11. Tate

ELEVEN

TATE

With every sweep of the hose over my car, I glanced at Harley's house. I'd been washing my truck for about twenty minutes longer than I usually would, using it as an excuse to look over there. Since I'd found out she was pregnant, I was desperate to talk to her again. The problem was, I couldn't think of a way to approach her. Especially after the way I'd treated her the last few times I'd been around her. Along with that, my dragon's reaction to her put me on edge. Not the nervous, irritated edge. No, it was the excited edge, like a kid getting ready for bed on Christmas Eve, or waking up on the morning of their birthday. It was annoying. Even though he hadn't reared his head, I could still feel my dragon's lingering emotions.

While I was lost in my thoughts, I neglected to realize Harley's door had opened. As I scrubbed my truck's rims and cursed my dragon's uncontrollable needs, the youngest King girl had made it across the street and was standing behind me.

I scented her before I saw or heard her. My head snapped around, and I blurted a very unmanly yelp of surprise.

"Damn, girl. You scared the hell out of me." I chuckled.

She grinned like she was proud of herself. It took a second for her name to pop into my mind. Jordyn. While I turned off the hose, she walked around my truck, checking it out. I couldn't tell if she liked it or not. She bounced around on her toes and looked to be just as full of energy as at the fireworks show.

I put my hands on my hips and asked, "How's it been going?"

She studied her reflection in the chrome of the truck's grill. Without looking up, she said, "Pretty good." She then looked me in the face and unloaded a barrage of words I was barely able to keep up with. "My sister and I went shopping yesterday. We got a bunch of new clothes for when school starts. We went to get pizza in the food court, and then got a giant cinnamon roll to share. Mom didn't want us to, but we did anyway. She didn't get mad. We saw a movie too, do you like superhero movies?" Before I could even answer, she went on. "Anyway, we saw the new one, and then we came home. Mariah drove there and back, and we didn't even die. Pretty impressive on her part. So, how have you been? Haven't seen you much since the Fourth of July."

My eyes widened as I tried to take in everything she'd said. Once I had it mostly sorted, I replied, "Been good. Working a lot. How… uh… how's your mom?"

Jordyn made a face. "Not so great. She was sick yesterday, which is probably the only reason she let us go to the mall alone."

My dragon stirred at the news that Harley wasn't well. Not just my dragon, I realized; I was worried too.

"She stayed home and slept."

"Is she feeling better now?" I asked.

Jordyn shrugged. "I think so, but not all the way. Plus, she's got more to worry about now. The air conditioning went out, and the water isn't getting hot anymore. She called the number for the maintenance guy, but he's busy and can't get to us for a few days. My Uncle Maddox—well, he's not really my uncle, he was Daddy's partner—anyway, Uncle Maddox has a company he uses to take care of the house, but it looks like there's quite a bit that needs to be done. It's a nice house… just… sort of sick? I know houses can't get sick, but you know what I mean."

I was familiar with the maintenance company. I'd seen the truck parked there every other month. It was the same company that maintained a lot of the rental cabins, and since we were in the peak of summer, they were probably busy as hell. Harley and the girls didn't have a man around who could fix little things like that. God, that sounded sexist even in my head, but Harley obviously needed help if she was calling the repair guy.

Desire flamed in my chest, fed by my dragon. I should step up and help them. Jordyn was talking about how nervous she was about going to a new school, but I barely registered her voice. All I could think of was helping them. My dragon was almost physically clawing to get out and do some good.

I interrupted Jordyn. "Hey, I'll come over later and fix your stuff. You know, so your mom can feel better without worrying too much."

Jordyn's eyes widened in delighted surprise, and a big smile appeared on her face. "Oh my gosh, that would be great."

I'd always been a pretty stoic guy. I wasn't a crier or sensitive about most situations, but it was hard to ignore the immense satisfaction I felt when Jordyn gave me that smile. Even my dragon purred with delight.

I was suddenly struck with a possessive feeling toward Jordyn—a familial possession. My dragon was imprinting on her as someone to protect and care for. It was viewing her as a fledgling dragon.

Before I could even process all those new feelings, Jordyn grabbed my hand. "Come on. Let's go. It's so dang hot in there."

Mariah's face had a comical expression of surprise when I came in. She gave Jordyn a questioning look, trying to be subtle. The younger girl didn't seem to get it.

She shrugged. "What? I found a repair man. What more could you want?"

The house was boiling. It had to be at least eighty-five or ninety degrees inside. Even with all the ceiling fans going, it was miserable. Coming to my senses, I gently removed my hand from Jordyn's.

I glanced around the house. "Let me go grab my tools. I can't do anything without that. Where's your mom?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

Mariah nodded at a closed door. "She's taking a nap. Said she was tired."

My eyes slid toward the door. "Okay, I need to peek in there real quick to… see how many air vents are in there." I added the last as a bullshit reason to see Harley. The number of air vents didn't mean shit to getting the air con to work. "I won't wake her up."

"Okay. Jordyn, did you do the dishes like Mom asked?" Mariah said, her attention already away from me.

"Ugh. I want to help Tate. Dishes suck."

I left the girls to argue and quietly turned the knob on Harley's door, doing my best to be silent as I opened it. In the shadowed bedroom, there was a lump under the blankets. My dragon eyes had no problem seeing in the dark, and I could easily make out Harley's form. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open as she breathed deeply. My dragon rumbled as it laid eyes on her. Want, need, desire, and the urge to protect her warred within me. I shook my head. How had this happened? Not just a mate, but a human mate? Was this really possible? I forced myself to push the thoughts aside. After closing the door, I went to grab my tools from my garage. I needed to get the girls some cool air and hot water.

