Chapter 3
Getting to Work
He watched nervous as hell while Viv and three others were on the roof placing the rafters where they wanted them. She was like a monkey up there. Clearly, she was the best one and she called out directions to the others. Julio was with her and the others were across from them.
“Why is she up there?” He asked Steve who was watching too.
“Apparently her specialty is roofing. She’s not as fast as pro roofers, but she’s as good and would be as fast if she did it all the time. Julio is trained too, but he’s not as good as her. He needs more experience and he wasn’t too pleased when I assigned him on the roof.” Steve admitted.
“I’ll agree she looks to be the best up there, but I don’t like it.” He admitted.
“You won’t get anywhere with complaining. Besides, the work on the building will come to a stop if she doesn’t do it. She’s training those guys. The big guy on the other side is decent, but Julio and Ray aren’t all that experienced. I actually think Julio is the least experienced of the crew.” Steve admitted.
“Who is that guy over there?” He asked.
“He’s Greg. One of Viv’s admirers. The guy is hanging out so she can’t escape. His plan is to wear her down until she mates him.” Steve informed.
Channing liked Steve. The guy was helpful and as long as Seb didn’t know he was giving out information he shouldn’t, he’d be a source of information to him.
“Thanks.” Now he made his way over to Greg.
“Hey, Man. I need to talk to you about Viv.” He told him.
“Sure.”
“Let’s go over to those trees.”
They walked to where no one could see them. “What’s this about?” Greg asked.
“Viv is off limits. She’s my fated mate. You’ll look elsewhere.”
Greg laughed. “Is this a joke?”
“No joke. If you mate her, I’ll kill you.” He knew his eyes glowed gold.
Greg changed to a slightly larger than average size wolf. Channing changed too. His cat was huge for a cheetah. He let out a cry and showed his fangs. The guy would be crazy to take him on. Greg changed back and slowly backed away.
“There are other white wolves.” He got about ten feet away then turned and ran.
As he made his way back to the picnic table, Greg hopped in his car and threw gravel getting away. He knew Greg wasn’t a coward. There was just no point in fighting and possibly dying for a female that didn’t want him and wasn’t really his. Hopefully Viv would never find out what he’d done. She would be furious even though Greg was pushing for something she didn’t want. That didn’t matter because Greg was dealt with and if she was honest, it would help her when he was gone.
His secretary called him. He’d gotten the first bill for the cleaning of the house near the school. Jumping in his SUV, he went to give the place a look over. As he entered the house, he heard the sounds of people working. All the junk had been cleared out and he could see the signs of damage the items had hidden.
A huge male stepped out into the living room. “Earl?”
“Yep.”
“I own the house and was just checking on the progress. The cleaners did a great job.”
“Yep. It’s dangerous in here.”
“I’ll get on my way then.”
Earl nodded at him. A man of few words. He called Serenity. “Mail out a check for the cleaning.”
“It’s a thousand dollars.” She mentioned.
“It wasn’t your usual cleaning and they did it in a day. Just send the check.”
“Alright.”
He hung up. The progress pleased him. As he exited, he noted jacks and equipment sitting everywhere. It looked like it was holding the house together. Where was he going to get a roof crew? Right now he didn’t have a clue. At least the other work seemed doable first.
After he left, he drove by the other house where the cleanup crew was working. The quicker he had those two houses done, the better off he’d be. Now he needed to call Roger. “Roger.”
“Any luck with the lake properties?”
“I sent you an email. You got two offers excepted and I sent you pictures of some more of the expensive places.”
“Thank you. I’ll get right on it.” He went to the apartment and pulled up his emails. Serenity stayed in her room most of the time. That was fine with him.
Scrolling through his emails, he saw he got the place he wanted for himself. He wanted to holler, he was so happy. The other place for a big family was also his. Things were moving right along. The places were empty and he could take possession right away. An email went off to his housekeeper, cook, and one of his higher level management guys with a large family. This was good, very good.
Serenity also got an email asking for an update. Hopefully things were doing well with her too. An email came back right away. It seemed her friend and her family was headed here soon. The father was willing to take on a construction job right away. The male would work with Viv on the two houses before he put him in charge of one crew building homes in the subdivision. Maybe things would go well now.
The problem now was with things going well, his mind was all on her. Viv drew him in and he wanted her. She was all he could think of and he tried to keep his mind elsewhere. What was the matter with him?
