Page 4 of Wrangler

The limo slid to a smooth stop. When the door opened, she looked up at Beau and Jameson while they waited for her to come out. She asked them if they were going to keep Wrangler safe, and they both nodded, telling her that they would do whatever it took to keep them all safe. She hoped so. Not that she was used to them all yet, but she wanted to have that privilege to get to know them all.

The house, a wimpy term for the place that she was standing in front of, was huge. It not only looked like something that she’d been dreaming of all her life but there were flowers and bushes with so much color around the place that she wanted to forgo going inside and just walk around the heavenly-scented flowers for a while. It was her brother who dragged her into the massive front door and into the front hall.

“They’re here.” She told him that she’d seen them and that she was just as afraid as he was about it. “I’m not afraid of them anymore, sis. I’m afraid for them. Beau told me that the only way that they’d get through them and to us is if they were to kill them. And they can’t be killed. Sunny made sure that we all can’t die.”

She didn’t know what to think about that. There was just too much going on and way too much at stake for them to just give up on being afraid of them all the time. But once they started going through the house, she decided that she didn’t want to think about them that much.

The front entrance was just like she’d read in books. There was a lovely table in the middle of the room with a vase of the same flowers that were surrounding the house. Leaning over to smell them, she was shocked at how fresh they smelled. Not only that, but the faerie that was in charge of the arrangements, he told her would make sure that she had fresh flowers every day from now on.

There was a long staircase in front of them. At the top of it, there looked to be a cute little sitting area. While she hadn’t ever thought of being able to just sit around reading a book in a long time, she could see herself sitting there with the latest novel in her hands, watching the animals playing in the backyard. It was almost too realistic to resist. But Wills was dragging her around again.

The dining room was larger than anything that she’d ever seen before. The long table with about a dozen chairs down each side seemed to be taking its brightness directly from the sun. The chairs, one at each end with arms, looked like it was fit for a king and queen to hold court over the table and she could almost see the entire family down both sides having a wonderful meal. She was brought more into the room with the sight of the backyard.

There was a large garden just off the room that had stones as its flooring. She’d seen that once when she’d been looking at a magazine. It had a bubbling fountain there as well as flowers all around it. She squealed when she was able to put her hands into the water and found the goldfish swimming lazily in the clear water while she watched. Everything about this part of the yard screamed for one to relax and she thought that if she were to ever come out here stressed, she’d be calmed in no time.

There were other rooms on this floor. The one that she was the most delighted with was the kitchen. It was huge, and while she was standing in the large open area, the stainless steel table that stood in the middle of the room changed into a large butcherblock that had workstations all around it. She went to the sink, pulling a small piece of the herb drying in the window toward her so that she could smell its heady aroma.

“You wish to cook, my lady?” She nodded before she could stop herself. To have such a place to feed your family was something that she had only dreamed about. “There will be staff that starts tomorrow for you and the master of the house. He does cook but he doesn’t like to do it. You seem to vibrate with the need to create.”

“I want to make dinner for us all.” They asked her what she would need to get started and she had to calm herself twice before she was able to speak. “I don’t even know where to begin. It’s been so long since I’ve had someplace that I could cook that I don’t want to mess things up.”

“His lordship would love to see you as such. Your brilliance with your happiness would make him proud to be sure. You tell us what it is you’d like to create and we’ll be sure to have it for you. Also, you should be aware that the refrigerator—mostly for the young master will have whatever you want in it. You need only to think about it, and it’ll be there for you to use.”

The first thing that she wanted to make was an apple pie. She didn’t know where that thought had come from, but the idea blossomed in her mind, and it was all she could think about. By the time she had finished the first of four pies, two apple and two cherry, she was onto making bread in the large bread maker as well as pork chops simmering on the stove for dinner. There were even new red potatoes in the mix that she had already tried twice, having one at the end of a fork for herself.

“Whatcha doing, sis?” She handed a spatula to her brother that was covered in the mixture she was making for stuffing. When his eyes lit up, telling her without words that he loved it, she told him that she was making them all dinner. “I don’t know how many of all you’re cooking for, but those four chops aren’t going to be nearly enough. They’re jaguars, you remember?”

“Then I’ll just have to double things up.” They had so much fun trying to decide what to have for dinner with the chops. Wills asked for Brussel sprouts to go with his part of cooking, and the faeries were able to bring her nearly a half bushel of the beautiful little heads. As Wills was cleaning them up and putting them on a tray, she found more of the pork and began browning them up so she’d have enough for gravy when she was finished.

At six, nearly four hours after she’d entered the room, everything was ready to be eaten. She’d spoken to Carrie and Sunny about coming for dinner and the two of them had arrived not long aftershe asked them. The men, all six of them, showed up in pairs, and it was Wrangler who came into the house by the back door. He was grinning like a loon, and all she could think about was that she should have asked first.

