Page 115 of Knot Her Beta

“It removes a lot of obstacles.”

“What hurts isn’t the money. It’s that my grandmother loved me,” I say. “She drafted that trust with my name on it because she believed I was capable of doing meaningful work.”

My thumb finds a grain line in the walnut and follows it, the ridge warm beneath my skin. “She didn’t care if I published a novel or opened a bookstore or spent the rest of my life reading other people’s manuscripts in a shed by the water. She just wanted me to have the freedom to choose. And my father has been using that intention as a leash for years, trying to control my future.”

Dominic’s attention shifts to the pages scattered across my desk. “So what are you writing?”

My first instinct is to cover the nearest page, which is absurd. I’ve spent my adult life asking writers to hand me their most vulnerable work and trust that I will treat it gently. Apparently, the experience is considerably less comfortable from the other side.

“A story about how four people fall in love.”

“Fiction?”

“Technically.”

His mouth curves. “Does the handsome architect play a significant role?”

“At present, he has one line.”

“Make it memorable.”

I trace a finger over my notes. “My grandmother bought me my first typewriter when I was twelve, despite my father insisting it was a distraction.”

“Well, your father can keep control of all the money. He doesn’t get control of this.” He gestures toward the desk, the pages, and perhaps the cabin beyond them. “The money was supposed to give you permission to choose your life. You’ve already chosen it.”

“I have.” My manuscript pages catch the light, handwritten lines dense with ink, and somewhere in there is a line I was trying to remember when Dominic arrived. “Which is why I’m going to utilize all of my benefits once I join the Wright Pack.”

His head whips back toward me. “You’re taking us up on the offer?”

“As long as me losing the trust hasn’t changed your mind,” I say, suddenly uncertain.

“Not at all.” He leaps to his feet. “Though I want you to understand it’s about more than benefits. That was my hard sell on you joining because it mattered, but we’re going to be family, which means all the messy and wonderful things that come with being part of each other’s lives.”

“Yeah,” I say. “Emily’s helped me to understand that.”

“Have you told Chloe yet?” he demands, before he shakes his head without waiting for an answer. “No, of course you haven’t, or she would have already been shouting it from the top of the grand staircase.”

I lean back in my chair. “I believe Emily and Jared are putting together a proposal.”

“They can have anything they want.” Dominic rushes toward the door, pauses, and circles back to grab the portfolio. “I’ll prep the paperwork. When are we doing this?”

I laugh at his excitement. “You’ll have to ask Emily.”

“We’ll do it by the end of the week.” He spins back on his heel, striding toward the door. “There’s no changing your mind, Grady. You’re ours now.”

“Thank you for looking into the trust, Dom,” I call after him. “You didn’t have to.”

“I did have to.” He pauses to peer back, the portfolio tucked under his arm. “You’re pack. Or you will be, once the paperwork is filed. That means your problems are my problems, and I solve problems. Well, usually.”

I wave that away. “Don’t worry about the trust. It was a long shot.”

“I’m sorry your grandmother never signed the amendment.” He gestures to the desk overflowing with paper. “But for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing her memory proud, even without the money.”

With a tap on the doorframe, he heads out, but his words linger long after he’s gone.

Pack.

My father had controlled me for years with the promise that one day, if I became who he wanted, his problems might become mine to solve.