I shrugged but smiled. “And we’re running out of options.”
“That too.” Tanner picked up his fork. “But as long as your mother likes me, he’s not going to want to say anything negative, so even if he does think something’s weird, he’s probably going to keep it to himself.”
“I agree. Besides, with any luck Austin will distract him enough that he won’t realize anything’s odd about the club.”
Tanner laughed so hard he almost dropped the forkful of potato salad he was holding. “I think that’s the first time Austin’s insanity will have ever come in handy.”
Hopefully, it would just be a backup plan, but I didn’t think Austin would mind.
19
Tanner
“I thinkI’ve solved our problem.” Flopping down on Wade’s couch, I smiled as they laughed.
“You found more dominant alphas?” Austin leaned forward greedily. “Do tell.”
“No, he saidour problem,so he obviously meant your spending.” Bradley’s grumbling was funny, but what was funnier was that I had a feeling he was serious.
I rolled my eyes, deciding to stop it before they got out of control. “No, I meant our problem finding a construction company.”
Wade obviously heard the last part because he was all smiles as he walked in from the kitchen. “You did?”
“Possibly.” I reached for the fruity drink Austin had given me as I’d walked in the door and winced as I took a sip. That packed a punch. Thankfully, Shane was hanging out with his brother and would be swinging by to pick me up in a few hours.
“Shane’s cousin Graham owns a construction company. Well, he owns it with a few of his buddies. I haven’t met them, but Graham is going to come out next week and take a look at the warehouse. It’s going to be hard dealing with his family. We’ll have to be careful, but I liked him.”
“That’s right.” Jonah pulled his legs up and tucked himself into Wade’s oversized chair. “You had that family barbecue earlier. I’m assuming it went well?”
“If all Shane’s relatives are like him, then it should have gone fabulously.” Austin winked, clearly trying to drive me insane.
So I had to tease back. “You’re going to love his brothers. They’re all sexy alphas who are huuuge. Not a little one in the bunch, and they all have this look like they could take control ofanyomega.”
Of course, Tanner’s mother had made it very clear that nothing like that would happen under her roof, so I had a feeling most of the guys weren’t even thinking about domination when it came to dating omegas. But the guys could fantasize.
Austin groaned and flopped back against the other end of the couch. “That’s just cruel. They’re all vanilla?”
I chuckled. “Looks that way.”
Wade spoke up, settling down in another one of the chairs sprinkled around the room. “By choice or conditioning? If Shane is open to the idea, then other members of his family might be. It’s genetics. There’s only so much that can be trained away.”
“I think it’s their mother. She’s very big on omega rights and how we should be treated.” I shrugged. “Going against that kind of influence is hard.”
“But shouldn’t omegas get to decide how they want to be treated?” Jonah’s raised brow and confused expression echoed how most of us were feeling. He was still quieter than usual, but it felt like he was starting to come out of his funk.
“Evidently not.” Austin sighed dramatically. “I’m too weak to know better?”
Bradley snorted. “Nope, can’t say that. It’s omega bashing or something like that.”
“We’re too stupid to know better?” Jonah grinned, clearly enjoying the new game.
“Oh, can’t say that either.” I shook my head, trying not to laugh.
It was Wade’s turn. “I’m too innocent to know better?”
Dakota chuckled. “Yes, you look too innocent to know better.”
Wade grinned. “But looks can be deceiving.”