Chapter 6 #2
Seeing that everyone was set, Adam gave off a howl and sped away.
Snorting, Myra gave chase, with Jonas and Cindy hot on her heels.
Joe took the rear, and Cindy knew he was going slower than he needed to in order to cover their backs, even though they didn’t have any reason to be concerned about the area.
Their new second liked to be cautious, she’d learned.
Something she appreciated in her hierarchy.
When they were well away from town, Adam circled around and bounced in front of Jonas, inviting him to play.
They whirled and chased, bowed and nipped, making slow progress forward but having a lot of fun.
Cindy huffed, her wolf version of a snicker, when Myra bounded between them then took off like a shot, inviting a game of chase.
The men answered immediately, taking off after her.
Cindy wasn’t interested in top speed tonight. She loped along, Joe keeping pace with her. She wished the cloud cover would go away and they could see the beautiful stars, and have better moonlight, but she tasted rain in the air and figured they’d be getting some by the next evening.
She stepped on a sharp rock and whined a little, slowing to a stop so she could shake it free from her paw.
The burst of concern came down her mate bond immediately, but she let Jonas know she was fine.
The sharp sting had faded as soon as it had hit.
Joe waited while she tested her next step to be sure the rock had shaken loose, then gave her face a quick lick and they continued on.
They ran and played for an hour before resting in a big pile, listening to the sounds of the desert and enjoying just being together as a pack. After a while, Myra stood, and they all followed, ready to head back to home and bed.
Jonas climbed down from the ladder and surveyed his handiwork. Olivia was in the kitchen unpacking boxes and Tasha was in her bedroom, making the bed. He’d just finished adding brackets to the large bookcase that had found a home in the living room, attaching it firmly to the wall.
He and Bill had carted everything in from the truck by late morning.
The Keoghs didn’t have a lot of material possessions.
Except books. They had quite a few boxes of books, which he had no complaints about.
Bill had set up the television while Jonas helped Olivia hang curtains.
Then Bill had left and Jonas had taken care of the bookcase.
Unlike Jen, neither Olivia nor Tasha had bed frames that needed to be put together.
There really wasn’t much more to do, other than actually empty all the boxes he’d dragged in.
He didn’t think they’d love him opening up their boxes, and he was getting pretty hungry, so he went to the kitchen.
“Olivia, how about I go pick up lunch for all of us and bring it back here. In the meantime, take a look around and let me know if there’s anything else you could use my help with before I head out.”
The doorbell rang before she had a chance to respond. She looked questioningly at him, but he just shrugged. Until he thought about it, tuned into his bond, and realized it was his mate on the other side of the door. And chances were pretty much guaranteed that she had food.
Olivia had opened the door by the time he’d made his realization and headed over to join her. He took the Crock-Pot out of Cindy’s hands, accepting a kiss, all while she spoke to Olivia.
“I figured you guys would be hungry about now, and not in the mood to go find any food. “That’s a pot of chili.” She held up a grocery bag. “This is paper plates and plastic utensils, in case you haven’t unpacked dishes yet, and sour cream, avocado, cheese and jalapenos, for toppings.”
Olivia blinked at her for a minute, clearly shocked. Then she nodded. “That’s very kind of you, Cindy. Thank you. Jonas was just suggesting food, so your timing is perfect. Jonas, if you let Tasha know, I’ll get things set up on the table.”
“I have another bag in the car with drinks. I’ll go grab it.” Cindy didn’t wait for a response.
Jonas saw that Olivia didn’t move, just stood staring at the still open door.
“Is she overwhelming?” he asked softly.
“No.” Olivia shook her head—and turned to Jonas with a smile. The first real smile he’d seen from her. “No. She’s extremely kind, and so are you. This was very thoughtful of her. I was going to buy you lunch, as a tiny thank you for all your help today.”
“No need, I’m happy to do my part in getting you and Tasha settled here. Everyone in the pack is starting over, and we all need each other to make that transition as easy as possible.”
Cindy came back through the door, and Olivia gave him one last smile before heading to the little dining area next to the kitchen. The apartment wasn’t grand, but it was set up nicely, had two bedrooms, and was close to the high school Tasha would be attending.
