CHAPTER EIGHT
Kane stepped out onto the porch and greeted the trio and their haul. The day was clear and cool, a crisp nip of fall air in the mountains. He was glad to see his friends had returned safe and sound. Although they were in constant communication, he worried the same as if they were his blood family. He pondered that thought. Family. They were his family. Everyone here was family now.
“How was the trip?” he asked, bear-hugging Flip and then Spook.
“Relatively uneventful,” said Flip, looking at Nat.
He knew she wouldn’t want them to say anything, but Kane was good at what he did, and he would get it out of them one way or another. His senses would immediately pick up on something and pry it out of Nat.
“What does that mean?” said Kane suspiciously.
“We had a little trouble with a guy at the campground last night, but we handled it.” Spook walked past Nat and winked.
“You okay, Nat?” he asked intuitively.
“I am, thanks to these guys. Thank you, Kane.”
He nodded at the young woman and looked at the huge amount of stuff that needed to be unpacked.
“What do we do with all of this until your place is complete?” asked Flip.
The one cabin that was complete belonged to Uri Bellum and his family. It was more like a luxury log home with three big bedrooms, two floors, and two large fireplaces. The other cabins, all under construction, would be similar in size. Kane smiled at the big man and nodded.
“Uri’s construction team is a group of undocumented Russians who need the work to earn money for their papers. They’re working like dogs around the clock to get things up quickly. They have a team of a hundred guys. You can hear them at night, the echoing of the hammers and saws.” He laughed and shook his head, remembering the sounds the first few nights that kept them awake.
“They have three of the cabins already framed, the roof in place, and walls going up. They’re telling us the cabins will be done in 30 days.”
“Thirty days?!” yelled Flip.
“Yep. I’m suspicious of what the outcome will be, but Uri promises it will be similar to this place. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s amazing to watch them. Of course, we’re avoiding any permit lines we can, so that helps to speed things up as well.”
“Okay, well, I hope they got the specs for my place. I’m damned tired of leaning over every countertop, sink, and ledge in the average house. I want something suitable for my size.” Kane laughed as Adam strode up to the group.
“You know you’re not the only tall guy in the group, right?” said Adam, standing to his full six feet two [PC1] .
Where Adam was tall and muscled from workouts, Flip was tall, full, thick, and solid. If they were standing side-by-side, Adam would look like the center for a basketball team, and Flip would look like the center for a football team. That was the difference in the men.
“I know, Doc, but you know how hard it is when everything is made for the ‘average’ person. I just want to not have a backache every time I cook a meal.” Flip acknowledged the other big man, grinning as they spoke.
“Don’t worry, my friend,” said Uri, standing on the porch, “my men know to build everything giant-sized for you.”
“Thanks, Uri,” said Flip with a grin.
Nat stood beside Flip and slid her hand inside his big paw, staring up into his dark eyes.
“What about me?” she asked shyly. “Should I build a place of my own?”
The other men smiled at Flip and Nat. They knew what the big man should say, but whether or not he would say the right thing was a toss-up. Flip wasn’t known for eloquent speeches or flowery discussions, so this would be amusing at best. Kane almost wanted to help him but decided he would wait and watch the show first.
“Do you want a place of your own?” asked Flip nervously, suddenly very unsure of himself and their relationship, or if they even had a relationship! “I mean, if you want a place of your own, we can build one, but if you don’t, well, we can figure that out too. I mean, I don’t want you to feel obligated or anything, and there’s plenty of land. I mean, if you want plenty of land…”
Flip tripped over the words as they flowed from his lips. He was nervous and didn’t know how to say what was racing through his mind. He saw Spook roll his eyes, Kane and Adam covered their mouths, shaking their heads, and that made him even more nervous.
“You are such an idiot, Phillip Cho! You know that, right?”
He looked down at the hurt in Nat’s eyes, the blue depths swimming in tears. With that, she stormed off into the house to find Aislinn and Fiona.
“She’s right. You’re an idiot,” said Kane, laughing at his big friend.
“What? What did I say?” Flip looked shocked at the sudden outburst of emotion from Nat. He was used to her tough girl exterior and hadn’t expected such emotion from her.
“She was trying to get you to ask her to share your place,” said Adam. “She wanted you to make that decision. A woman doesn’t want to have to ask a man if she can move in with him. What did you think she was doing?”
“Why the fuck didn’t she just ask me?” said Flip, running his hands through his long black hair.
“Because women prefer to be asked, you moron!” said Spook.
“What the fuck do you know about women? And how am I supposed to know these things? Am I supposed to guess?”
“You are so adorable, my sweet Flip,” said Aislinn from the front steps. “She’s inside, and I think you should go speak with her before this gets worse for you.”
“What do I say?” he asked, stopping on the porch beside Aislinn. The tiny woman reached out and gripped his forearm.
“Say what’s in your heart.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed his rough cheek, smiling.
