19. Zander

Chapter nineteen

Zander

J enkins told me about the bed, and the man thought it was hilarious that Killy didn’t want to see Barnham. I thought it was funny, too, and Barnham deserved it. He’d spurred Gerald into thinking MacLaden Pride didn’t like Killian as our King.

I reached Killy’s by four, finding Briar, Killy, and Jules deep in conversation with Jenkins. The pavilion was finished, and it looked good. The same panels I’d fashioned for the house were used to make the space warm in the winter and made with materials to withstand the elements. Killy winked at me as I joined them, and Briar lifted his chin. He’d been warned not to touch me if he didn’t want to know when he’d die. The man’s first thought when I walked up was ‘Tarot.’

Killy slid his free hand into mine, and Jules patted my cheek from the comfort of Killy’s arms. Unlike other MacLaden Kings and Queens, Killy would not hide his cub from the Pride. I had a feeling Killy would kill anyone who messed with Jules, too.

We rode out to the site for the homes and the hotel, which would be side by side. MacLaden Pride came out to watch. The humans were oblivious.

Briar and I discussed the three homes he needed to get rid of, and we sketched a rough plan of the new development while we stood there. Miss Gerry from the ice cream shop brought Jules a cup of strawberry ice cream, and Killy talked to her. He tasted the ice cream first, said it was delicious, and Jules dug in. Miss Gerry had no idea Killy was taste testing to make sure she hadn’t tried to poison his cub.

Briar asked me what I thought about the hotel. I didn’t do commercial, but Yael showed me images of what Killy wanted, and I sketched those out for Briar, too. The King was too young to have seen a hotel in the seventies, and when he’d asked his architect, the man came up with something too modern.

We headed back to the diner. The humans were returning to Cypress Wood for the night, and Sophie joined us with Coleen. Charlene brought us supper while we discussed how many homes, a gate, and a little country club with a pool and a lifeguard. Killy was keeping with the seventies theme, and the Shifters who’d come in to listen to us were pleased. They were happiest in the seventies and eighties.

Jules ate from my plate, and Killy’s, after Killy and I had tasted everything. Briar noticed and took mental notes about keeping his Pride at arm’s length without letting them know he didn’t trust them.

Killy paid for our supper, and we left the diner, driving back to Killy’s. Briar wanted to see Jules’ bedroom, and Killy invited the man into the house. Briar was interested in how the walls locked into the floor, and I showed him the design.

“I’m not stealing anything. I’m wondering if your crew could modify my house for me? I am planning a new one closer to the road and am having the old Fowler Home torn down. We don’t really do custom builds. The customs are basically add-ons to the other models.”

“Have you started building?” I asked.

“No.” He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Dario and I are currently living in Remi Sanna’s old apartment.”

“Remi is my nephew,” I smiled. “I do have a house in Juniper Springs. It’s cleaned once a week, but I haven’t lived there in twenty years. I’d spend a month or two there during the summer.”

“You’re kidding,” Briar raised his eyebrows. “A whole house?”

“You’re welcome to it?” I shrugged.

“Hey,” Killy smiled as he joined us without Jules. “He’s in the pool with Sophie. I just came to change.”

“I’m giving Briar my house in Juniper Springs,” I said. “He and Dario are currently sharing Remi’s old one-bedroom flat.”

“It’s small,” I take it,” Killy said.

“Very.” Briar nodded.

“Well,” I texted him directions and the keycode for the keyless entry. “There. Check it out and see if you like it. If you want something different, we can talk about it.” I smiled.

“You’re kidding,” Briar smiled. “Just go?”

“We’ll discuss it, I’m sure. It’s not like we won’t be seeing each other.” I laughed.

“Thanks. Killy, we can start clearing on Monday,” Briar said.

“Good deal.” They shook hands, and Briar counted spaces from there.

Killy pulled me into a hug and breathed me in. “You are full of surprises. How was your day?”

“Well, this definitely makes it better,” I murmured into his neck.

“Say you’re staying tonight?” he whispered.

“I am, yeah. Hoped you wanted me to.”

“I do. I definitely do.”