Chapter Sixteen

Lachlan

Audrey is coming!

I wasn't sure if she would. After all, we were humans, and some of the shifters who visited the clinic had mentioned that most did not want to cross that line. For one, as Audrey said, divorce was not a thing for them. Mates were considered sacred gifts from Fate, and as such, a separation of any kind was not only frowned upon but painful to the parties involved.

I found this wonderful. Wasn't the person intended for anyone a gift? A good marriage did not fall in anyone's lap; a mating was likely to be the same. Even the right person was human with lots of flaws—or if not human, a person, right?

But the notion that Audrey was coming and right away made for quite the panic when I looked around my house. When we bought this property, the three cabins had been a huge selling point. Right up there with the gorgeous barn and other outbuildings.

Our office was small for our practice and allowed almost no room for the large animals who were almost half of our patient load. Sure, vets did travel to farms sometimes, often actually, but there were plenty of times when we would have had the animal brought in and kept for observation or surgical procedures. The practice we bought from old Doctor Kensy along with the offices did not have room for a cow or a horse. Or something bigger or less tame from the wildlife rescue outside of town.

We'd only been on the property for a year and so far had been short on time for making those transitions. And for basic housekeeping. My house was a disgrace that our maybe wife/mate would take one look and demand to be returned to the airport. With that in mind, I went looking for cleaning supplies, of which I had few.

Hale was more efficient than the rest of us, and better at home things, so he was sure to have whatever I would need, and I trotted over to his place with that in mind. A bucket, rags…some kind of soap?

It wasn't that I'd never cleaned my house, but before moving out here, I'd had someone come once a week who brought her own supplies. When we got here, I'd asked around, but the few willing to go so far out of town were booked solid. So a lick and a promise it was, and the promise was never fulfilled.

I rapped on Hale's door, and he opened it wearing an ear-to-ear grin. "Can I help you, Doctor?"

I cleared my throat. "Yes, I need…"

He reached behind him and picked up a red bucket piled with cleaning supplies. "This?"

"Yeah…that. I don't want to scare her off."

"I've been in your place. It's not as bad as you probably think, mostly because we haven't lived here that long. Put things away, wash the dishes, dust, vacuum, sweep…clean the bathroom and kitchen and change the sheets and towels and you should be fine."

"Appreciate it." Also, he was awfully well prepared…

"Want me to come by and check when you're done?" He grinned at me. "I have a white glove to test with."

"Uh, no. I think I'll be okay." I actually did have a broom and vacuum. And maybe a dust pan. Turning away, I ran smack into Idris.

"Sorry." He grabbed the porch railing. "I am here to borrow…"

It was getting too funny. I held up the red bucket. "You can have it all when I'm done."

"No need for that." Hale came up beside us holding another red bucket. "I've got you both covered."

"Gee. Do you think we're slobs?" I was a little insulted.

"Yes, now, go get started. She's coming tomorrow and I am going to stop by and check on both of you. No white glove; that was a joke. But I'm also available to lend a hand because I want us all to be our best for our wife-to-be. And my place is clean."

"Don't jinx us by calling her that," Idris protested. "What if she doesn't like us?"

"She'll like Hale's food," I asserted. "And my looks. I guess you've got the personality."

"Nice." Idris tried to frown then broke out in a laugh. "Seriously, though, we'd better get started, and I'll take all the help I can get, Hale. Without you, the office would be just as big a disaster as our homes." We did all help there, but only because he had all the work scheduled out and we just followed it.

Returning to my place, I tried to remember everything Hale told me to do. Pick up things. That I could do. Clean clothes went in the closet, laundry in the machine, which I turned on, and then I dug through the bucket to see what all Hale had provided me with. Magic Eraser? What the heck was that? There were fancy disposable dusters and some liquids, and I settled in to spend the whole night if necessary. We hadn't decided where our guest/maybe mate would sleep, but if she did get sleepy at my house, I wanted her to feel comfortable curling up on my bed, under the fluffy comforter. In. My. Bed.

This shifter woman was coming to my house, to our houses, to maybe become part of our lives. I dove into cleaning with renewed vigor. No female of mine was going to be embarrassed by my dusty bachelor habits.