Page 4 of Her Shifter Babe

Chapter 2

Tommy

“THIS HOUSE IS AMAZING!” I called into my cousin’s new home, knocking on the already open front door. “Hello?”

“Come in, Doc,” Wade offered, striding toward me.

I stood on the threshold and held out the expensive bottle of whiskey I’d picked up on the way. “Happy housewarming, cousin. This place looks epic.”

“Thanks,” he said, taking the bottle and whistling at it. “Very nice. Thanks. Do you want the tour?”

“Sure.” I followed my cousin into the huge kitchen and marveled at the open space. The cabinetry was all new and the floor-to-ceiling windows looked out onto the expansive backyard and large, polished deck. “This is incredible, Wade. You guys have done so well restoring this place. It looks better than new.”

Wade and Tanner had bought the historic mansion on the edge of town the moment their mate, Nancy, had taken a liking to it. Most of our family had originally felt it should be torn down rather than be restored, but my cousin’s mate had been adamant about saving it and returning it to its former glory.

“Thanks,” Wade said with a grin. “We put a fair amount of blood and sweat into the place. But come and check out the pergola Tanner and I just built. Mom and Dad are out in the yard already.”

“Great,” I said, still looking around in awe. “I’ve love to.” This house had been a wreck for so long, it was hard to reconcile this incredible home with the sad and derelict dumpster fire it had been before.

“Is David coming too?” Wade asked as he grabbed a couple of beers from the ice bucket and handed one to me.

I twisted the top off and took a deep slug. “Yeah, he’s coming. He just had to close the restaurant first.”

My brother, David owned a steak place in town and was a bit of a control freak when it came to his proverbial baby, so he often did late hours. He opened most days and worked six days a week unless we had a family event on. As it was, he was closing early for the housewarming party today.

“Cool. Let’s go outside.”

I walked out the open patio doors and into the sunshine with my cold beer, admiring Wade’s handiwork. “You know... our place could use a pergola as well.”

David and I owned a new house closer to town, but we weren’t handy like these guys. Not by a long shot.

Tanner walked over to us with a grin. “Well, if we ever finish this place and get back to work, you’ll be our first call,” he promised.

I reached out and shook my cousin’s hand. I’d be happy to hire them and pay them what they were worth. Their work was quality with a capital Q. “Sounds like a plan,” I replied.

Nancy came rushing up. “Tommy! Hey! I’ve been waiting for you to get here.”

I leaned forward and kissed my cousin’s mate on the cheek politely. “It’s good to see you, Nancy. Your house is beautiful.” I hadn’t seen too much of the inside just yet, but I had to assume that they’d done as good a job on the bedrooms and bathrooms as they’d done on the kitchen. The whole mansion probably looked like a historic bed and breakfast.

“Thanks, I appreciate that. Is David here yet?” She glanced around.

A strange sense of concern began to creep into my heart at her line of questioning though it was entirely innocent enough. “No. Not yet. Why? What’s wrong?”

She smiled at me, the mixture of emotions that flitted across her face an odd combination. Nancy was trying not to laugh, that much was obvious. She was also very amused, but there was a worry in her eyes I hadn’t seen for a long time.

I dropped my voice to a whisper. “You’re not spotting or having any health concerns, are you?” I asked, my brow furrowing. I was one of the only people who knew of Nancy’s pregnancy, and it wasn’t uncommon to miscarry, especially before twelve weeks.

She shook her head adamantly, allaying my fears instantly. “No. I’m good. Well, I feel like crap, actually, but that’s a good sign according to my mother-in-law.”

Relief washed over me at her upbeat response. “Then what’s the matter? I can tell something’s up with you.”

---