Chapter 11 #2
While searching the contents of one, a clatter of dishes made me jump and clutch my chest.
Bear smiled after setting dishes in the sink to my right. “Lookin’ for something?” he asked in his sweet Southern accent.
I shut the fridge. “Salem said it was okay if I grabbed a few drinks.”
The big man tugged on the sleeves of his long-sleeved black shirt before resting his arm on top of the fridge. “We store the drinks in the pantry, but if you want a cold one, they’re in the other fridge. What do you like?”
“Anything. Well, if you have something orange flavored, that would be even better.”
He chuckled softly. “Yes, ma’am. I’ve got just the thing.” Bear walked to the end of the cabinets, opened the other fridge, then waved an orange soda at me. “Will this do?”
“Will that do? Sir, you have no idea.”
When he walked past me with my drink in hand, I followed. “Wait, where are you going?”
He smiled at me over his shoulder. “If you’re thirsty, join us.”
I glanced down at my cami top and plaid bottoms. “I’m in my pajamas!”
Bear disappeared through the doorway.
Realizing I wasn’t getting out of this, I quietly entered the noisy dining room.
By the looks of the empty plates and decimated serving dishes, the pack had finished eating.
Jasper was sitting on his mother’s lap, patting the table like a drum while Hope and Melody chatted.
Montana reached around Robyn’s chair and pinched her other side, causing her to jerk her head in that direction before playfully slapping his hand.
Then he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.
Tak craned his head from his seat at the far left. “Quinn,” he boomed. “Good of you to join us. Salem said you’ve been surviving on beans. Still hungry? There’s plenty of food we keep for leftovers.”
Bear handed me the cold beverage.
“That’s kind of you, but I don’t want to be an intrusion. Wow, look at those windows!” I marveled at the tall windows that surrounded the room on all three walls. “These are facing west, right? I bet you get a lot of light in here in the afternoon.”
Archer scratched his neck, which was encircled with a thorny tattoo. “She looks at windows the way Cici looks at books.”
“And the way you look at weights,” Cecilia quipped.
He winked at her. “No. The way I look at you.”
His mate blushed wildly.
I turned my attention to the Packmaster. “Thanks for giving me a space to work. This is the largest project anyone in this town has ever hired me for, and my house is really small. It’ll go a lot faster with me here.”
Which was true. Plus all the walking I would’ve done between my house and theirs would’ve been a waste of valuable time.
“Speed isn’t an issue,” Tak replied. “I only want you to have what you need.” He folded his arms on the table. “How do you travel without a car?”
“Well, I have two feet. Sometimes I hitch a ride. Kevin offered me one. Have you met him? He’s the handyman who—”
Melody laughed. “We all know Kevin. Did you accept his offer?”
“The day I slide onto that man’s back is the day hell freezes over.”
Tak threw back his head and laughed. “You should’ve joined us tonight. We needed the entertainment.”
Krys rose and raked his long hair out of his face. “I’m heading out.”
Virgil bounced out of his seat. “I’ll tag along.”
Tak leaned to the side, his gaze behind me. “Come in. There’s plenty of food.”
I turned to see who he was talking to and noticed a pretty young girl who looked thirteen or fourteen. The black headband in her short hair had adorable cat ears.
She kept her large eyes fastened on the alpha while pulling out a chair at one of the smaller tables by the wall. “I’ll sit here.”
Bear sprang into action. After retrieving a plate from the kitchen, he filled it up with different foods on the table, which included tacos, rice, and a bowl of fruit. Then he set it in front of her. “Fish tacos.”
“Bear made ’em special for you,” Mercy added.
She touched her fork. “Thanks.”
The way she sat off to the side was how I felt. Sometimes kids went through a phase when they didn’t want to sit by their parents. I wasn’t sure how that worked in a pack, but no one seemed to mind as they returned to their conversations.
I drifted to her table and touched the chair across from her. “Mind if I sit here?”
She shrugged while biting into her taco.
I sat down. “I’m Quinn. Your pack hired me to build a custom window, so I’m staying here for a little while. Well, not in the house. I’m in one of those cottages outside,” I said, uncertain if calling it the heat house was appropriate at dinner. “What name do you go by?”
“Cleo.”
“I like that. Very unique.”
Her slender frame made me wonder if she was eating enough, but the way she chowed down on the tacos suggested no one was starving the poor girl.
