Page 14 of Colby
There were other things that they purchased when they realized that they needed them.A vacuum was one of the things they hadn’t thought about.Then there were lamps around the rooms.The bedrooms would need some, too, but like the bedroom suites, they were going to wait until they found some that they really liked and not settle for something just because they wanted to get it all done.
By nine, they were about halfway through their lists but too exhausted to go on.They had gotten linens for the master and the extra bed, towels, and extras for the bathrooms.They’d nearly forgotten shower curtains, and if not for the woman in front of them saying she needed them, they would not have been able to take a shower until they had some.Then there were things like silverware and dishes.
They found a set of dishes that they liked that would be for every day.They were plain white without a design on them.But for the dining room, they weren’t agreeing on what kind to get.In the end, that was another thing that they put off until they could agree and handled the silverware by tossing a coin.Emma won the toss and picked out the set that would be in their forever home.
“I’m guessing that with you being a lion, we won’t have to worry about pests?”Colby laughed and said that even little house cats wouldn’t be around all that much unless they were brought up on the land.“I figured as much.Cats are pretty territorial, so I can see that they’d not like to have to fight for a window seat in our house.What else can we expect with you being a lion?Anything that I should know?”
“Like little cats, we like to play in the yard.I won’t shift in the house unless it’s necessary because I would damage the floor.But we might chase a butterfly and never harm it.Or just play in the water.Our cats seem to really enjoy being in the water at times.”She told him that she couldn’t wait to see his cat.“When we get to the house, I’ll shift for you.You should really get to know all the cats in the family, so that way you can tell us apart.Not that it’s important that you do.If we’re all together and as our cats, that usually means that something is going on that’s important that we are our other selves.”
“I can’t imagine what it would be like to shift into something else.I’ve thought about it, and I want to see you do it.You’re going to be larger than you are as a man, correct?That’s what I heard from my friend who is a wolf shifter.”He told her that Denver is larger than he was, and then Ronin, as the king, is even larger.“I forgot about him being king.It must be really special to have a friendship with the king of your kind.”
“The next time they’re in town, I’ll make sure you get to meet them.You’ll love them as much as we do.They’ve done so much for us now that I don’t know how we would ever repay them.Thanks mostly to Denver getting things all gathered up and talking to them.We only came out here to help them, and they made everything else happen for us to be a family.”She just snorted.“What?Don’t you believe me?”
“I think that you guys were a family—a tight family before all this came to be.You are so close to one another that it sort of makes me jealous of how much you guys depend on one another and really seem to love each other.I’ve never seen a group of people hug as much as you guys do when you’re together.”He said that they love one another.“You respect one another, too.And that is what makes your family special above all others.”
“Thank you for that.”They were driving back to her mom’s home when he decided that they needed to go by the house for one thing.“We didn’t get the measurements for the washer and dryers, and I want to make sure they’re going to fit.I won’t be a minute.”
He was just going to run in and measure and come back out, but she decided that since they were there, they might as well put the things that they weren’t going to have delivered in the house.There were all kinds of boxes that they had, mostly it was kitchen things like the tea maker and the coffee pot, but by the time they got it all in the house, they were both hungry again.
“Will we have staff, you think?”She was putting together some sandwiches for them that had been put in the fridge just this morning.“I’m glad that mom suggested that we have food for whenwe’re going in and out of here.”
They both ate two of them, and Colby was on his third when he realized that he’d not answered her about the staff.He told her that they’d need at least a cook and someone to dust and clean up after them because they both worked full-time and were out of the house sometimes for days.
“I would hate to have to come home to a dusty house with all our things lying about.Wouldn’t you?”She told him that she didn’t want to have to cook every night either.It was hard enough when she was on the road to cook herself a meal.“If not for the clients eating on the boat, I don’t know what I’d do about cooking.The galley is small compared to the kitchen we have now.”He put things away since she’d been the one who put the food together.“I don’t care for chips; however, I do like a good veggie tray once in a while.What about you?”
“I love chips, but not too often.I don’t buy a big bag because once I have my fill of them, I don’t want any more for months.They usually go stale before I ever get back around to them.Having a cook is all right with me.”He agreed with her and helped her break down the boxes that the appliances came in.“Another thing that I don’t care for is a salad with fruit in it.You know, like those salads that you get with chicken and strawberries in it?I don’t want fruit in my lettuce.”
“I have to agree with you on that one.I don’t want meat in my salad either.Just salad things.”They were laughing with each other, talking about their likes and dislikes.There wasn’t a lot of food that he wouldn’t eat, but there were things that he’d eat if necessary, but he didn’t have to enjoy it.“I love chili, but I don’t understand the people who drink chocolate milk with it.I want soda with my chili.”
