s all very innocent and platonic.” He gave Hunter a wink.

Hunter just shook his head at his brother. He then turned to Tech and said, “Hey, Tech, she even got you some of that probiotic soda you like.” He wasn’t even sure Tech had been listening, since he seemed so engrossed in his phone, but his head popped up at that.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I saw a few cans of it, a couple of different flavors.”

“How did she know I like that?” Tech asked.

“I told her. She asked me what everyone’s favorites were earlier this week. And I know you prefer water, but I thought maybe for a special occasion you’d be okay with a treat,” Hunter finshed.

“Well, thank you, Hunter.”

“Oh, I didn’t have much to do with it, it was all her.”

“But you mentioned the probiotic sodas. So, thank you. And I will be sure to thank Wren as well.”

Hunter nodded at him before asking for a recap of what he’d missed in the game, since he saw there had been a couple of scores in just the few minutes he’d been in the kitchen. Tech went on to fill him in. At the same time, Crosshair stood up and walked out, headed to the kitchen. Hunter watched him go, and just hoped he would be kind to Wren, since she hadn’t come in when Omega had.

He turned to Omega and said, “Where’s Wren? Still in the kitchen?”

Omega replied, “Yeah, she was getting snacks.” He nodded and said okay. She continued, “Things looked really good between you two back there.”

Hunter’s eyes narrowed a little as he looked at his little sister. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, just the smiles and laughs and…” she looked around to make sure no one else was paying attention to them. “…and touches.” She gave him an innocent smile that hid the mischief beneath.

“Omega. You need to leave us to deal with each other in our own ways and in our own time.”

“I know! I’m not saying anything. Or doing anything. I just noticed, and I was happy to see it.” She bumped into his side, letting him know she was teasing him.

He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze, kissing the top of her head. He whispered so no one else would hear, “I’m happy too.”

She looked up at him with a bright smile, kissing him on the cheek before going back to her snacks. He loved her more than he thought possible just a year ago. He’d always loved his brothers, and Ninety-nine, of course. But with her it was different. His protective nature was in high gear when it came to his little sister. He almost felt more like a father to her at times, and he never thought he’d feel like that towards someone. He’d been a protective older brother his whole life, even in the Army with his squad, but raising a 12-year-old girl was a whole different feeling. And he was so glad he had the help of all his brothers when it came to Omega’s care. Between the five of them, they surely couldn’t mess up too badly.

She scooted away from him a little so she could eat her snacks easier and wouldn’t take the chance of spilling her plate on him. When Wren walked in, Omega patted the empty spot on the other side of her and said excitedly, “Come sit by me!” Hunter smiled at the joy in the girl’s voice. She was so happy to have Wren with them. Wren nodded, smiled, and began walking towards the couch. She happened to look his way as she was taking her seat, and he still had the smile on his face from talking to Omega.

She asked him if he liked the milk saying she wasn’t sure what kind to get. He’d already drank most of it, so he showed her that and told her it was great, thanking her again. She said, “You’re very welcome.” He noticed a pink tint to her cheeks again as she looked down at her plate.

Omega asked her about the cheese ball, because she’d made it and was really proud of it. Echo had shown her how to make it, but she did it all herself. Wren told her it was delicious, and Omega was so proud. She looked up at Hunter, and he reached down and patted her leg.

Wren asked about the game, and Tech gave her a “quick” recap. Or as quick as he could anyway. And they settled into watching. Although Omega wasn’t that interested in the game, so before long she was quietly talking to Wren. Hunter wondered if he should tell Omega to leave her alone for a little bit so she could watch the game, but the pleased look on Wren’s face let him know she didn’t mind at all.

At halftime, Wrecker ordered pizzas, and they ate those during the second half. They were all having a good time, laughing and joking. Wren really seemed to be having a better time than she had any of her previous visits. Hunter had to assume she had finally let down her guard a little bit, allowing her true self to show more. And she really is a fun person. He knew that all along, but she just needed time to be able to share that with everyone.

