Page 15 of Brewster

She was sitting in the pretty flower garden, weeding out some of the weeds that had popped up over the last few days, when Brew joined her. There were so many colors in the garden that she was sure that a rainbow had fallen into it and had shared its hues. Glancing at him, she looked back at the garden to finish her task.

“It’s too much.” He sat down on the bench that had been recently put in. “I know that it’s going to look really good, but for now, it’s just too much. If not for this place, I might go insane with all the hammering and noise.”

“I understand more than you can imagine. It’s been so quiet in my mundane life until you came along. I’ve forgotten what a great deal of noise can be like with what you were talking about. I believe that is why I’ve been so happy. The little bit of home sounds got me used to them. Now it’s all noise, and I don’t like it either.” Calla told him about the sounds of the electrical equipment. “I agree. The buzzsaw gets me the most. Like it’s going through my ears. My hearing is much better than most, so I hear it like a blade going through my head. My goodness, it’s terrible.”

“I’m glad I have someplace to go like here. Do you?” He told her about his place in town, which he runs off to when things are really bad. “You work there, I guess. I’ve seen you bringing home files from when you go out.”

“I have some things to tell you about. It’s about the pack.” She asked him if it had anything to do with her uncle. “No, he’s gone. No it’s about the people that are on the land. I don’t know that I’ve had this sort of trouble before. For the last several nights, there have been as many as six people losing their lives on our land. I don’t know what they’re doing, and neither does the pack, but they’re causing trouble with the land that we rent out to thepack as well. Conri told me that they’ve lost two of their men out there roaming around.” She asked if he was upset. “No, he didn’t say he was. Pissed off if I know him well enough. He doesn’t like killing anymore than we do, but they’ve been on his land as well.”

“And you don’t know what they want.” He told her about the letter he’d gotten in the mail the other day. Something about his land being for sale. “Is it? I mean, are you portioning it all off so that you can get more money for the house?”

“No, I could redo every house in the village and still have more than enough for the two of us to live out the rest of our days. I don’t want to sell any of it. It would mean neighbors, and I most assuredly do not want that. I’m sure you don’t either.” She shook her head and looked up at him. “I’m to meet the man in a couple of hours. It’s in town, so I thought you’d enjoy going with me to get out of the house. I know that I do for a little while. Also, I was told that the house could be ready in as little as a week. I thought that would cheer you up.”

“It does.” She stood up and dusted the dirt and weeds off her pants. She’d been told to wear jeans outside in the dirt in case something wanted to bite her. It wouldn’t kill her, but it might itch a little before it healed. “I need to get a few things from the greenhouse as well. My flowers need something in the water to make it so that they last longer. Landon said there used to be flowers in the house all the time before they just stopped doing that as well. I’m going to grow as many as I can. Then there is the greenhouse that we put in as well. We’re still doing that for the house, correct?”

“Yes. I didn’t even miss them until you mentioned it. I loved the scents that it leaves around the house, too.” He held her hand as they walked toward the house. She could hear the sounds of work being done and was now thinking about how much Brew was able to hear. She couldn’t wait for the house to be finishedand was glad that they had the money to do the entire house all at once instead of stretching it out over months. It was difficult to believe that it had only been a few months instead of years.

A couple of weeks later, Hattie met them at the back door. “The first delivery came today. I’m so glad that the kitchen is finished.” She asked if it really was finished. “Oh, my yes. I’ve been unpacking things for the counters, too. Landon has hired a few of the pack to come in and break down the boxes as well. They’re just a bunch of teenagers, but they’re doing a good job.” She showed them around the kitchen.

There were things in the place now that she couldn’t wait to use. She only drank water with an occasional glass of wine since meeting Brew, but the hot cocoa machine looked like something she’d use daily. Then there were the things to cook with. Most all of them had been put on the shelves in the pantry to hide them away until needed, and she loved that it opened up the kitchen counters that way as well. The entire back end of the pantry was used for staples such as flour and sugar. The walk-in freezer was going to be handy, too, when they started bringing in the things from the garden. That wouldn’t be until next year when they were able to put a garden in, but she was looking forward to it as well.

“I’ve just heard from Sirous. He’s been able to carve out some time to come and visit us in the next couple of days, and then he must go back. But he said that he’d be here for the party.” She was excited to meet all his friends, Sirous especially. He was the saddest of them all, and she had it in her head that she wanted to save his life. Sirous needed to find his mate, and she was looking for a single woman to come around to meet him.

She knew that wasn’t how it worked but she needed friends like he needed a mate. It was very nice to hang out with Brew and the staff, but she wanted someone to go out to lunch with who could enjoy a meal with her. The staff could, but they wouldn’t.They were more class-divided than she thought that most of the people were at the turn of the century.

Calla loved how they walked wherever they went. Sometimes, even in the rain, having a nice, pretty umbrella like the ones in the crock by the door would be something that she carried, even when the weather was nice. It kept the sun off her now tender skin and made a fashion as well. The little one just for her head and shoulders that had pretty little daisies on it was her favorite. Then there was the one that looked like it had cats all over it that were smiling and made her laugh every time she saw it.

