Page 53 of Seen Knot Heard

As she races off for the pantry down the hall, I turn to our black-haired bondmate. “You will clean this mess up right now. I want it to shine before you go to bed tonight.”

“Blake dirtied some of the dishes,” he protests.

“Do youwantto risk Holden coming in and seeing it like this?” I sweep an arm over the space. “We’ll be eating burned meals for a week.”

Holden lets a lot slide around the house, but the kitchen is his domain, and he expresses his displeasure with the food he serves us.

“Okay, okay.” Dominic puts the food back and closes the fridge. “I don’t want everyone in the house to suffer because of my mess.”

“Good.” I dig out a vase from the cart next to the window. “Blake, you grab the ice cream and bowls.”

Quinn comes racing back, a huge bag of cheddar popcorn clutched to her chest. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

Without stopping, she zooms right out the two-way door.

Arms loaded, Blake follows.

Dominic crosses his arms and arches an eyebrow. “What are you going to be doing?”

Slipping the flowers into the vase, I walk to the sink to fill it with water. “Chloe can’t stay in the suite down here. I’ll see what we need to do to turn one of the rooms upstairs into a space for her.”

“Good idea.” He considers it a moment before adding, “Put her at the opposite end of the wing from Quinn. If she accepts you all as her Alphas, you don’t want to traumatize the kid.”

I don’t miss the way he leaves himself out of the equation, but I don’t press the sore topic. He’s already flagellating himself for his past actions.

“Maybe the one nearest the stairs?” I shut off the faucet. “It has an alcove where a writing desk would fit.”

“That’s perfect. I can order one and have Kyle pick it up tomorrow. An office chair, too. Some basic necessities that she’s missing…” Dominic takes in the messy kitchen and sighs. “Get out of here. I want to clean this mess up so I can sit down with my laptop.”

Smiling, I head out of the kitchen and carry the flowers up to the second story. At the top of the stairs, the hall splits. To the left are the suites for guests who want to stay at the Homestead. To the right is a small sitting area and an unobtrusive doorway with anEmployees Onlysign.

I let myself into the family part of the Homestead.

When we designed the large cabin, we wanted a space for ourselves where guests couldn’t interrupt us. We built with the intention of our family expanding, and several of the rooms sit empty, waiting for more pack to fill them.

A family room sits to the immediate left of the entrance, the windows providing a view of Sprinkles’s dog run and the back garden. A door at the end of the hall of bedrooms leads to theoffice over the garage and an outside exit, providing a way to leave here without going into the guest side of the cabin.

Stepping into the first bedroom on the left, I flip on the light.

The room faces the swath of lawn in front of the treeline. I wish it looked out over the garden, but we reserved the best views for our guests.

A covered king-size bed sits in the center of the room. I walk over and set the vase on the nightstand, then pull off the protective dust sheet to reveal the wooden bedframe and padded bench at the foot of the bed. Balling the sheet up, I set it near the door before turning to take in the space.

It needs an area rug, and there’s enough room for a reading chair next to the electric fireplace in the corner. It would be nice to paint the white walls something softer, more feminine. Should I ask Chloe what she would like? Or would it be better to surprise her with a finished space?

Would she like a dark and moody olive tone? Or something brighter, like sky blue? Or would a neutral gray or beige be more her style? A dusky lavender would be lovely against her pink tones.

This is where my lack of knowledge about our Omega kicks in. I both want to surprise her and want her to feel like the space belongs to her.

I return to the flowers, using my utility knife to trim the stems, adjusting the height of various blooms to create an elegant arrangement.

These flowers are a poor substitute for what I want to give Chloe, but they’re a start.

Chapter Seventeen

Chloe

Groaning, I flex my toes and rub my face against the chest beneath my cheek.

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