After Wren was done eating, she stood up to take her trash to the kitchen. She held out her hand to Omega for her plate, but Omega stood to take it herself. She said she would help, and Wren thanked her, placing her hand on Omega’s head and smoothing her hair down. Hunter was watching both of them with what he could only imagine was a goofy grin on his face. He only realized that though when Wren caught him looking. He sat up straighter and coughed, trying to hide how he’d been staring. Wren held out her hand for his plate, and he handed it to her with thanks.

She said, “You’re welcome.” The smile she gave Hunter was probably the most relaxed and genuine smile he’d ever seen from her, and he felt his stomach do a flip.

After a couple of minutes, he stood and went to the kitchen to get a soda. He could hear Echo, Omega, and Wren talking and then laughing. As he walked in the kitchen, he said, “What’s so funny in here?”

Wren turned quickly to look at him and stumbled over her words when she said, “Oh nothing. Just laughing at how silly I can be.”

He smiled at her and said, “Oh, okay. Well, you’re the good kind of silly. The kind we enjoy around here.” He started to walk towards the fridge, and as he passed by her, he lightly brushed his hand across her lower back. She felt warm and he felt a tingle travel from his hand up his arm. He didn't really think about it before he did it, it was just something that seemed right at the time. But right after, he wondered if that was too much. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable. He was walking on past her, so he pulled his hand away pretty quickly.

He saw her face flush as she looked down at the table. And he heard her whisper, “Thanks.” She didn’t look back up at him though, so he went on to the fridge to get his Pepsi. Omega must have told her that was his favorite soda. Those two are a good team.

He was pleased to think about how they get along so well. His little sister and his...what is Wren to him...his special friend? That sounds dumb, but he wasn't sure what to call her at this point. She's not his girlfriend...yet. He certainly hoped she would be, but he didn't want to get too far ahead of himself. She seemed to finally accept the fact that he was interested in her...romantically. And she was willing to stick with it and try to date and possibly be in a relationship. He just didn't want to mess things up by calling her his girlfriend too soon.

Well, hopefully he wouldn't have to think about that for a while. He doesn't need to label anything right now. He offered to get drinks for everyone, but Omega was the only one who took him up on it. They all slowly made their way back into the living room.

He saw Wren reach down beside her on the floor and bring up a bag. She then pulled out something wrapped in Christmas paper. She told Omega she was sorry it was so late. He noticed Omega's face light up temporarily, but then he saw it fall immediately. She said she didn’t have anything for Wren, and he could tell she felt bad about that. Wren told her it was fine. She said it was more of a family gift, and she wanted to give them something as a thank-you for having her over so many times and feeding her, and for how kind they had been.

At that point, Hunter thought about the gift he’d picked up for her. Maybe he would give it to her after all. He said, “Thanks, Wren. That’s really nice of you.” He looked at her and found her already looking his way. They locked eyes for a few seconds, but then she looked back down at Omega opening the gift. It was a Princess Bride gift set with the movie and a couple of books. Omega looked so excited. She tackle-hugged Wren, who almost fell off the couch at the force of the girl’s hug.

Hunter said, “Careful, Omega!” Although Wren assured him she was fine, and she was glad Omega liked it.

Omega said, "Look Hunter," and handed him the behind-the-scenes book.

He looked at the back of the book, and said, “This is really neat, thanks, Wren.” He handed the book back to Omega. Then he said, “And actually, Omega, we do have a gift for Wren.”

He's not sure why he approached it that way. He could have just told her it was a gift that HE got her, not the family. But since the gift she gave was more for Omega than him, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable by making her think he specifically got it for her. Even though that's exactly what he did.

Omega looked at him and asked, "We do?"

“Yeah, remember? It’s just that it’s in my room. I had forgotten. I’ll go get it.” At that, he stood up and walked past them to go to his room. When there he opened his closet and got the gift bag that was on the shelf.

When he came back into the living room, he held it out to Wren, and said, “Merry belated Christmas. From all of us.” He then sat back down in his spot on the other end of the couch.

He saw Wren holding the bag very carefully with a small smile on her face. She almost looked embarrassed, but still pleased. She looked around at all of them, and then reached into the bag. He could tell the moment she realized what it was, because she immediately broke into a huge beautiful smile. Then she pulled the lamb all the way out of the bag and held it up for everyone to see.