It was nearly bed time so one more look at his emails and he’d go to bed. His sister Tamra was ready to come. Unmated, she was willing to take a two bedroom. Since she worked for him, she didn’t need a job she would work from home or an office if he built one. The house by the school wouldn’t work since she liked to be on her own, but the second home or one by the lake would work. If not, she could stay with him briefly. He loved his family, but he didn’t want to live with any of them for long. Too many strong willed people needed space.
He turned in for the night just a bit early. Maybe it was a mistake since he tossed and turned a while before he finally fell asleep. When he woke up, it was daytime but his alarm hadn’t gone off yet. Jumping up, he turned off the alarm, showered, dressed, and grabbed his computer. When he left his room, he almost mowed Serenity down.
“Good morning.” He said.
“Morning.” She replied.
They went their separate ways since she’d already updated him and there was nothing more to know. Now he needed to talk to Roger and get ready to move into his lake home. It excited him, he couldn’t deny it. The place was amazing. He took out his phone and pressed the button.
“Roger.”
“Good morning, this is Channing. I’m just checking to see when I can move. The money should be in your account already.”
“Wait a second. Yes it is. All my paperwork is done and it’s with the lawyers. They’ll have it done tomorrow since they aren’t as backed up as the ones around Cassville who handle Blue Eye’s sales. They will get the other ones done one at a time. All will be done in a week.”
“That’s great. Any reason I can’t get on the move for the lake house?” He asked.
“No, I’ll send you the numbers for the utilities and the cleaners.”
“Same cleaners Viv uses?”
“Yes, is that alright?”
“Yes, they’ve been impressive.”
“I think so too. Was that all?”
“You have any more places, maybe a bit further out like just five or ten more miles or so?”
“I’ll send you a list. I feel for the other groups of cats.” Roger admitted.
“Me too, but not enough not to take care of mine.”
“Goodbye.” Roger said.
“Bye.” He was surprised because a lot of people around here rarely said goodbye.
Now he had work to do. That was alright because he had a secretary. He pushed the button on his phone. “Serenity.”
“This is Channing. I need to get things prepared for my new house. I’ll send you the utility numbers, the cleanup crew numbers, and the address.”
“Okay. I’ll get right on it.”
“Is everything else going alright?”
“Honestly?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know.”
“I can barely find any housing. My friend will be here in a few days and there is nothing for her family.”
“I’ll be out, let them stay here while you look. They can help you pay the rent.”
“I thought you were joking before when you said that.”
“I rarely joke.”
“Okay. But what about the others?”
“Call Mairi or Beth.”
“The alphas mates?”
“That would be them.”
“But..buut..” She stuttered.
“I’m an alpha and you talk to me all the time.”
“You’re not a white wolf.”
“You talked to Sara at the diner.”
“Oh, goddess! She’s a white wolf?”
“They are all over around here. Just call them and ask for help. Mairi renovates and sells places. The other cats have slowed down on coming here and she might have a place. Just do it.”
“Okay. I will.”
Serenity was a good secretary, but it was obvious he still needed a PA. He sent an email to Samuel to get that ball rolling. If he continued to buy lake front properties he’d have something nearby for his PA. Whoever it was would need a place to live. While Samuel had been his PA, he was more like his second now.
With that on track, he really needed breakfast. Sara’s would work fine. Once he got there, it was crowded including the special table so he took his order to go. Now he headed to the site of the coalition house. It was beginning to take shape and he noticed the rafters were in place and they were putting the sheets of wood over them. Once that was done, he supposed they would put metal over the whole thing. Trim and gutters would be last. Damn, his woman would be up there several days before it was complete.
As much as he hated her up there, she might be his only chance to get a roof on his place. When he arrived, he saw an extra up on the roof making five and it was a female. Her and his mate seemed to be working together and doing more that the other three together.
“What’s up today? Did she find more help?”
“Yeah, another one of Maddie’s girls came home to roost. Her names Hazel, but they call her Haze. Be careful. She’s mean as a rattlesnake. Girl just retired from the military and while she’s pretty as a flower, she’s tough as boot leather. Two of her kids are still at home and they came with her. No one knows her story.” Steve explained.
Poor Steve must not know what Viv would do to him if she caught him talking about anyone on the crew. Hopefully she’d never know because Steve was his only source of information. Haze coming home would help speed things up. She looked like Viv only a bit younger, but she didn’t draw him in.
Ciaro came by and they talked a bit. “Mairi has a new boat. She wants to go out for the weekend on the lake. I believe Viv may be going to. You up for it?”
“It sounds like fun. I’ve got a new place on the lake. Maybe I need a new boat too. This weekend?”
