Page 42 of The Thief

“That’s a hard no for me. I can’t focus if people are walking through and watching me.” Archer wiped his flushed face and chest with a towel. “Tak said we could build a small gym off the garage once we get that up. He’s having Robyn sketch a few designs. Then I can finally get some privacy. If anyone wants to use my equipment, that’s fine as long as they take care of my stuff.”

“Everyone looks fit to me.”

He scratched behind his ear. “It’s not just about looking good. Bear needs to tone up his core muscles—maybe work on his obliques. If he keeps spending all his time in the kitchen, he’ll end up with a dad bod.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” I said, thinking how I liked that Bear wasn’t ripped with hard muscles all over the place. A man could be fit and strong without ropes of muscle and abs of steel. Archer was Mr. Fitness—even his legs had visible muscle. But I wasn’t into that.

“I’m not saying he needs to look like a bodybuilder, but weights serve another purpose. They strengthen muscles. Krys and Virgil could stand to add a little muscle. If we need to defend ourselves or the pack, we should be in shape.”

“Maybe Tak can join and you can bond.”

“Tak doesn’t understand the point of a gym. He says hard work puts muscle on a man, but he doesn’t get my situation.”

“You should open a gym.”

Archer scoffed. “That’ll be the day.”

I stared at his weights. “What’s the deal with Krys?”

“I thought about buying a T-shirt that says the same thing.”

“You’re nothing like Mr. Whips and Chains. Did you two grow up together?”

“No.” Archer gave a rueful smile. “Krys…” He glanced at the open doorway. “He’s been through some really bad stuff, but he’s a good guy. His wolf may be feral, but he’s always got my back. He’s the only one in my family who gives a shit about me.”

“From personal experience, family isn’t always reliable. Didn’t you have friends back home? You’re Mr. Popularity. Why would you leave them?”

He reclined on the bench and strapped his hand to the bar. “Some people are only your friend when they have something to gain.”

That was the saddest thing I’d ever heard.

“Montana told me what happened at the bar with that Mage,” he said. “Those are bad dudes to mess with. Do me a favor and stay inside, cutie-pie. No wandering around the property unless you’ve got someone with you.”

I snorted. “I’ve never had so much coddling in all my days.”

“Get used to it. That’s pack life.”

When Archer resumed lifting his weights, I opened the wooden sliding doors and entered the library.

A dozen open boxes surrounded Joy, each filled to the brim with books. I noticed her pink floral robe and slippers and guessed she couldn’t sleep until she got some work done.

“What’s all this?” I asked, closing the doors behind me.

She looked over her shoulder from where she was shelving a book. “Tak and Lakota moved the boxes in here while I was gone. Wasn’t that sweet of them? These are Salem’s precious books. He first wanted to keep them in our bedroom. Can you imagine? I’d be buried in wall-to-wall dust.” She blew dust off one book to emphasize her point.

I peered inside a box at what appeared to be a mix of modern and vintage books. “Why does that not surprise me?”

“I’m trying to figure out how to organize them.”

When Joy turned around, I caught a glimpse of her silk pajama set through her open robe. The cami top and shorts were loose, and the lovely royal blue brought out the color in her eyes.

She walked over to a box and squatted. “I’m not familiar with how human libraries organize and shelve their books, but we need a system. Most of these are reference books. I can’t put them just anywhere, or he’ll never find what he’s looking for.” She pointed to the box by the wall. “That one’s filled with classic literature. I suppose it makes sense to separate fiction from nonfiction and then create sections, but I’ll have to leave lots of space between each one so I won’t have to keep shifting books to make room for new ones.”

She sat down and heaved a sigh.

I swung my gaze up to the impressive shelves that stretched from floor to ceiling. The sliding ladder provided easy access. “They sure need fillin’. Do you want me to help?”

She tapped her finger against her bottom lip. “I’m afraid if I shelve them too soon, I’ll figure out a better system. Right now I’m sorting to see what we have. I never thought in a million years I’d be building barns and organizing a library.”

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