Chapter 6
Confusion
Mairi was uncertain of what was going on between her and Ciaro. All she knew was now that he’d left, she missed his presence. She was upstairs in the house Fiaro had just bought. Everything would be cleaned and made perfect so he and his people could stay there. Fiaro wasn’t like his brother. It was hard for her to decide what to think of him. Had he hit on her knowing how things were between her and Ciaro? Probably not.
After hearing his story, she felt bad for teasing him unmercifully, yet she continued to do it. It was just in her nature to do so. That was something that wouldn’t change. He’d taken it well enough. Maybe they would become friends in time. He seemed to need a true friend worse than anyone she knew. His buddies were alright, but they seemed afraid of him too much to tell him the truth. That would never help him straighten out his life.
Her life was going pretty good except for her indecision when it came to Ciaro. She’d placed him in the friend zone, but what would she do if he mated and she had to see him with another female?
Mairi had the upstairs ready so it was time to get back to work. The others that were with Fiaro were waiting for her to let them go upstairs. “Are you sure he won’t want to inspect it first?” She asked the males and she meant Fiaro since he was the new owner.
“Honestly, Beautiful, he just doesn’t care about things like that. He hasn’t since his bitch of a mate freed him.” Ferris said. He was the talkative one of the group.
“Hopefully starting over will help him heal.” Mairi suggested.
“There’s a lot of anger there. It will take time and a new attitude.” Albert finally added.
“Why don’t you help him?” Mairi asked.
“We tried. The male is a hell of a warrior. We couldn’t walk after the talk if you know what I mean.” Ferris explained.
“So what will you two be doing down here?” She asked.
“We need jobs and eventually homes. We hope to find good females to mate and have a family.” Albert declared.
“What did you do before?” Mairi asked.
“Most panthers do security, but neither of us did. I was in real estate where I made a fair living. Albert here is a masseuse, a very good one.”
Mairi took a small notepad out of her pocket. She wrote down Roger’s information and handed it to Ferris. “He’s always looking for good agents and the market is booming right now. So Albert, did you work on your own or for someone?”
“I worked for someone, but it didn’t work out. It was on a percentage, but they cheated me until I was almost penniless. Now they refuse to give me a good reference.” Albert stated.
She wrote down her cousin Cassidy’s information. “She has a spa about twenty minutes north of here. She’s been talking about adding help. It’s worth a try. I wouldn’t wait with more cats coming in.”
Both males pulled out their cell phones and dialed. Mairi wished them the best. Now she had to get to work with her crew. The sooner she got this place done the better. It wouldn’t be the first time she worked on a place someone was living in, but she hated doing it.
Looking at her phone she saw it was around quitting time. Gathering her crew, she gave them a choice. “We can work late every day until we’re done and take Friday off or keep our usual schedule.” It was decided to work late to get Friday off. The vote was unanimous.
Mairi jumped into the painting which was where they were at in the kitchen. The appliances would come tomorrow so she wanted that done first. Her business had taken off and she felt good about it. She wanted to buy a couple more places and she knew Roger was looking. The problem was everyone was looking for a place or two.
Ariel wasn’t buying around here anymore. Several of the cats had gotten into government jobs and law enforcement and they were buying near where she lived. They liked the idea of a small farm which was what Ariel’s flips usually were. That helped take some pressure off the alphas who were getting daily requests for places to live and jobs. Mairi liked the alphas, the three she’d met so far. Maybe like was a mild term for how she felt about Ciaro.
Their night together flashed through her mind. Damn, the male was hotter than a two dollar pistol. She wasn’t sure she would ever get over the time spent with him, but she would try. They finished the painting before they quit and they were further ahead than she expected. Mairi took her crew back to Ariel’s where everyone ate supper. She headed out right after that so she could clean up the kitchen at Fiaro’s house so it would be ready for the appliances.
Once the appliances were in, the job was nearly done. They’d clean up everything, check out the appliances, and put some finishing touches on the yard. Her crew would be two days ahead so giving them one day off wouldn’t be a big deal. Especially since this crew had been working seven days a week. Saturday, they would start on Ciaro’s sister’s house. Unis wanted a shop with a living space on top.
It surprised Mairi that the females never considered the needs of a future family while the males always seemed to. That was the opposite of most humans. It was interesting how different the supes were from the humans and each other. Wolf males were whore dogs for the most part. Some of the cat males were too, but not most of them. She’d heard Ciaro was that way, but she didn’t see any sign of it. What did that mean?