“Yes. We’ll meet here. Mairi has a dock there.” He handed him a card with an address on it.
“See you then.” This he would look forward to. Not only because it would be fun, but he’d spent some time with Viv and his interest continued to grow.
Watching her and her sister on the roof, he was surprised when the rafters were covered and they started putting up the metal sheets. In his mind, she and the sister would have been better off doing the job alone. The crane lowered the guys one at a time and the sisters together.
Some of the guys that had worked on the ground slapped Viv on the back. They clearly were glad she was handling it. She glanced up at him then looked away. Her sister looked at him and clearly dismissed him. They left with several of the crew with them and he figured they were going for lunch. He’d wait until this weekend to spend some time with Viv. They’d only be with Ciaro and Mairi so they’d have some quality time together. She must like him to agree to go.
For now, he had plenty of work to do and he’d gotten the big metal building he intended to make a restaurant. One of the female cheetahs coming had experience managing one and several of the others had worked as waiters and cooks. The other positions that paid less would be filled with college kids and part timers. Hopefully it would work out. He had Serenity call to turn on the utilities, get a dumpster setup, and get the cleanup crew on the job.
Things would come together, he hoped. He’d bought several more places on the lake some near his own house. One he offered Samuel who was living in a one bedroom apartment that would now be available for someone else because Samuel jumped at the house. He’d also found a PA and a secretary for himself. Apparently he’d offered the secretary his apartment and she’d taken it.
Serenity had called Maddie about the apartments being built and reserved a three bedroom one for her friends family. It would be done in two weeks. She must not know Maddie was a white wolf. He chuckled to himself. A sense of accomplishment hit him, but there was still so much to do. The construction worker and his family would be here tomorrow and he would be moved out. All the paperwork was done and the sale complete. Everything should be done at his house and most of his things were still in Los Angeles. He’d bought some furniture off the website a local company had and it was already delivered and the gardener had seen it put in place. He was a cheetah who had already been on his way here when the email for workers had gone out. The male had responded right away.
Those in his household were no problem. They would live in his house. It was all the others. He needed more housing than Viv could manage and he knew it was his own fault for not coming earlier. It wasn’t like they hadn’t known for quite some time. If only the subdivision would take off once it was started. His secretary’s friend’s dad and her brother both had experience and a call had been put out for others. It was fall so they could still camp out if necessary, but not for long.
There was no point in thinking about if onlys. At least many of the wealthier management people would settle around the lake. It was the type of place they would prefer. He decided to leave Viv alone until the weekend so they could both get work done. Monday his construction guy would be ready to start work.
As everything fell into place the weekend just fell on them. He met Ciaro and Mairi and the panther leader took him inside the boat to have a beer. As she got on the boat he could hear Mairi greeting Viv right before the boat took off. Something smelled suspicious.
“She didn’t know, did she?”
“No, but Ariel is trying to help you. Viv had a mess with her marriage. It will make it hard on you.”
“You know any details?”
“No, Ariel always tells the least possible. You’ll get used to it.”
“I rarely have contact with her.” Channing said.
“You’ll have more with time. Let’s go up and greet Viv.” A he hit the top of the steps, the look on her face was priceless.
“You didn’t tell me Channing would be going.”
“Does it matter?” Mairi asked.
“Can he fish?” Viv asked.
“In my cat form, usually.”
“That won’t work.” Ciaro assured him. “And we need to catch fish for lunch or starve.”
Once Mairi got them to a good spot she anchored and killed the motor. “Guys against girls.” She hollered.
Channing watched helplessly as everyone else got fishing poles ready and cast their lines out. “Hey, what about me?”
“Ciaro, you better help him.” Mairi smirked. Both girls had already caught a fish and had their lines cast again.
The panther got him his pole and baited it then hurried back to his own and reeled in a fish. By this time both girls had two. Channing cast and caught one quickly, but the lead the girls had by now was daunting. They were doing as well as the girls now, but the early lead stayed in place until lunch.
“So what did we lose?” He asked.
“Everyone cleans the fish and fixes lunch, but guys get to clean up.” Mairi said with a grin and Viv grinned too. “We have the limit for today. After lunch we can swim.”
They cleaned the fish and the girls were better at it than the guys. He’d bet they did it a lot when they were growing up. This was fun and he thought he’d buy a boat like this. Mairi had easy to fix things to go with the fish and the meal was wonderful. Cleanup was fast and easy. Now it was time to swim.
