Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

Billy couldn't figure out why in the world he'd told Amalie all that stuff about his parents. He hadn't been kidding when he'd told her that she was surprisingly easy to talk to. And she didn't pester him with questions or give him unsolicited advice the way many women he'd known would have done. He liked the way she'd responded to his revelations, though he hadn't realized he was going to bare his soul even before breakfast.

He gestured to the containers and pulled out one of the patio chairs for her. "We'd better eat before this gets much colder," he said, though there was steam coming off most of the food. It had all been packed very well, and it hadn't been a long drive from the local diner to Amalie's house.

Besides two complete breakfasts of eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and toast, he'd also made a quick stop at a bakery that had caught his eye and had the clerk load a box with pastries. There was a little bit of everything on offer, and he waited for Amalie to choose what she wanted before he descended on whatever was left. He could eat a horse this morning and would polish off anything she didn't eat. He knew that for certain.

"I see you made the rounds of the local eateries."

She nodded to the pink logo on the pastry box as she filled her plate with a scoop of scrambled eggs and two slices of bacon. She took a piece of buttered toast and a smattering of hash browns, then settled down to eat.

"There weren't a lot of choices, but everything smelled really good in both the diner and the bakery, so I figured they were good," he admitted as he settled down with his first plateful. He already knew he'd be going back for seconds. Maybe even thirds, as hollow as he was feeling.

"Yeah, they're both really good," she agreed after swallowing a bite of toast. "But where did you get the other stuff? I didn't think there are any specialty electronics stores in town."

"Well, it's not exactly open to the general public. It's a shifter business, known only to certain military shifters. My brother hooked me up with a connection through one of the Kinkaids back in New York. The owner is a wolf. Nice guy for a canine," Billy admitted. "He served in Special Forces and has kept his hand in on the supply side of things ever since he retired. Rich said he has a rep as a tech genius, and some of the equipment I got from him were his own inventions. Patented and everything. He's probably a billionaire from the patents alone, because a lot of his innovations are in current use by the U.S. military and other specialized shifter groups that fight on the side of Light."

"Impressive," Amalie said as she ate steadily.

He could see interest in her eyes and was enjoying talking to her, he realized. She wasn't like other women. He didn't have to think of things to keep her amused. She seemed to like talking about real world stuff, not just the latest movies or gossip or whatever. He liked that. A lot.

"Rich warned me the wolf had a reputation as a bit of a recluse, but he struck me as a really nice guy. Just quiet. Maybe a little nerdy." Billy shrugged. "But I always think wolves are a little weird. I'm a cat. I don't really understand canines at times."

She chuckled, and the sound sent a thrill down his spine, right to his cock. Damn. The woman was potent, even when she wasn't trying to be sexy. That dream last night had held him in thrall.

"So, the Clan Kinkaids turned out to be a good connection," she said in a gentle tone, making him look over.

"Yeah, I have to admit it. Old Lester did us a solid this time. If not for the weight of the Kinkaid name, I doubt the wolf would have given me the time of day, much less let me in the door. I may not be part of the Clan, but I'm beginning to recognize the power they seem to wield," he said a bit grudgingly. Amalie smiled gently.

"And they were willing to let you share in that, even though you aren't officially part of the Clan," she observed in what sounded like a significant tone.

"I wouldn't read too much into that," Billy objected, though he wasn't as vehement as he would have been a while back. The idea of the Clan was starting to grow on him, and he admitted—if only to himself—that he was really curious about his father's people. "The Kinkaids we met in New York are still in the military, and they're working toward a solution that protects all of those who serve the Light. I think they would've vouched for any operative they sent here, not just ones who happened to share their last name."

"Maybe," she allowed, tilting her head to one side in a way he found freaking adorable.

Damn. He'd never had time for adorable before. In fact, he'd run as far and as fast as he could from women who cultivated that sort of label.

Maybe it was because Amalie didn't try to be adorable. She just was. At times. At other times, she was hell on wheels, sassing him back and going toe to toe with him. He liked that too.

