Page 84

No, they’d been busy getting the pups ready for an evening next door. They took turns hosting, so each trio had a few hours pup free each week, just to give them time alone together. Raising five pups was a lot of work, even when there were six adults to share in it.

“We’ll take it off in a moment,” Logan said, right before one of Roark’s favorite songs, Here I Go Again, began to play.

Fingers tugged his hair a few times as they worked the knot in the back of the blindfold loose, then it fell away from his face. Roark blinked, stunned to see the inside of the fishing shack shimmering. Golden LED fairy lights were strung along the walls and in spiral patterns on the ceiling, adding even more charm to a place that Roark loved.

“The fish are safe tonight,” Logan said. “When you told me that you liked to come down here sometimes just get away and think, I asked Rusty to help me spruce it up and turn it into a real retreat. Charlie loved the idea, by the way. So did Baz and Kale. Turns out you’re not the only one who comes down here when they need a bit of alone time.”

“Wait a minute,” Roark said as he looked around. “Are those easy chairs? And a bookcase?”

He moved closer to get a better look, shocked at the titles he saw there.

“Where did you find these?” Roark said as he turned around to face his smiling mates.

“The Cheery Chestnut,” Logan replied.

“Are you kidding me? I asked for several of these and they told me they wouldn’t get here until the roads opened back up.

“Because we already had them,” Logan snickered. “Celeste helped us find them and promised to keep you from getting your paws on them until we were ready to give them to you.”

“Damn, you two are good at being sneaky,” Roark replied before turning back to marvel at everything.

Stacks of fishing magazines rested on a low shelf, in easy reach of one of the chairs. Charlie must have brought his whole collection down. Holy shit, there were shadow boxes of old lures on the wall too. Three easy chairs now instead of two, so we each had our own, and an extra end table and lamp between the second and the third one, matching the one between the first and second, completed the cozy space.

“Some nights it just isn’t practical to go into town, but you still want to be out of the house,” Rusty said. “I hope you like the solution we came up with.”

“Wait, you mean we can just kick back here and chill on our night off?” Roark squeaked. “Seriously? No socializing, no wandering around the house catching up on housework we got lax on?”

“None of that,” Rusty replied. “We can just come here and chill.”

“Charlie said that same thing about staying in on date night,” Logan said, “after Flame’s accident, tearing around the forest on a snowmobile lost all its appeal, so when we suggested this…”

“You suggested it,” Rusty interrupted. “This was your idea, so stop trying to give away the credit for it. The only thing I did was position the lights the way you drew them out on the diagram you made.”

“This is amazing,” Roark declared before hurling himself at Logan.

They landed on the wood with a grunt and an oof as he knocked the air out of his mate, planting kisses all over his face before claiming his lips. Logan’s hand landed on his backside as they made out until Logan grunted again and let out a groan.

“That’s going to leave a mark,” Logan grumbled as he rubbed his head.

They’d squirmed around so much that they’d run into the mini fridge.

“Guess this is as good a time as any to tell you that we brought treats,” Logan said as he sat up and rubbed his head again.

“The smart speaker is the only other new addition, for now,” Rusty explained. “That was Baz’s suggestion. Everyone can load their playlists and vibe to whatever they’d like while they’re out here.”

“Thank fuck for that. Do you know how many times I’ve regretted leaving my phone behind because it was too quiet out here?” Roark admitted. “I needed something, even if it was just a low-grade hum to break the silence.”

“Problem solved,” Logan declared as Rusty helped them up. “Damn, Flame warned me from day one that I’d have to watch out for your shenanigans after you crashed into Rusty. Should have known I’d be the next target on your list.”

“There’s no list,” Roark declared. “Just casualties of happenstance.”

“Uh-huh,” Logan replied. “We’ll see.”

“Are those crab puffs?” Roark asked when Logan took the lid off the first container he’d pulled from the fridge.

“Crab and lobster puffs, to be exact,” Logan explained. “Onyx has been experimenting with them. Said someone named Tobias dreamed them up.”

“That’s his other mate,” Rusty explained. “You’ve only met Emery so far. Tobias works in the woodshop with Charlie.”