He heard Omega say, "Awww..." quietly.

When Wren looked at Hunter, he felt his chest tighten and his stomach flutter at how happy she looked. If this is all it took for her to be so happy, he would get her a stuffed animal every week for the rest of their lives. It was an incredible feeling to see her like this after seeing her so anxious and stressed so many times before.

He asked, "Do you like it?”

“I LOVE it!” she exclaimed. “It’s perfect!” She held it out for Omega to look at, who then reached out a hand and petted it to feel how soft it was.

Omega then turned to Hunter with a confused look, but he tried to convey with his expression, I know I'm the one who got it for her, but let's not make a big deal out of it. When he saw her small knowing smile, he just rolled his eyes at her.

“That’s so adorable. Thanks, everyone!” She looked around at all the siblings with a huge smile.

“Oh, I think you know who you should be thanking for that,” Crosshair smirked. “And it’s not all of us.”

Hunter had the urge to punch him right then. Why did he have to make everything difficult? But also, why wasn't Hunter used to it by then? He just gave Crosshair a warning look, telling him to be quiet. And then Wren turned to Hunter.

“Well…thanks…I really appreciate it.”

He nodded at her and quietly said, “You’re welcome. I saw it and it made me think of you, so I just grabbed it.”

Then it was Wrecker's turn to try to embarrass Hunter, although he knew Wrecker did it more innocently than Crosshair. He had to go into the whole story of how he saw Hunter pick it up at the store, and he wondered if it was for Omega, but then he remembered Wren and her sheep and figured it was for her.

Then he said, "But I didn’t say anything.”

Hunter quietly said, "Until now." He was sure Wrecker saw the look on his face, but it didn't stop his big smile as he looked between Hunter and Wren.

He said, "Yeah, until now," as he laughed.

Hunter felt his face get hot, but he looked back at Wren saying, "I'm glad you like it."

Wren hugged the lamb to her chest and said, "I really do. Thank you!" She started talking to Omega about it, allowing the girl to hold it for a while to see how soft and squishy it was.

After a few seconds, Hunter turned back towards the TV, but instead what he saw were four faces staring at him with smirks and smiles. He gave them all dirty looks and nodded towards the TV as if to say, Turn around and watch the game! But he heard Wrecker and Crosshair snickering.

He turned back to Omega and Wren, and after they talked a bit more about the lamb, Omega handed it to Wren so she could go back to her new book. Wren looked at him over the girl's head, and he felt himself smiling at her. She gave a very subtle nod in his direction, and after a few more seconds, looked back at Omega, and then the TV.

He could barely contain his excitement that she was still going to be there with them for a few more hours, since the second game was just starting. A sense of peace came over him as he felt he was right where he should be, with who he should be with.

The more time Wren spent with Hunter and his family, the more at ease she became. She joined in on conversations with the others, especially Omega, Hunter, Echo, and Wrecker.

Tech and Crosshair were both quiet, as usual, but she could feel Crosshair watching her closely sometimes. One time she was laughing at something Wrecker said, and when she turned Crosshair's way, he was looking at her with a slight, crooked grin on his face. She smiled, and he turned back towards the TV. She felt like maybe she was finally getting on his good side. Maybe.

At one point, Omega asked, “So, Crosshair, how’s Tulip doing?” He turned around quickly and gave her a stern look. Hunter looked at Crosshair, then to Wren who had a questioning look on her face.  Wren didn’t know about Crosshair’s on-again-off-again girlfriend.

“Fine,” Crosshair said suspiciously. “Why?”

Omega just smiled and said, “Oh, I hadn’t seen her around in a while, so I was just wondering if things were okay.”

“Yes, Omega. Things are fine with Tulip.” Crosshair turned back towards the TV after that, but he grimaced when he heard Omega say quietly to Wren, “Tulip is Crosshair’s girlfriend.”

“Omega…” he said without turning back around.

“What? Isn’t she?” Omega asked innocently.

