I nod. “It can be, yes.”

“Ugh,” Thomas says. “Are you saying we should be thanking him for plowing our sister?”

My fist that isn’t wrapped around Tess’s hand clenches. “Don’t talk about her that way, please.”

“What’s with you being so uptight anyway?” Chase asks. “You were ready to bite our heads off for wanting to see our own sister.”

I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Because of what we are, your sister and I are very…compatible. With her going into heat…it’s hard for me to rein in my instincts. It makes me a lot more…possessive than I would usually be. Plus, it’s been a long time since I’ve been near someone like her. It makes me even more…not myself.” I take another deep breath. “I’m sorry. For the way I acted.”

Tess squeezes my hand. “You didn’t mean it.”

“Why are you taking his side?” Chase grumbles.

Thomas leans forward in his chair. “So what does this mean? Are you guys, like, a couple now?”

“I—” My mouth falls open, thrown by the question, considering it’s something Tess and I have yet to discuss. I turn my head to catch her equally distressed look, no doubt as lost for the answer as I am. I swallow thickly, keeping my eyes on hers so she can gather how sincere I am when I say, “I’m whatever she wants me to be.”

Her breath catches and her eyes shine, her lips parting to answer as Chase says, “Oh, gag me. This is too weird.”

“What will this mean for the job?” Kyle asks, more practical than his brothers.

I glance over at her, my brow cocked. “Nothing? Everything can go on as usual as soon as Tess is feeling better.”

“Or now,” she says forcefully. She looks up at me with a determined expression. “Nate will be here tomorrow, and we still need to finish staining the floors in the main room. I wasn’t even sure we could get it done with just me and you, but with my brothers here…”

“Nate?” Thomas asks. “From the magazine?”

Tess actually looks sheepish. “Oh, yeah…I called him to see if he could sneak this place into the next issue. Give it a little boost.”

“Oh God,” Chase groans. “She’s in love. They’re going to have little wolf babies.”

Tess’s face flames pink, and I once again feel a small urge to pummel her brothers just for making her uncomfortable, but I wind an arm around her shoulders instead.

“Let’s focus on the project for now,” I tell them. “I’ll pitch in as much as I can. Just tell me what to do.”

A small smile touches her mouth. “You sure you’re ready to be put to work?”

“Born ready,” I tease.

“Good,” she says. “Then we can start with—”

A sharp trilling sounds from Tess’s pocket, and she frowns as she fishes out her cell phone, glancing at whoever is calling. When she notices the number there, her mouth parts, her eyes flicking up wildly to her brothers before she turns to catch my gaze.

“What?” I ask. “Who is it?”

She swallows, her face paling even as her scent tinges with anxiety.

“It’s the producer from HGTV,” she says.

Her brothers start to whoop excitedly, encouraging her to answer the phone, and when I hear her soft Hello after she puts the receiver to her ear, I know I should be excited for her, that I should be thrilled that she might be getting the opportunity she’s been waiting for.

Instead…I feel a strange sense of dread.

My heart is hammering wildly in my chest as I bring the phone to my ear; I haven’t heard from the network in weeks now, and there was a small part of me that was beginning to think they’d forgotten about us altogether. I take a deep breath to calm myself, even as my brothers continue to bounce in their seats, and bring the phone to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Ms. Covington. This is Heidi Bosseler, with HGTV.”

“Yes, of course,” I hear myself saying over the thumping of my heart. “It’s good to hear from you.”

“And you too,” she answers brightly. “I’m sorry it took so long for us to get back to you.”

“Oh, that’s not a problem at all,” I assure her, rising from my chair, feeling a restless urge to pace. Doing so means I have to let go of Hunter’s hand, and I miss the contact immediately. “We’ve been busy here in Colorado anyway.”

“You certainly have,” she chuckles. “We’ve been reviewing all the sample footage you’ve been sending over, and, well…”

I hold my breath, counting the seconds.

“We think it’s fantastic,” she finishes.

I feel a grin break out across my face, my entire body thrumming. “Really?”

“Really,” she assures me. “We actually didn’t have any doubts, with everything you’ve done so far, and seeing what you’ve been doing there in Colorado only solidifies our faith. We’d love to discuss moving forward with your own potential show here at the network.”

I pump my fist, trying to tamp down the squee that threatens to escape me, and I catch sight of my brothers from the corner of my eye, shaking each other in premature celebration.

“We’d love to discuss it with you,” I say emphatically. “We’ve only got a few more weeks here at the jobsite, and then I can—”

“Oh, no,” Heidi says, a frown in her tone. “We’d like to get started right away, actually. We were hoping you could fly out on the red-eye tonight and get over here to Knoxville to discuss terms. We have a lot to do if we want to slot you into the spring lineup. No time to waste, I’m afraid.”

I feel all my previous joy plummet down into my toes, leaving me feeling bereft. “Tonight? There was a big storm that just blew through here,” I tell her. “I’m not sure if a flight out tonight will even be possible.”

“I’ll be happy to look into it,” Heidi assures me. “But you’d be willing if we can get it booked?”

I glance at Hunter, who through all this has remained stoic, giving me nothing in terms of what he’s thinking. He holds my gaze as Heidi prattles on, talking about flights and car services and everything I ever wanted—up until a few weeks ago. Now…I feel torn at the idea of leaving this place. Which is ridiculous, right?

“Sure,” I answer when I sense she’s done talking. “Let me just check with my brothers to make sure they can finish up here, and I’ll call you right back, yeah?”

“Don’t take too long,” she says. “I’m going to go ahead and look into flight options and send you the details, if that’s okay. We really don’t have any time to waste.”

“I totally understand,” I tell her. “Talk soon.”

I watch as Hunter rises from his chair, his expression still blank as he moves from the den into the other room. My brothers crowd me the minute I hang up the call, going on and on about landing the deal, about getting everything we wanted—but all I can think about is the man in the other room. The one I promised to be there for tomorrow.

And in all the times I imagined this—getting everything I ever wanted—I never imagined that there might be something I would want just as much.

I find him in the dining room, sitting at the massive wooden table with his fingers laced and his chin resting on his hands. He looks out at the snow through the big bay window, seeming lost in thought. I take the seat beside him tentatively.

“So I guess you caught the gist of that,” I say quietly.

He nods. “Pretty much.”

“Are you…mad?”

He heaves a sigh. “Of course not, Tess. This is what you’ve been working for.”

“But your interview…”

He shakes his head. “I wouldn’t even have the interview if it weren’t for you. I couldn’t possibly be angry with you over it.”

“I told you I would be here,” I point out.

He places his hand over mine on top of the table, glancing at me from the side. “Seriously, Tess. You’ve done enough. I promise.”