Damn! Flip didn’t want to have to talk to Nat about this. He didn’t want to push her into moving into a home with him. She’d been living on her own since she was a child. Would she even want to share a home with someone? Especially someone like him. He was big and clumsy and odd looking and… aww, fuck it!
He stepped inside the massive living room of the Bellums and nodded at Uri’s wife, Melanie. Sitting on the sofa typing away on a computer was their daughter, Kelly, also one of the gifted.
“Hi, Flip,” she said with a big smile.
“Hey, kid, how are you?” Flip gave a half-hearted wave and smiled at Kelly.
Kelly rolled her eyes at the term ‘kid.’ She was eighteen years old and headed off to college next year. Flip liked the young girl, but right now, there was another woman on his mind.
“Good, I’m actually taking all my classes online! How cool is that? I’ll be done sooner than I thought and can start college right away.”
“Cool,” he said quietly.
“She’s in the back bedroom,” said Melanie, smiling sweetly. “I think you might want to go to her.”
Flip nodded and walked down the long corridor. Why was this so hard for him? He stopped in the open doorway.
“Nat? Nat, I’m sorry,” he said. She stood at the massive picture window, staring out over the hills. “Nat? Talk to me, baby.”
“You hurt me, Flip. I thought we agreed that we were together, a couple together. The other night meant something to me, deeply. I thought you understood that was a commitment for me. I didn’t want to have to ask to share your home.” The moisture in her eyes was nearly his undoing. He pulled her close, kissing the top of her head, and then looked down into her eyes once more.
“OUR home,” he emphasized. He took a deep breath and pulled her closer. “Our home, Nat. That was my mistake for not saying that, but it’s what I meant. It’s our home. I ordered the height of the countertops before us, and I can change them back if you like. But it will be our house with plenty of room to grow.”
“I don’t want this just because you feel guilty now or somehow obligated.” The pained, hurt look on her face nearly killed him. Flip was many things, deadly, dangerous, a killing machine, a child sometimes, but never intentionally hurtful.
“I don’t feel any of those things,” he said, moving closer to her. He pulled her against him and hugged her gently, kissing the top of her head again. His big hands stroked her back, his fingers gliding through the tangled mass of blonde hair. “I feel love, Nat. That’s all I feel when I’m with you, love.”
“You do?” she said with a tear.
“I do,” he smiled. “I love you, Nadine Ellis. I know it makes no sense, but when I think about the fact that Kane and Adam both fell in love within twenty-four hours, well, I guess that makes me slow.”
Nat laughed and kissed his lips, gliding her tongue along the bottom lip, tasting him, nibbling the meaty bottom lip. His lips warmed against hers, and he held her tightly to his chest, the warmth of their bodies melding into one. He could never live without this woman again, never.
The sun was starting to set behind the mountains, and Flip smiled to himself. His life was a complete one-eighty compared to what it had been just a few months before. He was in love, and he realized he was tired. It had been a long day for all of them.
“Let’s get the things stored, and you and I can figure out where to sleep,” she said, smiling up at him.
“I guess I should have kept the motorhome for a while,” he said, grinning.
“That might have been a good idea,” she laughed, “but somehow, I love that little tent. It will always be special to me.”
“Alright then. The tent it is until our place is complete.”
Nat smiled at Flip as he pulled her toward the front of the house. As they passed Melanie and Kelly, both smiled in their direction, knowing that all was well with the two. It didn’t escape Flip’s gaze, however, that Juan stood in the kitchen watching the mother and daughter. He wondered what that was all about and would ask Kane when he had a moment.
“You two good?” asked Adam as they stepped out onto the front porch.
“We’re better than good,” said Nat. “I do believe we’ll be sharing a cabin.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close, kissing his chest.
“Well, alright then!” said Kane, slapping his friend on the back.
He’d hoped that Flip and Spook would find their partners, but Flip more than any of them. When they’d reconnected a few months back, he was in a dark place. Things were starting to look up for them all.
By the time everything was unloaded and placed in storage until the cabins were complete, it was nearly midnight, and exhaustion was fast setting in for everyone. Flip erected the tent and made it as comfortable as possible for him and Nat. Aislinn and Kane took the spare bedroom inside Uri’s home, with Adam and Fiona sleeping on the sleeper sofa in the basement.
Not wanting to sleep outside again and hear Flip and Nat, Spook took the sofa in the living room. Ben and Juan, the ever-present security, took shifts, walking the perimeter, and then settled into a tent at the back of the cabin. Within minutes of hitting their pillows, it was lights out for everyone.
“Should we approach tonight?” asked the young man, looking at their leader.
“No, not tonight,” said the older woman. “I think they might shoot us on the spot. We wait until daylight and then approach.”
“What about the others? Should they come as well?” he asked.
“Yes. We approach together.” She turned to see the dozen pairs of eyes staring at them. “All of us.”