“I see you like cats.” I gestured to the ears on her head. “I have a few cats I designed if you want to hang one on your window. I brought them with me, so you can pick out whatever you like to decorate your room. No charge.”
“I don’t have a window.”
“It doesn’t matter. They look pretty near a lamp.”
“Cool.”
“I love making cats, but they don’t sell. Most Shifters around here are coyotes or wolves.”
“I’d love to see what you’ve got,” Eden piped in from the main table. “As it so happens, cats are my favorite.”
“Any time you want to look at them, let me know.” I unscrewed the cap from my orange drink and took a swig. When I finished, a burp sneaked out. I covered my mouth as a blush rose to my cheeks.
Cleo giggled uncontrollably and dropped her taco. A few heads at the table turned before they quickly resumed their discussions.
I stared at my soda bottle and twisted in my chair to face Tak. “I’ll deduct this from your bill.”
Tak slammed his hand on the table and rocked with laughter. “This one kills me!”
Okay. So maybe knocking the value of a soda off his estimate wasn’t going to make a huge difference.
Jasper enthusiastically slapped his hands against Hope’s plate while imitating his father. Pieces of food went flying.
Maybe now’s a good time to settle a few issues while I have his attention.
“Where would be a good place for me to work? I’m going to finish coloring my preliminary sketch tonight before transferring those ideas to a cartoon.
That’s where I draw everything to scale on large sheets of paper.
It’s time consuming because the measurements of each design need to be exact to fit the window. ”
He smoothed his hand over his braid. “What do you need?”
“Lots of space. I’ll do the cutting in the heat house to stay out of everyone’s way. And don’t worry,” I assured the women at the table, “I’m meticulous about cleanup. Nobody will get any splinters in there.”
Melody snorted. “Speaking of splinters, there’s a rough spot on the bedroom floor that needs sanding. Watch your step.”
Lakota folded his arms. “Wife…”
“Don’t wife me. Poor Salem spent an hour staring at your bare behind, trying to extract that splinter.” Melody rose from her chair and glanced at Hope. “There’s plenty of space and light in the art room.”
Hope wiped food off the baby’s hands. “I don’t mind, but what about Robyn’s classes?”
“I can move those to the game room,” Robyn offered before smiling at me over her shoulder.
“Or the gym.” Archer lifted his glass of water. “Then all the ladies can see what they missed out on while I’m working out.”
She snorted. “I’ll put that in the suggestion box along with Virgil’s offer to supervise yoga class.”
I loved the way they bantered and could listen to them all night, but I was overstaying my welcome.
After standing, I pushed in my chair. “If it wouldn’t be a hassle, the art room would be perfect.
It has all the light I need. Your living room is spacious, but with everyone going in and out the front door, I’d worry about the drafts blowing my papers around.
Someone might step on them by accident.”
I was actually more worried about their wolves eating the paper or peeing on it, but I didn’t share those thoughts.
“No trouble,” Melody said. “My prototypes are on pause since I’m trying to get everything organized for the new store.”
“Everyone here is so nice,” I blurted out.
A round of chuckles circulated the room.
I clutched my drink. “Well, I should get some rest. I have a busy day tomorrow. Thanks again for setting me up on the property. I promise to stay out of everyone’s way.” As the words left my mouth, I knocked into the chair next to me.
With a polite wave, I headed toward the kitchen. Before I walked through the doorway, I glanced over my shoulder and caught Salem looking right at me. A fire lit in my belly from his heated gaze, and when he rose from his chair, butterflies exploded in my stomach.
As I moved down the dark hallway and out the back door, I blew on the rim of the bottle and made a melodic sound. It was such a silly thing, but my father used to do it all the time to make me laugh. While padding barefoot down the steps, I heard the door open and close behind me.
Salem was following. I knew it without even looking when I heard his footfalls crossing the deck.
I kept drifting across the lawn, but I deliberately slowed my pace until he caught up. “Who does the girl belong to?”
“No one. Cleo’s not part of our pack. We’re looking after her until we find her family.”
Stopping at the heat house door, I tapped my fingernails on the bottle and stared up at him expectantly. I was five foot six, and I guessed Salem to be around five ten based on the height difference.
“Want to come in?” I reached for the doorknob.
Salem captured my wrist, but this time he didn’t let go. He slid his hand behind my neck, and my heart jumped nervously. The response he gave sent us directly into uncharted waters. “May I seduce you?”