“I love chili in the fall.White chili is my favorite.”She explained to him what that was, and he thought that he could enjoy that too.White chili sounded really good.“With cornbread, too.Or those cheesy crackers.I love them smashed up in my bowl.”
When things were put on the counter like they wanted them to be, they decided that the washer and dryer would indeed fit in the slots made for them, and they took the boxes out to the garage.That’s where they’d been putting things that they brought by the house that needed to be put away.He couldn’t wait until things started to arrive and be put away.He wanted to stay at the house in the worst sort of way.
With everything being delivered over the next couple of days, they figured that they could be living in the house full-time in a few days.The only thing that they might not have was staff, and they were both willing to forgo that so long as they were home.He was going to get with Denver and see if he could put an ad in the paper for one for them.
“We’ll need a cook as we said, but staff?I don’t know what to do about them.I wouldn’t even know what to call whoever comes in and dusts the house for us.”She said she thought they were called domestics.“That’s not a nice word to call someone, is that?”
“I don’t know where I heard that from, but I’d take my cues from Taylor and Jack.They have a full staff all the time, including a butler.I’m sure we don’t need one of those, do we?”He said that he didn’t have any idea, but thought it was a good idea to ask Taylor, as she’d had staff her entire life.“Good, I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”She leaned against the wall where they were standing, looking at the washer and dryer area.“I’m exhausted, Colby.How about we go to our homes and start again tomorrow?Once things are put into place, we’ll have a better idea of what else we’re going to need for the house.”
“I agree.And as much as I’d like to spend the night with you here, there is only a small mattress up on the second-floor bedroom, and that’s not even big enough for me.”She leaned against him and yawned.“All right.Let’s get you home before you fall asleep standing up.Neither of us wants that.”
He was tired himself and couldn’t wait to go back to the condo and get some sleep.He’d not been sleeping well on the boat, and he thought it had a lot to do with the fact that he was in flux right now.They didn’t have a house, nor did he particularly care for the condo anymore.He just wanted things settled.
After dropping off Emma, it was all he could do to let her go into the house alone; he went to thecondo.He didn’t even call it home anymore as he realized that a house was a home for him.Getting a shower was first on his list, and after that, he fell into his bed.He’d not set an alarm but was too exhausted to get up and take care of it now.Colby was usually an early riser and hoped that he would be tomorrow, too.
~*~
Taking a shower, Emma tried to get her sore muscles to cooperate with her in getting ready for the day.She’d helped unload a little bit of her truck yesterday morning, and she was feeling it.If just moving a few boxes had her that sore, she was going to have to hit the gym a little bit so that she wouldn’t be feeling like this again.Her shoulders were very sore.
Colby had called her and woke her up, telling her that he was running behind.Well, so was she.Usually an early riser, too, she couldn’t believe that she’d slept until nine-thirty when she was normally up by six.Getting out of the shower, she heard someone in the kitchen with her mom and decided that it had to be Colby, and rushed through dressing herself with magic so that she could go out and see him.It wasn’t Colby, but Jack, and he was there to talk to her.
“Sometimes I have a few leftovers at the restaurant, and I wondered if you might like to take them with you on runs?I can have it wrapped up and ready for you to go if you want them.Otherwise, they just go to waste.”She told him that it would be fantastic.“Great.I even got you a couple of lunch taker things that I can fill up for you.You can put them in the freezer, too.”
“That’s great.Mom usually makes me something with her leftovers, too, and to be frank, I’m sick of sandwiches.I can eat them, but a real meal is what I crave.It reminds me of home.”Jack said that he had a couple in the car right now and would get them for her.On his way out, she asked him if she could talk to him, too, about staffing.“We know that we’re going to need them as we both work full time, but we’re not sure how much we might need.Not to mention, what we would call them when they do work for us.”
After putting the food in the freezer—they were fried chicken and mashed potatoes in one, and the other had meatloaf with the same side dish that she could have with a roll or a couple of slices of bread as a sandwich.She was about as excited for those as she was for anything she’d eaten on the road before.
“We have a cook and butler.There are other staff members around, but I couldn’t tell you what they’re called.A gardener, which I recommend because you guys have a yard the size of ours, and if you’re working, you’re not going to get to it.Also, we have all the land around the house that you guys won’t have to mess with.There are gardens that are worked year-round that keep the house self-sufficient.”She said they weren’t at that point yet.“It’s a long process that needs to be put in place if you plan on not ever going to the grocery store.But I love it.I’ve been using some of the excess in the restaurant, and it’s been great.”
