Chapter 1
Life Moves On
When Tramp has had assured her, she was
strong and would move past the violence done to her, it was more a
case of wanting to believe than actually doing so. He’d been proven
right though, and she did have more to do to recover. Bindi was
grateful to Tramp and the others in the office then. She loved Tyne
and Moe because they had gathered and trained that team, so they
were the best. They had even trained her so she could work here and
be good enough to join them.
Her only issue was what to do about
Duroc. He was too controlling and terribly jealous to the point she
couldn’t deal with it. The other males here were all alpha, but
none of the others that were mated were as bad as he was. Duroc
wasn’t even her mate yet, but he drove her crazy. Yet? What was she
talking about? Right now, it wasn’t even in the realm of
possibilities.
“Good morning, Rita.” Bindi
greeted.
“Morning, Bindi. You’re a
little early. Grant should be in soon though.”
“Have you made any friends
with the newbies yet?”
“No, we’re just at the
acquaintance level. How about you?” Rita asked.
“I hardly see them though I
did try with Tammy and Mollie. They both said maybe after they
adjust to the new job.”
“You could help them find
their way around. How are you and Grant getting along?”
“We’ve become friends.”
Bindi admitted.
“Aren’t they both
single?”
“They are. Do you think
they feel threatened by me?”
“That would be my guess.
Grant and Duroc are hot, and you already know them both.” Rita
explained.
“I guess I just don’t
understand most people.”
“My secret is I don’t
either. Don’t tell anyone.”
“That’s true of me too.
Maybe I get along with guys better anyway.” Bindi
wondered.
“There are women less
competitive than those two. The only friends they try to make are
males. I think they made a deal. Mollie wants Grant and Tammy wants
Duroc. Mollie didn’t seem to be so bad until she and Tammy started
talking. Tyne had a serious need for people, and he may have hired
one that was less than desirable.”
“She does a good job
doesn’t she. Expecting everyone to have a good personality might be
too much.”
“I’m not sure what kind of
job she does. Their team is on the low end as far as getting jobs
done and I know it’s not Duroc. But you might be right about the
personality, but a few personality issues compared to the problems
she has are miles apart.” Rita observed.
“It’s sad that it will add
problems for you. You just had running things dropped on you. Now
you have a problem employee and that no one wants. What do you plan
to do?”
“Take it a day at a time
and hope it resolves itself.”
“I wish you luck.” Bindi
offered.
“Yeah, I’m afraid we’ll
need all the luck we get. Things rarely work out that easily. Here
come the other guys.”
The bell tinkled as Grant came in with
Mollie following close behind him. Next came Duroc with Tammy at
his heels. Some of the mated guys were here now. They weren’t very
social, There were less employees than before working out of the
office because several now worked out of their homes.
Even those did come in on a weekly
basis, but at varied times and days. Bindi didn’t know much about
them except what they looked like. She’d heard it took time for a
new team to build ties. Hopefully, that would start soon since they
needed to be able to count on each other.
Those racists weren’t as active, but
they still acted up from time to time. Their office had lost some
of the most experienced and strongest members. Bindi had a stun gun
and she felt safe enough. This one could take out several wolves at
a time. That stun gun would give her the time to get
away.
“Now that the usual group
has checked nin, I’ll send you the lists so you can get to work.”
Rita observed.
She printed them off and handed them
out. Rita put four jobs on each list, but most of the time only
three were done. They would get better, it helped that they had a
large crew now. Keeping up with the list was manageable. Even
though the demand for their services hadn’t slowed. Bindi and Grant
walked to their truck and loaded up. Duroc sent them a cold look
that couldn’t be missed.
“What’s up with him?” Grant
asked.
“My belief is Tammy is
tough to work with. She has a thing for him, and he says he cares
about someone else.”
Tammy headed by next and glared at her.
“I can take a guess at who that is. Besides, Duroc told me to leave
you alone.”
“Why didn’t you tell me
before?”
“I wasn’t sure if it was a
good idea because I thought you might get mad. Looks like I was
right.” Grant admitted.
“He’s too alpha and can’t
give an inch. There’s no place in my life for that. A little bit of
give and take is needed.”
“That I can understand.
It’s hard for an alpha to give up any control, but he can
learn.”
“Speaking from
experience?”