They finished breakfast with talk of the gear he'd purchased and how they would install it. She was still gung-ho to help him, and he wasn't going to say no. He'd found yesterday, much to his surprise, that he'd liked working alongside her. They'd actually made a pretty good team.

And wasn't that surprising?

Amalie spent the rest of the morning helping Billy install the rest of the gear he'd purchased. Mr. Humblebee supervised as they moved about the backyard. She could see how the control module Billy had gotten from the werewolf would improve the responsiveness of her system greatly. He'd shown her how to use the system to its best advantage and how to identify which parts governed which sections of her yard and home. They practiced what it would look like if one part of the system went down and how she could identify which places had been compromised.

He also strategized with her about what to do should she ever come under attack. He ran through a few different scenarios and led her through the process of deciding what was the safest course of action to protect herself.

She tried to tell him not to worry so much about that, but he wouldn't listen, and she gave up. She had a plan for what to do if she was ever in real danger, and it didn't involve gadgets or technology.

They'd worked right through lunch. She'd thrown together a few sandwiches from cold cuts and rolls she'd had in her kitchen. He'd eaten as he'd worked, much to her chagrin. They'd only finished the installation as dinnertime rolled around, and she felt the only polite thing to do was ask him to share dinner with her again as a way of thanking him.

He'd refused any money for the gear he'd purchased, and she wasn't sure if he was paying for the stuff out of his own pocket or if he had some kind of budget from the military—though why would the military care about her safety, in particular? Either way, she felt a little odd about it. They'd only just met. Never mind the fact that she'd been seeing him in her dreams for the past few months.

"Well, that's about all we can do with technology. The system is as streamlined as I can make it," Billy said, packing up his tools.

"Why don't you stay another night in the guest house? I'd hate to send you on your way without at least offering you dinner, and by the time we finish eating, I wouldn't want to be sending you off in the dark with no place to stay," she told him. It made sense, didn't it? Or was it just a flimsy excuse to keep him around a bit longer? Even she wasn't so sure. "I've got some steaks in the fridge that I bought on impulse the day before yesterday. Frankly, I can't eat as much as I bought. I guess my witchy intuition told me to stock up for a guest, and you're it. We can grill them out here on the patio, and I'll even let you be in charge of the grill, if you like."

She smiled up at him, and he caved. She could see his resolve disintegrate, and she felt a little thrill of victory. He was going to stay. Her inner hussy shouted yippee!

"All right," he said, turning to face her and leaning one hip up against his heavy toolbox, which was sitting on the patio table. "I like a good cookout, and you're right. I'd probably have to scramble for a place to stay tonight. I should've made arrangements earlier, but I got caught up in the installation and forgot." He sent her a sheepish smile that she found utterly endearing. "I'd be honored to run the grill. Is there anything else I can do to help?"

"No," she replied, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet in joy. "You just fire up the grill, and I'll get all the stuff from inside so you can start on the meat. Meanwhile, I'll rustle up some side dish type stuff. We can eat out here again, since the weather has been so fine."

"Sounds good." He turned to where the grill was sitting under a form-fitting cover and began unzipping and uncovering the giant appliance that had come with the house.

Amalie went inside and got out the steaks and the other things he'd need to prepare them. By the time she brought everything out, he was getting the fire going, so she left him to it and went back inside to put together the rest of the meal. Mr. Humblebee followed her in and out of the house, nearly tripping her a few times. She loved the cat, but really?

They ate together, once again, and it felt a little bittersweet to her. After this, she really had no other excuses to keep him around. This was, in all likelihood, the last dinner they would ever share. He would stay overnight, so they might have breakfast together tomorrow morning, but then, he had to leave, and she felt downright despondent thinking she might never see him again.

Amalie vowed to make the most of the evening. It was rare for her to have company, and he was easy to be around. He knew about her past and her magic. She could talk to him about almost anything, which was liberating.

The people she worked with were non-magical humans who had no clue about the world in which she had been raised. Thankfully, she'd taken time off from work. Again, her intuition had probably helped her there without her realizing it until now. She didn't have to go back to the office until next week, so she could spend whatever time remained of Billy's visit with him.