He sighed loudly, turning again and leveling her with an even sterner look.

Hunter decided he should step in. He wasn’t sure if Omega was purposely trying to push Crosshair’s buttons, or if she was just genuinely being curious.

He leaned down and whispered, "Omega...don't push."

She looked up at him and whispered, "I'm not pushing. I'm just curious. I like Tulip!"

Hunter reached over and patted her knee. He looked at Wren, who still had a slight look of surprise.

Crosshair has a girlfriend? Why hadn't she heard about this? No one had mentioned it around Wren before. Not even Omega. How serious were they? Who was she? Obviously Tulip was her name, but WHO was she?

She had so many questions, but she knew she shouldn't ask. She raised her eyebrows at Hunter when she caught his eye. He made a motion with his other hand that said, I'll tell you later. She gave him a very subtle nod.

Then she looked down at Omega who turned her direction. She motioned with her head towards the kitchen. She whispered, "I'll go now, and you follow in a minute or so." Wren nodded.

Omega stood up and walked out of the room. Wren looked over at Hunter trying hard not to give away what they were doing. But she could tell he knew. He just gave her a big smile and chuckled. She shrugged at him as if to say, What? Nothing to see here. She quietly giggled looking down at her hands playing with the zipper of her hoodie.

She could still feel him watching her a minute later when she stood up to follow Omega. As she was leaving the room, she looked over her shoulder and held up a finger as if to say, Just give us a minute. He nodded still wearing a smile.

She walked quietly to the kitchen where Omega was sitting at the table munching on some veggies. She looked up as Wren got close and motioned to the chair next to her. "We'll have to be quiet, but I wanted to tell you about Tulip!"

"Okay. You said she is Crosshair's girlfriend? I had no idea..."

"Yeah, well he doesn't go around talking about her much. He's really private, you know. And they have kind of been on and off for a while. At least the whole time I've been living here with the guys. I'm not sure how long before that they had met or were seeing each other, but she will come around now and then. But then there will be weeks where we don't see or hear about her. None of us ask Crosshair. Or not that I know of anyway. If anyone talks about her, it's when I'm not around. And his reaction just now shows why I don't ask."

Wren quietly listened to her, leaning down to be able to catch all she was whispering.

"She's really nice though. And very cool. She will have her hair dyed a different color about every time I see her. She might have a new piercing or tattoo. And Crosshair acts totally different when she's around. It's so strange, but it's obvious he likes her. A lot. She has taken me to get my nails done a couple of times, and shopping once or twice. I think you would really like her. I hope you get to meet her soon."

Wren smiled at her and said, "I'd like that." Even though she hated meeting new people, if it was with the family it would probably be okay. Then they heard footsteps coming their way, so they stopped talking and munched instead.

It was Crosshair. He gave them both a suspicious look. "What are you two whispering about in here?"

"We're not whispering about anything!" Omega said.

"You're a terrible liar, kid. And that one's even worse. She'd be terrible at poker." He pointed at Wren when he said that. She just looked at him as if she was offended, but they were both trying not to laugh.

He grabbed another Dr. Pepper, motioned at Wren with it and said, "Thanks again for the drinks."

"You're very welcome," she replied.

He gave them both a smirk as he walked out, and they smiled at each other. Omega said, "Come on, let's go back in. We don't want to seem suspicious."

Wren followed her back into the living room, sitting in their previous spots. Hunter looked at both of them, and she just smiled at him. He said, "Everything okay, you two?"

"Yep!" Omega said cheerily.

Wren just nodded at him with a smile.

Then Omega said, "Hey, Wren, do you mind if I lay down?"

"No! Of course not. I can go sit...well, I can sit on the floor here."

"No! You don't have to move. I meant, can I lay my head on your lap? You stay here, and I just lay down here."

"Oh! Of course, that would be fine. Go ahead," Wren said with a smile.

Omega took her blanket and rearranged herself. She put her feet up on Hunter's lap, and he pulled the blanket down over her legs more neatly. Then she laid her head on Wren's lap. "Is this okay?" she asked.