Mairi was still cleaning when Fiaro came down. He started to help her. “You don’t have to do that.” She told him.
“I know. Maybe I want to make up for being an ass.”
“Maybe or you do?”
“I do, but you got yours in when I was, it’s the white wolf I owe the biggest apology.”
“Ariel is very forgiving.”
“I guess I’m not. Greta left devastation in her wake. I don’t know that I’ll ever get over her leaving like she did.” Fiaro admitted.
“The way she did it was wrong. Was he her fated mate?”
“She never said.”
“You need to get over it because the best revenge is living well.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“In your case, I believe if she came back and saw you were happy and well without her, it would make her mad. She sounds selfish and uncaring, but she wants to be important to those she knows. Knowing she messed up your life would probably please her. The way she did it cause the most damage possible, not only to you, but to the cubs.”
“It’s funny that I never saw it before. She was always high maintenance and she never gave me any support. I’m better off without her and I never saw that because I was too busy being hurt by the way she left. You saw it right away. How come?”
“Sometimes being emotionally distant from an event makes it seem clearer. We’re done here now. The appliances come in the morning. After that, we’ll clean up and be out of your hair.”
“My brother cares a lot for you.” Fiaro said before he left.
That gave her even more to think about. Since the place was clean and everything was ready for the appliances, she left heading home. Even though it was later than she usually got home, she ordered her new gourmet stove and then prepared the area for it. It was scheduled to come Friday at seven. Early deliveries were the rule not the exception when dealing with contractors so it was easy to arrange.
Mairi looked around. Her house still had needs, but it was coming along good considering the work she did on it was almost like an afterthought. Unis’ place would be the next priority and she had great plans for it. Every inch of space would be used creatively and she hoped Unis would love it. It wouldn’t be long before Ciaro’s sister was here too.
She’d seen how these things worked with the other two alphas. One sibling arriving opened the floodgates. Mairi had heard Ciaro had many siblings. What was she going to do about finding homes for so many? Grabbing a local newspaper, she went through it quickly. There were some places for sale by owner. Calling them, she had an appointment tomorrow at six. Hopefully, that would work out.
The local radio station had a trader’s hour. She checked that out and found two things of interest. One was a property for sale, but the other was a camper. Her motel was booked, but maybe she could set up a place for campers and even buy a few. Mairi smiled. It was a temporary solution, but eventually things were bound to even out. It would just take a few years with four more groups settling in. They were smaller groups, or at least they were supposed to be.
There was a knock on the door so she went to answer it. It was her cousin Kayla. “Hey there, Trouble.” Mairi said. “What brings you here?”
“I need a temporary job.” Kayla said.
“Problems with school or family?”
“Family, which caused troubles at school.”
“The stepdad or stepbrother?”
“Both. The stepbrother ran into trouble with the law. He can get off without jail if he lives with his family.”
“They’re kicking you out?” Mairi asked enraged.
“Hey, it’s not like the place is a dream to live in. Everything I own is in my car.”
“You’ll stay here. I know you still remember the house rules. You haven’t dropped out yet?”
“No, I will Monday.”
“No, I want you to stay in college. You’ll work weekends and holidays. You can stay here free so your scholarships should cover the other stuff. No arguments. If you feel bad about it, you can help me around here once in a while. I don’t want you to go back. You can stay here for two years until you graduate.”
“It’s hard, Cuz. They’ll beg and plead.”
“They are dragging you down. How she got custody over Ariel I don’t know, but you’re almost nineteen now. Your life is yours. Stay here and we’ll see you through.”
It made her unhappy that a poor choice made a dozen years ago would haunt her little cousin still. Her dad had gone to pieces after his wife died in a car accident. She was a cousin. He’d remarried a woman from one of the small countries south of Mexico when she’d convinced him she was about to be sent back. He’d needed her to help with the household and taking care of little Kayla.
They’d been married three years when he’d had a terrible accident. He’d been working on his car which was held up by jacks. One had slipped killing him instantly. Carina had ended up with custody of Kayla. She’d gone through a lineup of the world’s worst boyfriends before finally choosing the worst one and marrying him.
Since then, Kayla had gone through hell. Every time she’d left, they’d gotten their utilities shut off and realized Kayla was paying them. The house was also hers, but she refused to throw them out. This was just too much. It was so unfair and Kayla’s soft heart refused to take action. She returned time and time again.
“You can take the upstairs so you have privacy.” Mairi offered.