“Obviously not. I’m all by
my lonesome.”
“You haven’t always been.”
Bindi pointed out.
“Are you digging for
information?”
“Nope. You’ll tell me if
you want me to know.”
Bindi wasn’t the nosy or gossipy kind.
Not unless it was something affecting her personally. They drove
four hours and once they got there, the work would last several
days. This first home was in a small town, so no trouble was
expected. Being alert was needed with all the recent trouble.
Mollie and Fred were human and knew nothing about the racists. They
were given the closest and safest jobs and then Tammy and Duroc was
next because she was also human.
Tammy had been hired for the office but
when she saw Duroc, she asked to go out in the field permanently.
She’d been fully trained as a backup. Right now, she was on trial
to see how things worked out. If they didn’t, she would go back to
the office. It seemed she was doing alright so far. Bindi didn’t
like her much, but she wished her well.
“We’re here.” Grant
announced.
The house was in the middle of ten
houses in what she would call a community. There was a small
grocery store with gas pumps up front and a small café across the
street from it. She and Grant went in and knocked the job out fast.
Two more jobs and they had supper at a place Rita had on a list
Trail had left. Amarok was just about to close so they got in just
in time. Bindi hadn’t watched the time as well as she usually did.
Maybe the long drive had thrown her off her game.
This place was rustic just like you’d
expect in Alaska way back when. It claimed to be a hundred years
old, and she believed it. Someone had maintained it well and put
more modern equipment in the bathrooms and kitchen. On the menu was
many local dishes and local meats, but a small section had
international foods. Truly something for everyone.
Their food was wonderful and the rustic
surroundings including the fireplace with the popping fire, was
relaxing. “Where are we staying tonight?” She asked with
curiosity.
“The owners of this place
have a hunting lodge next door. Only place to stay within fifty
miles. It’s rustic like this place is but it’s got a touch of
luxury. I hope they upgrade us since this isn’t hunting season so
many rooms are empty. If they do, we get a two bedroom suite with a
hot tub on the balcony. Those rooms are nice too.”
“Okay. As long as I get my
own room I’m fine.””
“Great. Are you ready to
go.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Grant paid at the counter with the
company card, and they left. The hunting lodge was behind the
restaurant, so they walked there. There were all the usual things
like stuffed animal heads and statues of local animals. A centrally
located fireplace was huge and couches and overstuffed chairs sat
everywhere. An antler chandelier was in the ceiling. Her partner
checked them in, and they went up to the second floor by climbing
the stairs.
As her partner opened the door and
stepped aside, she took a look at the room. Grant was right, it was
wonderful. Yes, it had the look of days gone by, but so what? She
liked the antique look and the silk and satin felt good. Her home
away from home was comfortable and they’d be here three to five
days, so it needed to be comfortable.
Grant went to bed first and she decided
to sleep too. Breakfast was not included but they did have a coupon
for half off at their restaurant. It wasn’t like they had many
choices. After that, the day went well. They worked late and got
five jobs done, all regular jobs but still they did five. She found
that exciting.
Bindi didn’t know why, but she felt
nervous about tomorrow. It was a matter of waiting for the other
shoe to drop. Everything just couldn’t go right for this long. But
Bindi was wrong. Another good day and they even had a signup from
the office. Things had gone so well they would be done tomorrow.
After a good night’s sleep, they loaded their bags, checked out,
and caught breakfast.
“Where is our first stop?”
Bindi asked.
“We saved some on the way
home and they all look to be in isolated locations.”
Bindi shivered. No point in worrying
about things. Maybe they really were gone. The first place was
barely off the highway. It was a two lane highway, but traffic was
steady, and they would eventually follow this highway
home.
The second place was right next to
another house. Again, no problem. It was the third place where all
hell broke loose. Bindi didn’t know how many men were there, but
she had her stun gun ready and pepper spray as a backup. Grant was
taking out guys too as she took three and they went down. Halfway
home or a bit more, she didn’t think they’d get here in time to
support them.
She started on the pepper spray and if
these were decent guys fighting for a worthwhile cause, she would
feel bad as they dropped to the ground screaming and writhing in
pain. But these were haters and they deserved whatever they got.
Bindi turned to see how Grant was doing and it wasn’t
good.
Bindi got the guy on the end and pepper