Wren said, "It's perfectly fine, Omega." And with that she smoothed the girl's hair with her hand. She heard Omega sigh happily and settle more deeply into the couch and snuggle under her blanket.

Wren turned to Hunter, and he was already looking at her with the softest look she thought she'd ever seen on his face. Then he winked at her. He'd never done that before, and it made her breath catch. She was sure her face was bright red, but she still smiled at him, and he smiled back. She started feeling uncomfortable though, so she turned back towards the TV. But she kept her hand on Omega's shoulder, rubbing very lightly, running her other hand over Omega's hair.

(Art by Tumblr user @pinkiemme.)

Wren woke up very confused. She didn't know where she was. Things didn't feel like they normally did when she woke up in the middle of the night. She wasn't laying down, she was sitting, leaning on something. She opened her eyes, and it was dark except for a few LED lights which were probably from electronics in the room. She didn't have her glasses on though, so she couldn't make out any details.

She started to move and then noticed what she was actually leaning against. Or who would be more accurate. Hunter? She could barely make out his features, but she definitely felt his flannel shirt and jeans. And it felt like he had his arm around her shoulders. He was breathing steadily, so she assumed he was still asleep.

They had a blanket over them. When did that happen? She didn't remember a blanket. She remembered watching the game. She remembered moving over next to Hunter. She remembered holding his hand, and him kissing her head. And that's the last thing she remembers. She must have fallen asleep pretty quickly. And he must have also? Or did he not want to wake her up, so he just stayed there?

She moved a little more, looking for her glasses. That extra movement must be what woke him up, because he started to stir and mumbled something.

She said, "Hunter?" No response. "Hunter?" a little louder that time.

"Huh?!" He startled awake. "What? What's wrong?" He sat up quickly, almost knocking her off the couch.

"Whoa," she said and grabbed hold of his arm before she fell.

Then he realized what was happening and said, "Oh no, I'm sorry!" He pulled her back up next to him.

She laughed quietly and said, "That's okay."

"I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's fine." Then she said, "Are my glasses over there?" and motioned to the end table. He turned, saw her glasses, picked them up, and handed them to her. "Thanks."

Once she got her glasses on, she felt a little better. She hated not being able to see.

At some point while asleep, she'd drawn her legs up on the couch with her, so now she was trying to untangle them. They had fallen asleep, so she was having some problems moving them. "Oh, ouch."

"What? Did I hurt you?" Hunter still seemed so worried.

"No, it's not you. My legs just fell asleep, that's all." She stretched out her legs and moved her feet to get the feeling back in them.

Hunter reached over and turned on the lamp sitting on the end table. They both looked at the clock and saw it was 2:00 am. "Well, I guess we fell asleep, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. Did you get this blanket?" She replied.

"No, I didn't. You didn't?" She shook her head. He continued, "Hmm...must have been one of the guys when they went to bed. I don't know why they didn't wake us up."

He saw her try to stifle a huge yawn.

"You are definitely staying the night now, right?"

"Yeah, I think I'd better."

He said, "You can take my bed. I changed my sheets a day ago, so they're practically clean."

"Oh, no. I'm not going to take your bed! I can sleep here. I did it before, and it's a comfy couch."

He sighed. "You're stubborn, you know that?"

"Have you been talking to my mom?" She laughed quietly.

He smiled. "Can I offer you some of my lounge pants to wear at least? They're clean. They would be more comfy than your jeans, even if they're a little big."

She thought about it, and got a few little butterflies in her stomach thinking about wearing anything of Hunter's. "Yeah, that would be nice."

"Okay, I'll get those." He patted her knee and stood up, walking to his room.

She looked around, still a little discombobulated. She felt her hair and thought how awful it probably looked.

He was gone for a couple of minutes, and when he came back in carrying some plaid pants, she noticed he'd changed his clothes. He also wore some plaid pants and a T-shirt.

"Here you go," and he handed her the pants.

"Okay, thanks, I'll go change in the bathroom." He nodded. She walked past him into the hall and down to the bathroom. She heard him shuffle behind her and go into the kitchen. She heard the fridge open, and what sounded like the water pitcher being taken out.

