Page 14 of Brewster

“You’d have to be about dead not to notice all the election signs all over the yard for the upcoming election. Also, so you know, I’ve convinced Mr. Candace to run this year. I’ve banked him a bit so he can afford signs, too.” He didn’t dare ask who that was, but she seemed to understand that he didn’t know him. “He’s the vice principal of the high school. He’s only in his early thirties and has some good ideas for the town. One of them is getting the library back up in shape.”

They talked about all kinds of things that needed to be taken care of in the town. He knew that she’d lived here for some time now, but she seemed to have a better handle on things than he had, and he’d lived here for over two hundred years. Then she pulled out her list. She was forever making lists and handed it to him.

Looking it over, he was shocked to find his name on a couple of buildings. Apparently, someone had asked him if he’d sponsor the building getting the repairs it needed, and they’d put his name on it. There was the Smith Five and Ten that was still up and running. Also, there was a building that would resell clothing that was donated, and the money would go for baskets in the fall for people who didn’t have enough income to support a holiday meal much less toys for their children. Landon remembered it being about ninety years ago that he’d been asked, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember anyone coming to him about it.

“Must have been in your feeling sorry for yourself phase.” Brew told her that it was his depressed stage. “You might well have been depressed because you were feeling sorry for yourself. I’ve seen you pouting around when I’m busy. You need to find yourself something to do that doesn’t involve chasing me around the house.”

“I was not pouting around the house.” She ignored him, andhe wanted to beat her butt. However, when he’d tried that on her last night, she seemed to enjoy it more than he had. The things this woman could get him to do was— “What did you just say?”

“I said that you have an appointment with your attorney in the morning. Apparently, it’s been set up for a month now before I came along.” He didn’t remember that either. Another appointment was made when he’d been depressed, not pouting. “He called here to confirm it, and since I don’t have access to your calendar, I didn’t know what to tell him.”

“I don’t have a calendar.” She glared at him again, but all he could think of was how sexy she looked for him. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had one. I’ve done just fine on my own.”

“Says the man who missed two meetings this week when he was out chasing his wife around the woods.” She laughed and told him that she loved him. All he could think about now was how much fun that had been. Calla Lily was up for just about any adventure and fun.

The last three nights, he’d made love to her outside of the house. It had been taking a chance, he knew, for her to be seen by the pack, but that, to him, made it more fun. While watching for a wolf to catch them, he’d not only taken her against the tree but had eaten her pussy until he thought he’d die from the pleasure of it. Christ, she was almost too much for him. And he’d never been so healthy as he was now.

He didn’t need to feed daily, and with her being his mate, he didn’t have to wander too far for sustenance. Calla Lily was forever up for whatever he had in mind, and she had some great ideas herself. She was everything that he could have hoped for in a mate and more so. Christ, he loved everything about her.

“I do have some things that we need to go over before my friends arrive.” She told him that she’d be done with the cookies soon. “There is no need for you to rush or anything. I’ve decided to buy some of the houses around town and have them fixed upfor them. That way, they can move right in once you’ve bullied, I mean, convinced them to stay.”

“I did not bully anyone. I was nice, but I didn’t take no for an answer.” He said that he’d heard her with Rance. “Yes, well, he needed to be bullied. I believe that he was going to be holed up in that house of his when it fell down around him. His butler, Brandon, said that they’ve had more water dripping in from the leaks than they do to cook with. They’d have to buy more buckets. I guess his staff still eats. Anyway, he said that the roof needed to be replaced and that the garage that held the cars fell into itself last year, and no one had even called the insurance company.”

“You’ve called them all but Yosef, correct?” She told him that she’d not been able to get in touch with Kenneth either. “He’s out of the country on a mission that he’s been doing for years. He takes used clothing to other countries and gives it to the people who do not have much in the way of anything, much less clothing. Also, he builds houses in places where they’re needed. Of all of us, Kenneth is the kindest person. He works hard and does whatever he can to pay forward anything that he gets from people. You should see his warehouses. He had pallets of things that he could ship out at a moment’s notice. For places that have seen destruction and mayhem that has taken lives.”

“I might like him best of all. Please tell me that you help him out with his endeavors?” He said that all of them did, sending him anything and everything he needed, including millions of dollars to help out annually. “Yes, I’m going to love meeting him. I bet he might be too busy to come here. That would be sad, don’t you think?”

“I think that if you asked him to come here, he would move mountains to come. He’s a good man and a better friend than I’ve ever had.” She smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss. “What was that for?”