She went back to check out her kitchen. It was ready for the next delivery. Kayla came back in with just her bags for now. Her heavy footfalls on the steps were plodding. The girls was unhappy, but wouldn’t break free from the emotional blackmail her stepmom had initiated since her dad died.
Mairi had a feeling even graduating from college wouldn’t tear her loose from those people that did nothing, but use her. Things would settle down and she would hope for the best for Kayla.
The morning came and she went to Ariel’s. She was back to her usual schedule as the party house neared completion. She left at lunch to check on the progress at Fiaro’s house. Everything was well in hand so she returned to her main project for Ariel. A few days passed and progress was good. Her private crews were working on Unis’ place and Ciaro had admitted he expected his sister any day.
Mairi had set up a small camper park by working several evenings at her cabins. She’d even bought two campers in good shape and rented one immediately. Surprisingly it was to a lion. Her business was on target, even if the housing market was still falling behind in handling the new cats. A couple weeks passed and the party house was completed. Her crew had busted their butts and bonuses were handed out. She bought a stove for her house. Every extra dime was being sunk into it, but it would be marvelous once it was done.
Ciaro asked her out, but when could she find time for him? It wasn’t like he wasn’t busy too, especially with the leopards arriving soon. If he didn’t get his people settled in soon, it would be much harder. He mentioned that Ferris and Albert had both managed to get themselves jobs. It was a relief because it was one thing less he had to do. Did he suspect she’d helped them? He never said for sure so she said nothing either.
Her camper park was growing with all three types of cats, but the last one was a leopard. Ten campers, all full. There were five more spots where she’d expected those with campers to rent, but that wasn’t working out. She’d buy another camper and see what happened. It was a good temporary solution for a single person. None of the new females seemed to like living there because she had all males in the campers and only two females in the cottages. One of those females was there with her mate and they worked for her.
Today, she needed to go to Unis’ place. It was the first Sunday she had off from Ariel’s projects. The party house was done and Ciaro admitted it was almost full already. Most of the new inhabitants were on their way. He’d designated one wing for females because he had a large number of them. Now Ariel had her working on the apartments Ciaro had her putting up.
That saying came to mind, no rest for the wicked or was that weary? Both words suited her. She was always giving others a hard time, it was after all her only entertainment and she was always tired. Building apartment building was a tough job. They’d finished the foundation, which she hated to do so Ariel gave them all a Sunday off. Now she would work on her own project hoping to push it up and get it done.
The property for sale by owner had been rundown, but she’d purchased it anyway. It had taken a while to get it worked out, but she hoped to put one crew on it before long. The house she’d bought for Unis had been a farmhouse outside of town but on the highway. The land had been sold off years ago. It sat on an acre of land. The outside, including the roof, and the windows were done by the crew from Branson. It was a good trade off as far as she was concerned.
Her crew did interior work better anyway. She went in and noticed right away two members of the crew weren’t there. “James and Denny were worn out. They needed a day off.” Sara said. She was a second, but temporarily in charge. Fiaro would start tomorrow. He’d taken his time settling into his new home, but he was finally ready to give her crew a try.
Kayla had been working since that first weekend and the girl was impressive. It had helped make up for all the problems that had popped up with this job. Ciaro had even quit asking her for dates. It might have been because she never had time or it might be because she’d been a bit irritable lately.
“How’s it going, Cuz?” Kayla asked.
“I’ve started a camper park for single panthers, well every type of cat, but most are panthers.”
“You’re taking a big interest in the panthers. Get any of them jobs?”
“Only a couple.”
“Sounds like the way Beth fell down the rabbit hole.” Kayla said as she giggled.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“They never do until it’s too late.”
“You’ve been around Moe too much.” Mairi observed.
“Hmpfth. She’s usually right.”
“So Moe says.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
Mairi was beginning to wonder, was she getting too invested in the panthers? Was it because of their alpha? Naw, she was running a business and Ciaro and she helped each other. That was all, nothing more. Now that she had that cleared up, she needed to run out to the new place she’d bought and see if it would work for Ciaro’s other brother, Liaro. He was a security specialist like his second was. He was single, but looking to change it and wanted a place for a mate and kids.
Liaro had one boy that he’d adopted who was five. No one knew what the situation had been, but he loved the boy as if he was his own. His old house had just sold and he was making arrangements to move right away.
That meant he’d be here in a week, but he’d be staying with Ciaro until his house was ready. She suspected the alpha had a houseful already. Even the party house being completed had just handled the first wave of arrivals. The apartment house might handle the second wave. After that, all hell would break loose.
