Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
S adie sighed in relief when the last man was served. Grabbing a paper towel, she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Go lock the damn door.” She called out to Lily, who rushed to do just that.
“That was crazy.” Lily sighed, leaning against the long metal island. “Some of them came in four times.”
Looking at the mess that still needed to be cleaned up, Sadie nodded. “I don’t know if mom teaching us how to cook was a blessing or not.” Lily frowned, stretching. “I can’t feel my feet.”
“You’re lucky because my feet are killing me.” Sadie lifted one foot and then the other, shaking them out. “Let’s fix us something to eat and then clean this mess up. I’m starving.”
“Sounds good to me,” Lily said, grabbing a plate. “Did any of the men say stuff to you that seemed off?”
Sadie started filling her plate with a laugh. “I lost count of how many dates I was asked out on and four proposals.” Sadie left out what one man had whispered to her. She shivered thinking about it. Something about the man made her very uncomfortable. The rest were nice, fumbling their words, and looked genuinely disappointed when she turned them all down.
“I also had a few guys that were cute and nice, but Alex kept growling and glaring at them.” Lily set her plate on the island.
“I think he likes you, Lily,” Sadie replied, waiting for her toast. “And he seems very protective over you.”
“Nah, he’s just showing me the ropes around here. He said he was a drifter and never stays in one place for a period of time.” Lily said, then grinned. “Kile didn’t look so happy about all the attention you were getting.”
Sadie snorted, but her heart fluttered at the mention of Kile. When the man who made her uncomfortable whispered that she would be his, which was very strange, Kile stepped between them and sent him on his way. Kile never said a word to her other than to step back.
“He was probably upset with the long line.” Sadie blew off what Lily was insinuating. Her mind quickly went to the kiss they shared last night. They talked and laughed. Then he walked her back to the tent. He didn’t kiss her again, and the disappointment she felt shocked her. “Come on, let’s go outside and eat. I’m tired of being in this kitchen.”
Lily snorted, knowing that Sadie was quickly changing the subject. “He’s hot.” Lily peeked at her before they walked outside with their plates. “And he’s into you. I can tell.”
“Yeah, well, he’s a shifter, and I’m not,” Sadie whispered as they walked out the door into the sunshine. She squinted at the brightness. “Enough said.” Her lips tingled as she thought about the kiss they shared last night, which made her curse under her breath.
Lily rolled her eyes at her, letting the conversation go. As they passed people eating, Sadie noticed the looks they were getting—not from the men but from the females. Seeing an empty table down the hill, they headed that way. Her gaze met and stopped on Kile, who was sitting with Gemma, Eric, Cole, and Leeza. Quickly looking away, she put her plate on the small table and sat down.
“Did you notice the hate aimed our way?” Lily whispered before taking a bite of bacon.
Sadie toyed with her food before taking a bite, her appetite gone. “Yes, unfortunately.” Sadie frowned, taking a small bite of egg. She couldn’t blame the women here for feeling as they do, but neither she nor Lily did anything other than cook for everyone. She looked up at Lily, who was also picking at her food and frowning. “Do you still want to stay here?”
Her head snapped up. “Yes,” she said, then straightened her shoulders. “It will take more than a few mean looks to make me run. We didn’t do anything wrong. I want to stay here. I like it here.”
“No, we didn’t,” Sadie agreed, but she didn’t like the idea of leaving Lily if there were possible problems with some of the shifters here, both male and female. Here again, Sadie could fail her sister. She didn’t understand the mating phenomenon of Shifters. She tried to understand but couldn’t quite grasp the instant connection between two people who didn’t know each other. Her human mind couldn’t comprehend it. Kile’s kiss again came to the forefront of her mind as her eyes automatically went to where he was. As if he knew she was looking his way, their eyes met and held.
“Once some of the females here know I’m not looking at their man, things will be okay,” Lily said, trying to downplay the strange situation for Sadie. “Come on, let’s go clean up. I still have to help wash out some of the enclosures, and I don’t want to be late. Plus I want to go to the party tonight. Leeza said they have music, food, and dancing. Gemma, along with her neighbor, had a get-together once a month as a thank you to all the volunteers.”
“I’ll take care of the kitchen.” Sadie pulled her gaze away from Kile as she stood, grabbing her plate and taking Lily’s. “Go ahead and do what you need to do. God forbid you should miss a party.”
“Are you sure?” Lily frowned but looked hopeful. “I don’t want you to clean that mess alone.”
Sadie snorted, giving Lily a look. “At home, you did everything to get out of doing dishes.”
Lily shrugged, looking a little sheepish at the truth of those words. “Maybe I’ve grown up since then.”
Holding the plates with one hand, she reached out and pulled Lily into a hug. “You have grown up, Lily,” Sadie whispered, squeezing her tightly. “And I’m so damn proud of you. Now go clean poop.”
Lily laughed, hugging her back. “Love you, sis.”
“Back at ya,” Sadie smiled, watching Lily take off. Her gaze scanned the area, seeing a few girls giving her nasty looks, but Lily ignored them as she approached Larry and Alex. One of the girls glanced her way, and Sadie made sure she didn’t break eye contact with the girl. Yeah, human or not, she could be scrappy, and when you messed with Lily, you messed with her.
Walking into the kitchen after her short staring contest, which she won, she stopped in her tracks. The kitchen was almost cleaned. Five women were busy wiping everything down but turned to look at her when the door snapped shut.