“For being the best husband in the world. I’m going to have fun setting your friends up with women so they can find their mates. I need women friends, and they’re going to help me get them.” He asked her if that was all she wanted. “No, I want good friends like Kenneth. I was bullying friends like your friend Yosef. All of them are going to find their mates like we have, and they’re going to be so happy that none of them will meet their deaths so long as I’m around. I need…you and I need them in our lives, and they’re going to come to realize that as soon as they find their other halves.”

He wasn’t sure that her plan was going to work, but he decided that he was going to help her in any way that she asked him to. Even if they didn’t find their mates, it would be wonderful just to have them around. Someone that he could hang out with and talk to about the old times. Yes, he would do whatever she needed of him because he loved her.

Brew walked into town to find the houses that were on his list. He decided that he was going to offer them to his friends but not force anything on them. The very fact that they would be close was enough for him to know that the next step in getting them close was having fun again. He’d almost forgotten what fun was like, and he resolved never to forget that again.

The first three houses were a bust. They should have been torn down a long time ago. When he pulled up the listing for them, he could see that even the realtor had become lazy. The picture that was on their website for them had them looking nearly brand new and not the falling down upon itself places they were now. He really had been slacking in this town, and he was going to bring it back to being alive. Right now, it resembled a town on its last legs, and it needed some good blood put back into its bones. Even the school, now that he had time to look it over, looked as if it needed not just a complete overhaul but torn down and started again. It was that bad. But he was determinedto make this place somewhere that he could be proud to call home. Yes, he thought, he and his lovely mate were going to do great things for their little town.

Chapter 7

Calla was enjoying herself using the industrial power washer. It was taking the grime off the stone building like it had been a small layer rather than decades of deep dirt. The men who were working on the house had allowed her to play around with it, and she’d not had this much fun in a few weeks. While the house was being washed, the inside of the place was being scrubbed and cleaned.

“Lady Smith?” She looked up at the man who had been in charge of the work in the kitchen. “Hattie asked to have extra outlets put on the walls over the counters. I didn’t think you’d mind that, but she wanted to make sure that you approved of it.”

“Hattie would know more about what is needed in the kitchen than I would.” She did thank the men with the power washer as she made her way into the house by the back door. “Oh my, I know you told me it would look worse before it would look better, but this is terrible.”

“I have to agree with you there. They’ve been moving my pots around, too.” Hattie laughed when she picked up the largest skillet that Calla had ever seen. “I got me this one in the event one of them men working calls me Miss Hattie. It makes me sound like one of those southern girls working in the kitchen. Boy-o, I’m going to enjoy cooking in this here kitchen when it’s done. You think that’ll be soon?”

“I don’t know. It looks like it might take decades to get things back to usable.” Hattie laughed again. “Why are you in such a good mood? I would think that you’d be crawling up the walls right now.”

“This is all going to make it so that I can have them pretty ladies that you’re forever talking about coming into my kitchen and having nice long talks. I’m going to make lemonade andlittle cakes for them. You’re going to have the centerpiece of the house with this kitchen do-over.” She asked her what else she was planning. “I’m going to have me some chickens too. I already asked your husband, and he said that whatever I wanted to do to make you happy. Them eggs will be so rich that you’ll not believe how good they make a cake taste.”

“I hope you’re right.” She looked around the mess. “There aren’t any walls right now. Not to mention flooring. I thought that we were going to have stone floors in here.”

“They have to even up the floor in here first. Those other people that you had working here have already ruined the floor where the television was. Walking to the fridge to the set has plum worn a rut in the floor.” Hattie had the best laugh. It wasn’t a great laugh, but it was loud and made a person know that she surely thought something was funny. “Once they get that all worked out, you’ll see them putting the floor that we picked out in place. You don’t know how much it means to me to have a say in what goes in this kitchen. It’s going to be the best one in the world.”

Right now, all she could see was electrical wiring, no counters, no fridge nor was there any kind of pantry. It was being put in right now. She hoped there was a reason for the large opening as right now she and Hattie were the only ones that were enjoying the place. The other two men in the household weren’t. She shivered when she thought of all the time and money that was being put into this house at her say-so. Calla wondered if Brew was regretting saying yes that the house needed a major renovation. She only hoped that they’d have money when the house was finished.

The upper levels were being done, too. The whole house was being set to rights. Even the roof was being replaced. Everywhere she looked, there were people pulling out walls or putting them back up. Going outside, she made her way to thelittle garden that she’d put in a few weeks ago to get away from the noise.

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