Chapter 8
After finding Fallon up for hours before him that morning, Avi spent most of Monday morning doing his usual chores around the farm, but his mind was on his mate.
He could tell she was so happy to be baking in the kitchen, especially once the herd had woken up and been excited for the coffee cake she’d made.
She was feeling out her place in the herd, and he was thankful his friends were so welcoming and supportive.
He caught glimpses of her as she worked in the house with the others, cleaning the glass from the floor and furniture and washing the linens. They hadn’t even tackled the barns yet because the bedrooms were the priority, but at some point they’d get to them.
After he finished harvesting the last of the green peppers, he pulled the plants and discarded them in the compost bin, then went to find his sweetheart and get some lunch.
He expected to see her on the second floor in one of the bedrooms, but instead he found her in one of the storage rooms on the first floor with the sewing machine she’d told him about. He vaguely remembered seeing it in the room when they’d bought the farm, an unused relic from the previous owners.
She was sitting at the sewing table with the machine and using a needle and thread on the curtains from Crew and Zara’s room.
“Hey there,” he said, coming to stand next to her.
She blinked up at him and smiled. “Hi.”
“Is the machine working?”
“I think it’s jammed. I cut the torn part out of the curtain and need to restitch it all, but the machine won’t work and I haven’t had a chance to look online for the instruction manual.”
“Let me take a crack at it. I’m not the handiest guy like Ford, but I might be able to figure it out.”
She got up and he took a seat, angling the gooseneck lamp over the machine. “We need to get you some supplies, huh?”
“That would be really nice. But there are other more important things to deal with right now. Like all the windows.”
He glanced at her. “This is important too.”
She smiled. “Do you think so?”
“Hell, yes. Do you know how often I’ve tossed a shirt or jeans because of a tear? Daisy ripped the pocket of my favorite flannel shirt a few months ago and I had to throw it away. Maybe you could have salvaged it.”
The little goat was the unofficial farm mascot and very ornery. She reminded him of Tank the moose at the safari park, who was quite the cantankerous fellow. They were two peas in a pod.
“Yeah, I maybe could have saved it.” She gripped the curtains and then smiled again. “I want to make a home.”
“What do you mean?”
“For you and me. We’re mated now, and I know it’s only been two days since I got here, but I really love the farm.
The herd is so amazing and so gracious with everything, and you’re the best guy I’ve ever known.
But I want to make a home for us. I want this place to be where I think of when I say the word home, and part of that is me being useful and helping out. ”
He was going to tell her she didn’t have to do anything to be useful or helpful to the herd, because she was his soulmate and that meant she was part of it no matter what.
But he saw the earnestness in her eyes and knew she was wrestling with her place in the world.
Whatever she needed to do to make the farm feel like home to her, he was all for.
He hummed. “I like blue.”
Her brow furrowed. “Oh-kay?”
With a chuckle, he clarified, “I mean, I like blue for the curtains in our bedroom. The ones in there now are brown. I think they were there when I picked the room and I just never messed with them. Do you think you could make some blue curtains? If we ordered things that you’d need?”
Her eyes lit up and he knew he’d guessed right.
“Oh, yes, I’d love that. Maybe a blue like your eyes.” She stepped next to him and leaned down, giving him a soft kiss.
“We’ll deal with that after I get this figured out.”
He turned his attention back to the machine, and she sat on a chair nearby and worked on the other curtains.
After ten minutes, he’d located a diagram online and figured out how to fix the machine, finding a knot of old fabric and thread that prevented the needle from moving.
Once it was clear, she showed him how to thread the bobbin and did a quick stitch around the edge of the curtain with a broad grin.
“You fixed it!” she gushed.
“I’m glad I could. This needs to be cleaned, though. I saw instructions online on how to do it, and just need some oil and a few small tools. Before we get into that or ordering fabric and supplies, how about lunch? I saw Nancy in the kitchen making chicken salad sandwiches on croissant bread.”
“Sounds delish. I’m starving.”
“Maybe after,” he said, helping her to her feet and pulling her close, “we can clean up in our room.”