Now that she’d checked out Unis’ place, she needed to go to the new property and see that it was ready to work on. It was out a ways and off the highway just far enough to be peaceful. She caught her last turn and drove down the long driveway. The property was wonderful, the yard covered with all the trees, bushes, and flowers she would love to have in her own yard. She only had a few of the ones here.
Many years ago, one of the owners had been a plant lover. They had invested time and money to seeing that all the popular trees, shrubs and flowers were represented in their yard. An old storm cellar, one of the solid concrete ones with a metal door was at the edge of the yard. She checked it out seeing it was in good condition. It was surprising since the house had a quarter basement that would make a great place for the laundry and added storage.
Both her crews would work here and in two weeks since she was using the Branson contractor for the outside, she hoped to be done. Tomorrow the construction dumpster would be delivered and work would begin.
Opening the door, she took a walk through noticing only a few odd pieces of furniture. In the kitchen, the old aqua colored appliances stood as a testament to a time passed. Her own grandma had once had these type of appliances. Mairi remembered them still in the kitchen and working when she’d been quite young. It was a shame they would all have to go. She took out her phone calling her cousin Trey. He fixed used appliances and some of these might even work.
“Hello, Trouble.”
“Yeah, you’re more trouble than I am.” Mairi said.
“Got something good for me?”
“Not sure how good, but it’s a kitchen full of aqua appliances and a matching sink. You can take all or some in the morning if you get here early enough.”
“Otherwise I know you’ll set them by the dumpster for me like you have before.” Trey said.
“Just try to be early so you can unhook them. My crew isn’t all that gentle. I’ll tell them to clear the rest of the house first. Okay? There’s also some odd and end furniture you might want. Who knows?”
“You usually do. I’ll get there early with my truck and trailer. Will that do?”
“It will fill it up, but it should all fit.”
“See you tomorrow.” Trey was gone, but she had one less thing to worry about.
There was the sound of a vehicle coming down the driveway so she walked outside. It was Ciaro and he was alone in his SUV. “How come you always find me no matter where I am?” She asked.
“How come you always avoid me?” He asked.
“I don’t avoid you. I’m just busy all the time. You know why I’m here. When is Liaro coming?”
“He says Wednesday, but it could be sooner. My siblings like to surprise me.”
“How many people are living in your house now?”
“You know Jezzie is there. My sister arrived yesterday with a friend that lives with her. Ramey has a daughter that lives with her named Carey. All three are with me, but I understand she’ll be moving out tomorrow sometime.”
“Yes, she will. We’ll do a walk through then if she likes it the paperwork will stand and the deal will be done.”
“I have a cousin, Jodspur that is with me right now and he also has friends. His friends are three males also living with me. As soon as Unis leaves, Liaro will arrive and Tunis, another sister is coming soon.”
“I always wanted siblings when I was little, now I’m happy with cousins.”
“You have one of them living with you.”
“Kayla is just one persona and she’s a sweetie. I actually like having her around.”
“Maybe I could stay with you at your house. I’d make sure you enjoyed having me around as well.”
She felt tempted, but it wasn’t part of her plan. “It’s too much like mating.”
“How about just tonight? I have groceries so I can fix you supper.”
Damn that male was just too sexy. “Okay. You can cook me supper.” That sounded weird, like she was doing him a favor letting him cook. Thank goodness the kitchen was finally done. There was still plenty left, but the kitchen was now a gourmet’s dream.
She locked up her new property and drove home with Ciaro following all the way. Was it a mistake to let him come to her home? It didn’t seem to feel like one. She enjoyed the thought of spending time with him. Pulling into the driveway, she saw Kayla was home. Kayla would tease her about this forever.
Mairi pulled into one of the parking spots and Ciaro pulled into another. He smiled at her and it lit up his whole face. This male was dangerous to her heart, but maybe it was already too late. Kayla was at the door as the two of them entered both piled high with groceries. He’d not wanted her to help carrying them in, but she’d insisted.
“Did you buy out the grocery store?” Kayla asked.
“Not me, Ciaro. You know about shifter appetites, don’t you?” Mairi asked.
“Is he moving in?” Kayla wondered.
“You’d like it if he did, he can cook.” Mairi admitted.
“Are you sure?” Kayla questioned.
“Yes, he has brought things for the crew for lunch that he cooked. Ciaro has a bunch of Spanish dishes that are fabulous.” Mairi admitted.
