Page 324 of As The Shifter World Turns

Ivor piped up. “I don’t want to go back in until I know it’s safe.”

“Agreed,” I nodded.

That night wasn’t the usual fun-filled shifting experience at the lake. Every so often someone would think of something they needed which was at home. But we were together, with a roof over our heads and no one was hurt.

But the next day we received news we hadn’t been expecting. As well as broken windows, both the houses on either side of the manor had structural damage. There were cracks in the walls and ceilings and we were advised not to move back in yet.

Ryder, Ivor, and Dyani, along with Anthony, decided they were going home to the manor. “Are the rest of you going to stay here and commute back to town?” Ryder asked.

“We could,” Martin said, “but I need to go into the office every day.”

“More bad news guys.” My parents had scheduled minor work to be done on the lake house, starting in a few days. One bathroom was being ripped up and both the inside and outside were due to be painted.

Micah and I were in the editing stage of our latest project so we could do that anywhere, as could Archer. But with workmen traipsing through the lake house, along with the dust, noise, and the smell of fresh paint, it wasn’t conducive to working and wasn’t great for the kids.

Neil’s equipment was in 2A and with Anthony living in 3A, and Martin at work during the day, he decided to move back into 2B which he still rented along with 2A. “The five of us can live in 2A and 2B for the next few weeks until our place next door is fixed.”

“What do you say, Nate?” I asked. “Wanna move back into our old 3B?” I’d need to be close by while the repairs were done.

“Why not? It’s only the three of us. Benate won’t mind. And it might be fun and bring back memories.”

“While we should be close by because both our houses sustained damage and we’ll have a lot of decisions to make, we have nowhere to live,” Archer noted. Their first house, one street away from the manor had also been damaged. This was the second time since they’d owned it that it was unlivable. “But we can stay in two of the motel rooms,” Micah suggested.

Micah and I had already purchased our next motel and while it was ugly and outdated, it was livable.

“While I hate that your houses were damaged, I was kinda hoping we’d all be together again in the manor,” Ryder noted. “First time in ages.”

“It might be a squeeze but Anthony, how would you feel about sleeping in our spare bedroom slash office and allowing Micah and Archer and the kids to have your place? On a temporary basis.” That was Ivor.

Anthony nodded enthusiastically. After discovering the existence of shifters, he really felt part of the manor family and he would probably have agreed to sleeping on the roof. “No problem. It’s such beautiful weather, I could always sleep on the roof.”

I had to hide my smile.

“What do you think, Archer?” Micah asked. When they’d lived in 2B for a while before they moved into their current house, it had been a tight squeeze.

“Elune could have sleepovers with Dyani,” Ivor suggested. That had the two little girls jumping up and down and hugging one another.

“Sure,” Archer agreed.

Everyone cheered.

150

GOOD-BYE SUNSHINE MANOR!

Archer

Life was complicated with all of us back in the manor but despite being cramped with four of us in a one-bedroom apartment, the atmosphere in the house was joyous. Friday nights on the roof became every night on the roof. We’d all gather up there after a day at work, drink cold beer and reminisce about when we first came to live here. The kids played together and Daire didn’t freak when one of them yanked a flower or a leaf from his precious plants.

“They’re his babies,” was what we used to tell people if newcomers got too close to the plants, and we enjoyed teasing him about it.

“Give her to me,” I told Nate as he juggled holding Benate and eating a burger. I inhaled her delicious baby scent. Part of me wished to have another child but whenever Micah and I discussed it, we remembered the sleepless nights, dirty diapers, and teething. We looked at one another and said, “Nah. We’re good. We have two children who we love more than life itself.”

And now we were living in a confined space, there was no way I’d consider getting pregnant.

“Any idea how long your house will take to fix?” Martin asked me and Micah.

Our insurance company had been slow to pay our claim and work was delayed.

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