Snowfall and Secrets (The Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 1) by Kierra Quinn Page B

shit’s got to go.”
    Hayden flipped open a box. Inside, packed neatly away, were some of Stacey’s old dresses.
    “You know, she was an ice princess,” he said distastefully and closed the box. “I don’t know why your mom never stepped in and stopped you from marrying her.”
    Lukas closed his eyes. He heard this a thousand times before.
    “But the boys,” he said.
    “I know.” Hayden clasped him by the shoulder. “I’m not saying we get rid of it all and you forget them. I’m saying don’t let it haunt you anymore. Letting go is never easy, but you should be happy. You need to believe it and fight for it.”
    Hayden pushed past him and down the stairs. Una followed, but Dio stayed beside Lukas. Fight for it. Wasn’t that what deciding to go after Tess was all about? He knelt down beside Dio.
    “What do you think, girl?”
    She nudged him in the chest with her snout.
    “Yeah, I know you love Tess.” He scratched her ear. Dio liked Stacey about as much as Hayden did, but she adored the boys. Losing them had been hard on her too.
    There was a commotion downstairs. Dio’s ears perked up.
    “Go see,” said Lukas, and she took off, hurtling downstairs with a furious bark. Lukas didn’t go with her. Instead, he went deeper into the room. He was ready to see Stacey’s boxes go. Hayden was taking them to the mainland with him, to a shelter or something. Lukas hadn’t been listening.
    It was the far corner that worried him.
    “Yeah. He’s brooding.” Hayden was back and apparently had someone with him.
    “No surprise there. That’s what he does best these days.”
    Estelle.
    Great. He should have known. She was probably the reason Hayden was even here, forcing him to clean out the boys’ room.
    It was Joshua who showed up in the doorway though.
    “You get wrangled into this too?” Lukas shook his head. Leave it to Hayden to drag half the island into digging through his ghosts. He sure hoped Marie and Doc weren’t here too. Then again, he could send Marie over to check on Tess.
    “I volunteered. I don’t want to be stuck here in this blizzard. Got things to do.” Joshua laughed with a sheepish smile.
    “Does this thing have a name?” Lukas asked, and Joshua blushed. Bingo. Don’t get stuck at mom and dad’s in a blizzard when there’s a warm, pretty thing waiting for you. Lukas could probably take that same advice.
    Once Hayden attached Lukas’s trailer to his sled, it didn’t take the three of them long to load all of the boxes. It was mostly clothes anyway. Estelle stayed in the kitchen with the dogs—feeding them treats, making coffee, and shouting orders.
    Cleaning out the room went faster than Lukas would have liked. While Hayden and Joshua were arranging everything, Lukas stood in the door of his spare, almost empty room, and stared at the last two columns.
    Estelle crept up on him and shoved a cup of coffee under his nose.
    “What are you going to do with this room now?” she asked as Lukas took the steaming mug from her.
    “I guess I need to get some furniture,” he said, not taking his gaze off his boys’ things.
    “Yeah, probably.” Estelle nodded. “You know, I think you should keep one of these.”
    She waved her hand at the remaining boxes.
    “Don’t look inside. Pick one, stick it in the closet. That way you have something of theirs, cause you’re going to want it one day.”
    Lukas sipped his coffee.
    “Then let the rest go,” she finished. “Things are just that, things, and these are especially toxic.”
    She was right. Lukas hated to admit it, and he never would to her, but this needed to be just another room in his house.
    He handed his mug to her and took one of the boxes, the first one off the top. He didn’t look inside. It didn’t matter what was inside. Clothes, pictures, things the boys had made. It was theirs. He opened the closet and set it on the top shelf.
    “You’ll be glad you did this. Someday you’ll thank Hayden for sticking his nose