Once they checked the sheltered area out for rocks or other dangers, Ciaro showed him how to jump off the roof of the boat. The girls rolled their eyes at them, but it was fun. They floated around the water and jumped off the roof for a while before sitting on the deck drinking beer and talking about just about everything. Talk turned to housing. Ciaro’s was mostly under control, but Channing’s needed some help.
“If you go out a little further, you’ll be fine. Haven’t you been getting some lake houses?” Viv asked.
“How did you know?” Channing asked about to get upset at Roger.
“All sales are a matter of public record. I was checking on something else and noticed your recent purchases. I actually bought a lake house recently too. It’s a great place to take Caro and Lucia for a weekend.”
“Great minds. And Viv would know about stuff like that. She’s a lawyer.” Mairi said and Viv threw something at her.
“Why do you work construction?” He asked.
“Mom always said law wasn’t a good fit. It worked for a while but now I’m ready to change jobs.” Viv mentioned.
He’d admit he was stunned. That was something he’d never seen coming. “So did you move for good?”
“I think so. Washington is too fast paced.”
“State or DC?”
“DC.”
She must be a hell of a lawyer to be working there. Once they were back home, he’d check her out online. He’d not really thought she’d had a background other than construction. Now he knew better. Maybe he needed to find out a lot more about this interesting woman.
“It’s time to get supper started.” Mairi said.
“What will it be?” He asked.
“Fish!” Everyone else yelled.
They all went into the small space and prepared the food. The galley was on one wall with the dining area that turned into a bed on the other. They were fixing veggie kabobs with grilled fish and dinner salad. Dessert was fruit gelatin. Everything turned out good and tasted amazing. Maybe all the activity on the water had built an even larger than usual appetite.
The beer and wine coolers seemed to relax everyone even though supernaturals barely had an effect from them. They looked at the stars and picked out constellations. The sky was clear and perfect, the air fresh with a slight breeze, and he would love to do this again.
“The weather won’t be good for this much longer.” Mairi commented.
“You can’t go on the lake in the winter?” He asked.
“Not if you like to stay comfortable. It’s too cold.” Ciaro commented.
“You can’t fish if it ices over.” Viv added.
“Okay. I understand. Too bad. So what do you do in the winter?” He asked.
“That’s when you hunt.” Mairi explained. She had a big grin on her face and he vaguely remembered someone saying she was a hunter.
It was understandable to avoid really cold, icy days on the lake. That would be uncomfortably cold and the ice was dangerous. Maybe fishing from the shore with a big bonfire would work though. He could imagine sitting with Viv and cuddling near the fire. That female was taking over his thoughts and the affection he’d developed for her was hard to overlook.
“It’s almost bedtime.” Mairi pointed out. “Ciaro and I will grab one bed and you two can fight over what’s left.” What was left was one bed large enough for two and a small bunk sized for a child that even Viv was too big for.
“I’m not worried. Channing is a gentleman and he’ll take the floor.” Viv said. He might for a little while, but she’d be in his arms before the night was through.
Mairi and Ciaro were gone now and it was just the two of them. Viv’s eyes kept closing and finally she turned in. He waited to be sure she was fully asleep. While he waited, he went through all the things he had yet to do. Progress had been made, but more was needed. It would be some time before everyone that was coming was finally settled.
He decided it was time to go to bed now. When he entered the cabin, everyone was asleep. He stripped to his underwear and slid into bed with Viv. She moved restlessly until he took her in his arms. At that point she settled and pressed up against him. It felt marvelous and brought the feeling home to him of belonging.
This female was what he needed. She would be his home and they would settle down and raise a family together. Once he had a home, he would take her there and they would be together forever. Would she change? The only reason it mattered at this point was if she didn’t, she would leave him some day when death claimed her.
In his heart, he knew she would change. To what, he was uncertain but if nothing else, a wolf would be her other half through Ariel. He already owed the white wolf, he recognized she had helped him discover his mate. Now he just had to claim her.
As he lay there with his mate in his arms, his breathing slowed and his heart rate eased. The scent of his perfect one filled his lungs and everything calmed for him. Damn! He was buying a boat to enjoy with Viv after they mated. No, he couldn’t fool himself into thinking she’d take a trip like this again until they did. He chuckled low and she moved in his arms.
No need to wake her, she would throw him out of bed. At some point he fell into the deepest sleep he could ever remember having. He woke with someone moving restlessly against him. His mate was about to wake up. Knowing he should move, he stayed where he was anyway.
Viv gasped and tried to move back away from him but she hit the wall. “I couldn’t get to sleep on the floor and there seemed to be plenty of room up here.” He grinned shamelessly at her.