Mariah showed me to the corner of their garage where the water heater stood. One look revealed to me the problem. They had moved in and placed a bunch of boxes near the water heater. Now, one of the boxes was leaning against the pressure relief valve, keeping it partially open. I went outside to the relief hose. It was steadily spraying a small amount of water. The spray wasn't loud or super obvious, so they'd never noticed, but the tank was slowly emptying water into the backyard before the heater could heat it. Not only would they have cold water, but their water bill would be enormous.

Back inside, I moved the boxes and discovered that the valve was loose. A few turns of the wrench, and it was good to go. The air conditioner was another story. It was on the other side of the house, and once I got the metal plate off, I found the coils completely corroded. The unit was old and needed replacing. If I replaced the coils, it should last for the rest of the summer and fall. I'd need to go to the plumbing and HVAC supply store outside town, and see if they had these parts in stock. I wrote down the serial number and went inside to tell the girls I needed to leave for a while.

"I'll come with. I'll be your assistant," Jordyn said.

I laughed. "I don't think your mom would want you riding with the neighbor."

Jordyn punched my arm playfully. "It's not like you're a stranger. It'll be fine. Right, Mariah?" she asked.

Mariah shrugged. "I think it's fine. Mom wouldn't care."

The fact that the girls trusted me made both me and my dragon happy and content, though I couldn't help wondering if Harley really would be fine with it. Not wanting to disappoint, I agreed.

"All right, shorty, let's go," I said.

Jordyn followed me outside, mumbling, "Who're you calling short?"

"You, because you are." I laughed as we climbed into my truck.

The drive to the store was filled with conversation, as was the rule with Jordyn from what I'd noticed so far. Thankfully, the store had the coils in stock, but they were pricey. Grabbing new air return filters as well, I swiped my card—it was the least I could do after treating Harley like shit. When we arrived home less than an hour after we left, Harley was still asleep. She must have been exhausted.

Jordyn and Mariah stood outside and watched me fix the unit. They asked questions and seemed to enjoy learning something new. I was no expert but knew enough to fix it and explain what I was doing. After I got the new part on, we went inside, and I turned the unit on while I changed the air filter. Mariah stood by a wall, holding her hand to one of the floor vents.

She sighed with relief and smiled up at me. "Cool air."

Jordyn laughed and got down on the floor, putting her face over the vent. The silliness of the situation made my heart swell with happiness. I'd done something for them, but it had been for me, too. I could already feel the temperature going down. Before I could get the air filter vent back on, I heard mattress springs creaking in Harley's room. She was up. I experienced a moment of panic. What would she say when she saw me? Would she call the cops? Kick me in the balls?

Harley stumbled out of the bedroom, still half asleep. She glanced at the girls and laughed, seeing them on the floor with their hair blowing in the cool breeze from the air conditioning.

Harley rubbed her eyes. "How the heck did you guys fix the air?"

Mariah looked at Harley. "We didn't fix it, he did." She pointed down the hall at me.

Harley turned and spotted me on my knees as I replaced the vent cover. She froze, face strained, body rigid, and stared at me for several long seconds. I couldn't blame her for reacting the way she did. What had I done other than treat her poorly since she'd moved here?

"Why are you here?" she asked.

Before I could answer, Jordyn said, "He fixed the hot water heater, too. Now you can take that hot bath you were talking about. We were all miserable, so I went next door to see if he knew how to fix this stuff. And, well, he did." She laughed and went back to letting the cool air blow on her face.

Harley's face softened, not a lot, but a little. She actually looked a little stunned. I stood and watched several thoughts go through her head, a range of emotions playing over her face.

She straightened. "Well, thanks. How much do I owe you?"

The innocent question shouldn't have irritated me, but it pissed me off for some reason. When I responded, I did a pretty good job of keeping the anger out of my voice.

"I didn't do it for money. I did it so you and the girls would be comfortable. Shorty over there said you guys were sweating your butts off. Honestly, you might want to go ahead and get a little shower in, you're a little damp yourself."

"Well, I really would feel better about paying for the service," Harley said.

"Service? I'm not a plumber, only a concerned neighbor. It really isn't necessary."

"Be that as it may, I'd like to at least pay for the parts you had to buy."

"Seriously, I'm not taking your money." I paused to taper the feeling of anger and frustration. "It was the least I could do after… well… I'm not going to let you pay me for it."

Harley sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Fine, but I really would feel better if I paid you somehow. What can I do for you?"

Before I could answer, Mariah surprised both of us. "Why don't we cook Mr. Mills dinner?"

I flinched at being called "Mr. Mills". "Please don't call me Mr. Mills. I'm just Tate."

Jordyn and Mariah both looked at their mom for confirmation that she was cool with that. Harley looked irritated but waved a hand at them. "Whatever Tate says. It's his name.

I laughed, then looked at them. "Okay, just call me whatever you're comfortable with."

Harley sighed in obvious exasperation. "Fine, dinner it is. I'll send Jordyn over to get you when it's ready."

"Oh, Mom," Jordyn said. "Can you make dessert?"

Harley looked like she was going to object, but Mariah spoke up, and said, "Oh my gosh, yes."

"Good lord," Harley said, "Fine,I think there's a box of cookie mix or something in the pantry. Are you all happy now?"

My heart almost jolted out of my chest as I watched their little family interaction, and a longing I'd never noticed lurking inside me resurfaced. It wasn't just my dragon who wanted to protect them. That was becoming easy to see, yet not as easy to understand. I left with a smile, pondering everything I'd seen and felt.