22. Chapter Twenty-Three #4
“We're getting ahead of ourselves.” I told Tavian when he started speculating about what he'd need to take with him, lifting one hand before his imagination carried the conversation any farther into a trip that didn't exist.
“I was being prepared.” Tavian protested as he leaned back in his chair, looking genuinely offended that I'd interrupted what he apparently considered useful planning.
“You were planning a trip Evie hasn't invited you on.” I reminded Tavian, raising one eyebrow when his mouth opened to argue.
“Luca's right.” Malek told Tavian as he took another drink of water, his quiet certainty ending the argument before Tavian could build momentum.
Tavian looked between us, realized he was outnumbered, and released a dramatic sigh before slumping farther into his chair.
My gaze moved toward the worktable near the window, where a damp line marked the stone from rain that had blown through during the night.
Whatever happened months from now could wait, because there were smaller things in front of us that didn't require guessing at Evie's future.
“Help me with the table.” I told Malek as I stood and caught one end of the heavy wooden surface, already judging the distance between it and the drier interior wall.
Malek rose immediately and took the opposite side without needing another explanation, while Tavian remained in his chair and watched us with growing suspicion.
“What are we doing?” Tavian asked as Malek and I lifted the table, his gaze traveling from us toward the empty stretch of wall behind me.
“Moving the table.” I answered Tavian while adjusting my grip beneath the edge.
“I can see that.” Tavian replied as he finally stood and moved the chair out of our path. “Why?”
“Rain comes through that window when the wind changes.” I explained to Tavian as Malek and I shifted the table toward the interior wall, lifting the legs high enough that they didn't scrape across the stone. “If Evie uses a laptop here, it shouldn't be sitting somewhere water can reach it.”
“You just accused me of planning imaginary trips.” Tavian pointed out as we lowered the table and he carried the chair after us.
“Moving furniture six feet is not planning an imaginary trip.” I corrected Tavian as I checked that the outlet could still be reached and the table retained enough indirect daylight to be useful.
Tavian looked toward the damp stone beneath the other window and apparently decided I had a point because he stopped arguing. Malek disappeared into storage and returned with another sealed box, setting it beneath the newly positioned table before crouching beside it.
“This one?” Malek asked as he ran one thumb along the edge of the lid, his eyes lifting toward me while he waited.
“Good.” I answered Malek as I crouched beside him and checked the gasket. “Leave it empty.”
Malek glanced from me to the cleared space beneath the table, understood what I meant without needing it explained, and slid the container neatly beside the one already there.
Tavian returned several minutes later carrying folded blankets stacked against his chest. The moment I saw where his eyes were aimed, I knew exactly what he intended to do.
“What?” Tavian asked as he stopped in the doorway, shifting the blankets higher when the top one started sliding and catching my expression before I'd said anything.
“Where are those going?” I asked Tavian, already knowing the answer while he tightened his arms around the stack.
“The sleeping room.” Tavian answered as he jerked his chin toward the hallway.
“No.” I told Tavian, nodding toward the nearby cabinet instead. His eyebrows rose as he tightened his arms around the blankets.
“She likes blankets.” Tavian argued, looking genuinely confused about why that wasn't enough reason to carry them directly to the bed.
“She does.” I agreed with Tavian as I rested one hand against the worktable. “Put them where she can find them. She decides which ones go in the nest.”
Tavian's gaze moved toward the sleeping-room hallway, and the argument disappeared almost immediately as he understood what I meant.
“Right.” Tavian said quietly before carrying the blankets toward the cabinet without another complaint.
Malek cleared one drawer near the worktable and left it empty while I moved the spare radio charger to a more accessible shelf.
Tavian returned from the cabinet and helped with the remaining work without trying to fill the open spaces himself.
By late afternoon, the living area barely looked different, which was exactly what I wanted.
The table sat somewhere drier, another sealed box waited beneath it, part of one shelf and a drawer were empty, and extra blankets rested inside a cabinet where Evie could reach them if she wanted them.
There was simply more room than there had been that morning without anything looking as though we'd already decided how she should use it.
Tavian came back through the courtyard a little later with one hand suspiciously closed near his hip, and the attempt to look casual only made it more obvious that he'd found something.
“No.” I told Tavian immediately, narrowing my eyes at the fist he was trying and failing to make look innocent.
“You don't even know what I have.” Tavian protested, stopping several feet away as outrage appeared across his face.
“It is something you found outside and decided Evie needs.” I answered Tavian, folding my arms while I waited for him to prove me right. His hand opened to reveal a smooth dark stone resting in his palm. Malek made a quiet sound somewhere behind me, and Tavian immediately turned toward him.
“Don't.” Tavian warned Malek, narrowing his eyes before looking back at me. “It's a nice stone.”
“I didn't say it wasn't.” I told Tavian, glancing from the stone toward the empty shelf near the worktable when his attention followed mine.
“I could leave it there.” Tavian suggested, taking one step toward the shelf while turning the stone between his fingers.
“No.” I answered Tavian, stopping him before he reached it. His brows pulled together as he looked from me to the bare wood.
“The shelf can stay empty.” I explained as I nodded toward the unused space. Tavian studied it for several seconds before understanding changed his expression.
“So she can put something there.” Tavian said as he looked back toward me, the argumentative edge leaving his voice.
“If she wants to.” I confirmed for Tavian.
“I'll give it to her myself.” Tavian decided as he closed his hand around the stone and slipped it carefully into his pocket.
“That was always going to make you happier.” Malek observed from behind us, amusement faintly warming his normally controlled voice.
“Yes.” Tavian answered Malek without embarrassment, patting the pocket once to make sure the stone remained there. “I like when she keeps things.”
We knew that about him already. Tavian had been bringing Evie gifts before she even knew he had hands, but watching him tuck this one away instead of deciding where it belonged for her showed me he'd understood what I'd been trying to say.
I looked around the room once more. Nothing had been labeled for Evie or arranged as though she'd already agreed to live here.
We'd simply stopped using a few spaces ourselves and left them open.
For most of my life, bringing someone into a pack would have meant showing them how we already lived—the territory, the customs, and the rules that kept the sanctuary protected.
Evie came with an entire life none of us understood yet, and if she kept coming back, we would have to learn parts of hers too.
For now, she had only promised to return, so we left her somewhere to put something when she did.