Her lack of reaction to my gift left me restless. Was she growing discontent here? Did she want something more for her brothers? With the work on the apartment finished, I had no outlet for my helpless frustration.
Jim saw me coming down the stairs and convinced me to go for a run. I’d grown so used to solo runs while away, I’d forgotten how good it felt to have a companion, even if the companion was my pain-in-the-ass brother who ambushed me and sent me flying into a swamp.
“What the hell was that for?” I said, shifting so I could stand. I immediately sank in the knee-deep, rank water.
“You need to pay attention to more than just Michelle,” Jim said from a safe distance away.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m trying to pay attention to everything. But having her so close, knowing she’s meant to be mine, and just waiting is killing me. It’s eating at my mind. It’s clawing at my—”
“Yeah, I get it. You’re desperate. But you can’t let her see that.”
I shook my head at him. Maybe if I did let her see that, she’d be nicer.
“I can’t wait until you find your Mate. I hope she has other ideas and gets in at least one nut shot,” I said, wading out of the water.
“Not a chance. No Mates for me. I know my path.”
I snorted. “You just need to convince Winifred and the rest of the Elders.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but I was within arm’s reach and sent him sailing into the same water from which I’d just climbed.
“You should have seen that coming,” I said with a grin.
I took off and for the next hour we chased through the back country like we were cubs back home.
Still reeking of brackish water, we trotted into the yard well after midnight. A soft, ambient glow came from Michelle’s balcony doors.
“She couldn’t have liked it too much if she left it in the kitchen,” Jim said, following the direction of my gaze.
“Where else is she supposed to put it?”
“She could have taken it to bed with her and dreamed of you.”
“Shut up.” I halfheartedly pushed him away and went inside for a shower.
He was already snoring from his room when I finished. Shaking my head, I went to the apartment door and stood there for a moment. Everything was quiet. Restless, yet knowing I needed sleep, I went to lay on the couch. I lightly dozed until dawn then got up to start making a big breakfast.
Jim didn’t sleep past the first whiff of bacon. As soon as he was up, he showered and joined me in the kitchen.
It wasn’t long before I heard Aden’s little voice carry down from upstairs.
Jim beat me out the door. After his stunt last night, I hurried to catch up. We reached the top just as Michelle asked the kids what they wanted for breakfast. I knocked briefly and opened the door before Jim could.
Whatever I’d thought to say disappeared as soon as I saw Michelle. Her skin was pale, there were dark shadows under her eyes, and she didn’t look like she’d slept at all. Had yesterday been too much?
“Come on, boys,” Jim said, waving Liam and Aden to the door. “Eggs, bacon, potato pancakes, and orange juice are waiting.” Still in their pajamas, the boys ran out the door with Jim close on their heels.
“You didn’t sleep,” I said when she didn’t move.
The tablet was on the counter, along with a piece of paper covered in her handwriting.
She blinked slowly and looked at the paper, too. I could see she wanted to get back to whatever she’d been doing. But she could barely stand. In two steps, I had her up in my arms, and started toward her bedroom.
She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and leaned against me. It was hard to be upset that she wasn’t taking care of herself when she did that.
I gently set her on the bed and covered her with a sheet. It was already too warm outside for more than that.
When she realized where she was, she moved to sit up. I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“But I have stock information for Nana’s friend.”
“It can wait until you’ve slept a bit.”
“But…”
“Sleep, Michelle. I’ll be listening.” After covering the windows so it would be dark enough for her to sleep, I shut the door.
The scent of her contentment drifted out with me, telling me just how much she liked having someone take care of her. And, I really did like doing it.
Stopping at the island, I studied the paper. I’d half expected travel plans or other notes about leaving. Instead, there was a bunch of random stuff about businesses. Why would she research stock information for Sam?
I thought back to the last few times she’d talked to Winifred about it. Michelle’s reactions had been odd, but frankly, all of her behavior had been a little off since arriving. Running scared from an unheard-of species would do that. But, she wasn’t running scared anymore, so I couldn’t place blame for her odd interest with stocks on that. Unless maybe she was still trying to deal with who and what we were? Sighing, I looked back at her room. There wasn’t anything I could do until she woke up.