“My family moved to Spain for a while before we moved here. My mother loved to cook and felt even her sons should know how to cook several complete meals. Her specialty was Spanish dishes. I’ve learned a few Italian and even some German. Now lead me to the kitchen so I can get started. I’m hungry.” Ciaro demanded.
“He’s a keeper.” Kayla whispered as she led the way.
“This kitchen is perfect.” He praised.
“You’re lucky. It was completed recently. I’m working on the dining room now, but we’ll eat in the kitchen.” Mairi suggested.
“How large is this house?” He asked as he emptied the bags. She raised her brow at the variety and amount of food on the counter. “I plan to give you several choices.”
“The house has two full stories. Only a small corner on the second floor was left as storage. There is an office, viewing room setup with a telescope. Three bedrooms, one has its own bath the other two share one. There is a living room with a kitchenette upstairs too. Downstairs there are all the living spaces you see, a master that is a single story because it was added on later and three bedrooms with one bath. There is a full basement that has the plumbing for a laundry and a bathroom. I might add a family room downstairs if I want to.” Mairi explained.
As Ciaro worked with the food in front of him, he asked questions. “What of all the outbuildings?” He was using premade wraps, but she saw him making filling for tamales and enchiladas. There was also rice cooking.
“They were all present when I bought the property. One I use as a chicken shed, one is a barn, and the other three are usable for storage. There is a small orchard that needs a great deal of work. I’ve begun to prune and treat the old tress. A garden spot lies beyond the barn. I couldn’t do anything with it this year, but it has some established plants. I did harvest those. There are also hickory and black walnut trees all over the property. I have cousins who have been picking those and making some money from them. Only the black walnuts are bought in bulk, but some people will buy bags of the hickory nuts.”
“I saw a sign about the black walnuts and didn’t know what it meant.” Ciaro admitted.
“They set up to shell them and they will buy them by weight or you can pay them to shell them for you. I buy some off my little cousins once they’re shelled. I love black walnut ice cream. Some of the old timers dump them in their driveways and run over them to remove the hulls, but it’s a lot of work and they stain your hands dark brown.” Mairi admitted.
“Sounds like personal experience.” Ciaro observed.
“Most kids around here pick up walnuts for money to get school supplies. In the summer, some pick blueberries down by the river. They often eat as many of those as they pick.” Mairi said and she and Kayla laughed.
Ciaro opened the oven putting food in it to cook. “We should have asked if you needed any help.” Kayla said.
“We’re getting lazy. Let us help you clean up while stuff cooks.” Mairi offered.
“I still have to make the salad and finish the rice.” Ciaro said.
“Everything smells good already.” Mairi admitted.
“Some is already partly cooked. I’m going to make some nachos for you two hungry ladies and me to snack on while the food cooks.” Ciaro explained.
Mairi and Kayla cleaned up and put away the items he didn’t use or only used some of. Mairi had a feeling her bed would be warm tonight. It was sexy watching him work with his hands cooking a meal for them. She could imagine him fixing a meal for their family. Maybe she didn’t need someone who has a Mr. Dad after all. If he was willing to help and they hired someone to help as well, maybe that would be good enough.
Ciaro was slowly changing her outlook. He was seducing her from the inside out and showing her how good he could be. She was also forming a bond to him that might prove to be unbreakable. Mairi shivered, the male was just that hot.
The meal was fabulous and she and Kayla both told him so. He’d even made dessert, strawberries dipped in chocolate. Those hadn’t lasted long and half had been eaten before the meal. They’d done the dishes, it was no problem with her new commercial dishwasher. Kayla had bragged about his cooking the whole time.
She’d appreciated the fact he hadn’t minded Kayla being there. They’d sat in the living room drinking tea and watching an action flick. Once Kayla went to bed, Ciaro was ready to go to bed too. Mairi went to take a shower, but Ciaro didn’t want her to do that alone. Once they were both naked, her mouth watered as she looked at his body. He was long and lean with a cock that just didn’t quit.
The water was hot too as she stepped into it and he followed her in. Naked and gorgeous was what she saw as she stared at him. He soaped up his hands and started by shampooing her hair. Once he was done with that he began to rub soap on her body making her nipples get hard and her whole body ache with need.
She soaped up her hands washing his hair first then having him rinse it clean. Now she soaped up her hands again washing him everywhere. Mairi was careful not to rub him anywhere too much. It was obvious he wanted more.