“Could you move now? I need to go to the bathroom.” She said.
“Sure, Sweetheart.” He quickly got up and he noticed her eyes roam over his body. She couldn’t hide her interest no matter how much she tried. Viv passed as he stepped to the side.
He dressed as she took care of her needs in the bathroom. Ciaro and Mairi had gone upstairs and he felt the boat moving. Mairi would undoubtedly find a calm harbor for them to fish in today. Going upstairs, he greeted the couple.
“What’s up for today?” He asked.
“Once Mairi settles into a good spot, we’ll eat breakfast. Once we cleanup, we’ll fish.” Ciaro grinned as his hand stroked his mate.
Goddess, he wished he had that relationship with Viv. “I’m ready for breakfast.” He admitted.
“Me too.” Mairi said. “We’re almost there.”
Mairi found the little cove and pulled in. Ciaro tossed in the anchor and they all went downstairs where Viv already had coffee going. Now they began to make scrambled eggs, grilled fish, and there were donuts someone had brought along.
Once they were done eating, they all helped cleanup and they got back on deck to fish. This spot was as good as the last one. The girls still beat them this time. It must be some of the tricks locals had that they could reel them in so fast.
“So who taught you guys how to fish?” He asked.
“My mom and dad taught me.” Viv admitted.
“Ariel mostly. Other adults helped too.” Mairi explained. “We used to have lots of days in the summer where we fished and had fish fries. No catch, no good food.”
“That’s true. You ate what you caught mostly. Not that anyone had to starve.” Viv said.
“You all went together?” Ciaro asked.
“Ariel rented a few cabins and everyone stayed there. We’d fish and swim all day long. At night we roasted marshmallows or made s’mores. Good times.” Mairi said with a faraway look.
“It sounds like you guys had a lot of fun growing up.” He commented.
“My mom was always wonderful. My dad was great too until he died.” Viv declared.
“Most of us had a great time in the summers with Ariel. My family was always good anytime. Not all kids get that.” Mairi admitted. “Now we need to count the fish. We’re getting near our limit.”
“Is it usually like this?” He wondered.
“Yes, we get our limit early and swim and have fun the rest of the day.” Viv replied.
“Just a few more.” Mairi urged. Not much later, they had their limit.
“Now what?” Ciaro asked.
“Now we clean our fish then we cook lunch. After that, we lazy around on deck or in the water. We could go tubing.” Mairi suggested.
“What’s that?” He asked.
“We take a big tube and pull it behind the boat.” Viv explained.
“That sounds like fun.” Ciaro said.
Now they started to clean their fish. With all of them doing it, it didn’t take long. Once that was done, they grilled fish and fixed potatoes and a garden salad. For dessert, they had ice cream. Apparently there was a small freezer onboard.
This trip made him even happier to have his lake side home. Now a boat had moved to the top of his list after the dust settled from the first two waves of his people. Maybe Viv would be his by then? Time would tell.
“So what about this tubing thing?” He asked.
“We can do more than one at once, but it can be dangerous so I don’t like to. Who wants to go first?” Mairi asked.
“I’ll go. That way Channing can see what it’s all about.”
“Okay let’s get out into the center of the lake. You know where the tubes are.” She said.
Ciaro came back up carrying a large blue tube in his hands grinning from ear to ear. Now Mairi slowed and came to a stop with the boat just floating along. Ciaro found a line then jumped into the water. He attached the line to the boat then to his tube. Now Mairi slowly pulled the boat up as Ciaro got on the tube. Once the line was taut, she sped up and the water flew.
The panther seemed to be having a great time. It looked like it would be fun. While some natural cats didn’t seem to like water much, shifters were different. Once Ciaro had his ride, Viv went next and finally he had his turn. Mairi said she’d rather swim so they found a place to anchor and they swam for a while.
It was hard, this feeling that their fun trip was coming to an end. But it had been relaxing and they still had tonight and breakfast in the morning. All the cat leaders worked too hard and they needed things like this as did their mates. All work and no play was no good.
After swimming an hour or more, they all relaxed on the deck talking about a little bit of nothing. Soon it was time for supper which was more fish. A week like this and he might tire of fish but for now it still tempted his hunger. Viv and Mairi were great cooks and Ciaro seemed to know his way around the kitchen too. He could cook a bit, but nothing to brag about. That was alright because he had other talents to lure his mate to him. Watching Viv cook was fun. It made him imagine her fixing a meal for him and their cubs. The thought made him smile.