I left the apartment door ajar and went down to stake claim on my portion of breakfast. Jim had the boys at the kitchen island, and they were just divvying up the bacon under Winifred’s supervision. She handed me my plate with a wink.
After the cubs finished eating, I helped them sneak upstairs to change while Jim and Winifred cleaned up. Both boys were eerily quiet as they went into the room to find their clothes for the day. I wondered how often in their lives they’d needed to dress silently like that.
We went outside and played for a while. When they grew bored with the swing set, Winifred sat on the porch while Jim and I stood side by side and tossed balls to the boys.
“I want to run to town to get some furniture for the new apartment,” I said in a normal tone. Jim and Winifred heard me, but the boys were busy heckling each other.
“Jim should go with you. Although his taste is deplorable, it will look more realistic with two men loading furniture rather than one.”
“Good,” Jim said with a grin. “We can hit a buffet for lunch.”
It wasn’t long after that I heard noise from the third floor. A shower. I frowned. She hadn’t slept more than a few hours.
A couple of minutes after the water shut off, a wad of paper came sailing out the balcony doors. Jim and the boys laughed. I picked up the paper and saw her business notes. She’d stayed up all night for these then threw them out the window?
“I’ll be right back,” I said to Winifred.
Taking the steps two at a time, I found Michelle at the island. She was bent over the tablet and mumbling incoherent fragments under her breath as she made notes on a piece of paper. I moved closer and looked over her shoulder. It was the same stuff. Well, a little different. The business she was researching was new.
Suddenly she stopped and stared at the paper.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
She yelped and spun on the stool to stare at me with wide eyes.
“Obviously, four hours of sleep isn’t enough. Why are you doing this?” I asked, looking at the paper. “And why did this one fly?” I held up the wrinkled sheet on which she’d obviously worked so hard.
Her shoulders slumped. “I know investments and stocks. Richard invested. It’s the only way I can pay you back.”
I glanced at the crumpled paper again.
“Another thought woke me. That one wasn’t right.” She nodded at the wadded paper I held.
This was about repaying me?
“Back to bed.”
“I’m not five. I don’t need to be told to go to bed,” she said with a stubborn tilt of her head.
“Of course you’re not five. A five-year-old would listen.”
Her hurt expression had me stepping close to hug her. She leaned into it, melting some of my concern.
“I’m just worried,” I said. “Last night you seemed fine with everything that happened yesterday, but then you didn’t sleep.” I recalled Jim’s words about not looking too desperate and knew I was walking a fine line. “Are you planning on leaving?”
She raised a hand and set it on my side. The heat of her palm branded me through my shirt.
“No, Emmitt. I’m not leaving.”
I cleared my throat and stepped away before I gave into my impulse to pick her up and carry her back to bed.
“Since you don’t want more sleep, do you want to come outside? Jim and I were talking about going into town for a few things.”
“Sure. Hold on.”
She disappeared into her room for a moment then came back with some money.
“Could you pick us up some milk and fresh veggies?”
That wasn’t what I had in mind. I mean, I would have picked up anything she needed without the money, but I would have rather had her come with me. Hiding my disappointment, I followed her from the apartment.
When we walked outside, she and Winifred took over playing catch. Liam didn’t say anything about the change, but Aden pouted until Jim promised he’d bring back something cool.
As soon as Jim closed the truck door, I started down the driveway.
“She didn’t want to come along, huh?” he said.
“She’s still afraid to leave here, I think.”
“It’s funny.”
I glanced at him in question.
“She doesn’t want to leave, and you didn’t want to come back, both of you because of what we are.”
“You talk too much.”
He laughed. “Winifred says the same thing. People just don’t like hearing the truth.”
“Or maybe you talk too much.”
We shared a grin. Jim always had been the talker between the two of us. Usually, he was the one who got us in trouble.
The drive to town didn’t seem to take as much time with Jim along. Furniture shopping was a different story. He wanted to recline and lay down on everything. He even climbed up on bunkbeds to make sure they would hold his weight, just in case. By the time we had everything we needed for Michelle’s new apartment, I was more than ready to head back.
