“Kind of like Hunter and Sinjin.” Carter chuckled.
Holden smiled at the guy who just stated what had just run through hisheadspace. “You’re a riot.”
Sinjin groaned. “Don’t encourage him, Holden.”
Hunter grunted in agreement.
“Don’t listen to them.” Carter shook his head. “They’re still working on pulling their heads out of their asses so their smiles can see the light of day again.”
Both Hunter and Sinjin simultaneously waved a middle finger at Carter.
He laughed, happy in the knowledge that none of his buddies had lost their sense of humor.
“Listen, don’t think you’re going to get out of telling us about kissing Emily.” Carter grinned, cupping Holden’s shoulder. “You are one smooth operator. You’ve been here exactly one week.”
“Nice try.” Smirking, he shook out of the guy’s hold and carried the final box to the back of the open SUV. “Sorry, that’s classified.”
Carter’s grin widened. “That’s code for it was good.”
Good?
It’d blasted past good and gone straight to knocked him on his ass. But he wasn’t about to share that.
“We need to go,” he said, heading for the driver’s side of one of the vehicles. “That’s code for—we need to go.”
A grin tugged at Sinjin’s lips as he headed for the other loaded SUV.
“Yeah, the girls are already there,” Hunter said, climbing in with Sinjin, leaving him with Chuckles as a passenger.
“Well then, let’s get to work.” Carter hopped in with him and sent him a sideways glance. “By ignoring my question, you already answered it loud and clear. Emily knocked you on your ass.”
He stiffened a second before starting the engine with the keys that had already been in the ignition.
How the hell had the guy known that?
Carter chuckled. “Aw, man, don’t sweat it. We’ve all been there. It just takes our thick skulls a little while to acclimate to the possibility that we aren’t really the Alphas in this world.”
Holden contemplated that as he followed Sinjin on the short drive to Emily’s ranch. His friend knew the location through Isla. Apparently, she and Lyndsey had been with Emily when she’d first toured the property.
“A good woman—the right woman—she’s our center, our balance,” Carter claimed. “To put it into terms you understand, she is our pack leader.”
His first instinct was to dismiss that theory, but when he thought about his mother, his sister, and his sister-in-law, he had to admit his buddy might be on to something. They didn’t exactly rule their relationships, it was more like their men gravitated to them. They were an anchor.
A few miles out of town, on a road that led to several large ranches including Shadow Rock, Holden followed Sinjin, turning onto a property with large, mature trees and heavy vegetation as natural privacy.
“This is nice,” he muttered
The long driveway opened up and a well-maintained two-story farmhouse sat in a clearing. Off to the left was an outbuilding that appeared to be in the middle of an overhaul, and surrounding the homestead were large fields and more vegetation as far as the eye could see.
It was homey. Calming. The perfect place for an animal sanctuary.
“I know, right?” Carter nodded. “I was here a few weeks ago with Mel, helping Emily move in. That’s how I was able to draw up plans and knew what equipment to bring.”
Several cars were parked in front of the house. He pulled up next to Sinjin and cut the engine.
“There’s a lot of open area. I hope you got creative on where to camouflage some of your equipment,” he told his passenger.
Carter reeled back and snapped his fingers while waving a hand. “Do you know who I am? The C in my name stands for creative.”
