The Bucket List (A REVERSE HAREM ROMANCE)

39. ALBANY

Dinner was a bust.

Not only had the twins showed up bruised and obviously pissed at each other, Severide was late because he was in a conference call and I apparently couldn't eat food I'd never ate before.

So the short version—I got food poisoning—which delayed the trip and made us stay in town a few days extra.

It was all turning into a disaster. Nothing was going as I imagined it to.

Severide was completely immerged in his work. He actually had books and papers spread out around him on the back seat with his phone glued to his ear.

Thomas sat behind me, staring out the window with his earphones in and his laptop open on his lap.

Kieran had passed us on his bike hours ago. I hadn't talked to him much after our little photo session. He disappeared right after dinner and hadn't returned until the next morning. .

And then there was Steven who was driving. For some reason his constant silence was hurting me.

None of them had made any comments on the photos and the video Kieran had send in the group I made.

I'd felt sexy and confidence then, but at the moment I just wanted to crawl into a dark hole and never get out again. I fully understood the appeal of taking sexy selfies but the emotions that came once the excitement faded was not something I liked.

I should be happy that the trip hadn't been cancelled. But it wasn't as fun as I wanted it to be.

***

The twin's parents lived on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. Well, not really in the middle of nowhere, but it surely felt like it. It was open fields as far as the eye could see. It would've been beautiful if my mood wasn't so. . . ugh.

Steven pulled off onto a dirt road surrounded by tall trees which opened up to a drive way flagged by wooden pastures. The house was medium—sized and a typical farm house—with a big porch that had a swing on one side and potted plants on the other.

An old barn was off to the side a few feet from the house. There were a lot of other buildings scattered around but I had no idea what you'd use them for.

We parked next to an old rusty-looking car underneath a slightly lopsided roof. For a moment we all sat frozen and then we moved. Steven got out of the car, followed by Thomas. Severide was still on the phone but he was busy collecting the papers scattered about him.

With a sigh, I undid my seatbelt and reached for the door handle but it opened before I could grip it. My eyes darted up and locked with Steven's as he moved into my space.

"They don't know that we're here," he muttered. "What do you want me to tell them about you?"

I shrugged. "Whatever you want to."

Nodding, he hesitated a moment before he stepped away and moved to the back of the car. I slid out and hurried over to grab the bags that contained the toys I'd gotten from them.

Steven and Thomas each grabbed their own bags while Severide grabbed his and mine.

I trailed behind them silently as we made our way towards the house. My eyes darted around, lingering on a few horses and some cattle in the distance. We were almost at the house when a man stepped out of the barn.

The twins paused and waited for the man who was approaching. I noticed the slight limp he had.

"You're supposed to be in bed, dad," Steven called.

The man waved a hand and muttered something under his breath. When he reached us, he pulled first Thomas and then Steven in for a big hug before he turned towards Severide.