Lake gestured at the back of the vehicle. “Can you help me with these?”

When I frowned, my brain blipping at what he meant, Lake took it the wrong way.

“I know you’re the foreman here, but I didn’t think asking you to lift some luggage would be that beneath you.” Lake snorted and opened the back door, then lifted down a couple of heavy-looking suitcases and an assortment of other bags, while I tried to catch up mentally.

“Yeah, Theo. Why don’t you help your boss out?” Hudson taunted, smirking.

I shot him a finger. “Fuck off. Move this monstrosity before someone thinks it’s fine to park here.” Nobody would and we both knew that, but I got to snark at my friend.

Lake glanced at us, then shook his head and murmured something that sounded a lot like “straight men.”

Right, Lake and River both were quite clearly, if not gay, at least openly queer. It was hard to say anything about Rey, but then he was a kid so what did it matter. Not that anyone’s sexuality mattered to me anyways. I’d never gotten the hookup culture and while I’d tried to get it at Ruth’s insistence that I should, I hadn’t found anyone who would really make it all worthwhile, regardless of their equipment or self-expression.

Hudson, meanwhile, was straight. At least that’s what Ruth and I had always thought. He’d been married until about a year ago and hadn’t started dating yet as far as I could tell.

Sierra had had a crush on Hudson for years, but she never took it too seriously. Besides, she leaned more towards women and said that Hudson’s “Daddy energy” wasn’t for her, whatever that meant.

I grabbed the two closest pieces of luggage and stomped my feet on the door mat to get some of the dirt and dust off. Then I stepped inside, hoping that everything would go okay.

Hudson hadn’t told me what Lake wanted to do with the place, or any of the details other than for the time being, I had my job and home.

I knew whatever it was Hudson had read in Ruth’s will, he would’ve told it to Lake first. For one, Lake was actual blood family and the primary inheritor. But for two, despite Ruth having been my best friend, I was an employee.

Ruth had told me years ago that she wanted to leave her nephew the book rights. That seemed reasonable. Hudson, once he’d come back from New York from meeting with Lake, had actually told me that Lake worked at a bookstore but had had no idea who his aunt had been.

I put the luggage on the floor in the hall and went back to pick up more pieces. Lake was struggling with two of the largest ones, but he glared at me when he saw me looking, so I picked up the rest instead of trying to help him with his burden.

One of Lake’s suitcases had a squeaky wheel, and it made my headache worse. I grimaced.

When Lake noticed and raised a brow, I rumbled out, “That’s a bit loud.” And nodded at the offending piece of luggage.

Lake glanced at the thing, and his features darkened with anger. “Well, we’re all a bit loud, so you better get used to it.” Then he huffed and marched toward where they could hear his friends talking in the kitchen.

For a moment, I didn’t get it. Then I realized the other suitcase, the non-squeaky one, was violently pink. With all sorts of stickers on it, including unicorns and rainbows and pride flags.

I groaned. “For fuck’s sake ...”