When she walked in the bathroom, turned on the light, and shut the door, the first thing she saw was her face in the mirror. She practically scared herself with her wild hair and what looked like creases on her face. Those must have been from where she was laying on Hunter's shirt. She just shook her head, there was nothing she could do about it now. Might as well let him see her at her worst early on. No surprises later on.

She changed into his pants, being sure to tighten the drawstring so they didn't fall down. He's not a big guy, but he's bigger than her. After she was done in the bathroom, she walked out and saw the light was still on in the kitchen. She peeked in and he was standing at the counter drinking a glass of water.

When he saw her, he said, "Did you want a drink?"

She was dry, so she said, "Just a little water."

He got another glass from the cabinet and handed it to her. Then he took the pitcher and said, "Tell me when."

They finished their water in silence. After setting her glass in the sink, she said, "Okay, well, I guess I'll go back to the couch."

"You're sure you don't want me to go to the couch and you take my bed?"

She was sure of that, but there was something else. Could she ask? She really really wanted to, and she was still sleepy enough that her inhibitions were down a bit.

"Hunter?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you want to stay in the living room with me?" She couldn't really look at him, only glancing now and then.

He was a little caught off guard, but quickly said, "Oh, sure! I can sleep in the chair. Wrecker's chair is really comfy."

"Oh...uh..." She stared at the floor, messing with the drawstring on her pants.

He noticed her hesitation and wondered what was wrong.

"Is something wrong? Did I say something?" His voice was full of concern.

"Umm...no, it's just. I meant...nothing. It's nothing." She turned and started walking to the living room.

He followed and when she sat on the couch, he said, "Are you sure you want me in here? Something seems wrong."

"No!" She hurriedly said. "No, it's not that."

There was obviously something she wasn't saying. He wanted her to tell him what was wrong, so he went and sat next to her on the couch. He took her hand and held it between both of his.

"Wren, please, I need you to be honest with me, okay? If things are going to work with us, I need to know what you're thinking, so I can help you. Okay?" He leaned down a little to catch her eyes as she was still looking at the floor.

She looked over at him and blew out a slow breath, "Okay. Okay." He waited. She was bouncing her foot, making her leg shake, but it's like she didn't even realize it. It's obvious she did that a lot. She looked back down at the floor.

He squeezed her hand, and that was the push she needed. "Would you want to stay on the couch with me?" She rushed all that out as quickly as she could, and kept staring at the floor. And since she was staring at the floor, she didn't see the look of utter shock and disbelief on his face. And he's glad of that, because he didn't want her to think he wasn't pleased that she asked that. He was pleased. Very pleased! He was just...shocked.

He squeezed her hand again and said in an incredibly soft tone, "I would love to stay on the couch with you."

She could hear the emotion and caring in his voice, and it made her feel brave enough to look up at him.

"Yeah? You don't think that's silly?"

"Silly? Getting to sleep next to you on this couch? Silly? Hell no! That would be amazing. Thank you for trusting me enough to ask."

She was so overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions that she dropped his hand and threw her arms around his neck. And she hugged him. As much as she could with them sitting awkwardly next to each other. He was so caught off guard he just held his hands out at first, not sure where to put them. But when she stayed where she was, he closed his arms gently around her and pulled her towards him even more, trying not to bang their knees together.

And then he could feel it...he could feel her body shaking very slightly. And he heard it...he heard the quietest sobs. She was crying.

"Hey, hey, Wren..." He started rubbing soothing circles on her back. "Hey, you're okay. You're fine. Hey..." He tried to lean back, but she had a death grip around his neck. Not enough to hurt him, but enough to keep him anchored in place for a few more seconds, until she loosened her grip a little.

When she did, he leaned back so he could look at her face. Yes, she was crying. Tears were running down her cheeks, and she was trying to stop herself from sobbing outright.

"Hey...don't cry. Please, don't cry. This is a happy thing, yeah?" He was wiping the tears off her cheeks as he was saying that, and then he moved some hair out of her eyes. "Hey, Wren. Are you okay?" He let his hands rest on her shoulders.