“Hold up,” he said, before we’d even made it a mile down the road.
“What?”
“There’s a buffet.”
“I want to get back.”
He snorted. “It won’t take long.”
It didn’t. We stuffed ourselves in a way that had management looking worried and then tipped well before leaving.
“I wish we could eat like that every day,” Jim said, opening his door.
“You do.” I shook my head at him as he scratched his belly and leaned into his seat with a sigh.
He napped on the way back, which gave me some quiet time to think about Michelle. I glanced at the truck bed and trailer full of wrapped furniture. While in the military, I’d sent money home to Mom and Dad for improvements to the Compound. I’d also sent a good portion to Winifred for the house. Whatever was left, I’d saved. Since we were young, we’d heard stories about how Mom had made a home from nothing. Though the chances of me finding a Mate had been slim, I’d wanted to be sure I’d set aside something, just in case. Every dollar I’d saved was now in the back of the truck. Would Michelle know what I was giving her? Probably not. But, I just hoped it was enough to convince her to stay.
As soon as we pulled into the driveway, Jim sat up with a yawn and a stretch.
The kids stopped playing to watch as I backed the trailer up to the house. Winifred and Michelle stood on the porch, waiting.
When Winifred signaled I was close, I stopped. Jim and I got out to unload. It wasn’t much, and I knew it wouldn’t take long. Michelle and the boys stayed back as we brought up the leather sofa, love seat, recliner, queen bed, bunk beds, and dressers. Winifred took some of the smaller items and directed us where to put everything. The other three stayed outside until we had the last heavy piece off the trailer.
While I put Michelle’s room together, Jim started on the boys’ room. Winifred pitched in and got to work on the kitchen and living room. I’d just left Michelle’s room when I heard her and the boys on the steps.
“Get in here and help me,” Jim said. “How can one bed have so many parts?”
He was looking down at the instruction for the bunks. Both dressers were assembled and in place.
The boys came running into the room.
“Can I help?” Aden asked, hunkering down next to Jim.
“Yep. You hold these.” Jim put some screws into Aden’s small hand. “You might have to help me with the directions, too.”
I looked up as Michelle glanced in the room. She studied it for a moment, a sad smile on her lips, then she turned and stepped toward her bedroom.
I ruffled Liam’s hair and followed Michelle. She stood in the doorway, taking it all in for a moment before walking to her bed and lightly touching the comforter. I eyed the space, noting everything. It had taken some time to pick out just the right things. After watching her and asking her about her favorite color, I’d settled for natural shades of brown, green, and blue, hoping it would remind her of being outside. I never wanted her to feel caged here.
The scent of her worry caught my attention, and I stepped into the room. She turned to look back at me.
“You worry too much,” I said. The need to take her worry and ease her fears rode me hard. If only I knew how.
She smiled slightly and touched the comforter again.
“Thank you for this.”
I nodded and was about to ask why she was worried when Liam called out.
“Emmitt, can we work on my bed?”
“I’ll be back,” I said and turned to help Liam.
Before I could get Liam situated, Michelle left her room and started moving stuff over from the old place. It didn’t take her long. As soon as she put the last of Aden’s shorts into his dresser, Winifred called for Michelle’s help in the kitchen.
The day Winifred had gone rummaging, she’d managed to pick up boxes of houseware items. All of it needed to be washed, dried, and put away. Once we finished, the apartment would be a fully equipped home. Finishing would take a while, though. Liam and Aden loved helping, but holding screws wasn’t enough. They wanted to use the hammer and the screwdrivers. They wanted to help lift anything that needed lifting. By the time we finished, Jim’s stomach was making noises.
“We need some food after all this work,” he said to Aden. “But we’ll have to be quiet about it.”
Aden nodded in agreement, looking very serious. Jim brushed his hands on his shorts then casually left the room. Aden copied every move.
“Do you think they’ll get in trouble?” Liam asked, looking up at me.
“Nah. Nana knows growing boys need food. She’ll let us get away with a snack before dinner.”
Liam nodded and reached for my hand.