Somehow, she got the feeling that no matter how long he stayed, it wouldn't be enough.

Dinner was lovely out on the patio, and they shared the steaks and a wide-ranging conversation that was both stimulating and enjoyable. They talked and talked about all sorts of things. Billy told her all about his brothers to the point where she felt like she knew Rich and Colt already. She told him about living with her grandmother and how she'd wanted to experience the world without magic for a little while.

"Gran still doesn't understand why I'd want to handicap myself , as she puts it, by not using my natural-born magic, but it's something I wanted to do. I saw it with the coven. They are so used to being only with each other that they forget, at times, what it's like to be human, living out in a world that is unaware of magic," she told him, bearing her heart. It was important to her, for some reason, that he understand.

"I get it. My brothers and I worked together in the military as a very Special Ops unit, but we also worked with regular guys from time to time, out in the field where we couldn't use our gifts openly. Shifters sometimes think of humans as less than, but I've got to say, they aren't. Some of those non-magical guys were as good as, and sometimes better than, some of the shifters. I'd have them at my back anytime." He shrugged. "It gives us perspective to see humans not just as chess pieces or something to be protected and kept in the dark about magic."

"Exactly," she agreed, nodding.

"There's even a story going around in shifter military circles about how it was the adopted human brother of a magical family who was the key to ending a really bad sea monster problem they were having in Grizzly Cove," Billy offered as they finished eating and sat back to enjoy the evening under the stars.

Mr. Humblebee chose that moment to reappear and jump up into Billy's lap. Rather than shoo him away, Billy began stroking the orange cat until he purred in contentment. Silly cat. Though, if she had to admit it, Amalie was feeling a little jealous of that kitty right about now.

"I think I've heard a little about Grizzly Cove. It's some kind of new magical enclave in the Pacific Northwest, right?" she asked, reaching for her glass.

"It started as a shifter town. A bunch of Special Forces bear shifters retired and their leader put a plan in place to build their own town. He had the idea that, if he kept the unit together, they could put out a call for female bear shifters to join them, increasing the likelihood that they might find a mate among their own kind. But it didn't quite work out that way. Instead of attracting bears, the concentration of that much shifter magic in one place attracted a whole lot of other magical people. While it was a success in one sense—a lot of those original guys have found mates, though few of them are bears, from what I've heard—they also got the unwanted attention from the enemy. A leviathan started preying on them from the water, and an entire pod of mer people sought sanctuary in the cove once they'd managed to protect it magically."

"Wait," Amalie interrupted. "You're saying like…mermaids?"

"And a siren or two," Billy nodded. "I called one of my old friends who lives there now as I was driving here and got the whole story. Selkies, sirens, mer, bear shifters of all kinds, including a panda and a koala shifter who was a mess when he arrived in town but is better now that he's mated." Billy shook his head. "Koalas are marsupials. He's not even really a bear, but they seem to like him now that he's straightened out. And a couple of witch sisters settled in town before the bears realized what they were. They're mated to bears now, and they did a lot in safeguarding the cove. They even allied with the Master vampire of the region, and he's a silent partner in the most successful restaurant in town. It sounds like a fun place, to be honest. I might go visit my friend if and when things settle down, just to see the setup."

"It sounds fascinating," Amalie agreed. "I wonder if the town is going to become a destination for magical folk who want to go on vacation? If it's on the water, it's probably got pretty ocean views."

Billy shook his head and smiled. "Magical tourism? I bet the bears have that covered. The man in charge over there has one of the greatest strategic minds in generations. He planned out the whole town and set the wheels in motion to acquire the land years before the guys were ready to retire. He didn't plan on so much attention from the other side, or the fact that anyone other than bear shifters would be attracted to live in his town, but he's been adapting his plans, and the place is just getting stronger with each new addition from all accounts. They've even got an alliance with the Kinkaid Clan."

He let that statement just sit out there, and she wasn't sure what to say. She decided to tread cautiously when she did speak.