Chapter 5
Remi pulled his car slowly into the trailer park, paying particular attention to the mobile home that would be his home from this point on, or at the very least for the foreseeable future.
It was white — bright white, with a forest green front door, trim around the doors and windows, and ‘gingerbread’ style shutters with decorative scroll work in the same color on either side of each window.
The porch and its support posts and even the steps leading up to the porch were also painted forest green.
The silver metal roof was obviously new, and there was a gutter system that had been painted forest green to match the rest waiting to catch any run off whenever it rained.
There was a green lattice work screen hiding the area beneath the steps and the porch, and there were camellias and gardenias landscaped up and down the front and sides of the home and the porch.
His front yard wasn’t the size a private home’s yard would be, but it was nice nonetheless, and framed by a knee-high white picket fence that matched the larger picket fence that framed the entire trailer park.
The mobile home to his right was a perfect match to his, and he had a feeling that it was decorated to match so that they’d give the impression of order and organization from the road.
In fact, though the color schemes varied throughout the park, every home he’d seen was just as well kept as his.
It was really nice and neat and clean. Very welcoming and obviously family oriented.
As he slowly made his way past his new home on a driveway that was wide enough for two vehicles, he slowly took a right turn between his home and the one behind his that would be Richie’s mother’s home if he was remembering right.
There was quite a bit of distance between the two allowing for him to park on a cement parking pad under a metal flat roofed carport, and still have plenty of room for a small area of unused ground between his carport and start of Constance’s yard and her little picket fence marking her property and garden.
He got out of his car, grabbed his bag and some of the few things he had with him and started toward Richie who waited for him on his back porch.
“You need some help?” Richie asked.
“No, thank you. I only brought a few things.” Remi looked up at the roof of the carport he was walking under and realized it ran over to the house itself and was attached to the roof of his small back porch. “This is nice. It’ll make it easy to get in and out of the house in rain.”
“Yeah, we’re thoughtful like that,” Richie said with a grin.
The back porch extended only about four feet from the back of his house and was long enough to allow for a small bench to the left of the door, and a boot scraper and shoe rack beside it.
At the right of the door was a small wooden table that held a potted plant in a colorful planter.
The stairs back here were simpler with non-skid surfaces nailed onto them, and the space underneath was not enclosed, which Remi kind of liked.
The porch was the same height as the front porch, but much smaller in area, meant for ease of getting in and out of the house rather than the front porch which was obviously meant for lounging as well.
He went up the stairs and into the house as Richie held the door open for him.
“So, any rules I should know about?” Remi asked as he dropped his bag on the floor near the table and set the box he carried on the table in the dining area shared with the kitchen.
“Not rules so much as just little quirks we pay attention to,” Richie said with a smile.
“Alright, give it to me.”
Richie nodded and started talking. “Though there’s parking pads front and back of each house, we only put a cover over the back ones.
Maia decorated the place, every home in here and the gardens and the signs.
At one time we all parked out front, but Maia doesn’t like it because it looks like a truck stop — or so she says.
Hence the parking pads for each home, one in front and one in back. ”
“And the one in the back is the only one covered because she wants to encourage us to park in the back,” Remi said.
“Catch on fast. Not that you’ll hear about it if you don’t. It’s not really a big thing, but she doesn’t ask for much and she took a lot of time and effort to make sure we all have a nice place to live so it’s a small thing to do to make her happy,” Richie said.
“I get it. It’s nice. Keep it that way.”
“Exactly. And if you keep following the driveway you drove in on, it will take you through the rest of this side past the house I first showed you, then curve around and take you through the other side and out that way so you don’t have to back out of here and onto the highway.
There is some extra parking in the back near Lucas’s place because he’s in the middle in the very back rather than on the left or the right like the rest of us are, but whatever you do, don’t block his carport or park on his grass.
The extra spaces are marked, be sure to use only them.
It’s his pet peeve. There are a few more extra spaces on the other side near Roman’s, too, because he’s in the middle rather than on the left or the right on that side of the park, as well.