She nodded her head quickly and laughed a little. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just...you know..." She then tapped her head with her finger. "My brain doing it's thing. I'm sorry. If you didn't think I was a freak before, there's certainly no doubt now." She wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve.

"No, now...I don't think you're a freak. I think you're a little scared maybe? And emotional? And anxious and nervous, but not a freak. Never a freak. Okay?" She had actually looked at him all while he was saying that. Probably the longest she'd ever been able to hold eye contact with him. And when he was done, he brought his hands up and held her face. Then he leaned forward slightly, just enough so their foreheads were touching. And he stayed like that for a little while, both with their eyes closed.

She realized he was breathing slowly and deeply, and she synced her breathing with his. That was probably his intention, although he didn't say. He let her come to that on her own. After almost a minute, he opened his eyes and pulled back slowly. She looked at him with watery eyes and a sweet smile.

"Thanks, Hunter," she whispered.

"My pleasure," he replied with a smile of his own. "Now, about these sleeping arrangements." He dropped his hands from her face, and she immediately missed their roughness and their warmth. "Should I lay back here and you lay in front of me? On our sides?"

At that he stretched out on his side, with his elbow bent and his head resting on his hand.

She said, "Yeah, I think we'll fit?"

He said, "Oh, we'll definitely fit. This is a great couch. Lots of space. Come on, lay down." And he patted the spot in front of him. But then he remembered... "Oh, but first, would you get a pillow from that basket over there?" He pointed to the basket that had blankets and pillows.

She stood up and walked to get a pillow, holding it up to him. "This one okay?"

"Yep, looks good. Do you need another blanket? If so, grab one there."

She did grab another blanket, just in case. She walked back and handed him the pillow. He put it down and fluffed and situated it to where he thought she would be comfortable.

"Okay, now...lay down here." He patted the spot in front of him again. He had a big smile on his face, and Wren had the feeling he was really happy about this. And that made her insides all fluttery.

She sat down and then brought her legs up, trying not to touch him too much. She scooted to where she needed to be to put her head on the pillow comfortably. She took her glasses off and laid them on the end table.

"Okay, you in a good spot? You comfy?" he asked.

She nodded and said, "Yup, I'm good."

Then he brought the blanket up over both of them, bringing it up to their chests. "Did you want the other blanket too?"

She said, "I just brought that in case I got cold later. I'm fine with the one for now. Unless you want the second one?" She turned her head a little to look back at him, and her breath caught. He was right there. HIs face was no more than six inches away from hers.

He looked down at her and said, "No, I'm fine. You'll keep me warm." He gave her a mischievous smile and a wink, and she smiled and turned back around, her face burning.

He shifted around a little bit, trying to find the most comfortable position. Their legs were touching, but nothing else was yet. Until he put his arm around her waist, but only lightly at first. He said, "Is this okay? Please let me know if it's not. I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I can keep my hands to myself and be perfectly okay."

She didn't say anything, but instead she reached for his hand. She held it and pulled his arm tighter around her. He chuckled and said, "Okay, I guess I got my answer." He pulled her back a tiny bit and then scooted forward a little until his chest was touching her back. He put his other arm under the pillow and asked, "Is that okay? That isn't uncomfortable for you to lay on?"

"No, it's fine."

"Okay. Good. Okay...so. We're good?"

"Yup, just maybe turn the light off?"

"Oh! Right, I forgot!" He moved his arm from under the pillow and reached up and turned the lamp off. Then he situated himself again. "Okay, now we're good!"

"Yeah, we're good." He could hear the smile in her voice.

He kissed the back of her head and said, "G'night, Wren."

She smiled when she felt him kiss her head. Then she moved her feet a little and rubbed them on his. "G'night, Hunter. And thanks."

He wasn't really sure what she was thanking him for, but he wasn't going to make her explain it. He would just accept it. She was starting to sound really sleepy anyway.

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

Her eyes popped open when he said that, but she didn't react. Not outwardly anyway. But her whole body flushed and she felt warm and tingly. Sweetheart. He called her sweetheart.

And that was her last thought before she fell asleep.

*****