“I was coming in to do that.” Sadie finally found her voice as the five women looked at her. “I didn’t expect anyone else to clean up my mess.”
A beautiful redhead smiled at her as she wiped down the island. “No worries. We are on cleaning detail. None of us can cook worth a damn, so we do the cleanup.” She tossed the rag she was using in a pile. “I’m Beth Ann.”
“I’m Sadie.” Sadie smiled with a nod. “And I have to say I appreciate you at the moment. My feet are killing me, and I was dreading this more than you know. But I would not have made such a mess if I knew someone else had to clean it.”
Another woman walked up to her, taking the plates. “Honey, this isn’t a mess. Gina made a mess.” The woman laughed, shaking her head. “Don’t get me wrong. Gina was a sweetie, but what you and your sister cooked this morning has the whole camp talking.”
“Especially the men.” Another woman added from across the room. Sadie didn’t hear any anger or resentment from the woman, which puzzled her.
“And it didn’t give Larry the fire-shits.” Another woman said, then laughed.
“My sister and I were not trying to gain attention from any of the men here.” Sadie wanted to make that crystal clear. She also wasn’t going to voice their situation or explain why that was the case.
“Getting dirty looks?” The woman named Beth Ann cocked her eyebrow. She shook her head when Sadie nodded. “We are all mated. The ones who aren’t too happy are unmated females, and the attention the unmated males were giving you two.”
“But I’m human,” Sadie said, gaining laughter from all the women. Any attention she had gotten from shifter men in her past wasn’t good attention. She always figured it was because she wasn’t a shifter.
“You can cook, you’re unattached and you have tits.” The woman who took her plates cocked her eyebrow at her. “And you are a beauty. It doesn’t matter what species you are.”
The five women laughed in agreement. “Trish is right. Shifter men love to eat and fuck.” Beth Anne gave her a wink. “And not in that order.”
“If you have any problems with any of the men, let one of the Jackson brothers know. They will handle it.” Trish patted her arm as she walked past. “They respect women and make sure we are taken care of.”
Sadie nodded, then frowned. “One did whisper to me that I was his.” She didn’t want anyone to get in trouble, but it made her nervous, especially when dealing with the Colton situation.
All five women glanced at each other knowingly before looking back at Sadie. “Dan.” They all said at once.
“I don’t know,” Sadie replied, but they were all nodding.
“It was Dan,” Beth Ann said, shaking her head. “He has said that to every unmated female here. Listen, don’t worry about those women out there; they are just jealous that you can cook and they can’t. Shifter men love to eat as much as they love to fuck. Whether you like it or not, you are a hot commodity, Sadie. I have to say I’m a little jealous myself. My man has never returned for seconds when I cook, and he had three helpings of your food this morning.”
“Didn’t really like that kind of attention, to be honest with you guys,” Sadie said, then a brilliant idea came to her. “I can teach you guys how to cook if you want to learn. Our mother taught both me and Lily.”
“Seriously?” Beth Ann asked, looking hopeful. “You would really do that?”
“Ah, yeah.” Sadie laughed, seeing the excitement on the woman’s face. “Let me talk to Gemma to make sure it’s okay.”
“That would be great.” Trish smiled and looked at the other three women, also beaming excitedly. “Listen, if you have any trouble with the unmated females, you come to me or Beth Ann. That’s Monica, Lucy, and Becca. We got yours and Lily’s back.”
“Listen, we have to go, but we’ll see you tonight at the party,” Beth Ann said as they approached the back door. She then looked behind Sadie with a wave. “Hey, Kile.”
“Beth Ann.” Kile’s voice had her turning around. He was leaning against the wall by the door, his arms crossed, staring at her.
“Making friends?” His deep voice echoed in the now-empty kitchen.
“Looks that way.” She replied with a shrug, wondering how much he had heard. She didn’t want to cause problems. “Did you get to eat? I don’t remember you getting a plate.”
“No, but it’s okay. I’ll eat later. I had some things to take care of.” He replied, pushing himself off the wall and walking toward her. “You and Lily were a hit. Larry can’t stop singing your praise.”
Sadie couldn’t help but grin. “Larry seems very opinionated and hard to please, so I will take that as a compliment.”
“I think every unmated male taking four plates of food should be a bigger compliment.” He cocked his eyebrow at her.
“Actually...that’s strange to me. The food wasn’t that good to make yourself sick.” Sadie frowned. “That’s a lot of food.”
“Shifters eat a lot,” he countered, and then his eyes left her face to gaze slowly down her body and back up just as slowly. “But I can guarantee it wasn’t just the food they were coming back for.”
“I’m not here for a man.” Sadie’s frown deepened. “I’m here to find a safe place for my sister. I don’t want to cause problems, especially with the females here.”
“Seems Beth Ann and some of the other mated females have taken a liking to you.” He smiled and then leaned closer to her. “And I will take care of the unmated males. They will not be bothering you anymore.” His eyes were intense as their golden hue darkened. They were hypnotizing, and she felt herself leaning toward him.
The door opened, sending her stepping away from him as Gemma and Eric walked inside. She quickly glanced up at Kile and saw a wicked grin on his lips, as if he knew she wanted one more kiss. Shit, she needed to stop thinking of that damn kiss before it got her into trouble. Ah, hell, who was she kidding? She was already in trouble. All he had to do was stare intently into her eyes, and she was ready to fling herself into his arms. Not good. Not good at all.