Page 55 of The Gathering Storm

Chapter Fourteen

Over the next few days, Will scrambled to fulfill every obligation he’d undertaken. He began by wrangling his sister into helping find housing for the newest residents of Tellowee, something she was in a better position to do given her front-end work at The Omega. As the head waitress and the assistant manager, she knew who was coming and going as well as Will did, and kept her ear to the ground for the undercurrents of town gossip, a habit she could put to good use now.

Together, Will and Casey hashed out wording for a help wanted flyer to be posted on the bulletin board nailed to the building’s exterior, next to the entrance. While they were at it, they crafted a want ad for the local paper, a Plan B in case nobody in Tellowee needed a job. Hiring outside of the People was risky at best, especially when so many unfamiliar Daughters were streaming into town from parts of the world where Western culture was an unknown. The last thing he needed was for a local man to hit on a Daughter and end up dead, or worse, married to her in the way of the People.

Rebecca would have a field day explaining that one to the man’s family.

Within a day of posting the flier, a couple of out of town Daughters applied for positions. Will left interviewing to Casey, with the permanent staff’s input on a part-time bartender and another part-time cook, while Will took a day rummaging through Robert’s research files and catching himself up on the status of the most important tasks.

By the end of the week, he was beat. Sigrid came in to The Omega every night like clockwork and stayed for an hour between the end of her workday and the beginning of her training. He snuck in kisses where he could and even managed half a dance with her before a squabble at the other end of the bar called him away.

Friggin’ Daughters.

After that, he made sure Casey passed out a list of The Omega’s rules to every newcomer, the last one of which emphatically stated, “Disobedience of any rule will result in expulsion and possible banishment.”

On Friday night, he geared himself up for a hectic night on the floor. Casey had already hired four new staff members, two for the floor, one for the bar, and one for the kitchen, and started training them. For the first time in a good, long while, Will would spend most of his night either covering for breaks or working the crowd, keeping peace and a weather eye on newcomers and old timers alike.

When Sigrid pushed her way to the bar around seven, The Omega was packed with a crowd more than double its usual size. She jerked her chin at Will, and they edged toward each other through the mass of folks in need of entertainment.

He wrapped her in a hug, more out of a need to hold her than anything, and pitched his voice over the noise of laughter and music and the basketball game playing on the TV. “You look tired.”

“Mmm. You, too.” She sighed and leaned her head against his chest. “Are you coming over tonight?”

Desire sifted through him so quickly, it stole his breath. “If you want me to.”

“Yes.” Her finger traced the logo embroidered on his polo, etching heat in random patterns along the skin underneath. “Would you train with me in the morning?”

The question startled him. He pulled away enough to meet her gaze. “You want to train with me?”

“I need a sparring partner.” Her fingers trailed up his neck, and she cupped his face. “And a kiss.”

“Happy to oblige,” he murmured, and touched his mouth to hers. She hummed low in her throat and melted into him, and the desire she’d sparked off with her innocent touch morphed into a raging flame of need.

“I see the rumors are true,” a cold voice said, cutting right through the sensual heat.

Will froze, still wrapped around Sigrid. His mother. Shit.

Sigrid eased out of his embrace and turned, facing his mother with her chin held high. “Wilhelmina. How are you?”

“Pissed off.” Wilhelmina’s gaze flicked to Will and her eyes narrowed in the honeyed oval of her face. “Your grandmother said you were enamored of this Daughter. I had no idea you felt free to kiss her in public.”

Will pinched the bridge of his nose. “For fuck’s sake, Mom. I’m a grown man.”

“My beloved son is never old enough to publicly kiss a woman who isn’t his wife.”

Will’s father sidled up beside her and placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Next time, Willie, you park the car and I greet our son.”

“Hey, Dad.”

Will leaned around Sigrid and clasped his father’s hand in a firm handshake. It was like shaking the hand of an older version of himself. Troy Corbin stood exactly two inches taller than his wife’s five foot eight inches, and sported close-cropped, graying blond hair the same shade as his only son’s. The same dimples creased their cheeks when they smiled and their shoulders carried the same athletic breadth. At fifty-six, Will’s father was still an attractive man, and had an uncanny ability to rein in his hard-headed wife.

Will dropped his father’s hand and stepped back. Not for the first time, he wished he shared that particular trait with his dad.

Wilhelmina cast her cold gaze on her husband. “You can’t possibly approve of his alliance with a Daughter of Sigrid’s reputation.”

“Hey, now,” Will said, only to be overridden by his father.

“Will’s a grown man,” Troy said mildly.

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