He went down the short hall and stuck his head through Tasha’s door. She’d made her bed and was hanging clothes in the closet.
“Hey, Cindy brought lunch for everyone. Ready to take a break?”
She smiled at him, not quite meeting his gaze.
Her shyness made him nervous about her ability to find friends at the new school.
He’d have to ask Myra and Adam if any of the new potential pack members had teenagers.
He imagined it would be a lot easier for Tasha to get close to another wolf, so she wouldn’t have to hide such an important part of herself.
He stepped back and let her proceed him down the hall, where the delicious smell of chili made his stomach growl.
Cindy wouldn’t exactly call the conversation around lunch lively, but she managed to get a couple of smiles and comments from both Olivia and Tasha.
And the general air of negativity she’d sensed during her first meeting with Olivia seemed to have faded away.
She was glad she’d had the idea to come with lunch.
She looked around the apartment. “Nice place. I like the park across the street.”
“We’ll see,” Olivia said. “Some parks turn into drug dens and homeless camps at night.”
Cindy bit back a smile. “I think Jonas mentioned the crime rates in this neighborhood are pretty low, but it’s definitely a good idea to keep an eye out and see what it’s really like.”
“You’ll let me know if there’s anything questionable,” Jonas added.
Olivia nodded. Tasha played with her food.
“Olivia, if it would help, Tasha and I could go to the store to get your groceries while you get some more boxes unpacked.”
“I can pay for our groceries.”
“Mom!”
Cindy wasn’t sure how to respond, but Jonas leaned in and looked into Olivia’s eyes. “She wasn’t thinking about money one way or the other. Just about helping you get settled. It wasn’t very long ago that she moved, and she remembers what a pain in the butt it is.”
Olivia watched him for a second, then turned to Cindy. Whatever she saw on Cindy’s face seemed to reassure her. “All right, then. I’m sorry. That would be very helpful, I can give Tasha my card.”
“That’s perfect then. We’ll just get the basics, unless you want to take a minute to do up a list?”
“No, thank you. Tasha will know the basics, and we can do a big shop tomorrow.”
“Excellent. You need anything while I’m there, Jonas?”
“No, baby, I’m good.”
When they climbed into her car, Cindy slanted a look at the quiet teenager. “Have you had a chance to explore the local radio stations?”
Tasha shook her head.
“Want to give it a go?” Cindy gestured towards the radio.
She headed towards the store as the radio jumped from commercial to music to talking and back again. It was a short drive to the market, but by the time they pulled into the parking lot, Taylor Swift was signing and Tasha had sat back in her seat with a smile to Cindy.
“Good choice.” She pulled into a parking space and cranked up the volume. Then she met Tasha’s gaze and started singing along. Loudly. It took a few seconds, but then the girl joined in, a wide grin on her face as they sang the chorus with considerable lack of skill.
When the song ended, Cindy turned the car off and laughed. “We suck, but in a totally awesome way.”
“Yeah.”
It was said softly, but Cindy visualized high-fiving herself while playing it cool on the outside. Tasha grabbed a cart and they headed inside.
An hour later, Cindy was feeling pretty good as she returned to her house. Mission accomplished. She’d gotten to feed and kiss her man, make Olivia feel welcomed, and she’d actually had a conversation with Tasha where the teenager had participated fully.
Now she could finish up the plans for the weekend party at the pack house while Jonas was off helping his mom plant her herb garden.
Apparently it was a tradition they’d had when he’d lived in New York, that they hadn’t been able to enjoy together since he’d moved away.
They’d invited her to join them, but she’d thought they could use the time together. Besides, she had a black thumb.
She got to work printing out some colorful printables that were supposed to make party decorating easy for anyone.
Cindy was ready to post them on the blog, if they worked as advertised.
Which she thought they probably would. She had a nice stack of them going, but had to keep a close eye on them to make sure the paper was lined up correctly, so when her phone rang with her mom’s ringtone. She bit back a sigh.
Jonas wasn’t worried, exactly, as he walked into the house several hours later.
He just had a niggling of concern. Cindy always met him at the door if she was home when he arrived, usually with a drink, always with a kiss.
He knew she was home. He could feel her nearness along that amazing link they shared.