Page 2 of Bitter Discord

“Does he like the farm enough to stay out of trouble?”

“He likes his life enough to survive a week there. He won’t be entirely isolated. Teagan is an old friend of his and takes the boys there to help on the property once a week. It helps all of them. Fenris isn’t violent with children or Teagan. He’s more at ease with them, more comfortable. Physical work is good for Arlo and Benjamin, and Fenris is good at scaring them when Teagan’s gentle heart isn’t enough to get them acting right. He might not be violent, but he won’t tolerate them walking all over Teagan, and that can happen sometimes.” Heath stood up, holding out a hand.

“Come on. Let’s get some coffee and sit on the porch in the morning sun. You can’t sit in here and stew when we could catch a beautiful sunrise.” His warm smile was loving and teasing. “I am going to teach you to delegate better.”

“You’re so good at delegating, you’ll teach me through example?” I smiled as I took his hand and let him drag me out of the office.

“Clearly. Lesson one… watch closely.” He pulled out his phone, texting with one hand as we walked into the kitchen. I wasn’t sure how many texts he sent, but he was efficient with one hand, humming as he deleted and retyped areas. He put the phone down on the counter as he let go of my hand. While it chimed with responses, he started a pot of coffee.

I sat down, crossing my arms as I watched him, knowing how this would end. Once he had the coffee brewing, he looked at his phone and grinned.

“All the groceries you need will be purchased by Shamus, Stacy, and Kody. Since two of them are very young, their scents might bother your werecats less. Teagan will take Arlo and Benjamin to do one final sweep of the mansion. Teagan might be old, but his scent is subdued in comparison to most werewolves.” Heath paused. “Are yousureyou want to use the mansion?”

“Truthfully? No, but it’s the only space big enough without asking for conference space. Zuri and I know we’ll have a lot of eyes on us, but we don’t need to involve more than necessary. It’s my mansion now, so why not use it?” I shrugged. “Zuri is going to stay there with me, at least. That way, we don’t have to come back to my territory too much with potential werecats following us back.”

“But it leaves you vulnerable,” he reminded me, clearly trying to soften the words, so I didn’t hear the deep worry that I could smell from him or give me the impression he was going to fight with me about it. I didn’t need the reminder of how my werecat territory magic worked, but I was touched by his concern.

“I can’t bring them to Kick Shot. You’ve been using it for pack meetings. Imagine howthatwould go over.” I nudged him with an elbow. “And who’s going to pick a fight with me while Zuri is around? You know, the forty-two-hundred-year-old werecat-witch combo?” In preparation for what was to come, Zuri had given me permission to let him in on the information, then Landon and Dirk. Landon because he was Heath’s second. Dirk because he was family and should have already known.

“I can’t argue with that,” Heath said, turning to the coffee. I wrapped my arms around him from behind, loving how comfortable he was in my kitchen.

Not mine. Our kitchen.

The thought warmed my soul. He and Carey had lived with me since the day we returned from the ranch. It was as easy as breathing to have him with me, his face the first one I saw every morning and the last one I saw before closing my eyes. It wasn’t just him, though. Carey had adapted so quickly. She took her room and made it her own, as though she had always belonged in this space. I saw her every day, and she always had a smile for me. Sometimes, I drove her to her classes, even picking up Arlo and Benjamin. Normally, Heath took her, or Teagan picked her up to go with her and the boys, but I loved those mornings I could be the adult in the car. Theparent. I loved watching her do her homework in the evenings and hearing her on her phone for hours late into the night. I tried not to listen to her calls, but I heard them and kept her secret about who she was talking to.

Heath poured coffee for both of us, turning in my arms, so my head was on his chest. Kissing my forehead, he held me for a moment.

“I don’t know what has you feeling the warm and fuzzies right now, but we can always forget the coffee and head back to bed,” he murmured. “Carey is still asleep, and none of the wolves will come over until I give them the okay.”

“Except Landon and Dirk,” I reminded him. “They walk in here like they own it.”

“If I cared about them hearing us, I would have included the boys,” he whispered, his words hot in my ear. “But I don’t care, and I’m certain they didn’t decide to get up before dawn on a Saturday.”

“Well, you know Landon better than anyone,” I said, chuckling as he ran a hand down my back to my butt, making certain I knew what he wanted to be doing.

“There are a handful of ways the term ‘like father like son’ applies.”

I reached out behind him and gingerly took a mug that I couldn’t see. He sighed, but his smile told me he knew what was coming.

“There’s just too much to do today,” I said before I kissed his cheek. Waiting for him to get his drink, we headed to my porch, and I tried to remember what topic we were on.

“The werecats wouldn’t pick a fight with me, not with Zuri around. That’s one of the reasons she wants to be here. The same logic could be applied to the pack and her, though. None of them could honestly think they have a chance of beating her.” Sitting down and getting comfortable, Heath claimed the seat across the small table. “The only one I worry about is Fenris. It would be suicidal for him, but he’s… Fenris.”

“Agreed, and it’s covered. If there’s an incident, Landon and I will clean it up. We won’t let it fall back on you, not entirely. Anything to do with our werewolves will be our fault. It’ll still reflect a bit poorly on you since you trust us and we failed, but we’ll do whatever we can to mitigate.”

“I know.” I took a sip of my coffee, keeping my eyes on his. When I put my mug down, I smiled. “I trust you. I trust Landon, Dirk, and the pack. Zuri trusts me, and she trusts you. She wouldn’t be coming if she didn’t.”

“So, since you didn’t want to go back to bed, let’s run down the schedule for the next few days.” Heath leaned back in his seat, hand on his mug, slowly turning it on the table.

“Today, final errands. The food, making sure everyone in the pack is ready. Since you’re willing to put the werewolves on that, that’s off my plate. Thank you.” He only nodded his head in acceptance of my thanks, so I kept going.

“I need to pack a bag for the week in Dallas. I know it’s only a two-hour drive, but it’s easier to take what I need than make the drive. I need to talk to Dirk today, too. He’s been avoiding me the last few days. Weeks. I know why, and I haven’t wanted to bother him with it, but we can’t ignore it anymore.”

“They’re coming over later. I’ll make sure they don’t sneak out before you get the chance to talk to him. I’ll have Landon and Carey come with me and leave you with Dirk if you want it to be a private conversation.”

“It should be.”

“Then it’s done. Landon, Carey, and I will disappear before Dirk realizes what’s going on.”

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