Not that I can ever see it happening, but if we ever needed an extra place or two, there’s more room for visitors to park on the pads of the unoccupied homes, too. ”
“So it’s a big ‘U’ shaped drive,” Remi said.
“Yep. Some of the families here still have kids at home. Most are grown and at least in college if not already out beginning to do their own things, but some are still young and wandering around here, so be mindful of that. Lucas for instance still has two teenage daughters at home. Lazarus has a daughter about the same age, too, and then Scotty has three boys. Scotty’s are ten, eleven and twelve.
Lord! Those boys can find trouble like no other kids I’ve ever known.
They don’t live here, but are around often.
Sometimes my mom watches them when Candy, their mom, helps out at the store or the restaurant. ”
Remi laughed. “Believe it or not, I look forward to meeting them.”
“Oh, they’ll keep you entertained,” Richie said.
“They’re not bad kids, but they’re always up to challenge something or somebody.
They got Tiger in their blood. Scotty is a Tiger shifter, but his ability to shift is dormant.
He’s got all the senses and strengths of a Tiger, but just in human form.
His brother, Travis, is a full Tiger shifter, though.
Scotty’s two older boys are like him, Tiger instincts coming out of both ends, but they can’t shift.
The baby? Been shifting since before his first birthday. ”
“Oh, I bet that makes for an interesting dynamic.”
“He’ll do things to irritate them like shifting only his hand into a clawed paw as he reaches for a roll at the dinner table, and grins smugly at them while he eats his dinner roll.”
Remi laughed.
“They deserve it, though. They try to bully him something fierce, so whatever he can manage to do to prod them, I’m sure they deserve it. They will come together like a Pride of their own if any one of them faces any kind of crap from anybody else, though,” Richie said.
“You said they don’t live here?” Remi asked.
“Right. They bought a house from Travis’ mate.
It used to belong to her parents and when she decided to move in with Travis, Scotty offered to buy it from her.
Her name is Libby, and she and Travis have a daughter.
Her name is Harper. She’s twenty and in school getting a botany degree.
And she can shift, too. Harper seems quiet and reserved, but let me tell you what…
that girl don’t miss a thing and will take your head off if you mess with her momma or her daddy. ”
“I gotta tell you, I’m loving getting the back story on everybody. I think I’m really going to like it here,” Remi said. “I’m looking forward to meeting them.” Remi covered his mouth with the back of his hand and yawned before rubbing his hands down his face.
“You gotta be tired… drive all the way from Louisiana, sleep a couple of hours in the car, then work straight through all day. Let me wrap it up fast and get out of your hair. I’m a black Panther shifter.
My mate is a golden Panther, her name is Yvette.
My mother, Constance, is human, as is her husband.
He does know about us. Lazarus is a golden Panther shifter, too.
If you ever see him shifted, you’ll know immediately who he is — he’s covered in battle scars.
His mate Alex is human, their daughter Amanda is a golden Panther shifter. ”
“Alex owns the animal hospital?” Remi asked. “I met them briefly at Havoc’s wedding, too.”
“Right. Lucas is a Kodiak Bear shifter, his mate, Anahla, is a hybrid, Dragon and Efreet. Because of the magics of the Efreet, which is a form of the Djinn, she can bend the air around herself to make herself seem invisible, but you’ll still feel her there so if you ever feel like you’re being watched, it’s probably her. She can control air and flames.”
“I’ve never met a Djinn. I’m impressed,” Remi said.
“She’s a sweetheart. And their daughters are Bear shifters, but they can manipulate flames as well.”
“Kind of like my buddy back home. His mother is an Ice Dragon and his father is a Grizzly Bear. He is a Bear shifter, but can breathe fire at your ass if pushed far enough.”
“I’m guessing he’s Ms. Delilah’s son,” Richie asked.
“Yes! And Kaid’s,” Remi said.
“We met her and let me tell you, we think the world of her.”
“As do we,” Remi said. “Aunt Delilah is a creature unto herself.”
“That’s how we feel about Anahla, but she’s the calmest, gentlest soul you’d ever meet, unless you threaten her or hers.”
“I can’t say the same about Delilah, but we do love her dearly.”