“No, you shouldn’t have.” She looked at him, asking him if he had read her mind. “No. But you’re projecting your fear of overstepping very loudly. I love this. Coming home for dinner, and my family—including you and Wills here with me to enjoy our first night in the place. I couldn’t be happier. And if dinner tastes half as good as it smells, I’m going to be one fat cat before too much longer.”

Everyone grabbed something to take to the table when she was ready to dish things up. Even the faeries were pouring drinks for them all, and Amber, knowing that they didn’t care for much more than greens and sweets, put them out plates of salad trimmings as well as sugar cubes that she found in the pantry.

By the time they were seated, the table was groaning with the weight of the food and everyone was excited to be having a meal all together. She was, as well.

~*~

Wrangler couldn’t believe how much he loved having dinner in his own home. He’d had food in his apartment a great deal, especially since his mother was dead. But to know that his mate had made this meal and had invited all his family made it all the more special for him. They were going to tour the house as soon as his brothers left, and he was just as excited about that, knowing that the two of them would see it all for the first time together.

Even going through the house was exciting to him. It was, he remembered, the first time in his life that a house meant more to him than anything before. And that with the help of Amber and Wills, they’d make the house into a home in no time. He wasn’t even in a hurry to bond with her. He just found that he wanted her to be happy in all things.

“There are a lot of rooms in this house, don’t you think?” He told her that the faeries always seemed to go overboard when they made something. “I have noticed that you have to be very specific when you tell them what you want. I ended up with six bushels of apples when I told them to bring me enough for pies. Just so you know, we have a storage room now for those. I think they called it a root cellar.”

“Yes, I heard Pancake telling the others that they didn’t need to pick any more apples or you’d run them out of the house. I don’t know if he believed that or not but he did warn them to be careful about filling your requests.” They both laughed, and he smiled when they entered yet another finished bedroom. “Where is Wills going to have his rooms. I overheard him telling Nash that he wanted a room to sleep in and nothing more. I suppose he’ll have to get used to having a bit more room than just a room.”

“He took two rooms on the second floor that he loved. The sun will shine in on him, and while I would find that annoying to have so much brightness shining in first thing, he said that he would forever like the sun while it shone on his face. The second room, if you don’t mind, is going to be used for his homework room.” Wrangler told her that he would have loved to have had a separate room for his homework when growing up. “Carrie and Sunny told me about your mom and grandfather. How they pitted the six of you against one another. My parents just have never cared about Wills and me in only for us to be bringing them in more money. Are you going to tell me anything about them?”

“I didn’t want to share them with you for the simple reason that they’re not good people, and they’d be intruding in on our time.” He leaned against the wall in the last room they were looking at on this floor. The house had three stories, and she was as in love with it as she was with anything. “They were able to steal someone’s tickets that were coming back from the island. I’m still trying to figure out how they managed to come to the one place you were, but I’ll get it from them. Right now, they’re living in one of the hotels in the next town over. I’ve spoken to the police and told them about the stolen credit card but until they do something that alerts them to them, they can’t do too much without telling them how they were able to figure it out.”

“I’ve been thinking about them off and on today. Mostly, when they find us, they only want totake what we have. Money for the most part, but if we have food stashed away for us, they’ll destroy it rather than eating any of it. That’s the way they’ve been my entire childhood. Once, when Wills was little, they told everyone that it was his birthday, his first and people brought gifts. Once they handed them over to them, they were told to go away, and they ended up selling all the gifts. Of course, Wills could have benefited from some of it, but they didn’t care. Cash or someone else’s card gets them a bit of fun, then they’ll be broke again once they are run off or the money is gone.” He asked her what they would do to them now. “I’ve not told Wills this, but they want me to turn him over to them so that they can sell him off. They told me that I’m much too stubborn and old for them to sell off, but they would if they couldn’t get Wills. I have it in my head that they aren’t planning to sell him off for sex, but I just don’t know anymore with them.”

“They’re looking for the two of you. Mostly you now.” She asked him if he knew why. “For what you think. They’re hoping that you’re still a virgin so that they can let some person snap, their words not mine, snap your cherry and knock some sense into you. They’re…Well, they want to have Wills back because they know of a man who will pay good money for him sexually. Also, he wants to kill Wills when he’s finished.”

She sat down on the bed, and he wandered to the window. Looking out beyond the room, he could see some of the creatures that were from the other realms. While he didn’t care who was on his land, he was worried about the Damons to find them there and make their lives a living hell. His too, if they were to decide that he could get more of the same creatures for them.

“Wills is aware of what they want of him. I think he figured it out a long time ago. He’s a smart kid and gives you the illusion that he’s not worried about them. But I’ve heard him talking to Nash, my older brother, about what might happen to him if they were to catch him unawares. He also worries about you, and he will, he told Nash, give himself up if it keeps you safe. For all that you’ve done for him.” She looked at him, shocked, and he let her know, too, that Nash spoke on her behalf. “He told him not to do that, that they’d more than likely kill him, and then you’d be sick with grief.”

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