Today, she was carrying the little one that had frogs on it. She was picking the newer ones up when she saw them in the stores around town. She swore that they were buying them just so she’d come by and purchase them. Not carrying what they did, she had a nice array of them to choose from when she wanted one to carry around.

“Do you remember me telling you about the money that we have in the local bank?” She said that so her uncle couldn’t get to it. “That’s right. The banker wants to know if you’d like to combine the two accounts that we have so that it is all in one space. It’s entirely up to you, but I told him that I’d ask you what you wanted to do.”

“I never thought about it, to be honest.” He said that he didn’t think that she had. “I guess it would be all right. However, I need to have something that I can spend my own money on in case I want to purchase something for you without you knowing. Something that I might love to get you.” Brew told her that they’d leave them separate then. It would be nice to have a surprise once in a while for him as well. “Good. I love to save money up, but I have to tell you, it’s nice to be able to indulge once in a while for myself, too. I was just thinking about the umbrellas that I’ve been getting. I think the stores are finding them for me to buy.”

“They are. One of the shop owners told me it was fun to see which one you’d pick for the day. It makes them feel like they’re making you happy. I know that it does me to see you twirling one of them around while you seem to be obvious to the rest of the world but for your umbrella.” She laughed with him. “I especially like the one that you have that has the flowers all around it and the bright sunshine on the top of the crown. But this one today has gotten you the most attention.”

They met at the diner, and she ordered her usual. She didn’t really come in here a lot, but they did know Brew, and that was why they remembered that she loved their veggie plate and hummus with cottage cheese and crackers. With a tall glass of water, of course. She was just finishing up the celery when two men and a woman joined them at their table. Calla hoped that Brew knew them because she had no idea who they were.

“Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith. How are you?” Brew asked them who they were and told them they weren’t invited to their lunch. “I talked to you earlier today. I told you that I wanted to meet you about the land that you have for sale.”

“I don’t have any land for sale.” The man laughed, but it was forced. “For that matter, I believe you’ve been on my land of late as well. You’re not welcome, and that could cause you some trouble by trespassing where you’re not welcome.”

“You have a great deal of land that you rent out to farmers about. I’m going to take the burden off your hands by buying all that land and making it so that I’m the one renting to them. What do you say, do we have a deal?” Brew told him no, just simply no, and told them to go away. When the woman reached for her plate, Calla reacted before thinking about how she shouldn’t have. But the woman hadn’t been invited to share and stabbed her through the middle of her hand to stop her. When she screamed, Calla pushed her hand away from her platter so that she’d not get blood on it. “What the hell is wrong with you?She was just enjoying the platter for the table.”

“This is my lunch, not the platter for the table. A table I’d like to point out that you were not invited to. My husband said that we didn’t have any land for sale, and that should be the end of it. I’m not in the mood to make small talk, so take your friends and get out of here.” She moved her food to sit in front of her, and the woman used the cloth napkins around the table to staunch the bleeding of her hand. “Oh, do grow up. It’s only a little blood. Go to the doctor or something. Just leave is all we care about.”

“I’ve had surveying around the land. What am I supposed to do now that it’s cost me all this money?” Brew only leaned back in his chair and sipped his wine. “Not to mention the six men that are still missing and haven’t checked in as yet.”

“They’re dead.” She picked up a clean fork and ate some of her cottage cheese. “Also, you might want to know that they’ve killed a couple of friends of ours and deserved just what they got.” Calla looked at the man who was doing all the talking. “You should get the hell out of town while you still can. I have your sent now, and I’m not above hunting you down to kill you as well.”

“Did you just threaten me? What the hell have I done to make you say such a thing to me?” She told them what Brew had said. They were trespassing. “That’s no reason to threaten anyone. Just tell me to move on.”

“I have. Several times, as a matter of fact. You have dead men on your payroll, also you have a lot of equipment that has been destroyed on my land as well. What gave you the right to—will you please take her to the hospital so that she can shut up? I don’t care what you tell them. Just get her out of here before I have to stab her mouth closed. Why she insisted to come along is none of my concern.” The other man helped her out of the chair and took her out of the building. No more screaming was wonderful. “As I was asking, what gave you the right to comeonto my land and think that just because you surveyed it, that I would just sell it is beyond me.”

“I was getting the paperwork out of the way. Christ man, how much land do you own?” Officer Peter Lanne sat down beside them with a thick file. It hadn’t ever occurred to her that he wasn’t human until just that moment. Letting a little of his wolf go, he handed the man a sheet of paper. “What’s this?”

“It’s a bill for clean up of your men when they were trespassing. The attorney was supposed to be here to take care of this but he thought it would have more meaning if I were to do it. So you owe Mr. Smith here seven grand for the cleanup. Then there is the equipment that had to be taken to the dump when your men left it behind. Of course, I know what you’re thinking. They wouldn’t have left it behind had they not been killed, but you were on land that didn’t belong to you and never would. So here is also a bill for the work that the pack had to do to get rid of the things that were left behind, such as clothing. We wolves don’t care to tear up garments, but there you have it. It was a mess to be taken care of.”

“I’m not paying this.” All Peter did was lean sideways, pull out his gun, and lay it on the table. “What are you going to do, shoot me? For having work done on the land that I plan to own? That’s not the way things work for me.”

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