“Our room is already clean.”
He just stared at her, willing her to know exactly what he meant. And then she grinned. “Oh. Clean. Got it.” She giggled and went onto her toes, brushing her lips over his. “That sounds like a great plan.”
With a lingering kiss, he let go of her and they headed to the kitchen to join the herd for lunch, but his mind wasn’t on the chatter around the table or the excellent chicken salad sandwiches.
It was on the bedroom upstairs and the fun he and Fallon would get into when they were alone.
* * *
After Avi and Fallon drove each other wild, they dressed and talked about the plans for the afternoon, which mainly involved the continued cleanup of the farmhouse.
It was tedious work because there was still glass everywhere, and the floors and furniture had to be gone over multiple times to ensure no shards were left behind.
The windows were supposed to be delivered on Tuesday and Avi was thankful the weather was decent and they weren’t dealing with rain or cold temperatures at night.
He joined Fallon as she finished dressing and saw one of the drawers that he’d cleared for her in the dresser wasn’t even half full. He frowned.
“I didn’t notice,” he said, “but is that all the clothes you have?”
She pushed her foot into her shoe and looked at him. “Yeah. Why?”
“There’s not much, sweetheart.” Then it dawned on him. She’d had to escape her prowl to save herself, and had only been at the park for a week. “The park shifters didn’t give you anything?”
“They did, actually. They gave me a new phone and some clothes, but I hardly ever left the house I was staying in, so I didn’t need much. I’m just glad I had a cute skirt for our date.”
“Well, shit, we need to fix that.”
“But you said it wasn’t safe for us to go anywhere. Not until things settled down.”
“True, but we can order stuff for you. Come on.”
He grabbed her hand and took her down to the kitchen, where a built-in desk held a laptop the herd used to order supplies.
He opened a web page to an online store where she could get pretty much anything, with most things able to be delivered overnight.
Then he scooted back and got up, pointing to the chair.
“Order whatever you need. And not just the stuff you need, but stuff you want.”
“I don’t really need anything.”
“Sweetheart, of course you do.” He leaned on one arm and looked at her intently.
“I logged in with my account, so I’m paying for it.
But even if I didn’t, the herd has funds just for situations like this.
You’re not the only one to come to us with only one bag to their name, just ask Zara.
Order clothes and shoes, toiletries—whatever.
Don’t feel like you need to order panties, though. ” He winked and she laughed.
“If you’re sure?”
“One hundred percent. All of us put money into a general fund for whatever the herd needs. When you’re done, you can look online for the sewing supplies and I’ll set up an order for that stuff too.” He kissed her forehead. “Go wild, sweetheart. I’ll check in on you in a bit.”
“Thanks, Avi. I mean it.”
“My pleasure.”
He lingered in the kitchen a moment longer, watching her scroll through the online catalog. The afternoon sunlight made her dark hair shine with hidden auburn strands, and he thought she was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen in his life.
And she was his.
“Hey, sweetheart?”
She glanced back at him. “Yeah?”
“I know this isn’t how you pictured your life turning out, with your escape from the prowl and hiding out on some middle-of-nowhere farm with horse shifters, but I’m really thankful you’re here.
And no matter what comes our way, good things and bad, we can get through it together.
You and me, thick or thin, hell or high water. ”
Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled. “One hundred percent.”
He walked back to her and gave her a hug, then left her to her online shopping.
As he made his way up the stairs to the second floor, he paused, his hand gripping the railing. Tension prickled his neck in warning, the way it felt when a storm was on the horizon.
He listened intently, but didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary.
Was his stallion just on high alert because he had Fallon to watch over now? Because of Colton’s attack, was he leaning toward being paranoid?
Or was it nothing, just a wild imagination?
He frowned as he looked up to the second floor where Grey, Crew, and Zara were working, while Ford was sleeping for his night shift on patrol, and Tris was in the laundry room with Nancy.
The house was humming with activity.
No danger.
Probably.
But still, he’d mention the odd feeling to Crew anyway.
He didn’t want anything to happen to his mate or his herd. And it was better to be safe than sorry. Always.